Friday Five Plus One - Coffin Rehearsal

Hey homies. Here's a roundup of five of my favourite tracks from the past few weeks.

Why? - Fatalist Palmistry
I reckon that it's close enough to December 31st for me to say with almost total certainty that Alopecia by Why? will be in my top ten albums of 2008 list. And most likely in the top five rather than the bottom.

The Walkmen - The Blue Route
Another classic track from another superb album. If you haven't given You & Me by the Walkmen a thorough listen, do it now. Now!

Amadou & Mariam - Sabali
I've been a big fan of the magical Malian duo Amadou & Mariam for several years now and couldn't be more excited about their new album, Welcome to Mali, which was released on Monday. 'Sabali' features production by Damon Albarn and is so good it's almost unreal.

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
On this track Atlanta's Deerhunter really remind me of Guided by Voices circa Universal Truths & Cycles, and that's a very good thing. The forementioned band's critically acclaimed album Microcastle was officially released late last month, but leaked online way back in May. Head Deerhunter Bradford Cox names David Bowie, Brian Eno, Echo & The Bunnymen and My Bloody Valentine among his influences so if you like any of those bands, chances are you'll dig Microcastle.

Love Is All - Wishing Well
bonus: Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine
The Swedish band Love Is All released their first proper album last week (2005's Nine Times That Same Song was really just a compilation of the group's earlier singles) and it's a doozy. Lucky Canadians will be able to check them out live as they'll soon be making stops in Vancouver (Nov 24), Montreal (Dec 10) and Toronto (Dec 11) with Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts. That's a swell double bill.

'Wishing Well' video: