One of the best decades for music has just about ended.  This year had many strong releases but nothing quite monumental.  Narrowing down to five records was made even more difficult as our lists at the station typically are albums we reviewed individually thus eliminating too many repeats. As much as I wanted to add killer records by Neko Case, The Fruit Bats, and Camera Obscura I opted for a different route.

5.) Mark Olson and Gary Louris: Ready for the Flood – The Jayhawks primary song writers return after a fourteen year absence where the grandeur of Tomorrow the Green Grass is replaced by understated acoustic story songs that slowly get under your skin. At first listen, this one is bound to disappoint but no album this year warrants the patience that these songs require. The album succeeds in its own modesty.

4.) Grace Basement: Gunmetal Gray – The St. Louis’ multi-instrumentalist Kevin Buckley sophomore release again shows his knack for writing catchy harmony laden pop-songs. Unlike the story songs from New Senese, these songs take on a bit more personal earnestness but they never give way to sentiment. Offering to make a loved one a batch of humus has never sounded so sweet.

3.) Eels: Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire - Frontman Mark Oliver Everett creates a dense and heavy record about just what the title advertises, “desire”. The heartbreak, anger, and loneliness that this song cycle creates might be far from upbeat but it’s the type of honesty that remains hard to forget. This is the type of naked truth that rivals John Lennon’s primal scream therapy debut.

2.) Wilco: Wilco (The Album) – After the holding pattern of Sky Blue Sky, Jeff Tweedy and company produce an album as likable as anything they’ve done since Summerteeth. The experimentation is kept to a minimum as the studio touches only amplify how good the songs remain such as the incredible “You Never Know”. With the exception of the title cut this album from start to finish delivers the goods.

1.) Deer Tick: Born on Flagday – The type of indie and Americana record that hooks the listener in from the get go. There was no album I listened to more this year. This is a testament to the band’s writing and keen production that makes the warmth seep through each song. Examples of this is the slow build of the jangly opener “Easy”, the tear in my beer “Little White Lies” or the amusing duet with Liz Isenberg on “Friday XIII”.

Honorable Mention:  Black Crowes, Avett Brothers and Love Me Nots

Biggest Disappointment
Gomez: A New Tide – After a series of home runs the band’s song writing takes a definite turn for the worse.  Where are the hooks guys?

Best Deluxe Version
Indigo Girls: Poseidon and the Bitter Bug – Amy and Emily deliverer  a two disc set that has the band and acoustic versions of the same songs that ultimately produce some of their best work since the 1980s.

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