(photo: unknown source)

Tomorrow at noon, there will be a new U.S. President.  There will also be a new post on QBiM, but it post won’t have anything to do with a new president or U.S. politics in general.  So let’s just get this out of the way now:  Yeah, it’s pretty cool history-in-the-making stuff happening in Washington, and yeah, I’ll be watching it when I can, but, hey, this is a music blog, and tomorrow is new release Tuesday, so hey, cut me some slack.

For those who haven’t gotten a hold of a digital copy of Merriweather Post Pavilion yet, Animal Collective’s latest hits the shops in physical form in 24 hours, so snatch up a copy, or at the very least, go over to your best hipster friend’s house, dim the lights, indulge in whatever it is you prefer indulging in, and sit back and listen to the trippiest album released this year.  Lots has been written on how this is the sound of Animal Collective pandering to the masses, moving ever closer to a more traditional pop sound, but let’s be honest here:  this is still Animal Collective.  They may not be screaming and howling banshees, but Merriweather Post Pavilion is hardly going to be on the iPods of wide-eyed ‘tweens next to the Twilight soundtrack.  I admit, it is a bit of a daunting task listening to the whole thing, but in small portions, there’s lots to enjoy.  My initial enthusiasm for this record has waned a bit, but I still think it’s going to find a place on the QBiM year-end 2009 list, and this track is certain to be in top 20 of the year:

MP3: Animal Collective “My Girls”
Facebook: Animal Collective
Myspace: Animal Collective
Buy: Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion

A.C. Newman returns with a new solo project tomorrow; Get Guilty follows a familiar formula involving solid songwriting, peerless pop aesthetics, and one of the most familiar voices in indie-rock, thanks in large part to Newman’s other project, The New Pornographers.  He’s not totally flying solo, as a number of friends drop into the studio to help out.  I haven’t really had a chance to listen to this album all that closely, and I didn’t gravitate to his 2004 album Slow Wonder as much as I did the New Pornographers work, so I can’t definitively pass judgment one way or the other here.  Suffice to say that purveyors of fine pop won’t have much to complain about when they Get Guilty.

MP3: A.C. Newman “There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve”
Facebook: A.C. Newman
Myspace: A.C. Newman
Buy: A.C. Newman Get Guilty

This is just a taster of what tomorrow’s going to bring down at the local record shop.  We’ve got a preety jam-packed week of coverage at QBiM, so be sure to come back each day for more new music., and be sure to nter this week’s contest, and get your chance to win one of three copies of Woodpigeon’s Treasury Library Canada CD.