Jets Overhead Luke Renshaw's Top Five Albums Of 2009

1. THE BEATLES Rubber Soul [remastered]
I'm an absolute Beatles freak, and my favourite album is usually a reflection of how I'm feeling in that particular time period. So this year (and out of all the remastered Beatles albums), I'm feeling a tiny bit psychedelic, but I'm still feeling very true to my pop sensibility. It's a bit of a trip to hear these classics remastered at first, but the more you listen, the more you love. Turn up "The Word" loud.

2. AIR Love 2
My favourite French duo are back once again with an electro kraut rock-tinged masterpiece. I think I listened to this for about two weeks straight when it first came out. It's no Moon Safari, but it's still really easy on the ears. The songs seamlessly flow into each other, and I find myself a little bit sad each time it ends. Highlight: "Night Hunter" into "Sing Sang Sung."

3. DOVES Kingdom Of Rust
The lush, reverb-happy Mancunian trio had huge shoes to fill after 2005's Some Cities. Taking four years off in between album's is a bit of a ballsy move, but I'd certainly say that it was worth the wait.

For me, a lot of the hype at first was just the fact that I had been waiting so long for this record to come out. But the music is heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and hasn't outstayed it's welcome on my iPod. It's definitely far from a letdown for any diehard Doves fan.

4. TEGAN AND SARA Sainthood
Tegan And Sara make me proud to be Canadian. I first heard this in the tour van on a fairly mediocre sound system, but the music just seemed to jump out at me. The songs are all huge in their own way, without going overboard at all. Overall, it's a really, really tasteful album that appeals to me at any time of day.

I have to admit that it makes me weep sometimes, though. Not in an emotional "'All I Want Is You,' by U2" kind of way, but in a way that makes me want to toss my sticks in the trash every time I hear Jason McGerr's drumming. He's just too good.

5. BAT FOR LASHES Two Suns
It took me a little while to get used to this one. I originally heard about her through some of my female musician friends who became completely Single White Female-style obsessed with her. After the first few listens I was still having a bit of trouble getting into this record. But I read somewhere that her dayjob was (and maybe still is) teaching kindergarten, and it all made so much more sense to me. Call me crazy. I listen to "Daniel" when I'm feeling saucy.