Dead Oceans announced yesterday the sophomore release by Portland’s Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, titled Where The Messengers Meet. The album, out August 3, hits about a year and a half after the band’s self-titled debut. That album came in just outside our top 10 album of 2009 thanks to angular, erratic, and often hauntingly frantic musicianship fronted by expert, harmonic vocals.

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 …

It hasn’t been all too long since Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band released their first video for a track off this year’s excellent self-titled debut LP, out now on Dead Oceans. In “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross” the band alters tempo and volume for a song both erratic and astounding. Signature to Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is the wild guitars highly infectious riffs and a vocal styling that is par none. The video takes the viewer through a similar mind-altering experience; it’s the makings of a short horror …

Destruction has never been so catchy, as proven by Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band in their video for “Cheer For Fate”. The song, as noted in my review of their self titled Dead Oceans LP, the song originated from the group’s debut, Weepy EP.

Four of the eleven tracks on the latest release by Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, actually their debut full-length, are not exclusives. These four can also be found on their Weepy EP and include opener “Who’s Asking”, “Cheer For Fate”, “Anchors Dropped” and “Dull Reason”. But, to be honest, I could care less. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is a phenomenal release worthy of as much esteem as the whole world can muster.

There’s a low buzz in the air. You can only hear it if you listen hard—very hard. But it’s there; it’s quiet now but it’s gaining in ferocity, gaining in momentum. Pretty soon it will dominate all. The buzz is that of people talking—the good ol’ word of mouth style of promotion—about Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. I first caught wind of the buzz a few months back and, yesterday when I saw Weepy sitting on a shelf, I couldn’t resist picking up a copy (I’m …