Tonight I hit the kitchen to compile the second FensePost podcast, or FenseCast, while cooking up one of my signature dishes: spicy steak enchiladas with homemade sauce. For desert, a delicious slice of gluten free cake courtesy Andi (the girlfriend), whose cake photo you can see in this post. Unlike the first podcast, this one had a range of bands that stemmed into several genres rather than focusing on garage rock and pop. Within I reminisce on one of my favorite bands of all time, occasionally hover …

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.

KEXP has announced details behind their 7th Annual Yule Benefit, happening this year on Saturday, December 12 at Neumos in Seattle. Showcasing select favorites from the Northwest, concert-goers will not only be treated to excellent performances by the likes of The Thermals, The Cave Singers, The Builders And The Butchers, and Grand Hallway, they’ll also be supporting KEXP.

Grand Hallway has created quite a unique place in pop music. Their songs are an interesting medium between baroque orchestral pop and traditional Japanese music. Given their prior releases, hearing the sounds on Promenade is no surprise. Led by master songwriter Tomo Nakayama, Promenade finds Grand Hallway expanding on their musical abilities.

Yes Is The Answer is the debut album by Seattle’s Grand Hallway. Yet prior to its release, the band already had several international shows booked in Japan, a country from which they draw severe influence. Describing their music as Experimental Classical Pop, Grand Hallway blends piano-heavy orchestral instrumentals with Tomo Nakayama’s quivering alto vocals. The combination draws likely similarities to Sufjan Stevens and Anathallo. In comparison, the band’s music finds a home more experimental than the former and less high school orchestra than the latter.