Patrick Seymour - Dizzy Spells writesPatrick Seymour’s Best of 2009

Throughout the month of December we’ll be posting lists of the best music of the year as determined by the volunteers that make CHIRP what it is. Today’s is from CHIRP Volunteer, Patrick Seymour.

1. Mi Ami – Watersports (Quarterstick) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   After a couple excellent EPs these ex-Black Eyes members put out their full length debut. It is a strange mix of forward thinking punk, Afro beat, free jazz and dub. While that makes it seem like they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, it actually works well blending everything together creating a very unique sounding album, strong debut.
2. Paper Mice – Paint It Pink (Cassette Deck) Amazon / iTunes
   Another strong debut from this Chicago trio. Combine the manic energy of Deerhoof with the bark and conciseness of Minutemen, throw in some news of the weird inspired lyrics and you have the recipe for success. These boys got some musical chops to boot. The packaging is worth noting, beautifully screened LP jackets.
3. Abner Jay – True Story of Abner Jay (Mississippi) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   Mississippi Records out of Portland have had a hell of a year, well couple actually. They put out a record what seems like every other week and they are all worth hearing. This one is a favorite. Abner Jay plays some great blues songs on electric banjo, accompanied by drums and harmonica. The songs can be heart breaking and funny, often in the same song.
4. Dog Faced Hermans – Hum of Life (Mississippi) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   OK so it is a reissue, but they are probably my favorite band and this album is a killer. These Scottish punks mix folk, jazz, and Eastern European influences all fronted by an amazing female vocalist who played the trumpet too. They don’t make them like this anymore. The guitarist went on to play with the Ex.
5. Dead Weather – Horehound (Third Man) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   Jack White may be the musician of the decade. He’s had a great run with the White Stripes, the Racontoures, his own recording label and studio; the man doesn’t slow down. His latest project is a fierce dark blues band fronted by certified bad ass Allison Mosshart of the Kills. Check out their video for Treat me like your Mother.
6. Pterodactyl – Worldwild (Jagjaguwar) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   They toned down a bit of the spazz from their first album, but the energy is not lost. With Worldwide they soak up a bit of influence from contemporaries like Liars and Animal Collective, making their music a bit more blissed out, but it is not completely out of step with their previous work. Their fuzzed screeching guitars and falsetto vocal harmonies are still the selling point of this band.
7. Zs – Music of Modern White (Social Registry) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   Another winner from modernist, chamber, punk, cerebral whatever band that continues to push the boundaries. The album is made up of two songs divided into three suites featuring saxophone skronk, hand clapping, some ambient passages, and some mad guitar playing. If you like experimental music, they are really worth checking out. Even if you weren’t sold on this description, they are one of the more interesting and challenging bands making music today.
8. Broadcast and the Focus Group – Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (Warp) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   An odd release from Broadcast, it’s made up of short songs and sound collages that blend into one another taking up each side of the album. There hasn’t been an album in a while that was able to conjure up such a strange atmosphere as this one, part nostalgia of some fantasy world, part Witch Cult (as the title suggests) the perfect fall album.
9. Thee Oh Sees – Help (In The Red) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
   Thee Oh Sees have been a busy band. A couple of albums this year, a half dozen singles, and they have all been consistently good. This is a fine album all the way around. They are a garage band writing pop songs with a hint of psych thrown in and some great male and female vocals. They rip through a dozen songs and by the time you are done you are ready to start the album over again.
10. A Hawk and a Hacksaw – Deliveranse (Leaf) Amazon / Insound / iTunes
    Gotta give some love to Jeremy Barnes, this band started as a solo post Neutral Milk Hotel project and has, with the addition of the other mainstay violinist Heather Trost, turned into his full time gig. After a couple of albums the two immersed themselves in Eastern European folk music by moving to Romania and have recorded several times there. With each time their western influence has slowly eroded focusing more on traditional Balkan folk music.

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5 older albums/artists that crossed my path in ’09

War – The World Is A Ghetto Amazon / Insound / iTunes
I had written them off based on Spill the Wine, but the first time I heard this album I fell in love with it. Fantastic 70’s funk, heavy in percussion, lots of people singing at the same time and the Cisco Kid!

Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Sings Newman Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Harry Nilsson singing Randy Newman songs, that’s about all you need to know.

The Kinks Amazon / Insound / iTunes
2009 was the year I finally really got into the Kinks. It took me a while but I finally realized that Ray Davies wrote brilliant music and the albums they were making in the late 60’s were certainly on par with their contemporaries.

Art Blakey – A Night in Tunisia Amazon / Insound / iTunes
I don’t really listen to a lot of jazz, though I try every now and again. This one really caught my ear, fast paced hard bop. There is a pretty cool video of the title song.

The Walkmen Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Another band I was late to the party on. You and Me is a good listen front to back as is A Hundred Miles Off. I don’t listen to a whole lot of straight up rock, but this is one band that is doing it very well.