Potential albums that pique the interest of this writer include offerings by my more favored bands: Distortion by Magnetic Fields, Heretic Pride by the Mountain Goats, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea by Silver Jews and Accelerate by R.E.M. Sure, that last one is in all likelihood past the point of relevance, but I still always get more than a little excited for Athens' Finest.

Some other albums that I'll surely inspect sooner rather than later are: Lucky by Nada Surf, Made in the Dark by Hot Chip, In the Future by Black Mountain, Songs for Waiting by the OaKs, Trouble in Dreams by Destroyer, the self-titled debut full length by Vampire Weekend and Microcastle by Deerhunter.

These acts have been confirmed as working on new material, but who knows for certain if 2008 is their year of release: the Avalanches, the Postal Service, Franz, Madvillain, Blur and two Wolves (Parade and Mother). The Wrens are about on schedule for their third album, and Cannibal Ox is waaaaaaaay overdue for their second. And even though the new year has only just turned over, I've already got a front-runner for my Favorite Album of 2008.

Cheers, everyone.