After 18 months, 88 columns, and 264 mp3s, this is the final edition of Hit Refresh. It's been a joy to write and curate this every week, and I sincerely hope that everyone who followed it enjoyed the selections and found some new favorite artists and songs.

That was the point, after all!

A major, heartfelt "thank you" is due to every artist that has ever been featured in this column, not just for creating the music, but also for providing us with the permission to let you sample it free of charge.

In this final column, we're bringing things full circle by revisiting a band that appeared in the very first week, and then leaving you with two more wonderful songs for the road.

---

The Fiery Furnaces, "Ex-Guru" (Thrill Jockey)

Back when we launched Hit Refresh, the Fiery Furnaces had just released their fifth album, "Bitter Tea." In the time since, the duo has toured relentlessly. And the band's primary songwriter, Matthew Friedberger, found the time to write and record two solo albums and collaborate with his sister Eleanor on the material for the Furnaces' latest full-length, "Widow City." Though the band has hardly abandoned its distinct, idiosyncratic style, the songs on "Widow City" largely avoid the extremes of their past three records, and rank among their most energetic, engaging and accessible work to date. "Ex-Guru" is especially perky and catchy, bouncing along from a cartoonishly funky verse to an understated yet anthemic rock chorus.

Right click to download here: http://tinyurl.com/yrj7lu

Buy it here: http://tinyurl.com/3dl52t

---

Junior League, "Charm"

Junior League is most certainly playing a country/bluegrass song on the opening track of its debut album, but it all comes out sounding rather skewed, without actually seeming obviously weird. "Charm" is gorgeous and light, and hovers along with the effortless grace of a butterfly gliding through the air on a clear day. Though the song's floating effect is mainly achieved through careful, delicate playing by the band's fiddler and rhythm section, the star of the piece is singer Lissy Rosemont, whose voice carries the sweet melody without getting too bold or saccharine.

Right click to download here: http://tinyurl.com/2dqs9r

Buy it here: http://tinyurl.com/2v5hms

---

White Williams, "New Violence" (Tigerbeat6)

White Williams' debut album sounds remarkably confident and self-assured, as if it just fell out of time, fully formed. The textures of the album are warm, but the feeling is a bit aloof, as though even the catchiest, most outgoing songs are stumbling around in a daze. Williams deliberately borrows riffs and hooks from famous songs by David Bowie, T-Rex, Brian Eno and Neu!, but his record somehow manages to avoid feeling like yet another retro pastiche. The music feels slightly disconnected from reality, and gives the sense that Williams has opted to groove out in the present tense rather than dwell too much on the past or the future.

Right click to download here: http://tinyurl.com/ypc9fb

Buy it here: http://tinyurl.com/849hf

---

Matthew Perpetua is the maestro behind http://www.fluxblog.org.