Best Songs of 2009: 10-1

		“Dominos”
		The Big Pink
		A murky wash of distorted guitars and hazy synths paired with slick beats (almost) masks this track’s transparent topic. The swaggering shoe-gaze duo waste no time delivering their irresistibly catchy hook about hooking up and they conquer all hearts and ears in their path. No wonder the girls fall like dominos.
		-Claire Tiller

		“1901”
		Phoenix
		“1901” marries Phoenix’s two sides — the blue-eyed soul-singing polish of their early releases and the dirtied up French boys found on 2006’s It’s Never Been Like That — to form a more perfect union of dirty rock and butt-slapping dance.
		-Andy DeLoach

		“Percussion Gun”
		White Rabbits
		The stark shifting textures of “Percussion Gun” sound about as unsettled and arid as the relationship the song is about. Enlivening percussion propels the song forward, running away from a bad relationship and obscurity in one fell swoop.
		-Claire Tiller

		“Crystalised”
		The xx
		This is The xx at their most seductive, and their most urban, evoking the singularly universal experience of youthful pining — perhaps in a drunken stupor and enveloped in darkness — for sexual clarity. A sultry, ethereal drone hovers behind competing staccato guitar lines and the alternating verses of Oliver Sim’s fuzzy baritone crooning and Romy Madley Croft’s soft implorations. This suggestive sparring ceases during the chorus, though, a descending repetition of “ahh” sung in unison, ambiguous but familiar, satisfying. While clarity may not emerge at the end of this track, the xx reminds us to simply “go slow” and savor the tension.
		-Peter Truby

		“Animal”
		Miike Snow
		With their curiously simple approach, Miike Snow’s “Animal” sticks to the philosophy that less is more. The punchy little song makes you want to bob your head from side-to-side with its off beat. It has all the little things that make Miike Snow’s music animalistic.
		-Julie Gong

		“Moth’s Wings”
		Passion Pit
		“Moth’s Wings” has a perfect toe-tapping beat so that even the most uncoordinated hipsters can nod their heads confidently in rhythm while twittering about how they just swapped sweat with Michael Angelakos.
		-Lindsay Juley

		“Daylight”
		Matt & Kim
		“Daylight” was everywhere in 2009 — a hot Bacardi commercial, video games, NBC’s Community. Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino realized they were suddenly capable of curing what ails the Millenial generation most with the medicine of unrelenting optimism, because how could you hate during a song like this?
		-Andy DeLoach

		“My Girls”
		Animal Collective
		The art-rock ensemble writes a simple folk-song and fuses it with a ridiculously catchy beat, and an overwhelming urge to dance follows. A composition with meaning beyond the studio wizardry, “My Girls” is Animal Collective’s finest achievement in a decade’s worth of exemplary material.
		-Claire Tiller

		“Two Weeks”
		Grizzly Bear
		“Two Weeks” begins with a steady beat of cheerful piano notes (struck as loudly and surely as if a child’s chubby fingers were plunking out “heart and soul” on the family wurlitzer) before settling into a lovely blend of bright sunshiney chords over slower, slightly melancholy, deliberate vocal harmonies that swirl and twist around one another like a musical cyclone, only to suddenly dissipate into the air. A standout song on a standout album, “Two Weeks” is a testament to the work ethic of a band clearly determined to bring an immaculate recording as close to perfection as possible.
		-Litzy Everson

		“Stillness is the Move”
		Dirty Projectors
		“Stillness” sounds like a pinball machine on steroids. The clangy groove is the perfect contrast and backdrop to Amber Coffman’s stunningly agile voice. Her soprano becomes buoyant, floating on top of the busy background and carrying the song’s hopeful lyrics across a sea of clamor. In the last minute the commotion falls away to reveal a string quartet, a gorgeous respite from the beautiful noise before.
		-Claire Tiller