Q2 Music Report

Best of Q2, 2009:

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
This is a better follow-up to Yellow House than 2007’s Friend EP. It seems like they are harmonizing more on this album, but maybe that’s just me.
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Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms
Early contender for my album of the year. Patrick Watson is Canadian and he occasionally sounds like Jeff Buckley when he sings. The music on this album reminds me a lot of Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast.
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Start to finish, this is the best Yeah Yeah Yeahs album to date. The standout tracks are “Heads Will Roll,” “Skeletons,” and “Runaway.” I usually skip “Dragon Queen.”
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Honorable Mentions

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There are Mountains
This is a fairly traditional rock record. I really like the song “Wind Phoneix (Proper Name).” The singer can get annoying if you aren’t in the right mood.
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Fever Ray - S/T
Fever Ray is a solo project from Karin Dreijer Andersson, the female half of The Knife. If you like The Knife, you will probably like this album.
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Years – S/T
Years is a solo project from Ohad Benchetrit of the Broken Social Scene collective. This album is almost entirely instrumental. It’s not as bombastic as a BSS album – it’s more in line with one of the offshoot bands, like Do Make Say Think, Valley of the Giants, or KC Accidental.
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