Top 50 Albums of 2009, part three (30-21)

30. GIRLS: Album

Another blogosphere favourite, Girls make glitzy, ambisexual indie pop with melodies to die for. 'Album' is a distinctly mature debut, packed to the brim with the kind of colossal choruses that usually take years to master.

29. THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Channelling the spirits of Morrissey, Marr, Robert Smith and the entire rhythm section of My Bloody Valentine, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart amalgamate adorably innocent lyricism (just listen to 'Everything With You'.. bless their cottons!) with straight-ahead indie-punk, and the results are gorgeous.

28. EELS: Hombre Lobo

With 'Hombre Lobo', E proves, for about the millionth time, that he can do absolutely no wrong. Combining quirky storytelling with dirty rock 'n' roll, the album sees a return to the scuzzier palate of 'Souljacker', and that's by no means a bad thing. It's also a concept record about desire, partly inspired by E's ever-expanding facial hair. Now how many other bands can turn that idea into something so brilliant?

27. LIGHTNING DUST: Infinite Light

If it weren't for Skins, Lightning Dust would've passed under our radar and by God, what a crime that would have been. 'I Knew' is the soundtrack to the season four trailer and on the strength of its frankly bizarre ability to make you want to dance around the room without ever really developing a proper beat, you really do need to acquire the album. A little more introspective than the single might suggest, 'Infinite Light' is, nevertheless, a truly great LP, providing the sort of soundtrack to the winter months that you just want to wrap yourself up in. Heartwarmingly melancholic.

26. WILD BEASTS: Two Dancers

In their Wikipedia entry, Wild Beasts are described using the genre-tag 'dream pop' and for all that may seem like yet another meaningless buzz term from the oh-so-cool indie Zeitgeist, one listen to 'Two Dancers' reveals exactly why it's the perfect description for the band. The falsettos, the soaring melodies, the fantastical themes... they all unite to produce something utterly captivating. And they come from Kendal. What more could you ask for?

25. CURSIVE: Mama, I'm Swollen

Unsurprisingly from this most maddening of bands, 'Mama, I'm Swollen' is a decidedly difficult album. Although it eschews some of the more sprawling excesses of elements of their previous work, feeling far more taut and concise at a distinctly compact forty minutes, the record remains a bleak, torrid affair, wracked with doubt and plagued by insecurity. It isn't exactly welcoming, but therein lies its genius. Like certain other albums of the year that we won't mention just yet, 'Mama, I'm Swollen''s oppressive nature makes it a far richer listening experience. Trust us - you won't be able to stop yourself returning again and again and again.

24. METRIC: Fantasies

Another year, another wonderful Metric record. As with 2005's 'Live It Out', 'Fantasies' is an expert synthesis of new wave indie stylings and sinister, warped lyricism. There are deliciously dark singles galore here: from the despondent rallying cry of 'Help, I'm Alive' to the wickedly observational 'Sick Muse', the choruses are huge, the vocals delicious and the rhythms, well, put it this way: if you aren't at the very least shuffling your feet after two songs, you're probably dead inside.

23. STELLASTARR*: Civilised

Their self-titled debut remains the greatest thing they've ever done, but with 'Civilised', Stellastarr* come excrutiatingly close to at the very least matching its sumptuous charms. Shawn Christensen's vocals have upped an octave or twenty, Michael Jurin's guitars are once again messy and reckless, and the album glistens with the spine-tingling urgency of a million 'Pulp Song's or 'Jenny's. 'Robot' is a delicious wall of amped-up noise, 'Graffiti Eyes' a wonderfully angular beast with delicious harmonies, 'Move On' comes on like the finest Stone Roses song that John Squire never wrote... the list is endless and just makes for further proof that Stellastarr*'s lack of populist success is one of the most unforgivable wrongs of the decade.

22. GREEN DAY: 21st Century Breakdown

Rather than shouting “sell outs!” and berating the supposed loss of their ‘punk roots’, we should be commending Green Day for refusing to stick to their guns. Yes, ‘21st Century Breakdown’ borrows from ‘American Idiot’ but hell, it borrows from many of their other albums too, with a whiff of ‘Misery’ here and a dash of ‘When I Come Around’ there. The band can’t escape their past, and they shouldn’t try to; instead, they should embrace it and see where it takes them now, as thirtysomethings who have come a long way from writing songs about masturbation. To expect another ‘Dookie’ or ‘Insomniac’ is naïve and pointless; what we have instead is the sound of a band willing to push the boat out, to be playful and experimental, while still retaining the essence of what makes them great. This is a daft, over-the-top, camp-as-fuck, practically insane piece of pop, rock and punk indulgence that worms its way into your skull and sets up home, refusing to leave until you acknowledge its brilliance. At times, yes, there are missteps but, on the whole, ‘21st Century Breakdown’ is a valiant effort. Unashamedly entryist, fabulously adolescent and thrilling as fuck.'

21. PISSED JEANS: King of Jeans

As far as monumentally pissed off bands go, Pissed Jeans are probably second only to Cardiff's perpetually infuriated Future of the Left. 'King of Jeans' is mad as hell and it isn't afraid to let you know it. From the off, guitars are beaten to shit, vocals growled through gritted teeth and ear-splitting feedback is allowed to tear its way through your speakers, destroying both your eardrums and your mental faculties in the process. Awesome then, in other words.