I just woke up and realized that it's 2009 and I forgot to put this up. Please enjoy.

Davila 666: Davila 666
These dudes sound a lot like the Black Lips—a good thing in my book—only they're from Puerto Rico. The songs are catchy as Hell, and all the singing is in Spanish. Fun! Hear some of the stuff here.

A.H. Kraken: A.H. Kraken
These guys are from Metz, France. Their self-titled debut is equal parts Arab on Radar and PIL. I also hear aspects of A Frames in there. Just think an approximate amalgamation of those bands, but with a lot more distortion and weirdness. I missed their show at Funhouse a bit back, but I'll try not to next time, as the album has been on my heavy rotation list lately. It's particularly good to crank on the stereo over hear in the Web office when no one else is around.

The Helio Sequence: Keep Your Eyes Ahead
I know everyone's shitting their pants about the Fleet Foxes, but a similar Sup Pop release from last January blew me away, and I still listen to it often, even 11 months later. The title track is downright stellar. Hear it and some other songs here, but check out the whole album.

Blood on the Wall: Liferz
Also released in the first month of 2008, Liferz doesn't stray too far from previous BOTW work, and that's a good thing.

Beach House: Devotion
I came across this because my predecessor left it on the shelving that I now use to hold my crap. Score! The songwriting here is excellent, and the melodies are subdued and haunting. Good for when you're hungover and/or depressed and/or stoned. I've been told the previous album is also nice, but have yet to hear it.

The Dutchess and the Duke: She's the Dutchess and He's the Duke
My review is here.

Vivian Girls: Vivian Girls
I would write about this if everyone else hadn't wrote a million words about it already. It is good.

That's about it. I didn't hear nearly as much as I wanted to this year, largely due to the fact that I'm constantly broke, which is largely due to an inability to ever save money. Also, you may realize that this list is rather In the Red-Records heavy. I am fine with that.