Best Of 2009 – Kendall Bruns
Posted By Ben W. on December 16, 2009
Where would you rather get your music criticism? A bank teller? Or an artist/musician/writer?
Exactly.
That’s why we brought in Kendall Bruns.
Kendall Bruns’ Favorite Albums Of 2009
I really hate to make any kind of Top 10 list before the year is completely over – especially since December is such a great time to discover the music that somehow passed you by over the course of the year – but these 10 albums (in alphabetical order) are definitely some of my favorites from 2009.
Bad Veins – Bad Veins
It was a long wait for this Bad Veins album – the demo of “Fake Baby” was on my Favorite Songs of 2006 CD – but it was totally worth it to discover such a well-crafted final product.
Beast Rest Forth Mouth – Bear In Heaven
This album, and particularly the song “Lovesick Teenagers,” has been in constant rotation for me over the past few months. It’s hypnotic and has these moments that are sort of off but exactly right.
Admirations – Beaujolais
Born of a broken relationship with his wife and former bandmate, Beaujolais is Joe Ziemba’s follow-up band to The Like Young. I slightly prefer last year’s Love at Thirty but this follows well in its narrative footsteps.
Phrazes for the Young – Julian Casablancas
There didn’t seem to be a lot of love for this solo debut by Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, but I found myself totally immersed in it’s idiosyncrasies.
Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear
This one seems to be universally loved and rightly so. An album of beautiful pop perfection.
Baron von Headless – The Harlequins
Cincinnati has a lion’s share of great bands, and I’ve included three local releases on this list but these aren’t consolation prizes — these bands are the real deal. Bad Veins and The Pomegranates are already well onto their way of crossing over to larger public consciousness and I hope The Harlequins aren’t far behind. This, their debut album, does a fine job of capturing some of the energy that makes them one of my favorite Cincinnati bands to see live over and over again.
Begone Dull Care – Junior Boys
The album art is kinda boring but the music isn’t. Junior Boys create a mood that I found myself wanting to revisit all year long.
Tear Ourselves Away – LoveLikeFire
I’ve been obsessed with San Francisco’s LoveLikeFire ever since Koala Fires played a show with them in October 2008. At that point they had released a few EPs and were still figuring out how they would be releasing their full-length debut. Heist or Hit Records gave it a UK release in August and I went ahead and purchased the import, knowing it would be worth the extra expense. From the opener “William” to tracks like “I’ve Pissed off My Friends” and “Boredom”, Ann Wu’s achingly beautiful vocals are backed by epic melodic rock that reminds me that I do actually have feelings.
Fantasies – Metric
Fantasies seems to get everything that I’ve ever liked about Metric right on the same album. A welcome surprise after what I considered to be the slightly disappointing Live it Out.
Everybody, Come Outside! – Pomegranates
A recent live performance helped remind me why I love the Pomegranates so much — they are a perfect example of being so good at something that they make it look easy even though it’s not. Watching them, you get the impression that they’ve been playing their instruments and singing sweet melodies their entire lives. It’s like watching a magic trick and not caring what the secret is because you’re hypnotized by its flawless execution. I’m proud to have them represent Cincinnati as they travel the world with their music.
– Kendall Bruns
* Kendall’s band, Koala Fires, will make an early power play for your Best of 2010 list, releasing its debut album Jan. 2. You can get a copy of it before Christmas, though, by pre-ordering it HERE.
* The band also is having a listening party tonight (Dec. 16) in Cincinnati for the record at the Mayday bar. For more information, click HERE.
* And of course they’ll be playing a release-party show Jan. 2 in Newport Ky. at the Southgate House. Click HERE to get those details.
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