FAVES OF THE YEAR
IMPERIAL'S 25 FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2009
1. STEVE EARLE – Townes (New West)
CD £9.99
Total quality - a fabulous celebration of a great American songwriter, full of warmth and humanity.
2. DINOSAUR JR. - Farm (Play It Again Sam) CD £9.99
Brilliant old school foot -on-the-monitor guitar heroics, but packing a real emotional punch. A career high point, and some great Lou Barlow songs too!
3. LEVON HELM – Electric Dirt (Vanguard) CD £11.99
The Band's lynch pin covers Muddy Waters, Randy Newman, The Grateful Dead etc.. A Shop Favourite.
4. THE UNTHANKS – Here's The Tender Coming (Rabble Rouser) CD £11.99
Even better than the award-winning 'The Bairns', this is the best of British Folk. Stunning, heart wrenching stuff. And clog dancing.
5. PHANTOM BAND – Checkmate Savage (Chemical Underground) CD £6.99
The highlight of this years Belladrum Festival – this Glaswegian Collective have made an excellent debut album; Imagine Can jamming with The Bad Seeds.
6. THE DECEMBERISTS – The Hazards Of Love (Rough Trade) CD £8.99
One of America's most literate bands, they've composed an epic song cycle about a doomed marriage which dazzles with its melody and song writing skills. A tour de force.
7. VIEUX FARKA TOURE – Fondo (Six Degrees) CD £9.99
World album of the year by a mile, by a prodigal son. Genius guitar playing.
8. MONSTERS OF FOLK – Monsters Of Folk (Rough Trade) CD £9.99
A supergroup shouldn't make albums this enjoyable, but how good they sound together, and those harmonies!
9. JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT – S/T (Lightning Rod) CD £9.99
Soulful country rock of the highest calibre from an ex-Drive-byTrucker. Miles better than most of Ryan Adam's recent albums.
10. ALELA DIANE – To Be Still (Names) CD £9.99
A voice this pure is a rare find, and she has the songs to back it up. A new folk Princess.
11. DJ VADIM – Can't Lurn Imaginashun (Barely Breakin' Even) CD £6.99
Highly enjoyable mix of Hip Hop, Reggae and commercial dance. Great tunes
12. BOXCUTTER – Arecibo Message (Planet Mu) CD £9.99
Sci-fi influenced electro/dubstep/acid mash up, soulful and spectacular.
13. YO LA TENGO – Popular Songs (Matador) CD £9.99
Incapable of making a bad album, one of Americas greatest bands deliver another low key gem.
14. YEAH YEAH YEAHS – It's Blitz (Polydor) CD £6.99
Hugely engaging dance floor orientated romp, includes the single 
of the year in 'Zero'.
15. CAMERA OBSCURA – My Maudlin Career (4AD) CD £8.99
A lushly produced, reflective album of lost love songs; indie-pop at it's best.
16. FELICE BROS. - Yonder Is The Clock (Team Love) CD £10.99
The new Alt. Country torch bearers; Whisky, battered paperbacks, recorded in a shed etc.etc.
17. PREFUSE 73 – Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp) CD £7.99
Cutting edge electronica, jump-cut into a dazzling collage. Totally absorbing, with more ideas in one two-minute track than a thousand other albums.
18. SONIC YOUTH – The Eternal (Matador) CD £9.99
A fine, in yer face, album, back on an independent label and sounding all the better for it. Watching them follow some inane Lily Allen nonsense with a wall of feedback on Jools Holland was one of the funniest bits of telly all year.
19. WHITE DENIM – Fits (Full Time Hobby)
CD £9.99
At times they sound like a free-jazz MC5, but there's tunes a-plenty if you persevere.
20. TINARIWEN – Imidiwan:Companions (Independiente) CD £8.99
Another class album from one of the finest bands on the planet, and another great guitar record.
21. WILCO – The Album (Nonesuch) Cd £11.99
After a couple of experimental efforts, Jeff Tweedy and Co. reign themselves in and make a cracking country rock album.
22. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Merriweather Post Pavillion (Domino) CD £7.99
Artistically, these Brian-Wilson-with-a-laptop psychedelic pranksters are miles ahead of the competition.
23. TOSCA – No Hassle (K7) CD £9.99
Beautifully chilled beats from Richard Dorfmeister and Co.. Floyd-ish even.
24. F**K BUTTONS – Tarrot Sport (All Tomorrow's Parties) CD £7.99
Andrew Weatherall whipped this Bristol experimental duo into shape and produced an electronica epic which had reviewers everywhere in a right old lather. 5/5 in the Daily Mail!! Whatever next?
25. GRIZZLY BEAR – Veckatimist (Warp) CD £9.99
The American underground band's third was a summery, psychedelic mix of Indie, Folk and experimentation, and rather lovely too.
Bubbling under:- Julian Casablancas, Julie Fowlis, Mumford & Sons, Breakestra.