A ton of songs on here are worth repeat listens — check out Real Thing, which has one of the best choruses going. There are some odd influences going on here — folk, hip hop, and electronic music all sort of intermingle together on occasion — often just sounding that way because of Merrill’s intonation when she sings.

Sink-O is another totally oddball, but fascinating track. Wait for a Minute is my favourite track on the record — just beautiful, lethargic music perfect for a lazy Saturday. Rocking Chair gets my award for weirdest song of the year.

Ultimately, tUnE-yArDs doesn’t care what you think. It’s a record from a musician who doesn’t care about your expectations, and has little to no respect for the traditional musical requirements of cohesion of listenability. nikki nack is a playful, eccentric record that’s willing to have fun by refusing to play along with the program.

nikki nack is wildly inventive, and tUnE-yArDs makes it look easy. Like the most creative work, it’s bursting with the joy of experimentation. nikki nack should absolutely be the first thing you listen to this week. (Water Fountain is the first single.)

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As a result, Shriek surprises. Check out Glory, or Sick Talk, as great examples of what an indie band can do when they drop everything and focus solely on growing their sound. Despicable Animal sounds like a bit of a throw-back to an older time, but I mean that in a good way.

One of my favourite comments about the record is that Annie Clark could have sounded like with the new St. Vincent record if she wasn’t so worried about “being weird” — I love it because it makes no sense. Is this record too weird? Too normal? I have no idea; I just think it sounds great. Listen to Logic of Color! More of this, please!

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The chorus in From Nowhere surprises me every time, with the guitar quickly getting caught in a loop in my head. Thinkin Aboutchu sounds dangerously like a song I’ve heard on the radio many times (can’t put my finger on which ones), but offers just enough of a twist to be quite clearly and cleverly different.

Some of the songs get a lot deeper than their initial surface value appears — check out Only Ghost, for example, which demonstrates both musical prowess and strong composition. They balance the pop songs quite well. I also love the title track and Home for similar reasons. This album is so fresh and optimistic that it’d be a shame to miss it.

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It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you listen to this soundtrack.Alexandre Desplat’s original score is excellent, as always, (he’s also behind the beautiful Curious Case of Benjamin Button soundtrack, which is one of the best parts of that film), but it’s also got a smattering of classic tracks from groups like The Wellingtons and The Beach Boys.

Anderson has a good ear and he goes for deep cuts. For example, one of the album’s last tracks is Ol’ Man River (by The Beach Boys) — certainly not a well-known piece, but most definitely a beautiful one. The album also sheds a little bit of light on the idea that every band from that period sounded like The Beach Boys or The Beatles — look no further than Let Her Dance, by Bobby Fuller Four, for that.

Fantastic Mr. Fox collects beautiful classical, blues, and jazz touches too — Art Tatum’s Night and Day makes a surprise appearance. And, of course, you can never go wrong with Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones. Looking for a pick-me-upper for your Monday blues? The Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack is a great place to start.

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