The Devils Top 10 of 2009

The last 12 months have gone by in a blur. They (although I don't know who this mysterious they actually are!) say that the older you get time passes much more quickly and it's true that the past 12 months have disappeared exceptionally quickly. It doesn't seem like 12 months since I sat down to compile the festive top 10 for 2008 and now it's here again. The only top 10 that counts (well in my house anyway).

Twelve months ago the Devil's wish for 2009 was for the IFPI to spend more time and money nurturing young talent and less effort on the pointless pursuit of bloggers nurturing the lifeblood of tomorrow's music scene. Sadly this proved to be naive and the music industry continues to devote far too much effort and attention pursuing music lovers and far too little effort and attention on finding new talent.

So here are the top 10 tracks from the twilight zone of the music world, an indie wonderland well beyond the mainstream and the A&R rosters of the major labels. Tracks which soundtracked 2009 for the Devil and made it a happier place (not necessarily just tracks released in 2009).

It was difficult to separate a number of the tracks this year and the race to be the Devil's favourite track was a much closer run thing this year with no one track standing out as much as last year's Lovely Eggs song. It was so close that it needed a stewards enquiry and has lead to calls for the use of video in future decisions!

But, after much deliberation in the Devil household, and in keeping with the tradition started last year here is the Devil's favourite track of 2009...

1. The 18 Carat Love Affair - Constructs

Whisper it quietly but could that much maligned musical form D.I.S.C.O be about to make a bid for the musical phenomenon of 2010. Probably not but if it did then The 18 Carat Love Affair's mighty, majestic monster of a song 'Construct' could well be the genre's John The Baptist. It's almost definitely the only track in the Devil's top 10 that comes with it's own dance which I guess makes it the indie Cha Cha Slide but don't let that put you off! Back in June the Devil said that 18 Carat Love Affair are the real thing and there's never been a better time to return to the gold standard. After six months reflection this is still as true as the day it was written!

The best track of the year by a very short distance and the only one that made the Devil's feet twitch and head for the dancefloor!

Check out the track at the 18 Carat Love Affair myspace site

or check out the video (the quality of the sound on the video is not too good but it gives you a chance to practice your dance moves!)...

18 Carat Love Affair
Constructs (Boombox Version)




2 . Jerri - Go Fight Your War

If this time last year you'd told me that a stereo rap sparring session between two Skinneresque 'singers' would come so close to track of the year I'd have told you to go lie down in a darkened room and take your tablets.

Jerri's brilliant 'Go Fight Your War' was just, and only just, pipped at the post by 18 Carat Love Affair's Constructs. It was the perfect track for a year when Obama's promises of peace in our time have amounted to very little and the body bags are still arriving from Afghanistan.

Check out the track at the Jerri myspace site.

or check out the video

Jerri
Go Fight Your War




3. Marvelous Toy - You Were Brighter

Although this track, which sounds like Crash Test Dummies covering Arcade Fire's 'Funeral' while Jeff Tweedy plays with his straggly beard, was actually first featured on the Devil's blog in September 2008 it was unfairly excluded from the Devil's top 10 of 2008. To correct this clear injustice to such a brilliant song it's managed to secure a place in the top 5 of 2009.

In the early part of the year it had an almost permanent place on the Devil's CD player and, in a year which saw the death of Tom, my father-in-law, Sally my daughter's godmother and our beloved dog Molly, it's chorus of 'I don't wanna cry my heart out' perfectly reflects the most emotional year of my life.

Go Visit

Marvelous Toy - Myspace // Last.FM

Check out the video

Marvelous Toy
You Were Brighter




4. Gaggle - I Like Cigarettes

A 20 strong female only alt indie choir calling themselves Gaggle were one of the most original, exciting and thrilling bands to emerge in 2009 and their celebration of the wonders of nicotine and guitars was a perfect alternative to the 'z' list obsessed media and 'X' Factor mediocrity.

Check out the track at the Gaggle myspace site.

or check out the video

Gaggle
I Like Cigarettes



5. Groom - Love Me Aimlessly


In 2009 too much music was over produced owing more to focus groups and marketing than passion. The straightforward and stunningly beautiful Belle & Sebastian like 'Love Me Aimlessly' was therefore a bracing breath of fresh Irish air.

Go Try

MP3 - Groom - Love Me Aimlessly
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Groom Last.fm site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

and if you like 'Love Me Aimlessly' then you'll probably want this on your Ipod...

MP3 - Groom - Green Fingers, Black Heart
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Groom Last.fm site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Groom - Myspace // Last.FM

Check out the video

Go View

Groom
Love Me Aimlessly




6. The Lie Ins - We Were Born Into Corduroy

In sixth place, just behind Groom, are The Lie Ins who include the drummer and singer of, you've guessed it, Groom. The indie poptastic 'We Were Born Into Corduroy', is catchier than a folkies beard in a velcro factory, poppier than a popgun in a balloon and more fun than a barrel of drunken monkeys. It's a tonic for a jaded world and well deserving of it's place in the Devil's top 10.

Check out the track at the Lie Ins myspace site.

7. Club Smith - I Didn't Want To Show You That I’d Lost Faith

Club Smith's 'I Didn't Want To Show You That I'd Lost Faith' sounds like the Cold War Kids and it made the Devil's spine tingle more than any other song during 2009.

Go Visit

Club Smith - Myspace // Website // Last.fm

Go View

Club Smith
I Didn't Want To Show You That I'd Lost Faith


8. Victoria & Jacob - Clash

Sounding like a clash between Lily Allen and The Postal Service 'Clash' is poppier than poppy flavoured lemonade and it couldn't be more now if it'd been incubated in a test tube by Lady Gaga until five minutes ago. If there's any justice in the world Victoria & Jacob will own 2010.

MP3 - Victoria & Jacob - Clash
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Victoria & Jacob Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

and if you like 'Clash' then you'll probably want to grab yourself a piece of this...

MP3 - Victoria & Jacob - Baram
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Victoria & Jacob Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Victoria & Jacob - Myspace // Website // Last.FM

9. The Patio Set - Highgate Owl Nightmare


The Patio Set's 'Highgate Owl Nightmare' grabbed the Devil by the unmentionables back in January 2009 and has held me hostage ever since. It is uncompromisingly unpredictable cramming an albums worth of ideas into just short of four minutes of alt-rock that borders on genius. It's not every day that you hear a song that has echoes of Julian Cope, Fugazi, The Cure, The Young Knives and Echo & The Bunnymen which is why it deserves it's place in the Devil's top 10 of 2009.

Check out the track at the Patio Set myspace site.

10. Liz Janes - Wonderkiller

Yeah it's a song that wasn't actually released in 2009 but as the Devil stumbled across it for the first time this year and because it's so good that Jenny Lewis would kill a Watson Twin just to cover it it deserves a place in the top 10 of 2009.

Go Try

MP3 - Liz Janes - Wonderkiller
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Asthmatic Kitty website and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

and if you like 'Wonderkiller' then you'll probably fall in love with this as well...

MP3 - Liz Janes - Poison & Snakes
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Liz Janes Last.fm site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Liz Janes - Myspace // Last.FM

And that's it, the year in music boiled down to 10 amazing tracks that seem to have unfairly slipped between the cracks.

The Devil's wish for 2010 is that people power, as seen in the amazing grass roots internet based campaign to keep X Factor from hyping their way to another Christmas Number One in the UK, can sweep away the complacent major record labels ushering in a new era of independence!

Have a prosperous, and independent 2010 with love from the Devil