Here is a list of music I either first heard or just realized how awesome their music really was in 2009.
#10 Sufjan Stevens – “Songs For Christmas”
Labels: Christmas, folk, chillaxin’, deep lyrics, funny lyrics, Christian
So, this one barely made the list cause I’ve heard it a lot, I just never owned it myself. But what a great deal – there’s over 40 songs on this CD! All of them sound a little different than the normal Christmas tunes you’ve probably heard. But, the main reason I love this CD is the emphasis Stevens puts on the reason behind Christmas. Some of the songs sound more like worship music at times. Great CD overall.
Lyric from “Star of Wonder”
“Oh conscience where will you carry me?
I found you, star of terrifying effigies
When the night falls I carry myself to the fortress
Of your glorious cause, Oh how I may seek Your fortress.
When the night falls, we see the star of wonder
Wonderful night falls, we see You, we see You there!
I see the stars coming out…”
#9 Family Force Five – “Family Force Five”
Labels: funky rock, fun, dance-party music,
Again, I’ve heard this CD a lot, but finally bought it this year. This band is it’s own genre. Imagine some white guys from Arkansas trying to rap and rock. Apparently, they’re Christians, but you won’t find any worship songs here.
Lyric from “Kountry Gentleman”:
“My momma raised me in the dirty south
A country gentleman, so you best watch your mouth!”
#8 Switchfoot – “Hello Hurricane”
Labels: Rock, Christian
I really loved Switchfoot until “Oh Gravity!”. I thought they were done for after that album. So, when they released Hello Hurricane this year, I cautiously checked it out. And boy, I’m glad I did. They’ve gone back to more straight ‘rock’ with some great guitar compositions. Add in some clever lyrics, and boom! Great CD.
Lyric from “Needle and Haystack Life”:
“Your breathin’ in the highs and lows we call it living.
In this needle and haystack life
I found miracles there in your eyes
It’s no accident we’re here tonight
We are once in a lifetime.”
#7 William Fitzsimmons – The Sparrow and the Crow
Labels: Singer-Songwriter, Melancholy, Raw
Imagine you go through a long, hard divorce at a young age. Then, you pick up a guitar and write some songs about it. That is this album. Most of the songs focus on lost love, and you can feel his emotion throughout the whole album. I saw him live this year and I would recommend his show to any. Great musical talent and lyrics.
Lyric from “Just Not Each Other”:
“We lost our chance to love one another
Well love again but just not each other”
#6 Fleet Foxes – “Fleet Foxes”
Labels: folky, Medieval mild rock?, sweeping tunes
I really enjoy this band. Their music is what I imagine a medieval traveling band would sound like. Very soothing, flowing and relaxing while still inventive. Good stuff.
If you are NOT in the forge, I suggest you watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1tbX_NJn98
Lyric from “Blue Ridge Mountains”
“In the quivering forest
Where the shivering dog rests
Our good grandfather
Built a wooden nest
And the river got frozen
And the home got snowed in
And the yellow moon glowed bright
Till the morning light
Terrible am I child?
Even if you don't mind”
#5 The Myriad – With Arrows, With Poise
Labels: Radiohead, MAE, Christian, Rock, Great Musically and Lyrically.
Have you ever heard of Radiohead? The lead singer of The Myriad sounds a lot like Thom Yorke, and the band goes toward that sound sometimes - lots of deep guitar and high singing, followed by complex drums and piano. Other times, they sound more like MAE – sort of pop-rock. They’re pretty new, but they are going places that’s for sure. Lyrically, you can hear some subtlety Christian messages.
Lyric from “Clean Shot”
“Hey now, oh no, You got a clean shot!
All the words you could pierce my heart!
Hey now, oh no, You run me right through!
With all these words that I’ve sung to You!”
#4 Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns
Labels: Chillaxin’, Mild Rock, Love Songs, Great Lyrics
I’ve liked Snow Patrol’s past albums, but this one takes the cake. I haven’t listened to it in a while, but it’s a really phenomenal album. They have some great lyrics on love and distance, while delving into a little rock sometimes. Love it. Last song, “The Lightning Strike” is a 16-minute audio-feast – combines three songs going from sad to happy each time.
Lyric from “The Lightning Strike”
“Painted in flames
All peeling thunder
Be the lightning in me
That strikes relentless”
#3 Edison Glass – “Time is Fiction”
Labels: Creative, Rock/ Hard Rock, Christian, Great Musically
Yes. I cannot stop listening to this band. From the opening song “Let Go”, a short song about singing out loud (Open your lips/ Let out a song/ Open your Heart/ And let is sing), to “The Jig is Up”, a hard rock ballad about faith vs. sight, this band manages to infuse very creative sounds and deep lyrics without ever getting stale. One of the better bands, nay, the BEST band that’s come into the Christian music this year.
Lyric from “The Jig is Up”:
“Your eyes see further than mine
I can see as far as the sun and moon in the sky…
I’ll wait for your words
I’ll trust, You’ll say!”
#2 MuteMath – “Armistice”
Labels: Rock, Christian, Groovin’
Do I have to tell you why this album is awesome? For the two people that don’t own it, just go take a little listen on iTunes.
Lyric from “Spotlight”
“Because everyone would rather watch you fall
(And we all fall, we all fall)
Just take a fall, you’re one of us -
The spotlight is on!”
#1 mewithoutYou – “Brother, Sister”
Label: Complex sound and lyrics, biting lyrics, Christian, hard(er) rock
Welcome to the perfect christian rock album – intricate rock compositions and un-matched lyrical complexity (which the listener must untangle at times). Altogether, this album tells a story from the perspective of a shipwrecked guy and his musings on life. The whole thing has this ‘swashbuckling’ feel. With this constant theme, each song sounds wholly different and engages deep, complex issues of faith, sin and praise. Most of the time they’re rocking out, but you must listen to the lyrics! They are downright cutting while still complex. You won’t hear ‘praise Jesus’, but listen close cause most songs talk about God’s character in some way.
The whole album’s lyrics flow together just like the music – the first song announces “I do not exist… if ever you come near/ I’ll hold up high a mirror/ Lord I could never show you anything as beautiful as you”; to the last song, repeating “I do not exist, only You exist.” I had to look up a lot of the lyrics beccause he sings fast at times, but it’s worth it to see the complexity they put into their songs.
Lyric from “A Glass Can Only Spill What it Contains”
“Like peacocks wandering the walkways of the zoo
Who have twice the autonomy the giraffes and tigers do
Saying:
"No one can stop me (no one stop me)
No one clips my claws!
now everyone watch me (everyone watch me)
Scale these outside walls!"
[Begin Rocking]
Oh you pious and profane, put away your praise and blame!
A glass can only spill what it contains!
To the perpetually plain, to the incurably inane
A glass can only spill what it contains!
What new mystery is this?
What blessed backwardness??
The Immeasurable One is held and does not resist!
Struck by wicked words and foolish fists of senseless men
The Almighty One does not defend!”
Or another favorite from “In a Sweater Poorly Knit”:
“You’re a door without a key, a field without a fence.
You made a wholly fool of me and I’ve thanked you ever since…
But if I’m a crown without a king, if I’m a broken open seed
If I come without a thing, then I come with all I need.”
