It’s hard to believe we’re kissing goodbye to the 00’s. God. Many moons ago, 2009 seemed impossibly far away. Yet here we are on the brink of a new decade again. For those of us on the cusp of 30, it’s best not to think too much about it.

Musically it wasn’t an epic year, but the spring and fall saw floods of hype–some deserved, some undeserved. I’m not going to focus so much on stuff other writers will talk about–the releases that I really want to champion in 2009 are two that flew very much under the radar–Lotus Plaza’s the Floodlight Collective and Zaza’s Cameo EP.

Officially this is my list of best albums of 2009:

1. Lotus Plaza – the Floodlight Collective
2. The Antlers – Hospice
3. The XX – The XX
4. Atlas Sound – Logos
5.  Zaza – Cameo EP (I just wish they had released a full length LP)
6. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
7. Pains of Being Pure at Heart -  Pains of Being Pure at Heart
8. Crystal Stilts – Crystal Stilts
9. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
10. Grizzly Bear – Verckatimest

Wish I could cheat to include: Beach House – Teen Dream (slated for release in January 2010; leaked in November)

Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective

Lotus Plaza is Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt’s solo project, probably better known as Bradford Cox’s partner in crime. Chicago label Kranky houses all three members of the Deerhunter Family with Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza and it is puzzling to me why this ambient sleepwalker of an album has gone unnoticed by even Deerhunter fans.

Like most things I obsess about, Floodlight Collective isn’t for everyone and I’m going to guess that those who like to imbibe in reefer madness are going to connect to it stronger than those who don’t. It feels like a massive fuzzy trip at its best moments with jangly tambourines,  indecipherable lyrics, and sound samples that have that throbbing pulse feel. The whole album has an innocent audio sweetness to it that has nothing to do with the lyrics.  Think the Supremes meets Cocteau Twins on shrooms.

Most of the album is simply dream sequence music. The last part of A Threaded Needle, as Evan says, “blows my tits off”. This is quite possibly the best spacey ending I’ve ever heard to a song. Quicksand is another standout, sounding like surfey-ish 60’s garage with prominent tambourines and a hazy colourwash feel…it’s even more nostalgic and ambient than anything Deerhunter has ever released. Which begs to question, if this sounds more like Pitchfork-darlings Deerhunter than anything else, why in the hell didn’t they hype it?

Must-listen for any Shoegaze/Nu-Gaze fan.

Zaza – Cameo

I was expecting the latter half of 2009 to hold a bright and shiny world of reconciled possibilities for Zaza, even with an oversaturated Brooklyn talent pool. Their Cameo EP has had a strong hold on me since I saw them open for the Pains of Being Pure at Heart back in April. I saw flourishing potential in this release because it doesn’t have the same folksy jangle or overly derivative retro feel that so many of their compadres are emitting on a regular basis.

Cameo is grown-up, sophisticated, with the dark and smokey allure of an in-the-boudoir fragrance. One reviewer tagged them as “pop noir” and I think this is fitting. This EP is the kind of recording anyone scoring a vampire drama might have wet dreams about, and as bassist Jennifer Fraser (or “Jenny” as she is referenced in this interview) explains, “Cameo is about silhouettes and outlines. It’s about the other language of intimacy.” Yes, ohhhh yes. It’s sexy and grown-up and intriguing. I want to get to know more about Cameo and have been waiting for their full-length response to the EP ever since April.  Apparently they have been signed by Kanine Records of Grizzly Bear fame, so I hope this is coming soon.

Originally from California, this duo is comprised of Danny Taylor and Jennifer Fraser. They used to borrow Pains of Being Pure at Heart drummer Kurt Feldman, but it looks like someone named “Dru” has taken over the drumming duties. I hope they keep that textured, layered feel of new-school goth, only without any of the lameness goth enjoys as a genre. I can’t see any of these guys walking onstage on a puffy white pirate shirt and black nail polish anytime soon.

The EP serves as a nice companion piece to the XX’s debut in that these are two recordings where sexified bass and drums are at the forefront. I always appreciate that because they tend to be the two most low-profile members of any band. Both records also have that ebony-ish mysterioso feel about them. Oh, and both of their jackets are black and white.

Best: Always On and Arms Length.

 

 Lotus Plaza - A Threaded Needle: Play Now

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