I did a number of posts this year on an unassuming record by Colin McCann, guitarist for Wilderness. The Lord Dog Bird is a solo effort, done by McCann on his home four-track while Wilderness was on extended hiatus. It’s a slightly drony, atmospheric record, and one that J. Catbird nailed pretty accurately when she walked into the room and observed, “this sounds a bit like Peter Gabriel singing with Wolf Parade.”

I wasn’t originally planning to do yet another post on this record, but after seeing this note in a recent Jagjaguwar Year-End Wrap-Up email:

The Lord Dog Bird "The Lord Dog Bird" (8/5/08)
SUGGESTED LIST: Best Album You Never Heard

…and then this, in Sean’s “Best 50 Songs of 2008″ post:

#32- The Lord Dog Bird:
The same way that a lantern reminds me of a campfire,
this reminds me of early Wolf Parade...
and a woefully ignored album!

…I felt compelled to write this up. This record deserves to be heard, and you may just be pleasantly surprised. I’m not saying it’s a life-changer or anything; it’s really a very modest, unpretentious record… but it’s got that little spark of magic in it that I find so sorely lacking from so much of the music I hear today. So although I don’t do the “Top 10 Albums List” thing anymore, I will say this: The Lord Dog Bird is one of my favorite records I heard this year.