Satin Gum is a new band from Pittsburgh who surprised us early in 2009 with a neat four track EP. Later in the year this EP was expanded into a nine track LP and here it taking a high third position in our year end list. This record combines several very interesting rock moments into one thing. You will hear shoe-gazing guitar riffs of My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana pathos and Cheap Trick lighthearted humor. Simple record that economically clocks out at 26 minutes will stay long in your player on repeat. We can only hope that this band will eventually leave the confounds of their local scene. Let it be noted that the neighboring Cleveland was the second stop on that journey!
4. Greg Koons And The Misbegotten – Welcome to the Nowhere Motel
Philadelphian musician Greg Koons turned back the clock almost 35 years backwards and, without too many unnecessary innovations, he recorded an album in the best outlaw singer-songwriting traditions of Guy Clark and Gene Clark. 2009 was definitely the right time to return to these traditions as we begun to loose track of these great records. When you put this record on, you will find 11 modern songwriting masterpieces. At the same time, Koons’ backing band The Misbegotten will give a sharp rocking edge to his laments on heartbreaking loves, hookers and cities passed on the road. A picture of a US soldier who died in Vietnam is a dedication to the outlaw sentimentality and an anti-war cry at the same time. No misses on this one.
5. Mama Rosin – Brule Lentement
When I lived in Louisiana, I saw a wonderful German movie Schultze Gets the Blues about an old German guy who moves to Louisiana to play zydeco. This bizarre trans-global story is a wonderful dedication to the beauty of Louisiana music. In 2009, the most exciting zydeco album in ages came from the same “neck of the woods”… Switzerland! Trio of Swiss guys who calls themselves Mama Rosin, collected 13 furious zydeco tunes on their second album Brule Lentement. Some of the songs are classics (Opelousas Sostan!) and some are their own pastiches written in zydeco and Cajun style. The sound on the record is incredibly authentic. It sounds like those old documentary recordings of zydeco tunes and nothing like the watered down sound you can hear these days in tourist shops of New Orleans. Mama Rosin somehow found the original soul of Mamou, Louisiana on the banks of Lake Geneva.
6. John Paul Keith and The 145s – Spills and Thrills
Memphis musician John Paul Keith puts together the best sounding live show you’ll ever hear. Moreover, his album Spills and Thrills is also the best sounding vinyl record in years. While most Memphis bands like their sound dirty and wonderfully screwed up, John Paul Keith’s sound is crisp and clean. Still, it belongs to the same musical tradition that still keeps Memphis as the cradle of rock’n’roll. This was recognized by legendary Jim Dickinson who hired John Paul Keith for his last band called Snake Eyes.
7. Richmond Fontaine – We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like A River
The most poetical title of a record this year comes from Richmond Fontaine. This Portland OR, band gained a lot of attention in 2002 in rock press around their fourth album Winnemucca. But I did not pay too much attention to their music until their work from this year. Storytelling lyrics are accompanied with melodic arrangements and dramatic riffage, creating a rounded, well thought of concept feel for the whole album. Two songs towards the end of the album occupy my attention in particular Lonnie and Two Alone. I will have to go back and revisit some of their earlier stuff.
8. Outrageous Cherry – Universal Malcontents
This glammed out, rocking piece of plastic is the best yet by the venerable Detroit rockers fronted by local freak Matthew Smith. They re-package the British glam and the us power-pop in an unexpectedly fun release that will make your feet stomp and your body move. Their snotty blunt statement that if it ain’t rock’n’roll then they won’t like it could be also a motto of this radio show. Smtih and his band know the formula and they use it.
9. Krayolas – Long Leaf Pine
Texmex rock’n’roll attraction from Austin, Krayolas is no stranger to power pop and roots rock. All these musical threads coexist interleaved in their sonic tapestry. Long Leaf Pine follows up their album La Conquistadora from last year and it definitely helps that one of the notable guests on the record is legendary Augie Mayer, Sir Douglas’ keyboardist. Perhaps the best example on what Krayolas are capable of pulling out is the second song on this LP, Corrido Twelve Heads In A Bag, a cinematic story of a drug cartel battle on the border with Mexico. Rock’n’roll has always been a bold mixture of traditional American genres and Long Leaf Pine is more than a respectable representative in that sense.
10. Regining Sound – Love and curses
Greg Cartwright established himself as one of the most respected rock’n’roll characters in the recent years. His records are consistently great and he took several bands under his wing to help out, produce and write a few songs. At the same time, he continues to put out great music with his own band Reigning Sound. Although I prefer the riotous stomp of their previous album Too Much Guitar, the new album Love and Curses definitely has its charms and as always, takes Greg into new places, a guy who keeps self-developing with every new record.
11. Soulsavers – Broken
More project than a band, Soulsavers is a musical collective that got head started by electornic music producers Rich Machin and Ian Glover, but has grown into a pure rock’n’roll deal once the American rockers Mark Lanegan and Will Oldham joined in as songwriters and performers. This year’s Broken is their strongest album thus far. It’s great to see that electronic musicians, whatever that means, still keep their interest in pure, live-music-driven rock’n’roll. The highlight of this album is a cover of Gene Clark’s song Some Misunderstanding is a perfect homage to the songwriting rock era of the seventies and one of the greatest albums of that time No Other. Accidentally or not, this is also the only major label album on our year end list!
12. Amy Allison – Sheffield Streets
Daughter of venerable jazz legend Mose, Amy Allison has made her own name in the songwriting world with a series of very good albums. This years Sheffield Streets is my favorite. Her music will remind you on the greatest Victoria Williams moments but what will take you by surprise is the wide range of melodic styles that Amy tackless through the album. Every song on the record is a small lesson in good songwriting. Track five is also very interesting, it’s a cover of her father’s song Monsters of the Id, performed together with Elvis Costello.