BEST OF 2009

I'm quite bored and all there is to do is to compile the best of 2009 lists.

top 5 Finnish records. (hard to be unbiased here, I depend a lot of my admiration toward the personalities behind the music aswell)

1) Omsk - s/t (omakustanne) This craftmanship towards melodies baffles me. Everything blends into a etheric and balanced perfection. I've listened to this record more than anything this year. First time I saw them, they were drun shit faced but succeeded to capture my honest interest. And there is a lump of unreleased songs that I've heard which are strong contenders to become my favourite songs next year. Hope that the new record label treats them good. To listen to this record go tohttp://open.spotify.com/album/2bnitSLwdUhplWFiTJm3Ql and enjoy.

2) Manna - Songs About Hope and Desire (Suomen Musiikki KHY) Manna is adorable! She sings like an angel and looks like one also. Listening to the first record I could've never imagined that it all could evolve to this blend of distorted guitars and gloomy rhytms. Kaukolampi's version of Some Boys / Some Girls wasn't at all what I was hoping from the album and I was really glad to hear that it was changed. This stylish and unique album must be the biggest surprise of 2009. And I can't get enough of it. Listen to the album here:http://open.spotify.com/album/2EwbAp1KBQBmEN4HlF6inJ

3) Regina - Puutarhatrilogia (Johanna Kustannus) I've loved Regina since beginning and I think that the turn towards more mature expression was what they needed this year. A shame I couldn't put them higher up. The album is still a 5 star album in my books. And when I play it on dj-sets people always come and ask for it. In that way Regina is a landmark band in Finland. Someone who have been doing their original thing for years and getting really aknowledged of it. There's no other finnish band with as broad fanbase as them in Finland that I know of. Here's a super video of the by Sam Shingler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XKZT37U_h0

4) Lady Escape - Unsung Land (Kaakao Records) This perfect combination of art rock and high-energy nineties indie-rock made a huge affection on me. It was a real love in first sight at Helatorstaiklubi. They really got me gobsmacked with their straight-to-your-face energy and excellent dynamics put into songs. Great surprise number three this year. I've otherwise got bored to this kind of music but they retained my believe to this stuff. Listen to them at: http://www.myspace.com/ladyescape

5) Joose Keskitalo - Tule Minun Luokseni, Kulta (Helmi-levyt) I was long ashamed that I didn't own a single Joose Keskitalo record but one pay day in Spring I bought every one I could find and that was no misjudgement. His fragile and sentiment expression amazes me time after time. And songs like "Kuuletko Kun Hautausmaa Vetää Käteen(can you hear the graveyard jerking off) can't be ignored. His dark and gloomy yet romantic take on the world is in some ways quite similar to mine. You can listen to Joose at http://www.myspace.com/joosekeskitalo

bubbling under:

Today's Special - 'The Ship Has Gone. (omakustanne) This is just an maxi-ep with 7 tracks but I can easily say that this is a band you should keep your eyes on. They are called Leaders of Republic now. Their live performances could be described as cult movements without a blush on the cheeks. Couple of months ago they played with about 9 man orchestra on Korjaamo stage and baffled me big-time! They forces me to dance like an idiot with numb legs for an hour and scream like a little girl. I'm eagarly waiting for the first LP.

Sister Flo - AU (Fullsteam Records) I've only heard this once on the radio and can't really put words on it. I know that I like it. Sister Flo is a band I admire in the highest degree. And Jori Hulkkonen. That creepy guy from Turku really makes one hell of a producer. I wouldn't resist if someone offered him to produce my stuff.

Top 10 foreign records.

1) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (Rough Trade) This is the single record that has been playing on my stereos maybe the most this year. I remember the adverts on all music magazines that caught my eye and the stories of them playing with Brooklyn Philharmonics. This band has a perfect amount of mystery glaced on them that makes me look up to them. They are in my eyes an exotic novelty I'm never going to see live. Like Radiohead and Arcade Fire... Hard to explain.

2) Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco (Startracks) I wouln't have guessed that my number two album would be sung in Swedish a year ago. I could have guessed that it was made in sweden. This band came to me like an avalanche and I have been playing it on high volume for these last few weeks and driven my roommate crazy. This band represents everything great that Swedish music is for me. In a way it is a stereotype but a fucking succesful one. The opening track Spring Ricco is how every record should start. A head-first anthem that forces your fists in the air and makes you yell like a retard on speed. Listen to the album here:http://open.spotify.com/album/1qn3MlCp18hxShQAn8N0pw

3) The Raveonettes - In And Out Of Control (Fierce Panda/Vice) I could write a doctorate about how great my favourite band The Raveonettes is but you wouldn't wat to read it quite frankly. It would consist of some emotional and embarrasing confessions of how I would like to invent a ray which would turn me into Sune Rose Wagner and so forth... This is not the best album they've done but a weaker Raveonettes album easily beats about 99 percent of records made on this planet. Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed) is a magical anthem. They stick to the thing they know best. Making perfect album and that's great. Listen to the album here:http://open.spotify.com/album/3UXVTefPnXVligMzMFjYT7

4) The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - s/t (slumberland) I like this more than The Xx and that means a lot. The biggest subject of debate I could think of in my world. Pains Of Being Pure at Heart doesn't really come up with anything new. It is a shoegazepop act like many other but it is controlled and honed to perfection. Every squeek sah it meaning and they are on their right place. This debut album is a end product in many ways. And a reason why they had to move towards a new direction instantly with their latest EP being quite different. There aren't any better songs to play at my club that Everything With You or Come Saturday. They represent utter perfection to me. Listen to the record here:http://open.spotify.com/album/5uWuwlHON5texRWxdgtiS2

5) Loney Dear - Dear John (Polyvinyl Records) A brainchild of a Swedish genious Emil Svanängen was all I listened to this spring. I connect it to all my great and crappy memories of a time of my life. Last moments in my hometown Vaasa. All the home parties and heartbreaks. I even got to play with Loney Dear in Helsinki and remained gob-smacked when I saw them live. The orchestration was clearly a work of a genious. Listen to the record here: http://open.spotify.com/album/4vURCpWl7MDH9OrihML0c9

6) The Xx - s/t (XL) MGMT of 2009. It is impossible not to love it. But I think I need a little distance from all the hype before I can take it seriously. I love every aspect of the record but I don't know what I could play on my dj-set and which song's my favourite. And is it trendy or just so great that it melts everyone's heart? Or is it a product of a hysteria? The same goes to the Wild Beasts record. Those two are the one that shame my opinions the most this year. The most exciting records of the year. Listen to the record here: http://open.spotify.com/album/2nXJkqkS1tIKIyhBcFMmwz

7) Atlas Sound - Logos (Rough Trade) This side project of Deerhunter member Bradford Cox is one of the most interesting things to hit the shelves on 2009. Cox's method of creating music is stream-of-consciousness, and he does not write lyrics in advance and that really shows on the material. People call it post-psychedelia or kraut-pop. I just call it soundscapes and listen to it just before I go to sleep and it really makes my dreams exciting. The record has to great guest stars; Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear and Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab and they do a great job on this album. A definitive challenging grower of the year. Listen to the album here: http://open.spotify.com/album/3HgDMNVn29uuHrfYFhMqFp

8) Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Parlophone) It would an abomination to exlude Natasha Khan from the top 10. It has been a great year and I would have hoped to fit her higher up but what can you do when you have all these great contenders? The opening track Glass is pure magic. The sounds of it should be taught to every producer in the branch of doing challenging pop. And Daniel is really a super track. The record still lacks of evennes in my opinion. Listen to the record here:http://open.spotify.com/album/7cj1dERc5yhFBqtxlRYGSe

9) Animal Collective - Merriwather Post Pavilion (Domino) It feels odd to place this magnificent album this low on the list. But the fact is that it has lost to Grizzly Bear and Atlas Sound and it affects in a way that its hard to make a clean opinion of this. Should listen to it more. Listen to the record here:http://open.spotify.com/album/3Ew40olMfd5X4BvqfuFoqF

10) Desire - II (Italians Do It Better) Despite the low placing on lsit this is maybe the one single surprise of the year and the record I could recommend to everyone everywhere. This smooth pop album melts everyones heart easily! It's controlled and subtle balance makes me gasp and they were fantastic live at Redrum. A real 5 star album in my books. Can't place it higher because the short amount of time I have been able to listen to it. Listen to the pearl of the year here: http://open.spotify.com/album/5JcUZTD39iFzt0TVhYTGWF