Best of 2009 (Psych/Prog/Avant Rock)

1. 

   1. Woods: Songs of Shame

   Words will never quite be enough for Woods. Not to suggest this Brooklyn outfit is The. Greatest. Thing. Ever!, just that when I tell you Songs of Shame is a collection of ramshackle floaty folk-ro...read more

2. 

   2. Fuck Buttons: Tarot Sport

   Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power of Bristol-based electro duo Fuck Buttons are noisy experimentalists, but they are devoted to rhythm. On this gorgeously assaultive second LP, a typical track wi...read more

3. 

   3. A Sunny Day in Glasgow: Ashes Grammar

   Yes, they’ve got the shoegaze guitar sound down perfectly, but what makes this band interesting is the magnitude of their ambition (this is a 22-track opus) and how much more than guitar they occas...read more

4. 

   4. Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship

   Association with such a debated term as “post-rock” has made it difficult to hear Tortoise’s music for being just music, you know? The modern Chicago legends’ first album in some years needs no ext...read more

Tags: electronic , folk , indie , noise , post-rock , psychedelic , rock , shoegaze , stoner