Best of 2009 (Americana/Folk)

1. 

   1. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

   Artists who’ve been around as long as Neko Case, and who’ve been roundly celebrated by critics and cash registers alike, tend to get taken for granted after a certain point. Yet Middle ...read more

2. 

   2. Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

   Like his labelmate Will Oldham, Bill Callahan has spent his long career honing, altering, adding to and subtracting from an identity that has acted as a conduit for a now staggering amount of excep...read more

3. 

   3. Volcano Choir: Unmap

   Last year brought us Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and Collections of Colonies of Bees’ Birds — both among the year’s best, but not artists who’d seem like likely collaborators. A...read more

4. 

   4. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Beware

   The longer he runs with his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy quasi-persona, the more natural and free Will Oldham sounds. Because his songs (not just as Billie) have so powerfully mixed humor, sex...read more

5. 

   5. Andrew Bird: Noble Beast

   Read enough about music and certain words begin to seem meaningless—such as “timeless.” But Andrew Bird’s music is just that, in the best possible sense. Eclectic yet unforc...read more

6. 

   6. Califone: All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

   Califone’s first new record in three years (supposedly the soundtrack to a film by leader Tim Rutili) continues their distinctive electro-indie-roots-rock explorations, with loops and electric pi...read more

7. 

   7. Deer Tick: Born on Flag Day

   When a band’s records come out on in the context of an indie label, something in your head automatically orients them as being “underground” or an alternative to something or othe...read more

8. 

   8. Marissa Nadler: Little Hells

   Warm, stately and Gothic, Marissa Nadler’s voice is one of the loveliest sounds in music today. Sound Fix fave Nadler doesn’t have a bad record to her name, but Little Hells is neverthe...read more

9. 

   9. The Handsome Family: Honey Moon

   This is, surprisingly from this dark duo, an album of love songs. I was going to crack that finally they’ve given us an album where nobody gets murdered, but then I noticed that one of the love s...read more

10. 

    10. The Wingdale Community Singers: Spirit Duplicator

    This album of gentle, crisply produced Americana comes courtesy of Brooklynites Hannah Marcus, Nina Katchadourian, David Grubbs, and Rick Moody (yep, the writer). Apart from some very pointed borou...read more

Tags: alt-country , americana , country , ethereal , folk , indie , pop , roots , singer-songwriter