best of list 2009

Last year may have been a crap year in certain ways, yet it did deliver loads of brilliant pop music. Here is a top-35 list of my favorite albums/eps for 2009. Enjoy loud.

1. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
2. The Drums – Summertime! (ep)
3. Dent May – The good feeling music of D.Μ.&his magnificent ukelele
4. Mikrofisch – Masters of the Universe
5. Thieves Like Us – Really Like to See You Again (ep)
6. Burning Hearts – Aboa Sleeping
7. Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern – Pram Town (ep)
8. Cats On Fire – Our Temperance Movement
9. The Ballet – Bear Life
10. Liechtenstein – Survival Strategies in a Modern World
11. Cola Jet Set – Guitarras y Tambores
12. The Cavalcade – Meet You in The Rain (ep)
13. God Help the Girl – God Help the Girl
14. Summer Cats – Songs for Tuesdays
15. Afternoon Naps – Parade
16. Hiawata! – These Boys and This Band is all we Know
17. Stars in Coma – Sisters
18. Socialist Leisure Party – Tactical Pop! for Coffee Cadets (ep)
19. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
20. The City and the Horses – I don’t Want to Dream
21. My Writes – Its Okay, I’m with the band
22. The Bumblebees – The Bumblebees (ep)
23. Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor
24. Knight School – The Poor and the Needy Need to Party
25. Cocoanut Groove – Madeleine Street
26. Very Truly Yours – Reminders (ep)
27. The Mary Onettes – Island
28. Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light
29. The Legends – Over and Over
30. Pocketbooks – Flight Paths
31. The Bridal Shop – In Fragmets (ep)
32. Wake The President – You cant change that boy
33. The Postmarks – Memoirs at the End of the World
34. Montt Mardie – Skaizerkite
35. Katsen – It Hertz!

dance you dead

Very few words for this newly born band called Dance Me Dead. They declare they steal their inspiration from mixed and varied images of drinks, dance, death and the perverted face of Dolly Parton. Do we actually need another seven piece outfit from Stockholm with 80s new wave and post punk references? We surely do. Listen to new single "I wish you could hear me now" and dance till you drop dead.



http://www.myspace.com/dancemedeadsweden

new candy bar (9/12)

You can download this week's candy bar here (9/12) >>

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nwpcy6

listen to the show wednesdays 20:00-22:00 [GMT+2] on www.waveradio.gr.

a trip into space

A trip into space is always a fascinating adventure full of ambiguities. Sweet Trip aren’t from outerspace but from the land of San Francisco. Led by Roberto Burgos -a young immigrant from Panama- they worship My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Pale Saints, Stereolab and Cocteau Twins. They furtively create their own soundscape while manage to mitigate mediocrity by blending ambient, electronica and indie in style. It should be noted that Burgos has furthermore remixed songs for the infamous Japanese shibuya-kei idol Takako Minekawa. “Your World Is Eternally Complete” is now out on the new “Little Darla Has A Treat For You, Volume 26” (Darla Records). Sweet!



http://www.myspace.com/sweettrip

new candy bar (2/12)

You can download this week's candy bar here (2/12) >>

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q5t4hb

listen to the show wednesdays 20:00-22:00 [GMT+2] on www.waveradio.gr.

Walk down the Berndt St.

I have recently been infected by the Swedish virus Berndt. It’s a dangerous one, conducive to bad health results such as weird dancing moves and extra peculiar shopping therapy. The Berndt are young and stupid and cool and fearless. They are also proud of their stage presence and claim that this is their big asset. Whether they do provoke a live chaos or deliver an explosion of energy, emotions and fiery rhythms is yet to be confirmed. What is already verified, however, is their unique enthusiasm and talent captured on both their EPs [“Bap! Bap!” and “…Walk”]. Debut album is expected to be out January 2010 (Pophat Music). Virus Alert!



http://theberndt.com
http://www.myspace.com/theberndt

Murder at the Discotheque.

When I was a little girl I was told I should join the ballet. That was supposed to make me look cute, toned and feminine. I was never into gymnastics so instead, I started reading books, drawing silly pictures and listening to music. Years later I bumped into The Ballet, a New York outfit that seems to enjoy old pop records and being gay; they actually named their first record after the Mattachine Society which was in the 50s one of the earliest lasting homophile organizations in the US. What is adorable about those guys is the infectious popsongs that borrow sth from the early Magnetic Fields delicacy. Second album “Bear Life” is out now! Song “The House on Fire” is pure excellency.



http://www.thepirateship.org/
http://www.myspace.com/sissypopband

new candy bar (25/11)

You can download this week's candy bar here (25/11) >>

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k69mh8

listen to the show wednesdays 20:00-22:00 [GMT+2] on www.waveradio.gr.

820 Hertz in the Fight Club

You dig 8-bit weird sounds? Like nintendo and other video games? Then you NEED to enter the world of 50 Hertz, a crazy toy-synth swedish trio that had featured on Björk's compilation "Army of Me: Remixes and Covers" (2005). I haven't heard from them in a while so I guess they have called it a day and/or concentrated on their other electro project called Slagsmålsklubben (check them out on their recent EP "Sponsored By Destiny" as well as on Kitsuné Maison Compilation 8, released this november). In a nutshell: this is nerdy stuff with colourful bows and brilliantine on top. Yummy.





http://www.myspace.com/50hertz
http://www.myspace.com/slagsmalsklubben

mornington crescent tube

Coming across bedroom pop bands from the land of Sweden is not a remarkable discovery. Yet often the strictly romantic face that is incorporated in a sensitive genre such as indie pop is simply and effectively charming. Elizabeth and Stefan is a band in love, first with each other and then with anything evoking sunny memories from the likes of Even As We Speak and Heavenly. I reckon their name is a smart reference to the Belle & Sebastian song (from “The Life Pursuit” album), but maybe the duo just likes to wander around the streets of Camden Town in London, down to Mornington Crescent street. First release was a split 3" cd single, issued by cloudberry and now it's time for their first EP; “Corners” is out on the Peruvian label Susy Records (limited edition consisting of 100 numbered copies). Song "Seventeen" is a pop delight.

http://www.myspace.com/leavingmorningtoncrescent

the wake presidents!

Twin pop could be a new genre and Wake the President could be named its leaders. Twin brothers Erik and Bjorn Sandberg wander the streets of Glasgow, fantasize blonde busty girls and philosophize over drops of love and despair. Even though they bear the brunt of the classic Glasgow music scene, they seem to weild considerable power over their own individual sound, which varies from C86 to more recent jangly stuff. They have already won great supporters including BBC Radio 2 DJs Stuart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe, who have praised both singles ‘Remember Fun?’ and ‘You Can’t Change That Boy’. Debut album "You Can’t Change That Boy" was released 9th March 2009 (Norman Records). I can't change that boy, you are so right.





http://www.myspace.com/wakethepresidentband

Hi-Fi action.

Based in Bristol and thus creating a certain controversy round the infamous trip hop scene, The Hi-Life Companion prefer to sing only for champagne and chocolate. They like to preserve the legend of indie pop and act as a modern stand-in for the likes of Galaxie 500, The Lucksmiths, Felt and Jonathan Richman. Previous releases include a sold out cd single on cloudberry and appearances on various compilations, while they have recently released their debut album, called "Say Yes!"; mixed by Rob Price from Airport Girl, the album is out on the wonderful Plastilina Records. Say Yes!!



http://thehilifecompanion.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/thehilifecompanion

I should coco!

Cocoanut Groove is the solo project of Olov Antonsson, who decided in 2007 to call it a day with The Tidy Ups and concentrate on music that recalls orange skies, carnivals and cotton candy... or to put in a more simple way, concentrate on mournful and sleek options of The Zombies, The Clientele and The Go-Betweens. His cute 7inch "End of the summer on Bookbinder Road" was released last year, while debut album "Madeleine Street" is out now on Fridlyst Records. It's a foregone conclusion that swedish pop will lead the way for a long time. And Cocoanut Groove are bound to vindicate my point.



http://www.cocoanutgroove.com
http://www.myspace.com/cocoanutgroove

Code Da Vinci

Honestly, can a band call themselves after a Dan Brown cheesy novel and get away with it? It’s truly not that simple. In the world of global marketing, having a name like The Da Vincis can be an immediate turn off. YET, this almost childish american band is surprisingly more elegant than their shocking seventeen years. Jazz, bossa nova, indie pop and 60s crooner seems to be an almost effortless attempt for them [they do remind me a bit of Vincent Vincent & The Villains, even though I wish them more luck than the aforementioned]. Those high school dudes have caught me on hop with their first piece of work.. “See you Tonight” is out on Olympic Records. Great potential.

http://www.myspace.com/davincismusic

I wanna take a nap.

It seems like there's a hive of activity within the new American indie pop scene. More and more bands favor the uncontrived verse-chorus story while find sound repetitions futile. Bingo! Ohio quintet Afternoon Naps, led by Thomas and Leia, don’t beat about the bush. Having formed in 2006, they cast their demons aside and present a straightforward pop suggestion derived by the likes of Comet Gain, Ladybug Transistor, Felt and Shop Assistants. They also have a new cd out. “Parade” is pressed in only 1,000 copies and is released on the wonderful label Happy Happy Birthday to Me. Lovely stuff.



http://www.myspace.com/afternoonnapsband