We're more than halfway through 2009, and already there have been several memorable rock albums worthy of consideration for end-of-the-year honors. Feel like you're behind on the year's best music? No problem -- you can catch up by scrolling through this list.
13. The Dead Weather - 'Horehound'
Photo courtesy Third Man Records.
Apparently one side project wasn't enough for Jack White. After spending two albums ripping it up with the Raconteurs, White collaborated with Kills vocalist Alison Mosshart for more grimy garage rock. Horehound, the debut album from the Dead Weather, is a sexy, scary affair, with Mosshart's barbed-wire voice nicely complemented by White's blues-rock primitivism.
12. Marilyn Manson - 'The High End of Low'
Photo courtesy Interscope.
Can a shock-rocker grow up? Marilyn Manson argues that it's possible with The High End of Low. Sure, he's not about to drop the horror-show shtick, but the album is at its best when Manson explores his own self-loathing with brutal candor. Turning 40 and newly single, Manson doesn't seem that interested in scaring us. Instead, he's too busy dealing with the guy in the mirror, which can be a lot more frightening.
11. Eels - 'Hombre Lobo'
Photo courtesy Vagrant.
On their first studio album in four years, Eels return with sad songs written in the voice of a fictional narrator who's a lonely man trying to woo the object of his affection. It should be utterly depressing, but Hombre Lobo is instead oddly life-affirming, offering tender ballads and horny blues-rock stompers that shake with the urgency and vitality of true love.
10. Pearl Jam - 'Backspacer'
Photo courtesy Monkeywrench.
Pearl Jam keep on keepin' on with Backspacer, a warm, reflective album that embraces optimism in a way that the Seattle band never have in the past. (Think it has something to do with the new guy in the White House?) Frontman Eddie Vedder tackles aging and romance on the album's quieter tracks, and tough-edged ballads like "Speed of Sound" and "The End" shine with the wisdom of a band about to celebrate 20 years together.
9. Youth Group - 'The Night Is Ours'
Photo courtesy Ivy League.
Youth Group hail from Australia, singing gorgeously sad songs full of drama and melody. The Night Is Ours deals with addiction, broken hearts, displaced souls, and the fragility of happiness. Oddly though, the album isn't a total bummer, thanks to the band's dynamic arrangements and frontman Toby Martin's moony vocals.
8. Red - 'Innocence & Instinct'
Photo courtesy Sony BMG.
Red are a Christian rock band who are more concerned with rocking than shoving their faith down your throat. Innocence & Instinct finds the Tennessee quartet melding genres like on the melodic metal number "Shadows." An album about keeping your head when everyone around you is losing theirs, Innocence & Instinct offers hope during a time when it's been hard to find silver linings amidst all the economic and political gray clouds.
7. The Vines - 'Melodia'
Photo courtesy Ivy League.
Have you forgotten the Vines, the overrated alt-rock band of the early '00s? Melodia makes a strong case for why you shouldn't. On their newest album, frontman Craig Nicholls fine-tunes his skill at buzzy two-minute garage-rockers, but it's the psychedelic ballads that may be Melodia's biggest shock -- the listener gets knocked sideways by one woozy, lovely gem after another. One of the year's best rock albums -- and one of the most overlooked.
6. Wilco - 'Wilco (The Album)'
Photo courtesy Nonesuch.
Jeff Tweedy deals with romantic self-doubt on Wilco (The Album), a major theme of several recent Wilco records. Moving further away from the radical sonic experimentation of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Tweedy focuses on breezy summer pop ("You Never Know"), gentle country balladry ("Country Disappeared") and '70s-style folk ("Solitaire"), but he also makes room for some guitar heroics on the dynamic "Bull Black Nova."
5. Glasvegas - 'Glasvegas'
Photo courtesy Columbia.
The Scottish group Glasvegas are one of 2009's most exciting new acts, blending garage-band energy with modern-rock sensibilities. On their self-titled debut, frontman James Allan proves to be a deft lyricist, turning "S.A.D. Light" into an ode to loneliness and "Stabbed" into a terrifying mini-narrative about a run-in with some dangerous street thugs. Shoegazing guitar rock and piano ballads come together on this accomplished first record.
4. The Answer - 'Everyday Demons'
Photo courtesy The End.
The Answer act like rock 'n' roll hasn't changed one bit in the last 35 years, and when the results are as fun as Everyday Demons, it's hard to argue with their thesis. Guitar solos that demand an arena full of pyrotechnics and vocals that hit high notes so astounding they could shatter glass -- Everyday Demons is just one guilty pleasure after another done with consummate skill and not a trace of tongue-in-cheek parody. Play this album as loud as humanly possibly.
