Oh, How We Long For Thee: A 2009 Preview

2008 was a good year. By year’s end, we will have featured 195 interviews and reviewed over 500 albums in our quest to bring you, dear reader, the most meaningful music we can find. From artists who top the charts worldwide to those who tour via the house party route, we’ve realized there’s beauty in every genre, brilliance in every corner. And, label or not, they’re out there for you to find.

But, alas, for all of the wonderful (and pitiful) music to come across our desks this year, a few artists creatively held out on us. It is to some of our favorite musicians that the cry goes out: “Oh, how we long for thee!” Our hope is that they will hear our feeble voice and heed the call to do their part in the new year.

ARCADE FIRE
After Arcade Fire’s monumental debut release, Funeral, many didn’t think the band could possibly top themselves, but somehow they did, with 2007’s Neon Bible, a release that garnered many year’s Top Album nominations. Two years is longer than we’ve wanted to wait to hear another round of the band’s beautiful art-rock, but rumor has it that Win Butler & Co. are helping compose some music for Richard Kelly’s upcoming film, The Box. Here’s to hoping that perhaps a new album’s on the way as well – the expectations are higher than ever before, but I’m confident that this batch of Canadians will have our ears singing for joy once again. [Nathan Knapp]

DEVENDRA BANHART
For a while now, Devendra Banhart, the anachronistic freak folk singer-songwriter from Venezuela, has been bringing a breath of fresh air to the increasingly stifling category of acoustic guitar-based music (how many times can you listen to some depressed crooner’s attempt to channel Elliott Smith before enough is enough?). Making his mark with the lo-fi twofer Rejoicing in the Hands and Niño Rojo in 2004, Banhart hit his peak with 2005’s Cripple Crow, an amazing collection of folk, psychedelica, tropicalia, and an indebtedness to The Beatles that ran deeper than the Sgt. Pepper’s-inspired cover art. The slightly more conventional Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon followed in 2007 and did not diminish his label as leader of the freak-folk movement. With an art exhibit alongside Paul Klee earlier this year under his belt, Banhart shows no signs of slowing down and whatever he releases in 2009 will be sure to get the attention of music lovers worldwide. [Julian Zlatev]

DAVID BAZAN
“Wouldn’t it be so wonderful/ If everything were meaningless?/ But everything is so meaningful/ And most everything turns to shit/ Rejoice,” sings David Bazan in “Rejoice,” the closing number from Control, Pedro the Lion’s 2002 masterpiece. Apart from providing an excellent summary of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, these lines also epitomize the bedrock principles of all of Bazan’s work. Since Pedro the Lion released It’s Hard to Find a Friend in 1998, Bazan has been giving us songs that deal with the deep contradiction between the obvious evil present in the world and humanity’s deep longing for transcendence. Although Pedro the Lion is no more, Bazan proved with 2007’s Fewer Moving Parts that he is just fine on his own, thank you very much. And if the single “American Flags,” which was recorded during sessions for Bazan’s new album, is any indication of what he will give us in 2009, we are in for another set of excellent musical meditations on the human condition. [Jason Hardy]

BT
BT (Brian Transeau) is the most groundbreaking, ingenuitive musical force on the planet. Sometimes called the “Prince of Dance Music” — trance music is his namesake — BT consistently turns music inside-out, rearranges it and creates something revolutionary and beautiful. Between making hits with the likes of Tori Amos, Seal and N’ Sync, he’s composed film and video game scores, conducted laptop symphonies, invented the “BT Stutter” edit, and written his own software for DJs and musicians called BreakTweaker. Transeau’s discography travels from electronic to classical, from impassioned vocals to lush soundscapes that speak more eloquently than any person can—fitting, since one of his albums is titled Emotional Technology. His last album, This Binary Universe, was his finest work yet—a masterpiece of jazz, classical, hip-hop and dazzling electronics. BT’s penchant for thinking outside the box has his fans salivating at the prospect of getting their minds blown again in 2009. [Brian Palmer]

BUILT TO SPILL
Whenever possible I shove used copies of Built to Spill’s There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and Keep It Like a Secret on unsuspecting victims. I’ve probably bought both of these albums a total of 4-5 times each and I’ll buy them again, if necessary. I tend not to recommend Ancient Melodies of the Future and their latest 2006’s You In Reverse unless said victims become as enamored with the band as I am. The latter albums aren’t “bad” per se; they’re just good in the context what the band has proven capable of. It’s kind like the Guided by Voices conundrum; the band made their three best albums all in a row and nothing after that can match their brilliance. In essence, they’re destined to fail because of their greatness. The rumors are that the next BTS album will be ready for 2009 and, like any true fanatic, I’m holding out hope that it’s going to correct the initial descent they’ve begun and get them back on the proper course. Otherwise, I’ll scribble their names on the “Disappointments of ’09” list and continue stock up on used copies of their best albums. [Scott Elingburg]

LUPE FIASCO
Lupe Fiasco is both innovator and oxymoron: a rapper who’s hardly gangsta, who harbors a legit Muslim faith and asked the Lord to “forgive my cool young history,” who skateboards and brags on his Midwest hometown with a nod to Inspector Gadget (“Go Go Gadget Flow”). He’s equally adept at collabs with jazz-soul songstress Jill Scott and one-time murder defendant Snoop Dogg. “Hello Goodbye” from last year’s release indicted rap music for its self-glorification. Seriously. 2007’s The Cool managed to trump his glorious debut, Food & Liquor from 2006, in its depth and breadth both. The man continues to make life a truly holy hell for MCs the nation over, as his pointed rhymes don’t incite riots so much as tails between legs for the lot of them. He rails against insipid materialism in brainy ways that fellow Chicagoan (and hypocrite in chief) Kanye West could only aspire to. And the prophetic, prolific Lupe Fiasco soldiers on: 2009 will see his latest round of shots released. Tentatively titled LupEND, it’s an album, only his third and allegedly his last (sure, see Jay-Z), that’s possibly to be a sprawling three-disc set. Normally this would send heinous shivers down a reviewer’s spine, at the sheer taxing nature of such a beast. As for me, I can’t wait. Can’t wait to surrender to it. [Jonathan Scott]

MAT KEARNEY
Eugene, Oregon native Mat Kearney is proving the city is more than just a watered-down Berkeley clone with an unhealthy Nike fetish, and an obsessive reverence for Animal House, bicycles and the late Steve Prefontaine. With the 2004 release of his schizophrenic-yet-poetic pop/rap/folk/rock debut Bullet, Kearney signaled to the indie scene that he was a unique talent. His star began to rise with the release of his 2006 major label follow-up, Nothing Left to Lose, as “Undeniable,” “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” and the title track appeared on over a dozen TV shows and scored well on the Billboard charts. What does 2009 hold? For months Kearney has been saying his new record is awaiting a final mix. Maybe a new single will hit the airwaves early next year. Kearney consistently combines dynamic creativity and artistic integrity with lyrical depth, and his fans will be ecstatic when this untitled project releases. [Brian Palmer]

MUSE
In recent years, the alternative rock outfit Muse has become one of the most distinctive acts in the world of music today. Led by ultra talented frontman/guitarist Matthew Bellamy, Muse blends a unique combination of progressive rock, ’80s new wave, some glam rock sprinkled in, and the undeniable influence of their British contemporaries Radiohead. So influenced by Radiohead, they were once condemned as nothing more as a rip-off. However, their most recent release Black Holes and Revelations saw the band climb into new stratospheres with their music. While the Radiohead influence is certainly there (and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways) they have grown into their own and have become quite the eclectic group. The album goes from the spacey futuristic epic “Knights of Cydonia”, to the delightfully beautiful “Starlight”, and for good measure “Assassin”, a song whose primal energy and aggression would make even the heaviest of rock bands want to raise their hands in the air in the name of rock and roll. To many fans dismay, they only released a live album in 2008. With the band writing better, more distinct songs each and every time they hit the studio, we can only hope and pray they answer our prayers and release a new album in the year 2009. [Jason McDowell]

MUTE MATH
Sometimes, as after a busy night at your favorite restaurant, closing time doesn’t just beget a quiet kitchen—it also draws you that much closer to the next day’s menu. When the frigid scraps of 2008 are finally wiped clean and replaced by the promising new aromas of 2009, a cacophony of proverbial stomachs will be heard growling for the still-in-the-oven next album from New Orleans rockers Mute Math. If Mute Math serves as any indication, this exciting new recipe of sound and energy—scheduled for release in early Spring—will extend even further Mute Math’s reputation as musical dawn treaders. The things Paul Meany et al have already done to/for/with/through music, both instrumentally, lyrically, and via live performance, have both opened the eyes of fools and confounded the wisdom of the wise. Having already taken fans through agonizing label disputes (see Mute Math, 2006) and offered tantalizing appetizers of the new album via their website and YouTube vLog, Mute Math should deliver a four-star entrée early this coming year. Bon appétit! [Taylor Birkey]

THE NATIONAL
Everyone assumes that The National is going to release a new LP next year. An unsourced bit from their wikipedia entry, “The rumored title for the new album, due late 2009, is “Shine”, based on supposed talks between Matt Berninger and fans in late-2008 shows.” That’s all the info to be found on the inter-webs. Conventional wisdom dictates a “new direction” after a success like 2007’s Boxer. But how does conventional wisdom apply to indie/mainstream fence-straddlers like The National? They are critic’s darlings for two straight albums, topping several year-end “Best Album” and racking up huge Metacritic scores. Bottom line: The National didn’t get famous for their good looks or celebrity lifestyles. Expect The National’s next album to push them to near-Radiohead levels of universal fan and critical acceptance. [Justin Curtis]

SUFJAN STEVENS
A timeline of Sufjan Stevens’ albums from the point at which he initially gained popularity through everything past his breakthrough effort: Michigan came out in 2003, Seven Swans came out in 2004, Illinois came out in 2005, Songs for Christmas and The Avalanche both came out in 2006 (although each were a collection of pre-recorded material with Songs for Christmas spanning over a period of time and The Avalanche being outtakes from the Illinois sessions). As 2008 winds down, we’re looking at nearly four years with no new and original material from the once prolific artist who had been applauded for the ambitious nature of his 50 states project. Sufjan’s more or less been gone as of late, but far from forgotten. Rumors with no substance of him working on Oregon next or putting out an EP about birds spread across the internet like wildfire because his fans adore his music and will always be hungry for more. Here’s to him picking up where he left off in 2009 be it Oregon or otherwise … two down, 48 to go. [Steve Schusler]

PETE YORN
Sure, Springsteen will continue to live on well into the new year with his forthcoming 47th studio album, Workin’ On A Dream. (And is it me, or did that sound like it came from a Springsteen-themed Mad Libs package?) As for me, I’ll be glancing over The Boss’ shoulder for a younger, Jersey-born, gritty guitarist and songwriter whose next LP should end up in my favorites of ‘09. 2001’s Musicforthemorningafter remains a “deserted island” album choice, a critical and commercial debut success cementing Yorn’s place as one to watch. The trend only continued through 2007’s Nightcrawler, exhibiting Yorn’s keen pop sensibilities, arresting song structures and diverse guitar tones. Now, the previews of songs like “Last Summer” and “American Blues, Vol. 1″ from Yorn’s MySpace displays continued sonic development and maturity. It seems Bruce isn’t the only one born to run on this track. [Matt Conner]

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