Happy New Year from El Perro del Mar

So, uh, yes, we're already a day gone into this crazy little calendar we call 2009, but I figure it's still not too late to say: Happy New Year! Hope your last year was grand, and this'll be even better.

Sarah Assbring —AKA astonishing Swedish pop starlet El Perro del Mar— is also feeling the seasonal spirit. Having already handed over one of the best albums of 2008, with her impossibly beautiful second record From the Valley to the Stars, Assbring has capped off a sweetly year with the gift of song.

Miss El Perro del Mar has recorded a freely-available version of "Auld Lang Syne," to ring in the ought-nine with beauty and grace. If the celebrating has left you feeling a little fragile, Assbring's hushed, delicate version is a wondrous tonic, indeed. Here's to a whole new year of music this good.