Top CDs of 2009, Part IV Breaking off from his homebase of the Felice Bros., Simone Felice took something of a gamble on this duo effort with Robert Burke. Naming their collaboration after a pair of river-bound rapscallions in Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, the folk/pop work here is as gorgeous and flowing as the Mississippi, starting with the plaintive opener “If You Ever Get Famous.” There are too many highlights here to piece them out, but let’s say one of our favorite songs is still the spacer “Lose My Self;” it breaks the gorgeous pace set here, and is fantastic in and of itself. Throughout thisRead More →

Top CDs of 2009: Part III (con’t) We here at RMMM hate the 80s. Despise it. In fact, if there were one decade that was in need of a complete cultural retooling at the hands of superior cackling hens, that would be the one. Why, then, is the worst of our pop culture the best of this year? One answer: “Mallory.” We’re still digging the disco beat that permeates this long-player, and even if you’re not a fan of retro-pop/rock, you have to appreciate that “Ancient Lover” is pure saccharine glee. There isn’t a wrong note here, not a single “yawn” moment, and yet, forRead More →

Top CDs of 2009: Day III It’s strange, it’s un- conventional, and it’s a CD that certainly grows on you. Only St. Vincent’s second solo LP, “Actor” uses atypical orchestration and gets a vicious, angular sound, especially in the opener “The Strangers.” Strings, clicks and blaps, and breathy, gossamer vocals all in the name of… yes, pop. But it’s deep pop, and if it doesn’t keep spinning in your player for a while, then we feel truly sorry for you. We’re still digging into smoother sound of “The Party,” which gorgeously mimics the awkward swagger of feeling misplaced, and “The Bed,” which has to doRead More →

Top CDs, Part II It’s all about the Neko. Her third album since 2002’s breakout “Blacklisted,” “Middle Cyclone” is one of those rare CDs that, on paper, just doesn’t work. Twisting, seemingly random song structure, strange, obscure lyrics, a killer whale as one of the narrators, all in all, it doesn’t seem to add up as the top album of an artist’s career. But it does work, and it’s no fluke: marking 11th on Amazon.com’s top albums of this year, we feel, is due to these unusual and poppy songs and Ms. Case’s fantastic country-ish vocals (maybe the red hair, too). While it can easilyRead More →