With a sound as eclectic as the members and inspirations behind it, Grand Analog is a dub/rock/soul/hip-hop group originally from Winnipeg. When describing the band’s style, front man Odario Williams says, “It’s openness, and it’s freedom, and it is our version of hip-hop.” While these are the driving forces behind the band’s unique sound, working outside the bounds of traditional hip-hop has challenged the band and its members at times.

“10 years ago, they’d put a weird name on trying new things: ‘experimental hip-hop’ or ‘alternative hip-hop,’ and that scared people away back then. People were afraid of those terms,” says Williams. “[We] decided to not be afraid of that, of going there.”

While Grand Analog has embraced hip-hop terms, their music has always transcended the confines of a single musical genre because of its broad mix of musical influences. Williams attributes this collaboration of genres to his upbringing in Manitoba’s capital.

“Winnipeg was the perfect community for my formative years as an artist because it was big enough to develop a community out of, or to share your music with, but it was small enough that the influences were broad. When you’re just small enough you know the rock guys, you know the bluegrass guys, and you guys will mix eventually,” says Williams.

The band takes a very progressive perspective on the idea of sampling, a predominant aspect of traditional hip-hop. Conventionally, sampling consists of taking a portion of another artist’s sound recording to reuse as an instrumental or added element in one’s own song. However, Grand Analog samples by infusing the feel and mentality of a certain genre with the band’s pre-existing hip-hop tracks.

“Instead of sampling a rock record, we played in a rock sense. There’s a certain cadence that comes out of rock and roll, [or] comes out of reggae. We were experimenting [with] those things because we can,” says Williams.

Adding to the increased artistic freedom of music today, Williams suggests that some musical genres are a thing of the past. “Hip-hop today really has no definition,” he says.

Williams likes to refer to Grand Analog as a “live project” instead of a band, trying to stress the ongoing process of experimentation and excitement that goes into their musical performances. Concertgoers can expect the same energy and experimentation they hear live to translate to the audio recordings. “I find it difficult to go to a live show … and then buy the CD. It doesn’t do it for me. I didn’t want that to happen with us,” says Williams.

Williams’ emphasis on performance stems from personal experience – his father was a prolific DJ in Winnipeg, and Williams and his fellow bandmate and brother, Ofield, grew up watching him. “My brother and I learned [about] the importance of having a good time, providing a good time, and sharing that good time with people, more than the music itself,” says Williams.

Williams sees himself and his music as a device meant to act as a method of escape for the listeners, instead of a soapbox for the band. This springs from a creative process that occurs separate from Grand Analog’s conscious intentions, and the band allows whatever flows out of them to be recorded and performed. This open process has led to a sound that is both organic and unique, and definitely worth a listen.

Quickly glancing at the hundreds of year-end “best of” lists, it would appear 2009 was the year of the animal in independent music: The Antlers, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, Animal Collective, and Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca to name a few. But it would be careless to neglect the equally fantastic (though less hyped) non-animal albums of the past year as well, like St. Vincent’s Actor or Outside Love by Pink Mountaintops to name even fewer. As the bookend of a decade that was plagued by the rise of auto-tune and metalcore, 2009 still did a very admirable job.

But it’s out with the old and in with the new. Twelve days in, 2010 is already shaping up to be another good year for independent music, and more than half of the upcoming releases haven’t even been announced yet. The following is just a sampling of 2010’s many albums worthy of a listen from both up-and-comers and established acts.

Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring (January 26)

The increasingly prolific Campesinos! release their third album in two years, incorporating brass, added strings, drum machines, and electronics for the first time. Singer/lyricist Gareth Campesinos! seems to be his usual hyper-literate, gut-spilling self with song titles like, “I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know.” It’s shaping up to be their most ambitious album to date.

Broken Social Scene – Title and release date TBA

A lot of people are probably wondering if the third album from this indie-rock institution will be worth the wait. After all, though the band has by no means been unproductive during this time, fans have patiently waited five years for a proper follow-up to their self-titled sophomore release. Granted, it’s probably difficult to get everyone in the same room with over 15 official members. Possibly in an effort to make up for lost time, the band has reportedly recorded 40 songs with new producer John McEntire and there have been rumours of releasing it as a double or even triple album. No release date has been set, but the band tours Europe in mid-May, making April a definite possibility.

Delta Spirit – History From Below (May)

California’s Delta Spirit released a great album – 2008’s Ode to Sunshine – that flew a little too low on people’s radar. However, having toured for the better part of two years with notable acts like The Shins, the upcoming album could be the breakthrough they deserve. If the new disc is anything like the first, expect a healthy dose of roots-y Americana, singer Matthew Vasquez’s full-throated voice, and above all, glorious melodies.

Here We Go Magic – Title and release date TBA

Their self-titled debut last year was a quirky collection of lo-fi, Afro-influenced songs, recorded almost entirely in bedrooms on a four-track. However, it was good enough to score Luke Temple and band the opening spot on Grizzly Bear’s summer tour. Round two should feature more of the same.

Radiohead – Title and release date TBA

Guitarist Ed O’Brien has already said the new album will be a big leap for the band, and this is from a band that has made a career out of making big leaps. The band is known for coming off of their critically acclaimed albums with new releases that exaggerate their desire not to be pigeonholed. The result? Always a surprise.

The Ruby Suns – Fight Softly (March 2)

Finally, something else worth mentioning when discussing New Zealand besides Lord of Rings and “Flight of the Conchords.” This band makes spacey, synth-laden pop songs with enough global influences to make Paul Simon proud.

Sufjan Stevens – Title and release date unknown

There’s been no “official” word on whether 2010 will see Stevens return to albums that aren’t symphonic odes to American highways, but the fact that he debuted a fair number of new songs during his intimate mini-tour this past fall is a good indication that the wheels are oiled, if not fully in motion.

Zeus – Say Us (February 23)

With great harmonies and a strong retro aesthetic, Toronto’s Zeus take everything good about 60’s and 70’s pop and rock and make it feel brand new. Playing double duty for a few years as Jason Collett’s backing band, the group is ready to stand on its own, and songs like “How Does It Feel” and “Marching Through Your Head” shouldn’t make standing too difficult.

The first chapter of a new decade and 2010 is already setting a pretty high bar for the years that follow. The above is only the beginning of what is sure to be, if nothing else, an interesting year, and hopefully, an interesting decade.

Spirit Guides, the full length debut from Jonas Bonnetta under his Evening Hymns moniker, is also the newest release from the Trinity Bellwoods musical community (that features the likes of Timber Timbre and Ohbijou). Fortunately, it’s a good indication of the music coming from West Toronto’s indie music scene. In short, it’s pretty fantastic.

Sonically, Spirit Guides isn’t too far removed from the sound of most of the Bellwoods bands – not surprising considering Ohbijou’s James Bunton produced the album and many Bellwoods mainstays lent a hand to the recording process. All of the elements are here, from rich orchestration and emotive melodies to a record heavy on atmosphere. But it’s hardly predictable, with songs often starting simple before erupting into soaring statements of strings and brass.

Bonnetta really excels as a storyteller and Spirit Guides is about dealing with loss. There’s obvious pathos in these songs, but the album doesn’t try to make you sad. Bonnetta may sing that he lies like a dead deer on the floor, but you know by the end he’s picked himself up. In fact, opener “Lanterns” is a plea for perseverance and a promise that everything will be okay. It’s a reminder that there is always a light, a reappearing lyrical theme weaved throughout the album.

Spirit Guides works best as an album. That’s not to say these songs don’t stand out from one another – they do – but they work even better in tandem. Case in point: “November 1 2008, Lakefield, Ontario,” an ambient five-minute recording of a rain storm. Normally such a track would rightfully be declared wholly pretentious, but flowing seamlessly from the end of “Cedars,” this non-song makes complete sense taken in context, fitting in perfectly and helping to soldify the overall tone of the record. Plus, when was the last time you really sat and listened to rain?

An incredibly strong debut, Spirit Guides is an impressive addition to the already impressive Bellwoods canon.

Heartland is the third and final studio album from renowned Toronto multi-instrumentalist Final Fantasy. Well, not exactly. The band, or rather project, primarily consisting of Owen Pallet (though percussionist Leon Taheny has received credit as well) is retiring its current name – which is conspicuously shared by a videogame franchise – and opting instead for the moniker “Owen Pallet” from now on. That said, Heartland serves as both an epilogue and a prologue: a testament to the artist’s Polaris Music Prize-winning past, as well as a taste of what’s to come in the future.

Listening to Heartland from start to finish for the first time can be disorienting. A blend of Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service might be the closest comparison, but it’s still lacking. No genre (or combination of genres) can adequately describe Pallet’s latest eclectic compositions. And they are, above all, compositions: Pallet displays his skill on an array of string instruments, of which his trademark instrument, the violin, is prominently featured.

Though you can hear bits of Pallet’s earlier albums throughout, Heartland is definitely a departure; the use of electronic effects on songs like “The Great Elsewhere” and “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” adds new layers to his repertoire, which in the past had sounded more stripped down.

Standout tracks include “Lewis Takes Action” which combines a basic beat accompanied by chaotic trills and one of the best vocal displays on the album, and “E for Estranged,” a beautiful song notably featuring a piano waltz, but where the string section truly remains king.

There’s no question that Heartland is challenging, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. It’s frenzied, but skillfully conceived. And though it may be confusing, it is not incomprehensible. But it will probably take more than one listen to really appreciate.