Andrew Bird – Noble Beast. If you’ve never heard Andrew Bird before, don’t bother reading or finding anything about him. Just pick up this album when it comes out on Jan 20, or download a torrent of the leak now, and listen until you fall in love. (UPDATE: I had to take down the sample song, but you can actually stream the entire album at NPR.) It contains more of the same folksy, intricate composition and witty, perplexing songwriting that’s in all of his past albums, but this time, you can tell he’s devoted even more time to indulging his own musical idiosyncrasies. Fortunately, these indulgences — the thickly layered flow and ebb of electric violin on a repeater pedal, the chirps and plucks and falsetto murmuring — were the most enjoyable parts of his music to begin with.

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion. This is probably the most hyped indie-rock album in a long time, and comes out today on vinyl, with the CD and digital release on Jan 20. Like everything else, there is a leak already on bittorrent or rapidshare, so you can catch a preview there. Already it looks like the album has lived up to the hype. Pitchfork gave it an almost unheard-of 9.6 and a glowing review. Despite the band’s reputation for sprawling, almost schizophrenic eclecticism — their past records have combined pop, electronic, rock, jam band influences, and the musical equivalent of drug-induced hallucinations (which are probably the result of, yes, drug-induced hallucinations) — the new songs miraculously manage to find coherence and a sort of focused melodic quality. If this sounds vague, it’s because their music is basically impossible to describe. Try listening for yourself.