The Low Anthem, whose Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, has already been named to many publications' lists for best of the year, has now earned the No. 4 slot among Paste magazine's 25 Best Albums of 2009, with label mates Wilco making the list as well, at No. 21. Paste's Josh Jackson describes the music of Oh My God, Charlie Darwin as "gorgeous chamber folk," in the tradition of Nick Drake and Tim Buckley. "[W]hether soft or loud," says Jackson, "these 12 songs are exquisite." Read more, including the complete list, at pastemagazine.com.

Also this week, Baeble has chosen the band's video for the album track "Charlie Darwin," directed by Glenn Taunton and Simon Taffe for End of the Road Films, as the year's best video, calling the album from which it comes "remarkable." You can watch the video at nonesuch.com/media.

In a year that's brought so much acclaim, from critics and fans alike, The Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller took some time to reflect on all that's happened and to fill us in on what's to come for the trio-now-turned-quartet in the year ahead. Here's what he had to say:

Hi Friends, this is Ben from Low Anthem writing.

I've just landed back in Providence after our last show of 2009. After 16 months of touring, it is damn fine to be home where the Gansett Lager flows like nectar, and the music rattles my brain. It's been a wild year and we can't thank you enough for being a part of it. You have appeared in dirty dives and ancient churches alike across the land for the divining of spirits and the surrection of tried magic. It's been great fun. Frankly we're dumbfuddled over some of the moments we've shared with you. And of course there've been some graceless moments as well. Por exemplo, here we are [in the picture at left] at Austin City Limits in the bottom of a murky abyss of fatigue and cynicism.

Yes, so anyhow. Though we're very proud of Oh My God ..., we do confess that after a two-years rolling release we've had some of the Darwin beaten out of us. We're wired to move on. And there's a plan for that. We'll keep you abreast of its unfolding, but it all begins today when we take a tour of a derelict and abandoned pasta sauce factory in Central Falls that may play home to our new recording project. Yep, there is a new record coming. We have been itching to make it for a years now, but with touring, needy reptiles and Jeff's single-A baseball schedule, it hasn't been easy. But now we're home for the cold months and we couldn't be more excited to get to it. We'll be updating y'all regularly on the website and such.

And right, another thing I should mention. Starting a few weeks ago, we've taken a new friend into the project. We know, we know. We said we'd always stay true to our post-dirge-metal power-trio vision. And yes, it's true, the triangle is the most stable energy stucture, but you must see this little man sing and dance before you start burning your flags. He's an old friend by the name Mat Davidson, and he plays everything from accordion to musical saw to anything that can be plucked, strucked, tickled, flossed, blown or bellowed. So before you start firing off hate mail to his home address (28 Cherry Pike  / Roanoke, VA 24001), give the new guy a chance. He's pictured here at lowanthem.com.

And oh yes, one more thing. Starting in January, we're going to be doing a weekly radio hour on a station called WOXY based out of Austin, TX. Long before Low Anthem, Jeff and I used to DJ the graveyard shift on WBRU. It'll be fun to revisit. We're still open to zippy suggestions but as of now we're calling it Trala-Lala Radio Hour and here's the idea. We're going to tape our shows from the tour van or wherever we may be traveling. Every week will feature a different theme based on God knows what and we'll have "in studio" performances from guest artists if we can find any musicians who are cool enough to record live in a Ford Econoline. Anyhow, more news on that soon to come ...

We wish you all a mirthful winter and new year. We'll be sending word from the pasta sauce factory. We love you all very much,

Ben Knox Miller