4B - Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Michigan Daily -. michigandaily.com a

4B - Thursday, January 7, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

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BEST ALBUMS'09
From Page 1B

Girls
Album

cohesively cinematic whole. On highlights "Audito-
rium" and "Life In Marvelous Times," Mos swaggers
movie-star style through lucid action scenes. So is he
a musician or an actor? It's hard to tell. But regardless,
The Ecstatic proves that Mos Def is definitely an artist.
-SHARON JACOBS

With Album, these sneering, pill-popping heirs to
Elvis Costello craft a sunny, drug-addled collection of
songs about youth, slacking off, and, well, girls. Girls, the
San Francisco duo whose leadsinger is a former Children
of God cultist, has created a record that easily lives up to
the hype. With plenty of early-Beatles-esque jangle and
solar-powered synths, and propelled by a healthy dose
of punk attitude and burnout sarcasm from lead vocalist
and songwriter Christopher Owens, Girls's tightly craft-
ed pop arrangements make for a winning debut.
-MIKE KUNTZ

ations. If someone granted a tribe of babies ungodly
musical abilities and a sickening number of effects
pedals, the end result would probably be something
like this album.
-JOSH BAYER
The xx
xx
Barely out of their teens, four brooding Londoners
quietly made their debut in late 2009 with one of the
most intimate albums to come out in ages. Throughout
the record, frontwoman Romy Madley Croft's breathy
vocals are answered by bassist Oliver Smith, creating
a running dialogue between two lovers. Listeners are
swept through aching moments of budding romance
and sleepily coy 3 a.m. inquiries ("Can I make it bet-
ter with the lights turned off?"). The sultry juxtaposi-
tion of Smith's raspy, mumbled responses and Croft's
rich, soulful voice is mystifiedby new-wave guitar riffs
and spare drum machines, creating a haunting back-
drop for the main event - the smoky conversation that
melds each delicate track.
-KRISTYNACHO

COL

Phoenix has always had that certain je ne sais quoi -
whether it's the band's chic attire or its foreign allure,
the French foursome has probably been more famous
for its trendsetting image than its glammy, slicked-back
synth-pop. But that all changed in 2009. After absurdlyk
remaining in obscurity for years, Phoenix soared to
the peak of indie stardom with 2009's Wolfgang Ama- COURTESY OF DOWNTOWN
deus Phoenix. Album opener "Lisztomania" sets the
infectious tone that permeates the entire record, with MOs Def
Thomas Mars's cooing vocals layered over disco-vibe The Ecstatic
synths and a crisp, elastic beat. With Wolfgang, Phoe-
nix has channeled 15 years of pop experience to create How is it that the best rap album of 2009 came from
a sophisticated, stylish, dance-friendly album that the a guy who's half actor? Renaissance man Mos Def took
band's leather-clad counterparts (ahem, The Strokes) lots of unexpected turns on The Ecstatic, and they all
couldn't even touch. worked. Middle Eastern riffs and Spanish-language
-KRISTYNACHO raps mix with bonged-out production to blend into a

Atlas Sound
Logos
When does Bradford Cox sleep? After releasing
the critically acclaimed .Microcastle/Weird Era Cant.
in 2008 with his band Deerhunter, the wunderkind
returned in 2009 with the even more refined Logos
under the Atlas Sound moniker. With an array of
distorted lo-fi sound waves and more than one high-
profile collaboration, Logos allowed Cox to explore
the extent of his musical capabilities outside the
confines of a multi-artist outfit. The product is a
cohesive record comprised of dreamy soundscapes
and static-tinged sonics, tied together by Cox's high-
reverb vocals.
-SASHA RESENDE

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