The National

The National have a new album coming out in May on 4AD.

As of yet, no title has been announced and the exact release date has not been specified, but an album is coming. This unnamed album is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010, and it kind of feels right to have so much mystery and hype surrounding a band that creates shadowy, cinematic rock songs.

In an interview with Stereogum, The National frontman Matt Berninger said that they "started out trying to make a fun pop record" but that they "veered off that course immediately." I guess this is bad news for those who were hoping to the band would get "happy" and make a dance record but good news for those of us who like The National just the way they are.

Speaking of good news, The National have already announced spring tour dates in support of this mysterious album, none of which are in Ohio, but one is at the Radio City Music Hall. Wow, boys. I guess you've hit the big time.

Joanna Newsom

My favorite harp player-- first in a category that otherwise only includes Harpo Marx-- has a lot in the works.

Joanna's new album is due February 23. Have One on Me is a peculiar album title from a harpist and songwriter who sings about cockles and cowries and sawdust and diamonds, but nonetheless, this is the confirmed title. Nothing but loveliness can be expected, as that is Joanna's specialty, but the album title, which only conjures images of bar room flirtations, does seem like a bizarre choice.

Joanna will be playing multiple shows in Ohio in support of Have One on Me. She will be at Columbus' Southern Theatre on March 29 (tickets are on sale now, so snatch them up while you can), and she will be playing the MusicNOW Festival in Cincinnati on March 30.

Don't miss an opportunity to see Joanna. How many times a year do you have the chance to catch an indie harp concert? Few, indeed.

Karen O

The holiday season was full of award nominations -- and disqualifications -- for Karen O.

The good news: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album It's Blitz! is nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album Grammy award.

Also, the Where the Wild Things Are score that Karen composed with prolific movie score composer Carter Burwell has garnered a healthy collection of nominations. "All Is Love," -- the idealistically sweet song that Karen sings backed by a group of youngsters known on the soundtrack as The Kids -- is nominated for a Grammy in the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media category. The Golden Globes have graced the score with a Best Original Score - Motion Picture nomination, and the Critics' Choice Awards have also nominated the score and "All Is Love" for Best Score and Best Song.

But there is bad news, of course.

The above-mentioned disqualification comes from the Academy Awards. Although the nominations have yet to be announced, the Academy Awards have already announced that the Where the Wild Things Are score has been thrown out of the running in the Best Original Score category for not satisfying their rules. These rules seem far too difficult to even attempt to decode, so I won't try. All I know is Karen has been robbed.

"All Is Love," however, still remains on the Academy Awards' Best Original Song shortlist that has yet to be dwindled down to the finalized nominations. I can only hope and pray that Karen will have a reason to show up on the Oscar red carpet because I am sure she would be wearing something marvelous. And a Karen O performance during the Oscar ceremony would be much appreciated.

Andrew Bird

Pop virtuoso Andrew Bird has no lack of projects in the works. His schedule is overflowing with interesting musical ventures. There are many strings to Andrew's bow, so to speak (please try to ignore mind my horrendous pun, which refers to Mr. Bird's instrument of choice).

Andrew is currently on tour in Europe and he will be spending mid-December giving cozy performances in a few American churches, but he has much more in the works. He is writing the score for Norman, a feature film starring Adam Goldberg and Richard Jenkins. It is unknown whether or not Andrew's distinctive whistling will permeate the big screen.

Andrew will also be contributing to a version of Kermit's self-reflective song, "It's Not Easy Being Green," in the upcoming Muppets Revisited album, which will feature more heavy hitters covering Muppets classic tunes. I would say that of all popular male musicians today, Andrew does bear the closest resemblance to the famed amphibian. They do have similar slim builds.

In even more Andrew Bird-related news, the spellbinding -- and sometimes spinning -- horns/speakers/purposeful sculptures that travel with Andrew on tour will be the subject of an art installation. A Chicago artist makes the horns for him. Many of these horns will be congregated together in a traveling showpiece, and they will be playing loops. In an interview with the BBC, Andrew described this spectacle as "an arboretum of sonic sculptures."

Whatever you say, Andrew. It all sounds good and complicated. Amphibians and arboretums: it's what the people want.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

French singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg's 2006 record 5:55 was crafted with the help of some capable and clever fellows. Her airy, seductive vocals mingled with the production of Nigel Godrich and the handiwork of Air, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. And, of course, comparisons were (not so cleverly) made to the sounds of her legendary father, Serge.

Now Charlotte is making music with another musical male, and his name is Beck.

Gainsbourg, who recently starred in Lars von Trier's gruesome thriller "Antichrist" and who was the Stéphanie to Gael Garcia Bernal's Stéphane in Michel Gondry's fantastical "The Science of Sleep," is set to release this new record, IRM, this January. Two of the album's songs have thus far been introduced to the world: the title track -- which is posted on her MySpace page -- and most recently "Heaven Can Wait."

These songs indicate that IRM, the French equivalent to MRI, retains the spacious atmosphere of 5:55 but adds a welcome dose of Beck's jaunty whimsy. It sounds like a splendid album is in store for the new year.

Jens Lekman

The charming Swedish songbird and storyteller Jens Lekman will be spending his New Year's in Chicago.

His New Year's Eve show at Chicago's Empty Bottle is already sold out, but he has also planned two more shows -- on the first and second days of January 2010. He has no other shows planned thereafter, in Chicago or elsewhere.

Although Jens has not released an album since his 2007 release Night Falls Over Kortedala, Mr. Lekman just recently contributed his song "Your Arms Around Me" to the soundtrack of the movie Whip It, directed by first-time director Drew Barrymore and starring Ellen Page. "Your Arms Around Me" deserves a keen listen this year. Keep an ear out for how Jens pronounces the "th-" sound like an "f." It is especially beguiling.

Jens is loved for his grandiose and kaleidoscopic approach to playful pop. And his stage presence is most definitely his own. He tells many cute stories. For those planning on an outrageously sexy New Year's, this may not be the best setting for such action, but Jens will surely throw a lovely party with lots of bells and whistles and other jangly instruments to ring in 2010.

Yeasayer

Yeasayer's debut record, All Hour Cymbals, made a significant splash in 2007, which was ages ago (you know, back when the economy was not the go-to subject of uncomfortable conversations). Now this "Visual/Gospel/Showtunes" band (according to their MySpace page) has announced that their sophomore record, Odd Blood, will be released February 9, 2010. This is exciting news for those who enjoyed their psychedelic, exotic and dynamic brand of pop the first time around.

Yeasayer will be previewing the new record the day before Halloween at New York's Guggenheim Museum.

Odd Blood also marks Yeasayer's first release on Secretly Canadian, the record label home to artists Antony and the Johnsons, Foreign Born and Jens Lekman among others.

The boys will surely do some major touring after the record drops/hits/comes out. They have been doing plenty of touring in the time between records, including a string of summer shows with Ponytail and an appearance at this year's Pitchfork Music Festival.

They definitely have that "cool" factor down, as is obvious from this Guggenheim/Secretly Canadian/Ponytail/Pitchfork combo.