Man, it can be daunting being a music fan these days. 2008 was pretty crazy for people into, well, any kind of music – it was jam packed with amazing titles, from Fleet Foxes & Cut Copy to M83, Bon Iver & Black Mountain… man so many great albums.

2009 is shaping to be just as staggering; Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion & Grizzly Bear’s Veckitamest are the front runners but strong showings from Bat For Lashes, Fever Ray, Neko Case, Dirty Projectors, Phoenix & Bill Callahan are making the OH NAAN seem just as impressive as the ’08…

So as we arrive at the midpoint of 2009, I can imagine you’re thinking “yeah, what a great opportunity to look back & review the yays & nays so far this year…”

Blah. You don’t want that. You don’t seriously want another write up about how awesome the new Grizzly Bear is. You’re nearly sick of reading about Animal Collective already! Sooo… we’ve got a better idea…

Here are a few off the map scenes that have been really keeping Ditch Records excited about music this year. Not that we don’t like all the new stuff, but man, sometimes you just gotta dig a little deeper…