Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album: Wow, 21 more songs about Illinois (which was the focus of last year's state-themed album.) And that's not even his home state! With a project of 48 more states, he better get crackin' - no time to waste on more outtakes albums, but I'll take it just the same if he has a few more songs on this one like the devastatingly creepy and sad "John Wayne Gacy," found on Illinois. Buried in with the strings, horns, and banjo, Stevens crafts some powerful lyrics that beg to be heard.

Kaada - Music for Moviebikers: "A score without a film" is probably the best description I can possibly come up with to describe Kaada's music. Two years ago he released an album with Mike Patton that is probably the best known thing he's done, but outside of that he's concocted very odd, sometimes trip-hop inspired concoctions that utilize elements of 50s and 60s music - and it has to be heard because it's far more successful than it sounds in writing.

Music for Moviebikers, however, is not more of this - the music is hypnotic, gentle, and quiet, almost new-age but not pandering. A score in search of a film, as I stated before - Kaada leaves it up to you, the listener, to fill in the frames yourself (I suggest something arty and very eastern European styled, but that's just me.) Fans of Mike Patton's quiet moments in Fantomas may find much to enjoy here - and it should come as no surprise that Patton's label Ipecac is now the home for Kaada's releases.