I had not put much thought into just how awesome the Bay Area music scene was until I started the Local Pairings column over at Musical Pairings @ eating/sf. In fact, I recall wondering whether I could continue to find local bands that I would want to post about every week. Of course, as I’ve learned, there is no shortage of amazing talent in the Bay Area. In fact, four albums by Bay Area artists (5 if you count Thao With The Get Down Stay Down who are new Bay Area transplants) made my “best of 2009” list over at Musical Pairings: Papercuts, John Vanderslice, Or, The Whale, and Girls.

Of those records, though, Girls’ Album hit me the hardest. It is my favorite Bay Area album because it just “feels” like a musical snapshot of San Francisco in 2009. It is equal parts sophisticated & drugged out; juvenile & mature; ugly & beautiful; and hazy & sunny. As I noted in my prior review of the album: “like San Francisco itself, each song is a micro-climate of a greater, cohesive whole with the result that songs are sometimes sunny, sometimes foggy, but most are a little of both.” And most importantly – it is just so damn good.