With P.O.S. touring Europe, Brother Ali cracking the Billboard Top 100 for the second time, and a whole host of big-shot locals crisscrossing the U.S. and elsewhere on tour after tireless tour, this race came down to a photo finish. Well, cash your tickets at the nearest window, ladies and gentlemen. It's Solid Gold by a nose. The local lads rounded out 2009—a year that saw them engorged with kind attention from places like the Guardian, MTV Buzzworthy, and NME—with Synchronize, an outstanding EP of glittering pop music with their trademark stamp of heartfelt lyricism. But beyond all the fond promo pictures, sold-out shows, and out-of-town bashes, the best and bitterest sign of their success is the backlash, wafting around them like skunk juice and proving that sour grapes do indeed make the finest whine. Thank heaven that Solid Gold are above such putrefaction. Rather than engage in feud, Solid Gold turn out more good-times music than your ears can handle, proving by deed that when Solid Gold hits, we're all enriched.