Nine (Musical) Things That Will Almost Certainly Not Disappoint You In 2009: Besides the whole Obama-is-President thing, it turns out there’s a lot to look forward to this year, like a host of new releases. What follows is a very subjective list of potential highlights, but please bear in mind: Many of release dates are tentative. Very tentative.

1) Modern Skirts, All Of Us In Our Night (just released this week): This Athens, Georgia, band would probably still be awesome even if Dave Lowery and Mike Mills hadn’t helped co-produce their new sophomore disc, or if one of the band’s members hadn’t dressed up in a chicken costume on their MySpace page, although those things didn’t hurt. Even better: The Skirts are almost scarily adept at the sort of catchy, piano-heavy indie-pop that, like many other good things, went out of fashion in the mid-’90s.

(samples from the Modern Skirts’ new album)

2) Buddy & Julie Miller, Written In Chalk (March 3, New West): Their first record in five years features guest turns from Robert Plant (with whom Buddy Miller recently toured) and Patty Griffin. Three tracks from the album are here.

3) Pete Yorn (title/release date TBA): Usually dismissed as a well-connected Springsteen/Vedder soundalike with really good hair, which he is, Yorn released an amazing debut (musicforthemorningafter) in 2001, and has been struggling to live up to it ever since. In 2009, he’s slated to release both a Frank Black-produced EP and a full-length album, recorded with Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis. One of the new songs is here.

4) Decemberists: The Hazards Of Love (March 24, Capitol): According to Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, the band’s follow-up to The Crane Wife is a classic rock-inspired “folk opera” about a woman attacked by a shape-shifting animal. Because why wouldn’t it be? A new track, “The Rake’s Song”, can be found on the band’s MySpace page. (For subtler Meloy-related pleasures, the Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke EP is worth checking out, if you can find it. One track is here.)

5) Various Artists, Dark Was The Night (February 17, Red Hot) and Various Artists, Heroes (February 24, War Child): Remember the early ’90s, when those amazing, superstar-heavy Red Hot charity compilations came out? And for years everyone tried to copy them, but it didn’t really go so well? Two upcoming charity compilations offer some of the strongest lineups we’ve seen since, and it’s probably not a coincidence that the most promising one is the first Red Hot compilation since 2000. Among contributors to Dark Was The Night: Andrew Bird, Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch, the Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket and the New Pornographers). Dark Was The Night may have the edge in overall awesomeness, but the war-children-benefiting Heroes has the more novel organizing principle: Famous artists pick other famous artists to cover their songs (e.g. the Hold Steady covering “Atlantic City”, at Bruce’s request).

Jay Farrar & Kelly Willis covering Townes Van Zandt’s “Rex’s Blues”, from
one of the original “Red Hot” albums, 1994’s Red Hot + Country.

6) Heartless Bastards: The Mountain (February 3, Fat Possum): The Dayton-based garage rock trio returns with their maybe-breakthrough disc. The title track is here.

7) Steve Earle, untitled Townes Van Zandt covers project (release date TBA, New West): For much of the past year, Earle has been in the process of making an album of songs written by Van Zandt, his onetime mentor. Nothing has leaked yet – as far as we know, at least – but it couldn’t get much better than this:

Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris singing “If I Needed You” on an Austin City Limits tribute to Townes Van Zandt in the late ’90s.

Justin Townes Earle: Midnight At The Movies (March 3, Bloodshot): Earle’s son Justin was named after Van Zandt, and he covers the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” on his sophomore disc, from which much is expected. A new track is here, and we also found a presumably non-album version of “Can’t Hardly Wait”.

9) Band Of Horses (title/release date TBA, Sub Pop) and Patty Griffin (title/release date TBA, ATO): Griffin was recently spotted recording in a Nashville church, with a full band. Buddy Miller is producing what’s rumored to be a gospel album….Band Of Horses are currently recording a follow-up to 2007’s seriously wonderful (really, you should go buy it) Cease To Begin. Info has been scarce, but there are live clips of the band trying out some new material.