- Ex Norwegian
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Sure, 2009 was a pretty crappy year overall, but in local music, it was the best year of the decade. While I’d usually have a hard time culling 10 truly great local albums from among the many sent in to City Link to put together a Top 10 of the year, this year, I had to pick and choose to narrow it down. Support local music — buy them all! After all, Christmas is just 360 days away.
10. A Little Strong by José el Rey
This actually came out in late 2008, but as that was too late to include on year-end lists then, I’m adding it to this one. In one fell swoop, the suave, brilliantly mustachioed el Rey changed the local music scene with only his infectious beats, delicious pastelitos and unmatched machismo.
9. Back on the Wire by Stonefox
The best garage rock I heard locally all year. Unapologetically sloppy, brash, ballsy and loud.
8. Howl by King Bee
An excellent EP from a revitalized King Bee that has traded in the percussion-heavy sound of its past for gritty, bluesy, guitar-based rock, this four-song set raises expectations for the February release of the full-length The Deer and the Bear to sky-high levels.
7. Getting On My Mind by Panic Bomber
The best electronic album in an area known internationally as a haven for electronic music. ’Nuff said.
6. ¡Socialismo Americano! by the Pookiesmackers
Ordinarily a goofy, good-time act with lyrics that concentrate thematically on carnivals and sideshow freaks, the Pookiesmackers offered a more-socially conscious set of songs on this disc, and the result is surprisingly mature and bitingly humorous, especially when the group sticks to the theme, as on “Cocaleros” and “Dope’n’Dime.”
5. No Mercy by Raffa and Rainer
After four long years of waiting, we finally got a followup to 2005’s Stolen Coal. The acoustic duo Raffa and Rainer has done far more for local music than most bands with its weekly Can You Rock a Little Softer? night at Churchill’s, which came to a halt earlier this year. But the band itself has given us this gorgeous album, so who are we to cry?
4. Hearts by Awesome New Republic
The full-length followup to ANR’s Rational Geographic EP finds the band at the top of its infectious game. From the indie-electro crash of “Digital World” to the swirling sound effects of “Dark Water,” Hearts serves notice that South Florida has more to offer dance music than South Beach DJs.
3. Another Sound by the Pretty Faces
Like Elvis Costello, but with a pretty lady instead of a grumpy Englishman. We named Another Sound Best Local Album in our recent Best Of issue, and the placing at No. 3 here reflects not a diminishing of our esteem but simply the fact that Nos. 1 and 2 have been on near-constant rotation while Another Sound has started to languish. But it’s still the most-consistent, filler-free album on this list.
2. For Dear Life by Truckstop Coffee
The shit-kicking, foot-stomping, countrified sound of 2006’s One Damn Thing To Redeem made Truckstop Coffee the best thing going in alt-country here in South Florida. With For Dear Life, the band veered even more heavily toward rock and away from country, with standout tunes such as “Ghost or an Angel” and “Laredo Skies.” Now, Truckstop Coffee isn’t just the best alt-country act in South Florida. It’s the best the Sunshine State has to offer, and one of the best in the South.
1. Standby by Ex Norwegian
When we put Ex Norwegian on the cover of our March 11 issue, the week Standby came out, the article ended with, “The story of Ex Norwegian is proof that sometimes, all you need is hard work and great songs.” True that. On the strength of this unquestionably great debut and an any-gig, anywhere mentality, Ex Norwegian has lit up the music blogosphere. To hear those music-geek bloggers tell it, the band is the next Talking Heads, or the next Kinks. Whatever. We knew ’em when they were Father Bloopy.
Contact Dan Sweeney at dfsweeney@citylinkmagazine.com.
