After the latest eMusic downloads and a couple of birthday gifts, here’s the latest list of what I’m listening to:

Noise From Words - Michael McDermott

Scott and Jason have already proclaimed this the album of the year. I’m not ready to mark it as my favorite of the year just yet, but it’s definitely one of the top two at the moment. I mentioned McDermott in my previous reviews and so I won’t say much more now except this: get this one now (you can download it here for only 8.99). You won’t regret it. There’s not a bad song on the disc. My favorite tracks at the moment include “Broken”, “I Shall Be Healed”, “Still Aint Over You Yet” and “All My Love.”

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists

After downloading one full album and a couple of EP’s from eMusic, I was fast becoming a big fan of indie pop/rock band The Decemberists. Then, I recently purchased their newest album, The Crane Wife, with some birthday cash I received, and really fell in love with them. They have some, well, interesting lyrics set to some really fantastic music. It’s easily their best and one of my favorites of the year as well. Like McDermott’s Noise, there’s not a bad song here. (This has been a great month - I’ve said that about at least three albums now.) My favorite tracks at the moment include “Yankee Bayonet”, “O Valencia!”, “The Island…” and “The Crane Wife parts 1 & 2.”

The Ringing Bell - Derek Webb

One thing that Webb has become known for is ruffling the feathers of most Christians who hear his music. He pulls no punches, and is sometimes likened to folks such as Rich Mullins and Keith Green. His lyrics provoke some to think more deeply about what living out their faith means. Other folks he makes uncomfortable. Still others he just pisses off. Regardless, this newest release is a bit shorter (at around 30 minutes) than his previous efforts, but is still powerful as always, this time focusing on peace. It’s also a little more pop/rock than his past work. My favorite tracks at the moment include “The End/The Very End”, “A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fear”, “A Savior On Capitol Hill” and “This Too Shall Be Made Right.”

So Much More - Brett Dennen

As I mentioned before, I found Dennen’s voice a little strange when I first heard some clips of this album. However, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me, and the more I loved this album. Dennen has been compared to Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, although it seems to me that it might be a little early for such comparisons. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful album, and if you are into folk-singer-songwriter type stuff, check this out. My favorite tracks at the moment include “Ain’t No Reason”, “Darlin’ Do Not Fear”, “I Asked When” and “The One You Love The Most”.

Nuclear Daydream - Joseph Arthur

I was checking out a friend’s blog last week and saw this album in his “music in current rotation” list. I wasn’t familiar with Joseph Arthur, but decided to check it out, along with the others in his list. I liked it a lot, and since it was available on eMusic, I went ahead and downloaded it, and I’m glad I did. I’ve seen him described as indie pop, singer-songwriter, rock, and a couple of others, so I don’t know exactly how he should categorized. Seems to me it’s a little bit of several genres. All I know is that this album gets better every time I listen to it. My favorite tracks at the moment include “Don’t Tell Your Eyes”, “Slide Away”, “Black Lexus” and “Enough To Get Away.”

That’s it for now. I’ve left a few out (Spoon, Jeff Black, Sufjan Stevens, The White Stripes), but will try to get to those later.

In a related note, it appears Derek Webb is returning to Caedmon’s Call, or at least he has for their next album and tour.