Well, I guess it’s my turn. Kasey and RSV have already dropped their faves of the year (here and here) on y’all, so there’s just no avoiding it for me now. This year was particularly difficult due to the sheer amount of great music that came out, and had I made this list tomorrow it would certainly change. That said, you can edit forever but eventually you have to settle on something and call it your list. So, with out further ado I am gonna steal RSV’s formatting and get this show on the road:

20. Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears
19. Those Darlins – Those Darlins
18. Strawfoot – How We Prospered
17. Justin Townes Earl – Midnight at The Movies
16. Malcolm Holcombe – For The Mission Baby
15. Jon Snodgrass – Visitor’s Band
14. Ben Nichols – The Last Pale Light In The West
13. Cam Penner – Trouble and Mercy
12. The Fox Hunt – America’s Working So We Don’t Have To
11. William Elliott Whitmore – Animals In The Dark

Top 10 (with mp3s) are under the cut…

(more…)

The Builders and The Butchers are my current band crush and it’s all thanks to Reverend Marcus from Strawfoot. He’d managed to catch them with Those Darlins up in St. Louis and was moved enough to email me, suggesting that I should check them out. I couldn’t thank him enough for thinking of me, and anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that to be the truth.

The Builders and The Butchers are five Alaskans seeking refuge in Portland who have created an amalgam of gospel, country, folk, blues, clangs, bangs, choruses and noise. The music and songwriting features “Southern gothic”-based themes, such as death, war, disease, gods and devils, that immediately brings comparisons of a slightly more melodic version of O’Death to mind. Their bio claims they “don’t pay homage to old America, they channel it through desperate story-songs that latch onto your brain and demand immediate attention.” That pretty much sums them up.

If all that isn’t enough to make you wanna buy this cd, then lemme add an ‘it’s Essential Listening‘ accolade on top of everything. Not to mention it’s one of my favorite cds of the year so far. Check it out and hear for yourself.

The Builders and The Butchers – Raise Up Your Weary Hands
The Builders and The Butchers – Down In The Hole
The Builders and The Butchers – In The Branches

The Builders and The Butchers’ Official Site, The Builders and The Butchers on myspace, Buy Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well