By Joel Francis
Metric – Fantasies
Indie synth band shines
on fourth album. Smart dance-pop
bests Metric, Phoenix.
Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy
Fun from start to end,
Brit blends hip hop, jazz and soul,
wins Mercury Prize.
Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3
Mismatch on paper
Banjo goes to Africa?
A joyous result.
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Red-head continues
streak of amazing albums.
Doubtless to persist.
Allen Toussaint – The Bright Mississippi
NOLA pianist
and songwriter honors roots
with great jazz album.
Me’Shell Ndegeocello – Devil’s Halo
Poetry, jazz, soul –
Don’t try to classify this.
Bass phenom triumphs.
Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar – One Fast Move or I’m Gone
Voices of Death Cab
and Son Volt pay homage to
poet Kerouac.
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears – Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!
Southern soul throwbacks
bridge JB, Otis.
For fans of Daptone.
Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come
Indie sensation
examines life via Bible.
(Isn’t Christian rock.)
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Fourth LP finds MC
back on game. Fans rejoice. More
rhymes, less acting, please.
Honorable mention:
Maxwell – BLACKsummer’snight
Eight years, a long time.
Welcome back, neo-soul man.
Slow jams worth the wait.
Keep Reading:
Top 10 Albums of 2008 (haiku remix)
Review: Neko Case, Son Volt and more at Wakarusa 2005
Green Ribbon Haikus (2008)
Feature: Hail Death Cab
Review: Bela Fleck’s Africa Project
joelfrancis.com 
A thought crossed my mind:
Joel might have too much free time.
(Just kidding; nice work.)
I don’t know what you’re talking about, Drew. I wrote the majority of those haikus while I was supposed to be paying attention to the Thanksgiving sermon at church in D.C.
Thanks for reading.
Great work. Neko Case and Allen Toussaint? Yes ye yes!
Another great “banjo goes to Africa” record, from last year:
http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/Recapturing-the-Banjo/