Sugar I'm going down swinging...

Admittedly it's only April, but I have my first shout for album of the year. Having witnessed the enigmatic and energetic Fall Out Boy live a couple of times, it was a great day to discover a Fall Out Boy live album was on the way. Featuring FOB classics such as "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" along with classic covers of Michael Jackson's "Beat It", it seems Fall Out Boy have finally managed to make an album thaasakplfdnksfdkjndsf mdsfg....

I just can't do it. Call it an April Fool's, call it some of the most blatant cashing in on what are a notoriously poor live band, whatever, you will be pleased to know that one of my favourite albums this year does not feature a load of Illinois pop punks.

Instead, the best new album of 2009 so far is written and performed by a little known South-African trio, Dear Reader.

Folk-pop, for want of a better term, is the easiest way to describe Dear Reader. I've already mentioned the simply breathtaking single Dear Heart and now that the album is out in the great unknown, im glad to say that it is a joy from beginning to end.

Each track on "Replace Why With Funny" has its own story to tell, it's own delicate balance between subtle instrumentation and insightful and revealing lyrics. It is an album that focuses on belonging and the uneasiness that this traditionally comfortable emotion can evoke.

One refreshing point, for me at least, was the complete lack of any afro-beat. It would be all to easy to slip into the Vampire Weekend mould, especially with one member having won a Grammy(!) for his work with the simply stunning Soweto Gospel Choir. This is not to say that South Africa and it's current state are not reflected in the album. Comments such as "We live in fear all the time" are not comments based on terrorism threats, global warming or ridiculous G20 demonstrators pointlessly smashing banks apart. They are very real comments about a country with a high crime rate, where economic crisis takes on a completely new meaning, a county in which corruption and fear bread corruption and fear and where personal security and barbed wire surround every home. South Africa is an awaking experience and one that is touched on often but with such dignity and pride that it is not arresting to the album's mood, or to its progression.

In fact, they draw upon all that is good from their cultural heritage, exploring expansive choirs with great effect, demonstrated perfectly in "The Same". The album is a sublime mish mash of two musical cultures, Caroline MacNeill's simply breathtaking vocals perfectly complement the accompanying african-influenced music with her playful nuances on certain words and a crystal clear voice to warm the soul, allowing her to compete with any Western female singer-songwriter.

It is an album built on sing along choruses, built on everyday experiences and built on one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. It is effortless in its complexity, no song drags, seems out of place on the album or takes the mood of the album in a direction it was not already headed. Its attention to detail ensure that each listen reveals a new layer and often a new set of emotions, a new understanding of the themes. It has unbridled imagination, stupendous focus and such heartwarming charm that Dearheart is reigned in from its "runaway single" status to just another crucial piece to the Dear Reader puzzle.

In short, it is the best album I've heard so far in 2009.

www.myspace.com/dearreadermusic

preorder it here