I can already smell 2010’s freshness strutting it’s way around the corner and every other blogger on the block has made an end of the year list. I feel obligated to put something together. So I did. But it’s not your typical best-of list. Everyone knows Drake slaughtered ’09, all music critics and their little sisters loved the Animal Collective album, and both Phoenix and Passion Pit juiced up their fanbase with two of the most solid albums of the year. We’ve covered that pretty substantially and you don’t (shouldn’t) need P&P to confirm it by putting their names above a bunch of other musicians’.
This list will go over some of the acts that killed it in ’09 and didn’t get the 4 foot trophy to show off. Here is some great music you might have missed. In no order, these are some of the most underrated acts of 2009.
Miike Snow is singer Andrew Wyatt and production duo known as Bloodshy and Avant. They released their self-titled album in the middle of 2009 and it got some love and blog hype, but this is the kind of album that wipes its ass with most of the best-of-the-year lists. “Animal” is without a doubt one of my favorite songs of the year. Nothing beats Swedish pop done right, and the production on this album is top notch.
Miike Snow – Animal | YouSendIt
By the end of 2010, I’ll be surprised if you don’t know how to pronounce Theophilus. He started the year with This Charming Mixtape, a wildly eclectic project grabbing influence from all the corners of a busy music room and ended with “Humdrum Town”, his most accessible, polished song to date. Theo spits with an intelligent passion and does so over beats that never sound like the last 20 rap songs you just listened to.
Theophilus London – Humdrum Town | YouSendIt
Mash-up masters. This duo came with an incredible stream of mashes that never failed to make heads move. By combining extremely mainstream elements with sometimes obscure indie and electronic sounds, they managed to make slightly ironic bangers that appeal to everyone. (Except maybe hippies. But statisticians have predicted that hippies will be extinct by July of 2010.)
The White Panda – Stuntin Like My Energy | YouSendIt
Who says that white guys with glasses and suits don’t have soul? I swear, you could sneak some of his songs into a 1960’s classic R&B mix and no one would raise an eyebrow. I’m convinced that the only reason A Strange Arrangement didn’t make it onto more 2009 best-of lists is because people didn’t know it was new.
Mayer Hawthorne – Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’ | YouSendIt
Chiddy Bang has built up some strong momentum in 2009, but it’s been done in a unique way for a hip-hop blog. By sampling Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, and Passion Pit, Chiddy Bang was embraced by the indie rock and pop blogs long before hip-hop sites started giving them love. It’s a testament to how universal their sound is. It’s definitely hip-hop, but their mixtapes Air Swell and The Swelly Express has something to offer everybody.
Chiddy Bang – The Opposite Of Adults (Kids) | YouSendIt, Chiddy Bang Air Swell Mixtape
I wasn’t sure if J.Cole belonged on this list. He’s not really underrated, because most people put him up there as one of the top up and coming emcees and label The Warm Up as one of the mixtapes of the year. The thing is, he was featured on The Blueprint 3 and a lot of people I talk to (who don’t frequent hip-hop blogs) still have absolutely no idea who he is.
J.Cole – Lights Please | YouSendIt
I got hooked when I heard “Blinking Pigs”, then I got the whole album Machine Dreams. One by one, songs rotated as my go-to tracks. The Swedish group makes electronic pop driven by Yukimi Nagano’s whispery vocals and create an interesting brand of pop without all the sugar and bubble gum wrappers.
Little Dragon – Blinking Pigs | YouSendIt
Free Energy is a 5 piece band from Philly with a knack for crafting pop rock songs with an emphasis on the rock. With a co-sign and a little production help from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, these guys are bound for success. Their sound is like classic rock with a whole lot of 2010 sprinkled on top.
Free Energy – Dream City | YouSendIt
This is another album that made some noise when it came out, then quickly seemed to disappear from the radar like a lecturer at an ADD clinic. The album, simply titled LP is a collabo album made by members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend. It’s an extremely colorful, shamelessly simplified electronic pop album that has been described “R&B for hipsters”. With choruses this catchy, I don’t know how this one slipped through the cracks of some fickle listeners’ brains.
Discovery – So Insane | YouSendIt
Part 2 might be coming soon, so if you have any ideas of who you think should be on this list, leave it in the comments.
