Wow, really late to the party here and now that no one cares anymore, guess I'll wade in
My favorites this year all seem to be very lyrical and kind of melancholy. There's a few more that I really like that are more upbeat and rocking overall like Spoon or Bloc Party, but these just seem to be my obsession right now.
Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Haven't been as interested in the lyrics of an album for a long time. Every song intrigues me. It seems almost a concept album. Apocalyptic tales about monsters and judgement and rebirth (and even some pony rides and dancing bears along the way). Memories of younger days highlighted by brilliant music from the likes of Paul Simon and David Byrne are never far away either. And from more modern times, the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev and Radiohead. None of this generation's songwriters really have anything on Andrew Bird. not those more popular ones like Thom Yorke, Wayne Coyne, Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst, Isaak Brock, Beck, or the less known ones like Win Butler, Sufjan Stevens, Devendra Banhart, Mark Linkous, and whomever else you wanna toss out. I love a good lyric and a good melody and a surprize or two along the way, and I like most of the artists mentioned above, but Andrew Bird is still pretty special. Adventurous music steeped in tradition.
Richmond Fontaine - The Fitzgerald
Willy Vlautin wrote these stark tunes while tucked away in the Fitzgerald Casino Hotel in Reno for a few weeks, and it's pretty vivid and powerful stuff, full of characters whose lives revolve around that central location. A little of the flavor of Springsteen's Nebraska, and also reminiscent of the sad tunes on that first Steve Earle album after he got out of jail. And a more recent touchstone in the work of Damien Jurado. And with a weedy voice similar to the much more popular Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame. But with maybe a touch of Tweedy's ex-Tupelo partner, Jay Farrar, in the lower registers. One of those dusty, lived-in, stripped-down productions that is guaranteed to alienate some fans looking for the more up-beat and rocking alt-country they've come to expect from Richmond Fontaine, but I can't stop listening to it. Not a bad recording either, with some nice bass, and not too compressed like most new CDs, although they did use a lot on his voice.
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Contagious and mesmerizing album, with lots of clever wordsmithing to go with the imaginative music. It is highly emotional subject matter for the most part because it deals with a lot of hurt left from his childhood and abusive stepfather, but what a great album. I just can't stop listening. Kind of like a combo of Will Oldham and the Silver Jews, but without the twisted country vibe. Lots of variety in the music, and with good engineering and production work from John Vanderslice and Scott Solter. And there's even some nice cello work and string arrangements by well known Erik Friedlander. And though some of it does sound similar to the whimsical pop of John Vanderslice's own work, this generally has a more subdued folk-pop sound, though quirky and fractured sounding at times, and lyrically it's much more serious.
And a shoe-in for my probable next obsession is the
Calexico / Iron & Wine EP. And I saw someone listing the upcoming
Silver Jews. Is it great? Pretty sure that would make the year end list. And really like the
Electrelane Axes and
The National Alligator and
Decemberists and a couple others. Big
Super Furry Animals fan but don't have Love Kraft yet, although sure to make the year end list. They really can do no wrong. The new
British Sea Power was initially a let down after the manic debut, but I have really warmed up to it over time and if I spend some more time with it I can definitely see it climbing up there. And I got a lot of fun out of the
Black Mountain, but not sure it'll make the list. Maybe. Guess that gets me up to about 10
eter, aka 
usty 
halk
