OH MY, ANOTHER TERRIFIC YEAR FOR MUSIC! IT'S SPENCER MACEACHERN'S TOP TWENTY LPS OF TWO-THOUSAND SEVEN!
(DISCLAIMER: This list does not include the sixth LP entitled Widow City by Chicago rock band The Fiery Furnaces, who are, as far as I'm concerned, the most interesting and inventive band currently making music. I'm far too biased towards them and having listened to Widow City more times than all the records on this list combined. Go buy it.)
Following the mostly acoustic stomps of Get Behind Me Satan (and that other band Jack White plays in) comes a blissfully raw statement from a band celebrating their 10th birthday. Some songs cover ground the Stripes've never trotted on, such as the title track or the epic 'Conquest', while some sound like a return to the days of their first record, like 'Little Cream Soda' or 'Bone Broke'.
If you can forget the lush, Latin sound of Andrew Whiteman's first effort, National Anthem of Nowhere, if you'll excuse the name, is a great pop record. He's going for something different, something a little fresher this time around. Even if I initially wanted a sequel to Folkloric Feel, he's successful in his endeavor, classics like 'The Naked & Alone' and 'Chances Are' rock with just the right amount of swagger.
18. LP by Holy Fuck (Young Turks)This hometown band has really grown on me in the last year and a half since I first saw them live. Their blend of electro-blip-pop is so insanely infectious that you can't help but tap your foot to it-- or full out start dancing. So what if they're not really that improvisational anymore... what they're on about is far more intoxicating. Check out 'Lovely Allen' (featuring Owen Pallett!) and 'Royal Gregory'!!!
Basically, Jeff Tweedy, a man the world came to knew for his bleak observations and profound statements on the much-lauded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and it's follow-up A Ghost is Born, is now freshly rehabilitated. He hasn't had a cigarette in years, he's off his pain medication, the migraines are few to nil. His band's lineup is in top shape-- the music will be astounding. (Read the rest of the review here).
Austin's best slow-motion rock n' roll band follow their collection of 'love songs' (The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place) with a sadder, more apocalyptic record. I find it difficult to describe post-rock records... but you should definitely hear it.
A nice relief after last year's insanely jarring Drum's Not Dead, this is probably the first Liars album that one could argue is 'pop'. Songs like 'Houseclouds' and the first track and single 'Plaster Casts of Everything' are really catchy! Plus they have repeated phrases/chorus-like moments! Wow!
Yeah sure it isn't as brilliant as that last record he made, but isn't a guy allowed to settle down? This is Banhart in full-on relaxing-in-Topeka-Canyon mode, complete with all the randomness that infers. 'Sea Horse' is the longest Devendra song to date and wanders from folk-ballad to rocking stomper, while 'Shabop Shalom' sounds like Roy Orbison!! Maybe still a little long, but still good.
Another band insanely influenced by Gang of Four and the post-punk bands of the early '80s, Les Savy Fav have all that catchiness plus a wealth of literate, witty lyrics. Fucking every song on here could be a single-- 'Patty Lee', 'The Equestrian', 'Kiss Kiss is Getting Old'... wow. If you're a fan of rock (almost to the point of hardcore, and a little emo) with catchy-ass hooks, get over here.
12. Loney, Noir by Loney, Dear (Sub Pop)Studio wonder-boy Emil Svanängen creates addictive, warm, cutesy pop melodies for the masses. The songs on Loney, Noir are simple enough that you know the lyrics after one listen, but smart enough that you will keep going back for more. And his use of the woodwinds and brass remains on the subtle side, giving these songs somewhat of a timeless feel. Good stuff!
Ah yes, the fourth album from Dundas, Ontario's Dan Snaith is the gorgeous, sunny pop-record that he's been hinting at for a while now. This album has all the great things about The Milk of Human Kindness but leaves out all the wandering of that effort, songs like 'Sandy' and 'She's the One' are very immediate and stay on-course. An excellent album from another excellent Merge artist!
10. Night Falls Over Kortedala by Jens Lekman (Secretly Canadian)It's okay that the Magnetic Fields don't make a shitload of records, because we always have this guy. Another beautiful, delicate record of chamber-pop from one of my favourite Swedish imports. Having only listened to the Oh You're So Silent Jens compilation before purchasing this one, I was pleased to find that Jens had the balls to really bring his genius blend of orchestrated pop to the stage. He's really bearing it all here-- from the awkward confessions of 'A Postcard to Nina' ( "Nina I can't be your boyfriend / So you can stay with your girlfriend" ) to his hilarious frustration in 'The Opposite of Hallelujah' ( "I picked up a sea-shell to illustrate my homelessness / but a crab crawled out of it making it useless" ), this is a great record for a warm, autumn day. If you're a fan of melodramatic chamber music with confident male vocals, this is for you!
9. You, You’re a History in Rust by Do Make Say Think (Constellation)It must be something else being a space rocker. Although your record cover is more likely to make it onto the cover of Rolling Stone than your face, you can sleep assured knowing that flocks of people—from punks to hippies—will come from every corner of the city to see your particular mix of sweeping instrumentals and melodic ambiance. They will absorb with a sacred appreciation scarcely seen in today’s independent music scene, standing mouth agape with eyes closed. They’ll get frustrated with your sparsely vague liner-notes and maybe even curse you, but will re-read them over and over with as much concentration as a Buddhist monk. They will treat you as though you are as wondrous as an alien... (Read the rest of the review here.)
8. Cease to Begin by Band of Horses (Sub Pop)After the insanely huge success of Everything All the Time, our stable-mates toned-down things a few notches with Cease to Begin. I mean, look at that fucking cover. If you were a fan of their previous anthem-like tracks such as 'The Funeral' or 'The Great Salt Lake', don't expect to be very pleased with this one. It might be the lack of Mat Brooke, but this time around the guys are way more countrified, and I'm not complaining. Sure they still rock out in their ways, 'Ode to LRC' is a happy groover and 'Cigarettes, Wedding Bands' is a bonafide slow-motion rock song, but this album is mostly comprised of slow dirges such as 'No One's Gonna Love You' and 'Marry Song'. For better or for worse, the band sound far more mature than before... and at just over a half-hour, this trip goes down easy.
7. The Stage Names by Okkervil River (Jagjaguwar)After touring in support of 05's gorgeous Black Sheep Boy, Will Sheff realized that he didn't want Okkervil River to be some group that stuck to the melodramatic album formula. From what The Stage Names shows, he's successfully shed that image-- and found some outlets to plug into, as well! This is Austin's finest at their most rock n' roll, numbers like 'A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene' and 'Unless It Kicks' are so stomp-worthy you'd think you were listening to another band. But lyrically, Sheff has brought the same consideration and thought he used on previous efforts to a whole new level. The combination of rocking hooks and Novel-like lyrics makes it obvious that, without a doubt, Okkervil River are currently one of the world's most imaginative and interesting bands.
6. Person Pitch by Panda Bear (Paw Tracks)It believe it is a steam engine roaring in the first few seconds of 'Comfy in Nautica', the first track on Panda Bear's Person Pitch, and I think that fits well. This album is a wonderful, adolescent trip into a world somewhat like our own, somewhat not. Either way, it's a journey. Lush, Beach Boy-esque harmonies drenched in a waterfall of youth on the third day of a peyote trip. Man I can't even talk about this record, I shoud've left this one blank. Fuck the group effort, this is all I could ever want from the Animal Collective.
5. Neon Bible by the Arcade Fire (Merge)Yeah yeah, it's really good. Yeah yeah, they're one of the best bands ever right now... yes, they're my generation's Radiohead, I guess. Anyway, the Arcade Fire successfully followed-up Funeral with a darker, slightly more anthemic record. There isn't as much hope as their was in Funeral, which makes me wonder how the hell they'll follow this one up, as well. I'm sure they'll do just fine. (Are you noticing a decline in review quality? I like these records too much.)
4. The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse by the Besnard Lakes (Jagjaguwar)I bought this record without hearing it, which doesn't happen much nowadays. I trust this label and their Secretly Canadian counterpart a lot. What I was met with upon finally listening to it was a cave-singing, neo-psychedelic and densely-layered lonely set of songs which ultimately stole my heart. These guys have a great sound that you'll likely want to explore, yourself: whether it's their vocals, both high & low on 'For Agent 13', or their meaty guitar riffs and solos on 'And You Lied To Me'. There's a little something here for everybody. Montreal rock plays strong!
3. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? by of Montreal (Polyvinyl)These guys already made like, a bajillion records full of cute & quaint psych/twee-pop before they unleashed what many fans and critics are calling their best LP. What makes this un-like any other of Montreal story? Real stories and turmoil coming from Kevin Barnes, who was seriously depressed while writing this material. That's the best part of this record-- the interplay between the funkadelic, happy melodies and the dark lyrical content. Just look at the cover! Songs like the catchy 'Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse' bounce up and down, while the drone of 'The Past is a Grotesque Animal' will have you too questioning your own sanity. Killer.
2. Ash Wednesday by Elvis Perkins (XL)In the wake of his parents' deaths, Perkins could've made one of the saddest records of 2007-- and he probably wouldn't have made it onto this list, had he. Instead, the songs on Ash Wednesday are, while still melancholic, the smart and witty tales of a troubadour who calmly takes everything that's coming his way. There's the bouncing 'May Day!' ("I don't care your camera caught me crying as I left your gates / Or that your maintenance men they caught our last embrace") and the beautiful 'Sleep Sandwich' ("Last night was the science fiction / Movie with you and me / You in your velvet space helmet / Me in my rainbow hat"). If there's one record to listen to this year for beautiful poetics and a little heartbreak, it's this one.
1. Mirrored by Battles (Warp)And now if there's one record you should listen to for highly technical, skillfully played math rock, it's this one. This record left me absolutely floored upon hearing it and seeing Battles live. With the combined talents of each member, including Ian Williams (playing the keyboard while tapping his fretboard?) and John Stanier (robot built to drum?), these four guys are fucking onto something. They are pushing the envelope on 'fusion' bands... their blend of music is so intense and intricate, you can't help but sweat with them. Just go listen to 'Atlas', 'Tonto' or 'Rainbow', and fasten your seat-belts. The most important record of 2007.
RUNNER-UPS
Myth Takes by !!! (Warp) ∙ Drums and Guns by Low (Sub Pop) ∙ Dressed Up for the Letdown by Richard Swift (Secretly Canadian) ∙
I LIKE YOU BUT BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
Tio Bitar by Dungen (Kemado) ∙ Love is Simple by Akron/Family (Young God) ∙ We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse (Epic)
OVER-RATED PIECES OF GARBAGE
Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective (Domino) ∙ Cassadaga by Bright Eyes (Saddle Creek)
