My first pick for best album of 2009 is Ida Maria's debut LP, Fortress 'Round My Heart. That's Ida Maria Sivertsen. No, she's not Swedish; she's Norwegian. I won't hold that against her. The album is all about being young and fucked up. It's unpretentiously exuberant--something that's missing in a lot of the bloodless wanking that passes as "good" music these days.
Also unusual is the excellent sound quality of the album (on vinyl. I haven't heard the CD.) I'm sure I wouldn't be as enthused about the album if it were typically loud and compressed.
These are first three songs (and the best) on the album. Thanks to shigeshoshi for posting these songs on YouTube with half-way decent sound quality.
