I’ve like a number of albums this year, but only two have blown my mind. First up, Future of the Left‘s incredible Travels With Myself and Another, which is released nationwide tomorrow.

If you want to get into the backstory of the two members of McLusky that formed this band, be my guest. But this second album by Future of the Left requires no previous entry point; it is loud, tight, boisterous, bilious, and hilarious. Totally recommended for thirtysomething cubicle drones who used to really like Husker Du and still listen to Pixies on occasion. Or, if you liked McLusky.

I am also the ten-millionth blog owner to sing the praises of Grizzly Bear‘s Veckatimest. You may have seen this bizarreness:

Though they don’t sound much like middle-period XTC, Veckatimest reminds me of the way XTC’s albums continued to unfold over many listens, revealing layers and shades that I swore weren’t there on the previous play.

Also growing on me is St. Vincent‘s similarly complex Actor.

When I first heard her previous album Marry Me, I liked it. It grew to be among my favorite albums of the year. I like Actor quite a bit, and I like it a little more each time I listen to it.

The Animal Collective’s Merriwether Post Pavilion starts a winter music roundup from the Martin hi-fi.

What bought us to this point? Rave culture? Radiohead’s knob twiddling in the early ’00s? Brian Wilson’s solo albums? Freak-folk? The Blue Man Group? Those Dairy Queen TV commercials with the talking lips? All of the above, perhaps?

For a band that follows their muse as relentlessly as the Animal Collective does, their new album Merriweather Post Pavilion feels like one for the fans. I mean that in the best way possible. At their best, the AC is capable of trippy, ecstatic journeys that expand your mind and keep your feet moving. At their aimless worst… well, why dwell on that? Their new album is focused and amazing.

A good litmus test to decide whether the Animal Collective is for you; visit the HD version of “My Girls,” and turn up your speakers as loud as they’ll go before the neighbors complain. If it doesn’t do anything for you, you can move on to the more conventional but equally excellent indie rock choices below.

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

Andrew Bird returns with another measured dose of stately chamber pop. He doesn’t seem to have a video out for any singles yet, but the above performance of “Anonanimal” captures his skill and appeal nicely. Note the inventive and effective use of a looper.

I’m thinking about starting a write-in campaign to see if we can get the BBC to consider hiring Andrew Bird as the first American Dr. Who.

A.C. Newman – Get Guilty

Why would the main man behind the New Pornographers need a solo project? A quick listen to his 2nd solo album Get Guilty suggests that it gives him an opportunity to let his hair down. Now, Carl Newman doesn’t have much hair, so the differences between his solo music and the New Porns’ are somewhat academic. Nonetheless, Get Guilty is a little shaggier and less devoted to a super-pop sheen, while still sporting more killer hooks than a full tackle box.

I’m also looking forward to the February release of the debut album from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

Everything I’ve heard from this band suggests that they are serious students of early ’90s shoegaze pop (Pale Saints? Yes, please!), and with any luck their album will spark a huge revival of that long-lost genre.

Okay, probably not, but at least it sounds like it could be a decent album anyway.

Here is my top 20 albums list for 2008!

1. Frightened Rabbit – Midnight Organ Fight
2. Marching Band – Spark Large
3. Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling
4. Mates of State – Rearrange Us
5. Throw Me the Statue – Moonbeams
6. The Walkmen – You & Me
7. The Whitsundays – The Whitsundays
8. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
9. Sigur Ros – Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust
10. Jamie Lidell – Jim
11. The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement
12. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
13. School of Seven Bells – Alpinisms
14. Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
15. Breathe Owl Breathe – Ghost Glacier EP
16. Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
17. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
18. Sloan – Parallel Play
19. Pete and the Pirates – Little Death
20. Deerhunter – Microcastle

Here’s to a great 2009!

Jamie Lidell – “Another Day” from the Jim LP

This British dude isn’t much of a dancer, but dang, he can sing. The Jim LP is a little slice of soul heaven.

Mates of State – “My Only Offer” from the Re-Arrange Us LP

We didn’t know anything about this band, but they’re already up to their fifth album. Excellent, peppy boy/girl pop with lovely harmonies and only a slight undercurrent of discord in the lyrics.

Marching Band – “Make Up Artist” from the Spark Large LP

This Swedish duo has released one of the most accomplished indie-pop debuts ever with Spark Large. They’re typically Swedish in that they’re really obsessed with melody, but they are also very, very gifted musicians. The guitar flourishes on this album are really stunning.

Reissue Bonus from Scott’s Car – Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians – “Brenda’s Iron Sledge” from the Gotta Let this Hen Out! LP

This video isn’t directly from the awesome live album Gotta Let this Hen Out!, which was re-released this year, but the song is included and has a similar feel as all of the Hen songs. I can’t begin to describe my obsession with this album. It is, beginning to end, completely amazing.

Have a great autumn!

With great albums from Pete and the Pirates and Throw Me the Statue, it’s already been a good year for quirky, nervous pop-rock bands. Frightened Rabbit leaves behind some of the hesitancy of their last album and the lack of muscle among their peers, and comes up with a great record of accidental anthems. The lyrics may still be quite melancholic, but the rousing arrangements betray a band that has definitely found their groove. Recommended!

The four people watching seemed to enjoy it, anyway. I love their album Moonbeams, and highly recommend it.

Also check out other “Take-Away Shows” on the LaBlogotheque’s Channel.

Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling

Sure, the music is winsome, and she may singlehandedly bring back the Autoharp as the instrument to buy this year. Whatever brings you to Basia Bulat, though, you’ll stay for the melodies. Like my favorite from last year, Emma Pollock, Basia Bulat’s primary gift is the ability to create catchy, complex vocals that hit on all cylinders.

The Whitsundays – The Whitsundays

Listen: Sorry James

Some bands thrive on innovation; The Whitsundays thrive on commitment. Faint praise? Hardly. Though their album at first seems like nothing you couldn’t cobble together from a few Turtles and Zombies records, the precision and attention detail will make you feel oh, so 1966. Dig the amazing harmonies! From beginning to end, a very entertaining listen.

The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride

The news here is that the Mountain Goats have abandoned the theme-based, autobiographical album format for the first time since 2002, and this album is all the stronger and more entertaining for it.

What have you been listening to, from this or any year?