Out This Week 12/15

Not a lot coming out this week, as you’d expect so close to the end of the year. After all, the chances of any new release at this point ending up in a critic’s top ten list is slim to none. (By the way, have you voted for your top albums of 2009?) However, there are still a few nice odds and ends available this week at your local record store. Animal Collective, who have already submitted their contender for album of the year, Merriweather Post Pavilion, have a new EP out, and these are hardly MPP castoffs. In fact, “What Would I Want? Sky,” the first song ever to feature a licensed Grateful Dead sample, garnered a perfect 10 from Pitchfork, only the second song to do so. Bonny Billy (formerly Bonnie “Prince” Billy) has released a vinyl-only live album with fellow Louisvillians The Picket Line, and Seattle band Little Pieces (featured last Friday for our Song of the Day podcast) throw in a charming EP of garage-pop.

Also available this week is Julian Lennon‘s tribute to Lucy Vodden, his childhood friend, whose portrait, drawn by a young Julian Lennon, inspired John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Vodden recently passed away from complications due to Lupus, and so proceeds of the single, co-written by James Scott Cook, a new artist on the roster of Lennon’s new label, theRevolution, will go toward the St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust in the UK and the Lupus Foundation of America.

Beyond that, there are more vinyl reissues, collectible remastered sets, and holiday albums. Check Largehearted Boy’s list for more.