Top 10: Albums of 2009

In a decade where the internet has made all kinds of music free for all, it’s no surprise that the best albums released this year embody the resultant far-reaching creativity. With Florence and the Machine’s harp-ornamented pop and Muse’s Chopin-quoting prog among the few chart-topping exceptions, most of 2009's best work has come from the fringes.

Two brilliant concept albums came from The Duckworth Lewis Method, whose self-titled debut would probably have been the soundtrack to the nation’s summer had the Ashes been on the BBC, and Madness, whose London-themed The Liberty of Norton Folgate is perhaps the finest album of their career. Fever Ray’s atmospheric electronica was as affecting as The xx’s soulful debut, Micachu and the Shapes were explosively off-kilter, and Battles frontman Tyondai Braxton made a wild album with the Wordless Music Orchestra.

A good year was also had by Doves, whose grand Kingdom of Rust was unlucky not to garner the same success that Elbow had last year, whilst folk albums including Blue Roses’ and Emmy the Great’s long-awaited debuts, and The Unthanks’ refined post-Mercury nomination comeback were rightly well-received. However, the greatest successes of all belong to American bands, as Brooklyn’s indie rock scene was bundled into the mainstream (with the likes of Jay-Z and Beyoncé among its high-profile proponents). Unsurprisingly, four of the albums on the list hail from New York.

• 10. Teitur – The Singer

The Faroese singer-songwriter's latest is far removed from the somewhat bland MOR ballads that peppered his career previously. Sparsely atmospheric, The Singer was recorded on the remote island of Gotland with local brass players, a choir, a double bass and a marimba. The feeling of community in his storytelling is tangible, and the succinct arrangements form a unique and memorable record.

• 9. The Antlers – Hospice

A concept album loosely based on the narrating hospital worker’s love for a terminally ill cancer patient, Hospice is nothing if not emotional. 45 anthemic, reverb-drenched minutes only die down for the closing ‘Epilogue’, which, in spite of opening with a relieved-sounding solo acoustic guitar, proceeds to pack the saddest, most helpless punch of all. Hospice could be the best album on the theme of loss since Eels’ Electro-Shock Blues.

• 8. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

With no great single contenders among its 18 tracks, Embryonic could easily be tossed into the "unlistenable" bucket of Flaming Lips albums (along with much of their pre-Soft Bulletin output). Somehow, though, the whole journey of the thing, from its combination of special guest Karen O’s animal noises with ambient soundscapes and bass-heavy psychedelic jams to the pounding arrival of closer ‘Watching the Planets’ makes for a thrilling twelfth studio album.

• 7. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers

It’s not without reason that Wild Beasts have become the most strongly tipped new UK band at the moment. With most songs led by Hayden Thorpe’s hypnotic falsetto, an infectious, bongo-supplemented rhythm section and the most eccentrically sex-obsessed lyrics to come out of Cumbria in a long while, Two Dancers is an addictive listen that gets better each time. If you’re planning an early bet on next year’s Mercury Prize, this is as likely as anything to clinch it.

• 6. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns

Natasha Khan’s second album as Bat for Lashes is stranger and altogether more complex than her debut. A concept album revolving around Khan’s relationship with her more primal alter ego Pearl, the whole course of the album is musically unified, full of symbolism, stilling in some places and swirling in others. At the album's most impressive moment, the legendary recluse Scott Walker duets with Khan on shimmering closer ‘The Big Sleep’.

• 5. Röyksopp – Junior

In the UK charts it might have been the year of La Roux and Little Boots, but this Norwegian duo are way ahead of them with the best out-and-out pop album of the year. The likes of Lykke Li, Karen Dreijer Andersson and Robyn provide great vocal performances (the latter on the brilliant ‘The Girl and the Robot’), and by synthesising the best styles of Daft Punk and Justice, Röyksopp's latest tunes deserve to be separated from the much-derided “dinner party music” label.

• 4. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear’s third and most genre-blending album to date incorporates perfect instrumental and choral arrangements by Nico Muhly, interesting musical forms and great vocal harmonies. Whilst implausible to put them into any particular category (least of all a mainstream one), Veckatimest surprisingly hit the American Top 10 on its release, and the quartet has since made numerous TV appearances, played shows in churches and with orchestras.

• 3. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Dave Longstreth and co have been going since 2002, but only this year has Longstreth’s fiercely adventurous character acquired such a powerful pop sensibility. His arrangements for band and voices are performed unscored, each band member learning his eccentric musical twists and turns by heart. On top of its cleverness, though, Bitte Orca is full of great individual songs; from the Mariah-ish lead vocals of single ‘Stillness is the Move’ to the aural explosion midway through ‘Useful Chamber’, Dirty Projectors’ latest is their best yet.

• 2. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Something of a break from the wild art rock surrounding it here, Callahan’s second album since ditching the Smog name is a beautifully refined affair. From the stilling opener ‘Jim Cain’ to closing hymn to the end of religion ‘Faith/Void’ via ambient instrumental ‘Invocation of Ratiocination’, his earthy baritone is accompanied by subtle guitar and a set of breathtaking, delicate string arrangements. A spotless album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is the kind of song-series that comes equipped to touch both wide-awake and bedtime listeners alike.

• 1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Probably the most hyped underground album ever before its release, Merriweather Post Pavilion had a lot to live up to when it arrived in the first weeks of January; even now, nearly 12 months on, it continues to live up to expectations. Nuanced use of samples and near-imperceptible clashes of time signatures underlay the Collective’s most immediate pop songs yet, which have reached and been loved by a wider audience than ever, from self-absorbed bloggers to the most mainstream of Radio 1 listeners.

The album cover’s optical illusion matches the music perfectly; it might take a little (or long) while to get the right perspective on their work, but once aligned, it can’t fail to provide a memorable experience. Aiming to produce something magical in the mind of the listener, Animal Collective succeed in producing their most colourful, complex and thrilling work to date. Well worth numerous listens, Merriweather is sure to retain cult classic status for years to come.

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