Cass McCombs / P.O.S. / Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner
When we painstakingly compile our annual Best Albums list, there are always a few outliers, albums that we loved deeply but, for one reason or another, didn't find a spot in the top 40. It's music that we blasted from our cubicles, sought out at club shows, and dropped onto playlists for pals, that didn't necessarily permeate the popular consciousness, or score career-changing syncs in car commercials. Simply put, we loved these oft-underappreciated albums -- we hope you will, too.
Post your favorite under-the-radar album of 2009 in the comments section below!
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AN HORSE- Rearrange Beds
This Australian girl-boy/guitar-drums duo handed Tegan and Sara a demo tape and ended up as their opening band. But An Horse's debut album defies charges of nepotism: Kate Cooper composes taut and emotionally gripping overshares that would be the envy of any lovelorn diary-keeper, delivered atop unbelievably catchy bursts of indie-pop jangle. PETER GASTON
- Stream: An Horse, "Postcards"
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DESOLATION WILDERNESS- New Universe
Dig Deerhunter's ambient and propulsive shoegaze? Vivian Girls' garage-surf riffs? Get 'em both (and more) from 23-year-old Olympia, Washington, resident Nicolaas Zwart, a K Records intern turned studio whiz. On standouts like "San Francisco 2 A.M.," he piles on the reverb and sprints into the ocean, exulting in each crashing wave. WILLIAM GOODMAN
- Stream: Desolation Wilderness, "Boardwalk Theme"
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MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA- Mean Everything to Nothing
This Georgia band's 2006 debut chronicled frontman Andy Hull's poignant and occasionally tentative (read: wimpy) musings on faith. But Mean Everything undoes any notion that music about God can't inhabit the form of a confident, muscular rock behemoth -- or that it can't command the rapt attention of even the staunchest agnostics. P.G.
- Stream: Manchester Orchestra, "Shake It Out"
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CASS MCCOMBS- Catacombs
Grab a tissue. This singer/songwriter's third album is a reminder of the power of a simple, well-turned melody and heart-tugging lyric. Here, McCombs crafts stripped-down, timelessly poetic modern folk songs (by year's end, Girls were covering "Dreams-Come-True-Girl" live) and issues wordy laments ("My Sister My Spouse") that might seem pretentious or ponderous if they weren't so profoundly lovely. W.G.
- Stream: Cass McCombs, "Dreams Come True Girl"
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JACK PEÑATE- Everything Is New
While his debut's frenetic ska-punk was catchy, this British playboy seemed like far too much of a social darling to pull off his spazzy persona. But his second full-length's shift to a sexy, dancefloor-filling sound feels more fitting: From the brassy, panty-flinging romp "Be the One" to the Latin rhythms of "Tonight's Today" to the lilting balladry of "Pull My Heart Away," Peñate could be a twentysomething Tom Jones -- in much looser pants. P.G.
- Stream: Jack Peñate, "Tonight's Today"
