Top 5 Albums of 2009:

1) White Lies - “To Lose My Life”

There’s seems to be an coincidental formula behind the album I deem my favorite each year.  Traditionally I choose the album before summer, ignoring any possible fall releases that could be brilliant. The decision is almost always made upon a first listen (Muse “Black Holes and Revelations,” Radiohead “In Rainbows”).  I can’t explain the science.  My friend Jeremy mentioned the name White Lies to me in late 2008 and by February, I was downloading shitty mp3s off blog sites to give them a try. The album is dark, but full of “pop hooks.”  Oh, and I’m a fan of any band that sounds like the ghost of Ian Curtis. (See Editors, The National, Interpol).