QuickCrit Music Survey Results - Top 40 Albums (1-10)

1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
“Another one on the top of various lists. I kept hearing it piecemeal and I kept liking what I was hearing. Too bad about their being French.” - WarMachine

“A month and a half plus of starting out my workday with this album spells out album of the year to me.” - ancient indian wizard

“Always had a soft spot for these guys. Really polished pop songwriting. So tuneful!” - Jeremy B.

“One of the best live shows i saw all year as well.” - Max D.

“The kind of music that can instantly change your mood... for the better.” - NightraiN

“This album just makes me happy every time I listen to it.” - ve1cro

“A band that's even better live, Phoenix makes danceable indie that leaves you feeling happy and relaxed. If you're looking for reasons to hate this band, good luck.” - Mona

“Thought they might be ridding on the coat tails of the MGMT scene and was skeptical at all the hype but this band won me over.” - Layne

“OMG, who knew the French made awesome music?!?! Seriously.” - The Crane Wife

2. Passion Pit - Manners
“Holy dancefest. I introduced this to a coworker who hated it at first and then blasted it on the regular. You kinda want to not like it but you totally love it. If it was a Facebook relationship it would be complicated.” - ancient indian wizard

“Manners has been the #1 release of '09 for months now. Nothing can top danceable indie like this that is creative, inventive, flawless and addictive as hell. In the movie of my life, "Moth's Wings" would hopefully play in the trailer.” - Mona

“It's almost come to the point where I have to be embarrassed by this, but when I'm honest with myself, I listened to this album more than any other this year.” - WarMachine

“For all the ‘Chunk of Change’ lovers who turned into haters: WAKE THE F*** UP!” - Lucas C.

“This is just an all around great album.” - The Crane Wife


3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
“It's a hit!” - HotCatato

“A beautiful album by an aptly named band.” - Jeremiah H.

“Took me a while to actually get into this album but it's really unlike anything I’ve ever listened to (and liked). One of those albums that reveals itself more and more with each listen.” - Max D.

“Probably the most accessible Animal Collective album to date, but then again that's not really saying all that much.” - Mona

“5 years ago I hated Animal Collective. This fact illustrates the beauty & joy of music.” - Lucas C.

“What can I add? This will probably end up being tops on the survey, and rightfully so. I'm just glad they finally dumbed down their music enough so that I could get into it.” - WarMachine


4. Metric - Fantasies
“Put this on and watch me dance the pop spaztastic.” - awmercy

“Their songs pass the campfire test. I appreciate that.” - Jeremy B.

“When I first heard this, I asked myself, why would I listen to Metric when I could just pop in the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs? The answer, of course, is because the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs are awesome and this album has earned the comparison.” - WarMachine

“With lyrics like "higher than high, lower than deep" and "hard to be soft , tough to be tender" the female front woman proves she’s one hell of a song writer too. - Layne




5. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
“You can find me stuck in LA traffic singing this song at the top of my lungs.” - HotCatato

“An amazing melodic, at times discordant, audio soundscape. The three ladies singing backup show some mindblowingly innovative acapella chops. Stick with it....it grows on you.” - Tex

“Phew — took me some time to get the hang of this one. Can't say as though I love it, but it's a force, nonetheless, to be reckoned with.” - Jeremiah H.

“While I don't love this entire album as much as some, Stillness is the Move, Cannibal Resource and No Intention are amazing songs.” – WarMachine


6. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
“Playing this album will get you laid. 60% of the time, it works every time.” - Rain

“She calls them ‘Killer Whales’ but I call them ‘Panda Whales.’” - ancient indian wizard

“Perhaps this is my sentimental best album of the year (certainly, the most heavily played, for me). Neko is a beautiful force to be recokened with.” - Jeremiah H.

"I love the way she says 'killer whales'.” - HotCatato

"’People Gotta A Lot Of Nerve’ is a perfect song. One of America’s great unsung heroes does it again. “ - Lucas C.



7. The Builders & The Butchers - Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
“Urgent and macabre celebrations of our oncoming destruction.” - awmercy

“Kind of creepy, but kind of good.” - Jeremy

“They took a good thing and made it better. Dark, rollicking and unique. Tell your friends.” – NightraiN









8. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
“I really feel they hit their stride with this album. French Navy is bonkers good! I want to get all kissy face like they do in the video for the song. You should too!” - ancient indian wizard

“Love this band, can they ever do any wrong? This album proves they can still inspire ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ when they sing ‘ooh’ and ‘aah.’” - Mona

“This album is great. It was in the CD player in my car for a long time until I almost burnt out on it and had to take a break. Now Fiest's first album is in the CD player. Although both are good, I like My Maudlin Career better.” - The Crane Wife

“Just popped this in recently and I still love it. Holds together so well as an album.” - WarMachine

“Great updated girl group sound.” - Brasilliant


9. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
“It's the perfect mix of Memphis horns, country grit, and rock n' roll.” - awmercy

“An album with that rare combination of.. well... everything. Oh the horns!” - NightraiN

“Solid outing from one of my favorites -- the horns grew on me.” – Jeremy








10. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
“Can't really explain why this album pulls at my heart strings, it just does.” - ve1cro

“It's amazing how great the Strokes solo efforts have been.” - Lucas C.

The Noisettes - "Never Forget You" [video] (2009)

I might be late on the ball, but I don't know anything about British band The Noisettes and/or their discography... except that I kinda sorta love this cute little track I just heard. It reminds me of The Supremes meets Camera Obscura meets __________.



Thoughts? Something tells me Awmercy, Brasilliant, and/or Ve1cro may dig this one the most. But I could be wrong!

War Machine's 2009 Summer 5

I just got 95% of the way through this post only to accidentally lose it, so I'm going to begrudgingly try it again. It's going to be shorter this time, though.

Apologies for not embedding the video. Keep up the good work, those that do, it makes it so much easier to decide for myself when I can just click a button and listen. I'd do it too, but I don't know how. Links will have to suffice. [Update: videos added]

"Sleepyhead" - Passion Pit

Passion Pit is on every one's list this summer, so no new ground here. But this song is a standard deviation better than every other song on the album, and there are some other great ones. Video rocks too.

Here's a thought. Most of us have heard the story where Michael Angelakos, who was not in any band at the time, made a Valentines Day CD of six songs for his college girlfriend. (Not a shitty mixtape, mind you, his songs.) The songs got passed around campus, picked up locally, they turned it into an EP and formed a band and turned the EP into an album and here we are. Sleepyhead, as I understand it, was on that first CD. Here's my question, did that song on the CD sound like the song as I hear it on "Manners?" Because if it did...holy shit! Can you imagine being that girl? Or even, being the dorm room roommate of that girl? I suspect, on that particular Valentines Day, there wasn't a whole lot of sleepy, but a hell of a lot of...well you get it.

I'm just saying she owed him. Big time.



"Nothing to Worry About" - Peter, Bjorn and John

This song is a little long in the tooth but I just discovered it. It makes me want to dance until my ass falls off...or until two minutes and 58 seconds are over. Whichever comes first.

I've got to get me to Sweden at some point. There's too much coming out of there right now that I love...except for the IKEA tool. I hate the IKEA tool.



"Arlington. The Rap."

You don't really have to have lived in Arlington, VA to understand this. It makes it funnier, but it's not required. Could have just as easily been Annaheim or Schaumburg. Except for the Green Line joke.

I can't believe I lived there for 5 years. Sigh.



"Gifted" - N.A.S.A. (Featuring Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li)

Look at that lineup. Do I have to even explain why the song is awesome? The best part is, it is awesome, as opposed to, say, "The Best of Both Worlds."Decidedly not awesome.



"My Girls" - Animal Collective

This is as catchy an Animal Collective song as I am aware of. And I love catchy. The album is pretty great too. Very accessible, which means I can like it. Close runner-up is the Camera Obscura song French Navy, another great song off an album I'm loving.

Camera Obscura - My Mauldin Career (2009)

My Mauldin Career, picnics, and maniacal prancing are perfect ways to welcome in the springtime. Throughout Camera Obscura's new album, we are treated to Tracyanne Campbell’s bewitching vocals and the band’s multi-instrumental zeal. The best tracks off the album are "French Navy," "The Sweetest Thing," "Swans," and "My Mauldin Career." Don't forget to listen to the last song on the album called "Honey in the Sun." This pop-tastic tune has over the top instrumentation, ridiculous energy, and is a great way to end the album. If you like Belle & Sebastian, the Essex Green, or the Concretes you'll be pleased!

Here's Camera Obscura's playful opening track "French Navy." It makes me go "ooo."

Earlimart - Hymn and Her (2008)

Earlimart is quite the prolific indie rock band with Hymn and Her coming out just one year after last July’s Mentor Tormentor. Subtract a few previous members and Earlimart is now a duo. Specifically, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray make beautiful hymns together while keeping the ‘him’ and ‘her’ in, well, Hymn and Her. Aside from winning the award for "Album Title Pun Of The Year," they share vocal duties. Although he mostly sings lead while she offers backup vocals, this record marks Murray’s debut as capable female lead vocalist, as well. Hopefully, this becomes a signature mainstay. Starting my indie rock reconnaissance six records in, I'd say HAH is an excellent introduction to their sun-kissed brand of California dream pop. If you're a fan of bands like Pedro The Lion, Rogue Wave, Camera Obscura, and American Analog Set, you'll be adding Earlimart to that list.

HAH is incredibly fluid, with each song flowing seamlessly into the next. Boasting a sunny disposition and easy-going feel, this record is great for a long drive along the coast or a laid-back evening at home sipping wine on the couch. Thematically speaking, these songs don’t exactly span continents, but no worries-- soothing melodies coupled with relatable lyrics is a musical formula that never gets old. And the instrumental arrangements form sound pieces that are warm, mellow and intimate... much like the prelude to a really good kiss. Sometimes it’s Espinoza’s silky smooth tone, other times its Murray’s wispy coos in an ocean of “ooh’s” and “ahh’s,” but either way… when their vocals collide, you’re in for some sonic sensuality.

Remember when Hope Sandoval (of Mazzy Star) and Jim Reid (of Jesus and Mary Chain) unexpectedly wrote the romantic duet, "Sometimes Always," that left the masses wishing they'd collaborated on an entire album afterwards? Well, this might be the album they never made. Much like Reid, Espinoza occasionally rocks the cool guy, quasi-spoken word vocals (and actually gets away with it) and as Sandoval, Murray could teach the Feists, Jenny Lewis-es, and Emily Haines-es of today what it is to be sultry. In fact, when Espinoza and Murray’s musical chemistry comes together, they produce gorgeous results. With his resonance and her sensuality, together they "really make babies when the mic’s on" (quoth Kanye West).

The record opens with "Song For," a great driving tune that hits you... much like a song on full blast when you turn the engine and realize you left your car radio on. The Camera Obscura-esque break-up gem, "Before It Gets Better," is simply serene and quite possibly a song we’ve all written in a past-life. Like a newfound relic of love fallen from grace, this song is hauntingly beautiful and allows Murray’s voice to shine. But it’s "Face Down In The Right Town" that showcases Espinoza crooning along with Murray’s soft “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” that reminds us how harmonious male/female vocal interplay can be. Plus, the surprise trumpet at the end adds a jazzy mariachi feel to mix things up a bit. On "Time For Yourself," the electronic beats sashay around with simple piano and add a nice contrasting touch that works alongside her dreamy voice. "For The Birds" and "God Loves You The Best" are, at best, watered-down Rogue Wave, where "Teeth" is a slightly less irritating, cheap imitation of The Dandy Warhols. But "Great Heron Gates" showcases Espinoza’s whispery vocals a-la-Snow Patrol, plus the usage of bird sounds is the cutest thing since Tom Petty did it on "Learning To Fly."

My only real criticism is: you strip a band down to a male/female duo, name the album Hymn and Her, but where is the obvious duet? On the uber-romantic title track, this was a potentially amazing duet that never happened. They sing so gently here where it's almost as if she's blowing air on his vocals adding to the sweetness, but she never got the chance to shine on her own, alongside him. An acoustic cover of, say The Postal Service’s "Nothing Better," or an updated spin on Jesus and Mary Chain’s "Sometimes Always" would have been stellar avenues they didn't explore. I was also irked they closed with "Tell Me" when second-to-last track "Town Where You Belong," with its blaring vocal outro and slow hand claps, makes more sense as a closer... But when you find yourself criticizing just for criticism’s sake you know you’re reviewing one helluva solid album.

The Final Verdict:
In a world of noise-based indie, sometimes it's nice to discover some great make-out music that's perfect for getting your horizontal sway on. Earlimart crafts atmospheric mood music that's meant to be enjoyed by every him and every her during life’s more tender moments. So before you turn out the lights, be sure to turn this record on ;-)