Honorable Mentions Of 2009

by Vinh on January 20th, 2010

2009 bore a wealth of wonderful albums and seeing as Sun On The Sand’s year-end list was limited to 25 cuts, there were unfortunate omissions. We’ve decided to highlight these strong efforts either because they slipped under the radar or, quite frankly, they’re so good they deserve the additional critical nods. We hope you come away with a handful of releases to discover at the very least. Enjoy.

#25-11
#10-2
#1

Matthew James:

Manic Street Preachers
Journal For Plague Lovers
May 12th, 2009
Columbia Records
Genre: rock/alternative
Location: Blackwood, Wales
MYSPACE

Fanfarlo
Reservoir
September 29th, 2009
Topspin
Genre: indie-rock
Location: London, England
MYSPACE

The Duckworth Lewis Method
The Duckworth Lewis Method
July 7th, 2009
The Duckworth Lewis Method
Genre: pop/rock
Location: Dublin, Ireland
MYSPACE

Biffy Clyro
Only Revolutions
November 10th, 2009
14th Floor Recordings
Genre: pop/rock
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
MYSPACE

Jamie T
Kings & Queens
September 15th, 2009
Astralwerks
Genre: indie-rock/pop
Location: Wimbledon, England
MYSPACE

Rick Southwick:

Timber Timbre
Timber Timbre
June 30th, 2009
EMI
Genre: folk/indie
Location: Toronto, Canada
MYSPACE

Black Dice
Repo
April 7th, 2009
Paw Tracks
Genre: noise-rock/electronic
Location: Brooklyn, USA
MYSPACE

Cymbals Eat Guitars
Why There Are Mountains
January 25th, 2009
Sister’s Den
Genre: indie-rock
Location: New York, USA
MYSPACE

Rain Machine
Rain Machine
September 22nd, 2009
ANTI-
Genre: indie-rock
Location: Brooklyn, USA
MYSPACE

mewithoutYou
It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All A Dream! It’s Alright
May 19th, 2009
Tooth & Nail
Genre: indie-rock/folk
Location: Philadelphia, USA
MYSPACE

Paul Bulow:

DOOM
Born Like This
March 24th, 2009
Lex Records
Genre: hip hop
Location: Long Island City, USA
MYSPACE

Raekwon
Only Built For Cuban Linx 2
September 8th, 2009
Ice H2o Records
Genre: hip hop
Location: Staten Island, USA
MYSPACE

Future Of The Left
Travels With Myself And Another
June 23rd, 2009
4AD
Genre: indie-rock
Location: Caerdydd, Wales
MYSPACE

A.C. Newman
Get Guilty
January 20th, 2009
Matador Records
Genre: indie-pop/rock
Location: Vancouver, Canada
MYSPACE

Mos Def
The Ecstatic
June 9th, 2009
Downtown Records
Genre: hip hop
Location: Brooklyn, USA
MYSPACE

Todd Kearns:

Kurt Vile
God is Saying This to You…
March 3rd, 2009
Mexican Summer
Genre: indie/psychedelic
Location: Philadelphia, USA
MYSPACE

Christopher Tignor
Core Memory Unwound
April 24th, 2009
Western Vinyl
Genre: ambient/electroacoustic
Location: Brooklyn, USA
AMAZON (no artist myspace)

Black Lips
200 Million Thousand
February 24th, 2009
Vice Records
Genre: garage rock
Location: Atlanta, USA
MYSPACE

Thee Oh Sees
Help
April 28th, 2009
In The Red Records
Genre: garage rock
Location: San Francisco, USA
MYSPACE

John Zorn
Alhambra Love Songs
April 21st, 2009
Tzadik Records
Genre: jazz
Location: Queens, USA
MYSPACE

Joe Mateo:

Atlas Sound
Logos
October 20th, 2009
Kranky/4AD
Genre: indie/psychedelic pop
Location: Atlanta, USA
MYSPACE

Jon Hopkins
Insides
May 4th, 2009
Domino Recording Company
Genre: IDM/electronic
Location: London, England
MYSPACE

Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band
Between My Head And The Sky
September 21st, 2009
Chimera
Genre: art pop/rock
Location: New York, USA
MYSPACE

The xx
xx
August 18th, 2009
XL Records
Genre: indie-pop
Location: London, England
MYSPACE

A.A. Bondy
When The Devil’s Loose
September 1st, 2009
Fat Possum
Genre: indie/folk
Location: Birmingham, USA
MYSPACE

Shane Lawless:

Bat For Lashes
Two Suns
April 7th, 2009
Astralwerks
Genre: indie
Location: Brighton, England
MYSPACE

Circulatory System
Signal Morning
September 8th, 2009
Cloud Recordings
Genre: indie-rock/psychedelic
Location: Athens, USA
MYSPACE

Former Ghosts
Fleurs
October 26th, 2009
Upset! The Rhythm
Genre: indie/electronic
Location: Los Angeles, USA
MYSPACE

Doves
Kingdom Of Rust
April 7th, 2009
EMI
Genre: rock/alternative
Location: Manchester, England
MYSPACE

Tiny Vipers
Life On Earth
July 7th, 2009
Sub Pop
Genre: folk/indie
Location: Seattle, USA
MYSPACE

Max Logan:

Manchester Orchestra
Mean Everything To Nothing
April 21st, 2009
Favorite Gentlemen
Genre: indie-rock/alternative
Location: Atlanta, USA
MYSPACE

Bruce Springsteen
Working On A Dream
January 27th, 2009
Columbia Records
Genre: pop/rock
Location: Rumson, USA
MYSPACE

Green Day
21st Century Breakdown
May 15th, 2009
Reprise Records
Genre: rock/alternative/pop-punk
Location: Berkeley, USA
MYSPACE

Built To Spill
There Is No Enemy
October 6th, 2009
Warner Bros.
Genre: indie-rock
Location: Boise, USA
MYSPACE

Wilco
Wilco (The Album)
June 30th, 2009
Nonesuch Records
Genre: pop/rock
Location: Chicago, USA
MYSPACE

Vinh Cao:

Nicolay
City Lights, Vol. 2: Shibuya
September 15th, 2009
Hardboiled
Genre: downtempo/hip hop
Location: Wilmington, USA
MYSPACE

Lee Fields & The Expressions
My World
June 2nd, 2009
Truth & Soul
Genre: soul/funk
Location: Wilson, USA
MYSPACE

Jon Hassell
Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street
February 10th, 2009
ECM Records
Genre: jazz/ambient
Location: Memphis, USA
MYSPACE

City Center
City Center
May 26th, 2009
Type Records
Genre: indie-pop/ambient
Location: Brooklyn, USA
MYSPACE

Mamer
Eagle
April 7th, 2009
Real World Records
Genre: folk/world
Location: Urumqi, China
MYSPACE