The Best Albums Of 2009

Everyone’s gotta have a list, right? Well, we critics for The A.V. Club were given the opportunity to write on any of our personal favorites that didn’t make the publication’s official countdown. Despite the presence of Fall Out Boy on said countdown, it was assembled democratically, with each critic having received 100 points to distribute as she/he saw fit on up to 15 records (with no more than 15 points for any single album).

The individual ballots have been published, and this link goes directly to mine, which includes writeups on game-changers like Neon Indian and Fool’s Gold, overlooked moments of greatness from DM Stith, Wallpaper, and Themselves, quieter things like Tiny Vipers, and creepy stuff like Fever Ray (plus a few others).

DM Stith, 'Heavy Ghost'

Q&A: Double Dagger on post-punk + graphic design

Baltimore post-punk trio Double Dagger has just released a real beast of a record, MORE (via Thrill Jockey), which juxtaposes the moodiness of Fugazi against the searing energy of Fucked Up. It’s a great album, bar none, and turns out these fellas are also a great interview. Click on over to A.V. Club Austin to read about the album’s bizarre birth, the band’s choice to completely eschew the use of electric guitar, and uses for metal band names that you haven’t yet thought of.

Listen to Double Dagger’s “The Lie/The Truth” in Now Hear This (right).