Moodiness and indie rock have always gone hand in hand, but something is decidedly different when ARMS emote. Take, for instance, album opener “Emily Sue, Cont’d”. A hill of cracked-sounding noises becomes a mountain of rollicking, guitar-driven rock that, while grand and swelling, is almost cliched in how basic it is. Yet there’s a musical X-factor about the cut, something that instills a sort of worried, frightened adulation in the listener. That feeling spills over into “High Heels”, with more simplistic instrumentation spun brilliantly together to make any listener feel simultaneously agitated and positively bubbly with joy. That emotional dichotomy isn’t rare, but ARMS does it with lethal efficiency.

The four-piece’s ability to pull our heartstrings so well stems from their subtle sonic shifts. “Glass Harmonica” and “Curtains” are, respectively, album tracks nine and 10; however, their shared sense of isolation is enough to blend together for one emotionally exhausting tale. Thanks to tiny nuances and seemingly unimportant musical choices, the band can still somehow set them apart from one another. Both received a sheen of electronic, effect-laden ambiance, but how those are implemented, more sparingly in the latter and with kid gloves in the former, makes all the difference.

Harlem Shakes’ breakup may have been bad news, but with ARMS getting a chance to thrive, at least there’s a silver lining that will continue to shine bright.

Essential Tracks: “Emily Sue, Cont’d” and “Curtains”

As for 2009? Well, the Dirty Projectors became a household name, as did Twitter, Girl Talk turned into a gimmick, Kanye continued to be an asshole, online music streaming got big (and bought), and the sales of digital and vinyl releases continued to increase, while the Virgin Megastores and Sam Goody’s of the world went bye bye.

And that’s not even scratching the surface. Before we turn the page on the 2000s, we wanted to take one more look at the year that was the last 365 days. Music, here was your 2009…

Top Albums of 2009

As selected by the CoS Staff…

01. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

02. Passion Pit – Manners

03. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You

04. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

05. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

06. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

07. Kittens Ablaze – The Monstrous Vanguard

08. Wale – Attention Deficit

09. The Antlers – Hospice

10. The Dead Weather – Horehound

Click here for #11 – #100

Top Songs of 2009

As selected by the CoS Staff…

01. Phoenix – “1901″

02. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”

03. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”

04. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”

05. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”

06. Wale – “Triumph”

07. Jay-Z – “Run This Town” (feat. Kanye West and Rihanna)

08. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”

09. Girls – “Lust for Life”

10. Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Click here for #11 – #50

Headline Grabbers

There is always a few particular artists who seem to appear in the headlines more than others. Take these three for example:

Lil Wayne appeared on ESPN, began work on a rock ‘n’ roll album, talked gangsta with Katie Couric, won some Grammys, released the worst song ever, pushed back the release of his rock ‘n’ roll album, pushed back the release of his rock ‘n’ roll album again, told kids to stay in school, teamed up with Madonna, collaborated with Kanye, Eminem, and Drake, promised two albums before the year was out, plead guilty to weapon possession, released a stellar mixtape, watched his mom get a TV show, had his rock ‘n’ roll album mistakenly leaked, and got arrested again, all while actually failing to release any studio albums at all before the year was out. And to cap it all off, he’s going to prison in February!

For a band that didn’t release an album in 2009, Radiohead sure managed to grab quite a few headlines. Capitol Records reissued their discography, Thom Yorke debuted a new song, as well as contributed to the New Moon soundtrack, Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway collaborated with Neil Finn and Wilco, the entire band got together to release a tribute song for Harry Patch, the last surviving World War I combat soldier, Thom Yorke covered Mark Mulcahy’s “All for the Best”, the entire band got together again to release a track titled “These Are My Twisted Words”, Thom Yorke offered a secret 12″, Thom Yorke formed a new band and played some shows, the entire band got together for a third time to begin work on a new studio album, and Thom Yorke became really pissed about climate change.

You either loved or hated the amount of U2 present in 2009. Bono and crew got on their boots, played the Grammys, resided on Letterman, released a new album, teamed up with Brandon Flowers and Chris Martin, started talking another new album, took to Fordham University for a secret show, embarked on the first leg of their claw-featuring global 360 tour, tapped Muse as an opener, wrote a Broadway musical about Spider-Man, pissed off David Byrne, got reviewed in Chicago, reissued The Unforgettable Fire, apparently made no money, played the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall-of-Fame anniversary, titled their next album, wanted to be like The Beatles, plotted more tour dates for 2010, played a free Berlin Wall concert behind the backdrop of a different wall constructed by MTV to prevent those without tickets from watching U2 play a free Berlin Wall concert, teamed up with Jay-Z, got tapped for Glastonbury 2010, and announced a remix album.

Music Festivals

Despite a recession which saw a number of mid-tier summer music festivals call it quits, the big boys were as grand as ever. Coachella rounded up McCartney, Bonnaroo brought The Boss and Phish, and Lollapalooza finally saw Perry using his festival to his advantage. What’s more, Outside Lands proved once again that its a festival to be reckon with, while Sasquatch! demonstrated that Washington state can also rock hard. Hova was able to save All Points West from a mud filled weekend, Pitchfork continued to serve as a hipster’s wet dream, and the Virgin Mobile Festival reminded us that some good things can be free. Finally, Consequence of Sound hit South by Southwest for the first time, celebrating with events featuring the likes of Astronautalis, Gringo Star, Shad, 13ghosts, Kittens Ablaze, Catfish Haven, and Blueblood. Oh, and did we mention we have already begun planning for next year?

Supergroups

By the time December rolled around, there were as many supergroups in existence as there were non-supergroups…

Dave Grohl + John Paul Jones + Josh Homme = Them Crooked Vultures, Conor Oberst + M. Ward + Jim James = Monsters of Folk, Jack White + Alison Mosshart + Jack Lawrence + Dean Fertita = The Dead Weather, Thom Yorke + Flea + Nigel Godrich + Joey Waronker + Mauro Refosco = ???, Phil Lesh + Bob Weir = Furthur, Coldplay + Mew + a-ha = Apparatjik, Supergrass + Radiohead = The Hot Rats, Joe Budden + Joell Ortiz + Royce da 5’9″ + Crooked I = Slaughterhouse, King Khan + Black Lips = The Almighty Defenders, New Order + Blur = Bad Lieutenant, Sammy Hagar + Michael Anthony + Joe Satriani + Chad Smith = Chickenfoot

Reunions, Hiatuses, and Nothing at All!

Two 2009′s biggest themes were bands reuniting and bands calling it quits (or announcing extended hiatuses). And then there were those that couldn’t make up their mind at all.

Blur began its reunion, The Stooges revived Raw Power, Pixies gave it another go, Creed came back!, No Doubt did too, Faith No More hit Europe, Phish returned, The Murder City Devils reunited for Coachella, Sunny Day Real Estate returned for some grunge, Deadheads got the best Christmas present ever, Blink-182 got back together for the kids, Spinal Tap released a new album for the first time in 17 years, Sublime played a show and then got sued, Eminem reunited with D12, Simon and Garfunkel became friends, Limp Bizkit dusted off the red cap, Three members of the Velvet Underground got together for a discussion, Orbital celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reunion, Jawbox made its first live performance since 1997 on J-Fal, Faces reunited without Rod Stewart, while Take That did reunite with Robbie Williams, John Lydon moved on to Public Image Ltd., Cee-Lo got back together with Goodie Mob, The Jayhawks reunited, as did The Gories, and Ben Lee resurrected Noise Addict. Oh yeah, and some band named Pavement announced plans for a busy 2010.

On the other hand, Blur also ended its reunion, The Verve broke up again, Oasis had a fight, Flight of the Conchords called it quits, Music journalism died, Nine Inch Nails said goodbye, as did Harlem Shakes, The Broken West, and Pela, and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Blitzen Trapper, Bon Iver, Lily Allen, Deerhunter, and TV on the Radio all announced lengthy hiatuses.

Plus, we learned an At The Drive-In reunion apparently wasn’t a possibility, nor was the rumored Stone Roses comeback, Spacemen 3 got an offer, but declined, The Kinks kept thinking about it but still didn’t do anything, contrary to Courtney Love’s comments, Hole didn’t reunite, Pulp teased and then unteased, and Swans thought about it and didn’t. And not surprisingly, The Libertines, The Smiths, and Neutral Milk Hotel all continued to tease to no fruition, while Led Zeppelin continued the suspense.

Soundtracks with benefits

There’s nothing like a nice movie soundtrack or benefit album featuring some of our favorite musicians. 2009 exemplified this fact to the max…

Grizzly Bear, LCD Soundsystem, Badly Drawn Boy, Arcade Fire, Karen O and friends, Daft Punk, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Beck, Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard, British Sea Power, Dengue Fever all provided sounds for the silver screen, as did the inane number of musicians appearing on the New Moon soundtrack.

Ben Gibbard, Fleet Foxes, and The Cave singers contributed to the Give Seattle charity album, while Tom Waits, Pete Seeger, and Jim James lent their talents to Preservation, an Album Benefiting Preservation Hall and Its Music Outreach Program. Our friends at Ear Farm rounded up Tom Tom Club, Sean Bones, tUnE-yArDs for their pro-Xmas Do you EAR what I EAR?. Peter Bjorn & John, Juliette Lewis, and White Rabbits helped fight malaria. The Climate change benefiting Rhythms Del Mundo Classics saw contributions from The Killers, The Rolling Stones, and Amy Winehouse. Stars (like Yorke and The National) collided for Mark Mulcahy. Hot Chip, The Hold Steady, and Lily Allen shared reinterpretations on War Child Heroes. And let’s not forget about Dark Was The Night, the tantalizing 31-track effort featuring the Dirty Projectors with David Byrne, Feist with Ben Gibbard, Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket, and more, all in benefit of The Red Hot Organization and AIDS awareness.

Our Most Memorable Features

In addition to everything else that went down, 2009 also saw Consequence of Sound further expanded our feature stories. The following are some of our favorites/most memorable:

We brought you interviews with Pavement, Ms. Consequence of Sound herself, Regina Spektor, Tom Jones, Passion Pit, Slayer, Ben Kweller, The Gaslight Anthem, Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, Hot Water Music, The Von Bondies, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, The Antlers, Boots Riley, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Fleet Foxes’ J. Tillman. Oh and we talked with Los Campesinos! not once, but twice.

Our Editor-in-Chief Michael Roffman gave us the entire story of The Thermals, contributing writer Alyssa Spiel spoke with 311 about its 20th anniversary, and the one and only Cap Blackard spent the day with Astronautalis.

We listed everything from the Top 11 Influential Minds of Industrial Metal and Top 10 Grunge Albums to the  Top 10 Fake Bands and Top 10 Sleepiest Albums. We did some Audio Archaeology, dusted off some ol’ classics, shared our guilty pleasures, introduced you to some great new bands, and continued teaching Rock History 101.

As for the most commented posts of the year? That honor goes to Laina Dawes’ review of 311′s Uplifter.

The Year’s Most “Unique” Moments

We thought we’d close on a light note, as in this year’s stories and moments that, well, left us scratching our heads the most…

Bill Corgan wrote a song for the Super Bowl, Bruce Springsteen apologized for selling music through Walmart, Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged, Mandy Moore married Ryan Adams, Lil Wayne released “Prom Queen”, we wrote a post about the Jonas Brothers, Crystal Castles had a meltdown, Santogold had to change her name to Santigold, Manu Chao pissed off Mexico, Chickenfoot was actually real, Prince released a $2,100 iPod, Billy Corgan made a wrestling promo, Tupac revealed he might still be alive, Creed released a new album, Billy Corgan hired a 19-year-old drummer, Kanye West helped kids stay in school, Ron Artest paid homage to Michael Jackson, Reading Music Festival banned flags, Kidz Bop covered Kanye West, Ryan Adams became a video game reviewer, R. Kelly forgot to title his new album, Oasis broke up, Liam Gallagher formed Oasis 2.0, 30 Seconds to Mars and Kanye West released a song together, 7-Eleven reissued The Beatles, Snoop Dogg got himself a new name, Rivers Cuomo was interviewed by a dog, Diddy appeared on the Home Shopping Network, Morrissey and Johnny Marr emailed, Marilyn Manson got swine flu, Radiohead didn’t break up, Elvis Presley’s grandson scored a record deal, Starfucker changed its name, Fall Out Boy formed a metal band, and Pete Doherty sang a Nazi song.

Thank you!

Before we end our 2009 recap, we would just like to take one last moment to thank the individuals who have helped Consequence of Sound become what it is today. Thank you to the publicists who work hand-in-hand with us each and everyday, thank you to the festival promoters who continue to work with us despite the fact we ruin your lineup announcements, thank you to the message boards which provide such a bevy of information, thank you to those who email us news tips and music submissions, thank you to our fellow bloggers, thank you to our amazing and tireless staff, and thank you to our readers who have put trust in us and our the reason we keep at this 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

2009 was an amazing year for Consequence of Sound, but 2010 will be even better. Stay tuned for a number of brand new features, including that much needed change we’ve all been eagerly awaiting.

Tissues for all!

Monolith’s third edition will again take place at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado from September 12-13 and feature quite the indie-centric line up we’ve all come to expect and enjoy.

Saturday is highlighted by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Girl Talk, Of Montreal, M. Ward, The Walkmen, Frightened Rabbit, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, while Sunday offers The Mars Volta, MSTRKRFT, Method Man & Redman, Phoenix, Chromeo, Passion Pit, The Thermals and Wale among others.

As it stands, Monolith 2009 currently looks like this:

A Shoreline Dream, The Answering Machine, The Antlers, AutoVaughn, Avi Buffalo, Beats Antique, Boulder Acoustic Society, Caitlin Rose, Chromeo, Cotton Jones, Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Dandy Warhols, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Deer Tick, DOOM, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The Features, French Horn Rebellion, Frightened Rabbit, Generationals, Girl Talk, The Glitch Mob, The Grates, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jim McTurnan & The Kids That Killed The Man, Harlem Shakes, HEALTH, Ida Maria, The Knew, Lydia, M. Ward, The Mars Volta, Method Man & Redman, Hollywood Holt & Million $ Mano, Miniature Tigers, Montonix, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Of Montreal, OK Go, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Passion Pit, Phoenix, The Pirate Signal, Rachel Goodrich, Red Wire Black Wire, Savoy, Speakeasy, Tiger, Spindrift, Starfucker, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, The Thermals, These United States, Thunderheist, Tigercity, The Twilight Sad, Viva Voice, Wale, The Walkmen, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Wendy Darling, Woodhands, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Ahead of the festivities, Monolith will also be hosting two kick-off parties on Friday, September 11th at the Gothic Theater and Moes BBQ in Denver, with a Chromeo DJ set, The Cool Kids, Hot Tub, and Boyhollow being the scheduled entertainment of the evening. The events will be open to VIP ticket holders, media and winners of the Southern Comfort ticket promotion.

Speaking of tickets, single day, two-day and VIP passes are all currently on sale via monolithfestival.com, but you better hurry, prices for all three options will go up on August 14th.

The world of indie rock has always been run by buzz bands– groups or soloists that manage to make a noticeable splash in an  already over crowded pool where the lifeguard’s just waiting to pull everybody out for the adult swim.

I would like to add the Harlem Shakes to a new list for the years “noteworthy” acts. They seem to be on the fast track to indie rock stardom, having already covered many of the appropriate steps to get you there; underappreciated debut EP, check. Loveable songs filled with harmonies and hooks, check. Appropriate amount of modern indie flavor mixed with the ghosts of music’s past, you can count that too. For better or worse, this band has it on lock down, and with a new full length ready to go, they’re already gathering quite the acclaim.

While it has been a few years since their Burning Birthdays EP, this latest material stylistically picks up right where they left off. Technicolor Health is one of those records that you have to take on face value to enjoy, to be overly critical would be to miss the point altogether. After being on the road and battling serious illness, they have come out the other side with their glass half full with an excellent record that reflects this new found optimism. Each track stresses leaving the negative behind, and it couldn’t have been said better than on “Strictly Game” when Lexy Benaim sings “This will be a better year. Make a little money, take a lot of shit, feel real bad and get over it.”

After so many tracks of bouncy rock, “Sunlight” comes in with the bands first full dance song complete with echoing new wave keys and guitars to compliment the thumping base and speedy cymbal work. The track is more romantic in theme, and you can’t help but picture it in a John Hughes movie. It also exhibits something else these guys can do well, and that is formulate an innovative break down, or in this specific case, an outro. It rarely happens, more so on the EP, but when it does it really adds to the performance.

Branching out a little further, “Natural Men” picks up a 60′s retro cum New Pornographers essence with backing “shananas” and a mesmerizing key section which really makes the track stand out. While keyboards had not been as featured back in 2006, they really adds a wealth of depth to the songs. The heavy beats come back once more for the closer, and title track, this time carrying a slight new wave feel. It is a quick end to an exciting and energetic album that is sure to turn some heads in the coming months.

Faith in life is always something hard to hold on to when it seems to cut you at the Achilles. To come out of a bad run a better person (or band in this case) is a testament to strength. If you happen to be in one of those bad stretches, take a lesson from this band, it will turn out all right in the end.

Check Out:
“Strictly Game”

The new album’s eclectic sound stems from a bounty of collaborations; with Stuart Bogie of TV on the Radio and Jon Natchez from Beirut playing sax, and Kelly Pratt from Arcade Fire playing French horn, the list is quite extensive. The likes of Randy Newman, Spank Rock, and even Carlos Santana as are listed as influences helping to mold this album into the beautiful cacophony known as Technicolor Health.

In fact, the Latin music that “plays outside the bands’ windows at night” is said to have a particularly major impact on the album’s sound, as evident in the form of the “Latin Mojo” setting on their Dr. Groove drum machine. The setting was used to “authentically capture the spirit of Latin percussion” so we’ll have to wait and see how that comes across.

In support of the release, the Harlem Shakes will embark on a 11-date swing beginning next month with Tokyo Police Club.

Technicolor Health Tracklist:
01. Nothing But Change Part II
02. Strictly Game
03. TFO
04. Niagara Falls
05. Sunlight
06. Unhurried Hearts (Passaic Pastoral)
07. Winter Water
08. Natural Man
09. Radio Orlando
10. Technicolor Health

Harlem Shakes 2009 Tour Dates:
02/24 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s *
02/25 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *^
02/26 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *^
02/27 – Swarthmore, PA @ Swartmore College *
02/28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls *
03/01 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *
03/02 – Columbus, OH @ Basement *
03/03 – Covington, KY @ Mad Hatter *
03/05 – Atlanta, GA @ Earl *
03/06 – Tallahassee, FL @ Downunder *
03/07 – Orlando, FL @ The Social *

* = w/ Tokyo Police Club
^ = w/ Born Ruffians