This was a difficult year to compile a best overlooked CDs ranking.
It’s not for lack of quality. In fact, it seems with each succeeding year, more CDs that deserve strong consideration for this list cross my desk.
And 2009 brought dozens of worthy albums that, unfortunately, aren’t getting recognition. It’s an understandable situation at a time when technology has made it possible for virtually anyone to make a CD or post songs on the Internet.
In the end, I settled on the following 10 CDs as the best albums of 2009 that deserved far more attention than they received.
The Hard Lessons: “Arms Forest” (QK)
After a series of EPs and a full-length CD, this Detroit-based group, led by Augie Visocchi and Korin Louise Visocchi, makes good spectacularly on the promise of the musicians’ earlier work. The CD is anchored by several hard-hitting melodic rock tunes, including “Sound the Silent Alarm,” “The Arms Forest” and “Tired Straits (Nothing But Time).” But the band’s softer side, represented by songs such as “Talk It Over” and “Wedding Ring,” is just as impressive.
Art Brut: “Art Brut Vs. Satan” (Cooking Vinyl)
No band in rock is any funnier — and few are as clever — as Art Brut and its main songwriter/singer Eddie Argos. At the same time, the group’s spiky, highly catchy guitar rock (think the Buzzcocks crossed with Gang of Four) provides a soundtrack for the pithy lyrical musings of Argos.
The Dear Hunter: “Act III — Life And Death” (Triple Crown)
Green Day and the Decemberists got most of the ink this year for doing concept albums. But the Dear Hunter’s “Act III: Life And Death,” with its grand, hook-filled music, showed a similar command of the art of the pop opera.
Band of Skulls: “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey” (You ArE Here/Shangri-La)
Wolfmother may be getting famous by being the best Led Zeppelin cover band not playing Led Zeppelin songs. But when it comes to making music that borrows from sources such as the mighty Zep or Black Sabbath (not to mention the raw blues that influenced those groups) without sounding like an imitation of Zep and Sab, Band Of Skulls should be opening more eyes than more-celebrated counterparts like Wolfmother.
Von Bondies: “Love, Hate and Then There’s You” (Majordomo Records)
Five years after releasing a debut, “Pawn Shoppe Heart,” that failed to live up to its considerable hype, the Von Bondies rebounded with this stirring guitar-centric collection of garage pop.
Wild Light: “Adult Nights” (Star Time International)
A band name like Wild Light suggests a frenzied style of rock music. Instead, “Adult Nights” revels in sharply crafted, often pretty mid-tempo pop. Songs such as “California on My Mind,” “Canyon City” and “My Father Was a Horse” draw you in with seductive beauty and just enough grit to provide alluring undertow.
The Verbs: “Trip” (Jay-Vee)
“Trip” should have garnered more attention considering the Verbs features Steve Jordan, the respected producer and drummer for the likes of the John Mayer Trio and Keith Richards’ X-pensive Winos. Meegan Voss (also of The Antoinettes) proves to be a first-rate songwriter. Taut, fast-paced and extremely hooky pop-rock songs such as “World’s a Mess” and “Hey Hey Uh-Huh” make this CD a trip any fan of finely crafted pop-rock will want to take.
A Camp: “Colonia” (Wigpowder/Nettwerk)
A Camp singer Nina Persson already made a name for herself in the Cardigans. With its graceful pop centered around Persson’s striking vocals, there’s no reason A Camp shouldn’t enjoy the same success the Cardigans achieved.
Willie Nile: “House Of A Thousand Guitars” (River House)
In the early 1980s, Nile’s urgent and heartfelt rock was drawing comparisons to the likes of Bruce Springsteen. But Nile’s career never took off, and he has only sporadically released albums since. But “House of a Thousand Guitars” proves Nile hasn’t lost his touch for crafting songs with plenty of passion and nervy melodies. It’s good to have him back.
The Idle Hands: “The Hearts We Broke On The Way To The Show” (Pretty Kids Collective)
On this fine CD, the members of Idle Hands show plenty of musical versatility. There’s a little influence from Strokes here (“Damage Control,”) some Depeche Mode there (“Cosmic Dancer”) and some Buzzcocks in “The Fall.” Still, the band sounds distinctive in its own right, and delivers songs that are consistently strong, spirited and packed with memorable hooks.
