Rare is it that you see formats outside the standard compact disc or even cherished wax vinyl. But cassettes seem to be popping up more and more as a cool retro item. With vinyl’s popularity, it seems this is the only place to go – reel to reel is out for obvious reasons, as is the 8-track. So that leaves cassette, a vestige in the vintage, a gleam of retro hope. Which brings us to today and Hometapes.

2009 is a tough year to judge. I’ve checked out more albums this year than any year in the past. Well over 1,000. And there have been quite a few great ones as well. When this list began, it had 110 albums. I abandoned my top 33 and 1/3 for 45, and then said “screw it” and upped the number to an even 50. These are the top notch albums of the year, all worthy of praise.

In 2009, Hometapes aptly demonstrated that they are a force to be reckoned with and a label to keep an eye on. They packed the year with great releases, some of which are likely to appear on my best of 2009 list, slated to go live late next week. To celebrate the holidays, they’ve done two things worth noting. First is Eight Days Of Christmas, which features Christmas tunes from eight Hometapes bands. Second is a Holiday sampler, which arrived in the form of a cassette …

Photographer Tim Lytvinenko joined and documented Megafaun as they toured across the states in support of their latest release, Gather, Form & Fly, out now on Hometapes. The result is a collection of experiences from the road in what they dub “part-documentary, part-sense memory.” No surprise, Lytvinenko puts this collection of shots to the music of Megafaun’s epic almost instrumental track “Impressions Of The Past”. It’s the best of the road, the fun and the fans, the antics and the hilarity of it all.

Megafaun (MySpace) was originally birthed from the remnants of DeYarmond Edison and released Bury The Square in 2007. Gather, Form & Fly is the follow-up to that widely-hailed album, and it warrants all the hype one can give. The band consists of Joe Westerlund and brothers Phil and Brad Cook. The main Edison absentee is Justin Vernon, who now goes by Bon Iver. Despite Iver’s greatness, there’s a lot to be said about these three — the music they create, in my opinion, is just as great …