2009 is a tough year to judge. I’ve checked out more albums this year than any year in the past. Well over 1,000. And there have been quite a few great ones as well. When this list began, it had 110 albums. I abandoned my top 33 and 1/3 for 45, and then said “screw it” and upped the number to an even 50. These are the top notch albums of the year, all worthy of praise.

When I compiled my original Best Of 2008 list last December, it was a snow day. The sky dropped about a foot, maybe a foot and a half of fluffy white stuff and we lowly sub-compact drivers could go nowhere. Between ranking albums and locating album art, I took a stroll around town with my camera. The above image comes from that trek. Overall, I was pretty happy with last year’s list but, in revisiting all the albums from 2008, I now see quite a few …

Grand Archives‘ latest LP, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, follows their self-titled debut in the creation of masterful harmonies backed by pleasant melodies. “Oslo Novelist” is the second track released off the album for free public consumption (following “Silver Among The Gold”) and the first to be put to video. The storyline consists of a novelist in space who loses his writing and follows his attempts to get the papers back. It’s a fun one that works well with the luscious melodies Grand Archives creates.

Mat Brooke has come a long way since his Carissa’s Wierd project; his confidence is significant in comparison to its presence on the first Band Of Horses LP. In fact, listening to the stripped down tracks on Grand Archives‘ latest, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, (songs like opener “Topsy’s Revenge” and the near a capella “Siren Echo Valley (Part 1)”) he has gone through a major confidence boost since the group’s self-titled debut.

Mat Brooke has long been a favorite musician of mine, back from the days of Carissa’s Wierd. From there he partnered with fellow Wierder Ben Bridwell in Band Of Horses, but his participation with the Horses was short lived. He dropped out of the band to focus on Grand Archives (MySpace) as well as his Seattle bar, Redwood. So the latest is that Grand Archives are prepping to give us the follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut.

Written by Fense
A comfort band is one that you can return to at any time and any place and still enjoy; the true comfort band typically falls into a categorization that includes some all-time favorite albums and groups that make top personal end of year charts. Their songs have that certain something—a connection—that is, if nothing else, comforting. Grand Archives (MySpace) is such a band for me.