The AEC Top 10 for 2009

I feel no obligation anymore to make these top 10 lists every year (no deadlines, no place to have them printed), but I still feel personally compelled and since some folks are inevitably going to ask, I therefore give you the All England Club Top 10 Albums for 2009

1. The Arctic Monkeys- Humbug
   
2. The Big Pink- A Brief History of Love
   
3. The Horrors- Primary Colours
   
4. LaRoux- LaRoux
   
5. Morrissey- Years of Refusal
   
6. the morning after girls- alone.
   
7. Esser- Braveface
   
8. Julian Casablancas- Phrazes for the Young
   
9. Zomby- Where were you in '92?
   
10. The Drums- EP
    

Honorable mentions:
The 1990s- Kicks
Junior Boys- Begone Dull Care

And that's the way I saw 2009.

The Drums

A few years back, there was a band called Elkland. The members were all from the US, but somehow they were able to perfectly channel the best of the A-ha, Erasure, Bronski Beat, etc. Their best track, Everybody's Leaving, could easily have been mistaken for an original 80s synthpop lost gem. Luckily, although some time has passed, the members have not all gone on to coulda-been/shoulda been status. The lead singer has re-emerged with a new band: The Drums.

The Drums' first single, (video below) "Let's Go Surfing," is out now and it is a bonafide earworm. Much like Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks," the track utilizes the power of the simple whistle as its real hook, and then proceeds to bores its way into skull. But unlike PBnJ which aged particularly quickly, the rest of this track is so well crafted that I can't see that happening here. For me, this track is so formidably based in the art of a simple rock song, that it just stands up much better. It doesn't rely so heavily on the strength of the instantly recognizable whistle, but instead takes it's real strength from the rest of the song's clean and straight forward pop music craftsmanship. More reminiscent of the Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson than their common indie rock peers, The Drums could actually be one of 2009's greatest newcomers.

Maybe Elkland's demise was worthwhile after all.



Download "Let's Go Surfing" and other tracks at RCRDLBL now.