This year is turning out to be a blockbuster for indie and alternative rock music. There are many great songs and terrific albums that have been released so far this year. That sentiment is echoed by many others in the music press and on popular blogs.

Many of the best songs from the most standout albums have been already featured extensively in previous playlists on IRC, accessible by browsing the site's archives. There is no shortage of impressive 2009 songs and albums from talented indie artists and bands that most people have never heard of, thus the title, Best Rarely Heard Songs of 2009. In the end, the music speaks for itself. This is the first installment of a series that will run over the next couple of weeks.

Kicking off this playlist are two remarkable songs from the new free EP release by Sun Airway, titled "Oh Naoko."

This playlist also features Irish indie rockers The Ambience Affair; Cincinnati's Brian Olive; the garage rock band Downtown/Union from LA; vet rockers Polvo; New Zealand quartet The Bats; Melbourne's C86 revivalists Summer Cats, plus fresh tracks from Montreal's Land of Talk, Minneapolis indie band Mouthful of Bees, Monotonix and the sombre Astrid Williamson.

"Oh, Naoko" - Sun Airway from Oh, Naoko EP (2009)
Bonus: "Swallowed by the Night"

"Fragile Things" - The Ambience Affair from Fragile Things (2009)

"There Is Love" - Brian Olive from s/t debut (2009)

"Bright Idea" - Downtown/Union from Aurora Aurora (2009)

"Beggar's Bowl" - Polvo from In Prism (2009)

"Hey You, It's Me (Oh My)" - Summer Cats from Songs From Tuesday (2009)

"Castle Light" - The Bats from The Guilty Office (2009)

"May You Never" - Land of Talk from Fun and Laughter EP (2009)

"Please and Thank You" - Mouthful of Bees from Mouthful of Bees (2009)

"Set Me Free" - Monotonix from Where Were You When It Happened? (2009)

"Eve" - Astrid Williamson from Here Come the Vikings (2009)


Other Playlists You Might Enjoy:

- In Dee Mail - Profiles and MP3s of some of the best relatively unknown artists and bands in 2009 who sent their music to IRC.

- Summer Indie Rock Mix series - An six-part playlist mix series featuring songs from some of the best indie and alternative rock in 2009.

- Songs About New York City - A two-part series featuring dozens and dozens of the best music about NYC from a wide array of artists and bands.

- Bands To Watch - An extensive playlist series spotlighting talented new bands that are so good that there's a chance you might some day say you heard them first on IRC. :)

Labels: MP3s