We’re big fans of football here at Music for Nomes, so it seemed obvious that we hold our own draft in conjunction with the NFL draft. That sounded easy, but would seemingly contradict what this site means to us, so, as is the norm, we have to do things our own way.

Instead of football players (for a sport we may not get to watch for another year… sheesh), we are drafting our top picks for new, “fantasy” albums that we wish we could have. The pool of available artists was wide open as long as they hadn’t released a full-length album after 2016.

There was no shortage of painful deliberations, heated debates, and complaints about forgetting an artist was still on the board. Hilarity and memories of great music floated to the forefront along with the infinite, hypothetical possibilities of what could be.

Pick #1 (Travis) – Band of Horses

Josh, I know you're a fan as well, since we have seen them together, but I have to take them even though I’m 99% sure I know who your first pick is.

Band of Horses is perpetually in my top 5 live bands of all time and constantly flirts with taking over the number 1 spot for good.

Their sound has evolved over time from the warm debut of 2006’s Everything All the Time to their fifth studio album, Why Are You OK, in 2016. Since Tyler Ramsey and Bill Reynolds parted ways with the band in 2017, not much has come from Ben Bridwell and company. Now is the time.

The hauntingly powerful, raw vocals are artfully showcased on their live acoustic album recorded at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, but I went a more unpolished route for my song choice. One of my favorite tunes ever is “Slow Cruel Hands of Time,” seen below, performed in all its glory, in gorgeous Jackson Hole, WY.

Pick #2 (Josh) - My Morning Jacket

That’s a great 1st pick, Travis! Definitely would’ve been on my list too.

With MY 1st pick, I’m going with the obvious choice for anyone who knows me… a long-time favorite of mine, My Morning Jacket! I wrote about them in the early days of Music for Nomes for their 2011 release, Circuital if you’re interested in a retrospective.

It has been 5 years since MMJ released the underrated The Waterfall, and 2-4 years has been the standard waiting period between releases for this excellent band from Kentucky. Their natural jamtastic mixture of southern rock, country, funk, and R&B are unmatched. They’re also EASILY one of the best live shows you’ll ever see.

Since Waterfall, we have gotten a Deluxe Reissue of 2003’s It Still Moves in 2016 and a 20th Anniversary Edition of The Tennesee Fire last year. We’ve also been graced with some solo releases from frontman Jim James and guitarist Carl Broemel, respectively.

It was really hard to pick 1 song, but here’s “One Big Holiday“ performed live from Bonnaroo in 2015 (beware: shredding and flashing lights ahead)

That closes out round 1. Stay tuned for the rest of the draft results, and let us know who your #1 pick would have been!

Cheers!

-Josh & Travis