Local taste-making blog Gorilla Vs. Bear was all over the project from the start. Before long, Pitchfork, Stereogum and the like hopped on board, too. And then Rolling Stone. And then Austin City Limits came calling, asking the band to fill in at its festival. And then Grizzly Bear asked Palomo to remix some of its tracks. Hell, Hispter Runoff even created a whole genre name--albeit a half-joiking one--partially because of Neon Indian's boundary-ignoring output.

Yes, it was quite the whirlwind year for Neon Indian.

Funny, then, that the whole project launched as something of a lark. No matter: It was still enough to steal Palomo's attention away from his other, and maybe even better, VEGA project. Can't blame him for that move. The demand was there--enough for Palomo to make Neon Indian's full-length, Psychic Chasms, a priority. And when that full-length was released, the praise only continued. And thanks to some smartly appropriated Todd Rundgren samples and Palomo's own borderline genius pop sensibilities, it's easy to see why.

Really, there isn't a weak track on Psychic Chasms. But there certainly isn't a stronger one than "Deadbeat Summer." The perfect soundtrack to a lazy, hazy, sun-filled sumemr afternoon, Palomo's genius isn't so evident much in the tracks hook or chorus (though both impress) as it it is in crafting this whole slacker-pop aesthetic. The song title may be a dead giveaway to the landcape Palomo is looking to sonically create with this song, sure. But, really, a quick listen reveals as much regardless--and that is perhaps the greatest gift Palomo possesses.

The Top 40 Local Songs of 2009 (Links to music videos and free song downloads available where applicable; links to streams where neither a download nor video exists.)