Hello! It’s been a strenuous weekend, but at last here’s the final five tracks in my list of faves for 09. Gonna go sleep / got to go to BLENHEIM soon but internet should hold up for me so I can post my favourite albums / releases of 09 next week!! Thanxxxx guyz

#5: Beach Fossils – Daydream (Unreleased)

So much of the music I’ve put in this list seems really forlorn and regretful, so it shouldn’t shock that this song features so highly. Super echoey reverbed vocals, a repetitive riff that lingers for so long, and straightforward lyrics about not knowing what to say, where to go, what to do, etc. It’s such a simple concept, and so beautifully executed, that the only puzzling thing about it is why someone hadn’t already written this song before. Slams everything thats melancholy guitar pop in one run.

#4: Best Coast: Sun Was High (So Was I)

Totally stunning glistening stoner vibes all over this Top 40 Hit from Bethany Consantino, diamond sand sparkles messing around with 90s Rock Diva ballad vocals, drifting in and out of conversation as you drift away with the tide. Mindblowingly dreamlike.

#3: Grass Widow – To Where (Grass Widow)

There’s a moment in this super jam from Grass Widow where the guitar almost starts to overlap itself, like they’re playing too fast or something. It doesn’t come off as sloppy or anything, though – rather, it comes off like they’ve redefined the term ‘playing frenetically’. It’s a moment of frenzy in an otherwise perfectly formed track, haunted harmonies and rhythm changeups that keep you on your toes and just kinda gaping at this track. Perfect singalong harmonies / suburban asphalt party feelings going on here, totally essential for daily life.

#2: Animal Collective – Brother Sport (Merriweather Post Pavilion)

Incredible gleeful hit in every way imaginable. I don’t know if Panda Bear chanting this ode to cheer his brother up from downer vibes (‘I know it sucks that daddys gone / but try to think of what you want’) worked at all for him, but it clicks so so so so so well for me. When the whole band join together to sing ‘Maaaatt’ if nails me. All the time. Plus, the whole fact that this is probably the ‘weirdest’ song on MPP (I guess? It does feature Avey Tare ‘woo’ repeats for like 2 minutes) yet still is definitely the absolute best, I end up being completely immersed in euphoria when it gets to it’s final chant. KEEP IT REAL KEEP IT REAL SHOUT OUT. Seriously. Fucking phenomenallllllllll.

#1: Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire (Post-Nothing)

This song has managed to rule every single time I’ve played it this year. Which is quite a bit. 187 times at last count. That’s pretty much once a day since I got it. Consistently. Everything slams me in the face, the hyperactive drum switchups from verse to chrous, the way the title of the song comes out of nowhere in the middle of the song and I always miss the first syllable, only to yell out the rest of the song title slightly too late, lines about finishing off the wine, staying up all night, other parts about being too drunk to feel anything, and that chorus of ‘Oh, we used to dream / Now we worry about dying’. Maybe it’s tied in with the fact that this year was the first time I had moments where I felt particularly old, and this song is supposed to make me nostaglic for my ‘reckless youth’ or something. I’m not sure. In any case, even if I were actually at a point where I was legitimately older than everyone else around me, I feel like this song would make me feel young again. Total catharsis. And those sunshine girls??? Want. Want. Want.

COOL! Next week, top albums / releases of the year. PEACE