So last year...

I don’t have a lot to report. My 2009 affinity with 2008 music continues as yesterday I banged in an order with a major online store for a brace of long players from that recent yet fondly recalled year. The Bug’s London Zoo gained soaring acclaim for its part dubstep, part dancehall sounds, its potent riddims and righteous lyrical content. I’ve heard one or two tracks and am keen to explore the album as a whole. I’ve also summoned from the South American river-based emporium, an album by Welcome Wagon, wittily entitled Welcome to the Welcome Wagon. This act comprises a husband and wife team, Vito and Monique Aiuto. He’s a Presbyterian minister and the record appears to possess a somewhat religious theme. I was wooed by the fact the album was produced and arranged by the young prince of popular music, Sufjan Stevens, and, indeed, released on that maverick genius’s Asthmatic Kitty label. Stevens also plays loads of the instruments and provides some vocals. How thrilling. What I’ve heard sounds glorious. I shall let all hepcats know my opinions when both discs have arrived and have been spun earnestly in my secret pop laboratory.