Being that my typical night consists of hitting the sack at around 10pm, and that my new radio show is Friday nights from 10pm to midnight, I figured that my second show would center around the theme of sleep. So I pieced together a playlist of bedroom pop, chill wave, dreamy shoegaze and what I’ve dubbed as psychedelic ambiance.

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.

When I compiled my original Best Of 2008 list last December, it was a snow day. The sky dropped about a foot, maybe a foot and a half of fluffy white stuff and we lowly sub-compact drivers could go nowhere. Between ranking albums and locating album art, I took a stroll around town with my camera. The above image comes from that trek. Overall, I was pretty happy with last year’s list but, in revisiting all the albums from 2008, I now see quite a few …

My god, what a progression! Believe me that there is merit behind my words: Pomegranates were successful in their debut, last year’s Everything Is Alive, but this, this sophomore release, this Everybody Come Outside – this is something else entirely. And it’s mind-blowing!

Written by Fense
I often say that Sweden puts out the best indie pop music in the world, but when it comes to the U.S. of A, Ohio reigns supreme. Pomegranates hail from Cincinnati and are one of my favorite new bands of 2008. Their LP Everything Is Alive has remained at the top of my weekly playlist for some time now and, with each additional listen, I come to love the music even more.