The Best Folky Songs of 2009

#10: Bowerbirds - Teeth
The chord changes between the verse/chorus grabbed me the first time I heard this song, and it still gives me chills every time it comes across my iPod. When an album has a steady pace, with consistent instrumentation and very little studio magic, it all comes down to the songwriting. This song delivers something special on an album of consistent charm and clever turns.


#9: Thomas Dybdahl - Cecilia
The pedal steel guitar has the ability to take over songs subtly, like a sunset you don’t realize is there until it’s all you can see. Throughout this song, you hear much more of the voice and the acoustic guitar than the pedal steel, yet when the song is over all you remember is the haunting, sliding melody of the pedal steel.


#8: First Aid Kit - Hard Believer
This is a new Swedish sister duo, and their full length debut comes out in the first part of 2010. If this song indicates their direction, these girls have a strong career ahead of them. I'll admit that their lyrics are fairly cheesy, but then I think of the poetry that I was writing at their age, and I have to give them some leeway.


#7: Bon Iver - Beach Baby
I feel like Bon Iver's best work is still out there in the future, waiting to be tapped into with a proper studio set-up and a budget that equals Justin's genius. For now, we have a self-produced full length and EP full of spaces. Spaces where tension intertwines with tape hiss and heartache. Spaces that set up every change in a song to be more impactful and meaningful. Maybe Justin should keep making records on his own in a cabin in the snowy winter. If he keeps churning out songs like this, there's no reason to go high tech.


#6: Sparklehorse - Revenge Ft. Wayne Coyne
This record is a collaboration between Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch, with guest vocalists ranging from Iggy Pop to Gruff Rhys to Suzanne Vega. Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne’s song “Revenge” is how I had hoped the new proper Flaming Lips record would sound – all chiming bells, harmonies, and slow plodding sadness. Great for the early morning or the late night.


#5: Fanfarlo - Comets
For being a top 5 folk song of the year, and in the top 25 overall, I should know more about Fanfarlo. But sometimes it’s best for a song to be an enigma. The song takes on a life of its own, and memories attach themselves to the melody, as opposed to live performances, album artwork, or videos of singers wearing sunglasses and bowties.


#4: Dan Mangan - Robots
Those who know me well can attest to my love for songs about robots. Somehow the video for this song makes the whole thing even more awesome. Dan Mangan fills the void left wide open since Adem stopped making amazing records (sorry Adem), with gravely folky tunes that float from part to part without notice of transition. Mangan uses brass perfectly to help weave the parts into a tapestry of joy for our robot friends.


#3: Low Anthem - Charlie Darwin
This song sounds nothing like the rest of the Low Anthem record. I’ve never understood how a band can create a sound that runs all the way through an album, and then somehow a song ends up on the album that you would swear was written and played by a different band. It’s like someone along the way in the mastering or manufacturing process played a joke on the band. This version of Low Anthem is like Sufjan meeting Bon Iver and Iron & Wine. Expansive and beautiful, everywhere and nowhere all at once.


#2: A.A. Bondy - I Can See The Pines Are Dancing
Scott Bondy was the singer of Merge Records band Verbena. I consider myself a connoisseur of Merge bands, but I’ve never heard Verbena, and I kind of want to keep it that way. A.A. Bondy’s 2009 release “When The Devil’s Loose” is one of my most consistently highest rated (by song) albums of the year, and I don’t really want to taint the immaculate songs on this release by hearing the singer’s previous band. I want to live in a bubble with this record… is that so wrong? For fans of Ryan Adams, early Wilco, and Jim James sans echo voice.


#1: Mumford & Sons - White Blank Page
Favorite release/song/artist of the year! Mumford & Sons are part of a new British folk revival along with Jay Jay Pistolet, Laura Marling and others, that are moving forward and backwards at the same time, creating something new along the way. There is definitely a bold and brash indie rock swagger heard in these songs, but bluegrass and traditional Celtic folk elements keep everything grounded in the earthy pubs of old Ireland and Northern England. 4 part harmonies, melodic craftsmanship, and a sincerity that grabs your ear/heart – nothing sounds better to me this year.