Albums Out This Week: W/C 12th January 2009

The first weeks of any year are always tough. The inevitable peals of laughter when you fail to write the correct year on your paying in slips. The cries of surprise when you insist that Colt. 45 you're currently brandishing doesn't care what year it is, and of course the slow build up to business-as-usual for the music industry.

It seems to be a time-honoured tradition that many of the contenders for album-of-the-year attempt to slip out unnoticed during January: so keep 'em peeled. No Razorlight, we are not talking about you. If nobody cared in 2008, then a re-release with 'special' features isn't going to help you any.

Animal Collective however, may be in with a chance of early acclaim with their mysteriously revealed eighth album.

Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion

Shrinking to a three-piece for their eighth album together, This time Baltimore's avant-garde elite sought to bring a more focused approach to the field ensuring that no track checked in at over six minutes long. In spite of this though, they have still delivered one of the longest albums of their career. Some people just seem to lack brevity.

J. Tillman: Vacilando Territory Blues

The side projects usually come later in the band's life, surely? Throwing caution to the wind Fleet Foxes' drummer Joshua Tillman made the wise choice of kicking off his solo career before the Foxes found their fame. Let the folk ensue.

Cabaret Voltaire: Kora! Kora! Kora!

The debate of ownership looms heavy over this album. Is it the work of New Zealand dub artists Kora, or of famed Sheffield industrial/dance pioneers Cabaret Voltaire? Featuring remixes by the latter entity, "Kora! Kora! Kora!" marks the resurgence of the Cabaret Voltaire name fifteen years after it dropped back into the shadows.

Razorlight: Slipway Fires [Box-Set]

Is there not enough Razorlight in your life? Yes, oh well. Make it a double whammy insult to loved ones by buying them both a late Christmas present and one written by Razorlight.

Jeremy Jay: Love Everlasting E.P

Planting his roots in both Paris and Los Angeles, disco king and electro maestro Jeremy Jay follows his "Slow Dance" album with a quick E.P order.

Sight Below: Glider

From the dark corner of cult indie/electronica label Ghostly International comes the equally magnanimous and reclusive producer Sight Below seeking to further twist the boundaries of all that is decent in music. Now why do the lights always flash and storms brew when people elevate themselves to godlike status and mess with forces beyond their station?