Metacritic report: "Throughout the past month, we've been compiling year-end top 10 lists from dozens of music critics and publications in the U.S. and U.K., and the result is a clear, consensus pick for the #1 album of the year: Let England Shake by P.J. Harvey. Yet Harvey's album was not the best-reviewed LP of 2011; instead, that title goes to 62-year-old iconoclast Tom Waits and his latest release, Bad As Me.

And Friends of Americana UK indeed may already be familiar with the a-side...  Pitchfork reports: "Bon Iver will release the new 12" single for "Towers" from Bon Iver on January 23 via 4AD in the UK. According to Jagjaguwar, the single will be out in the U.S. on March 6 The single will come backed by a cover of John Prine's "Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)". Justin Vernon's cover of the song opened the 2010 compilation Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine."  Head over to Pitchfork for a look at the frankly gorgeous cover.

Happy new year to one and all - hope you had a good one and aren't in tears at your desk looking at the weather outside.  Anyway, no news is good news as they say but this is some news so it's kind of not that good but has bits of goodness in it.  The Guardian reports: "Despite the best efforts of Adele and Coldplay, the increasing popularity of digital downloads and even a modest resurgence in vinyl, music sales in the UK declined for a seventh successive year in 2011. According to the latest figures from the BPI, combined sales of digital and physical albums fell overall by 5.6% to 113.2m last year. At the industry peak in 2004, 163.4m albums were sold."