Eventually I will break this vicious cycle of posting nothing but Mike Mixes on my site. But I fear it won’t come soon enough: good music is piling up way too fast. I’ll try my best to write about it all eventually, but in the meantime here’s a short list of amazing albums: High Violet by The National, Astro Coast by Surfer Blood, The Monitor by Titus Andronicus, and Kollaps Tradixionales by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. And that’s only half of what I hope to post. I have my work cut out for me.

While the introduction to Mike Mix 18 may be short on words, the mix is definitely long on good music. It’s also fairly upbeat, slowing down only a few tracks from the end. Highlights include “I Can Feel a Hot One” by Manchester Orchestra, “If Work Permits” by The Format, and “Satellite Skin” by Modest Mouse. But who am I kidding, Mike Mix 18 is one big highlight.

As always, I strongly recommend listening to the mix in the order presented below. Download the entire thing here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy responsibly.

2009 was a strange year. I spent most of it grumbling about a shortage of quality music only to fall completely in love with several amazing albums at the end of the year. This explains (at least partially) why over half the albums on my Top 10 list were new to my site. There just wasn’t enough time to write about them all before the end of the year (full disclosure: there was definitely some laziness mixed in there too).

But good music is good music, regardless of how long it takes me to finally write about it. To make amends for the many albums that slipped through the cracks in 2009 (and in general), I’m introducing a new series called “Better Late Than Never,” or BLTN for short. It will feature music that I’ve been listening to for a while but haven’t yet written about on my site.

The first installment in the series is Union, the fantastic sophomore album by The Boxer Rebellion. It landed at #7 on my Top 10 Albums of 2009 list and (amazingly) grabbed the top spot in the alternative genre at the iTunes store.

I’m surprised by this because, on first listen, Union comes off sounding a little cold and uninviting. If given the proper amount of time, however, this initial bleakness fades to reveal complex layers of beauty and emotion. Union is a definite grower, much like Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight (though the two albums sound nothing alike). If forced to make lazy comparisons, I’d say The Boxer Rebellion sound like a cross between Interpol and Sigur Rós. Mainly because of the shimmering guitars and soaring vocals.

The track post below is the most accessible on Union. It also happens to be my favorite. It’s called “Soviets.” Enjoy!

[mp3] The Boxer Rebellion :: Soviets

Throughout most of 2009, I struggled to find inspiration to write on my blog. If not for my monthly Mike Mixes, my site would’ve been rather quiet. So what gives? After some thought, I’ve decided that 2009 just wasn’t that great of a year for music. There was plenty of hype but very few albums actually delivered.

With that said, I’m pleasantly surprised by how my list shaped up this year. Initially I couldn’t even come up with 10 albums worthy of the honor. But after spending several weeks reexamining the year’s output, I’ve assembled a list of 10 truly amazing albums. Normally I would write short blurbs about each one but I’m a little tired after the New Year’s Day tragedy (aka accidentally deleting my entire website and having to rebuild it from scratch).

So without further ado, I present the Top 10 Albums of 2009…