albums of the year 2007

Though I didn’t fall in love at first, I am now quite enamored. This is a percussive masterpiece that has sirens calling out to you over gorgeous and full sound landscapes. The most artful and gentle -- yet still heartbreaking -- album of all year.

Why this supergroup did not play more in the US is a mystery. Albarn and his new group of long-time superstar players (in their own rights) have created a disc that is utterly danceable and texturally so solid that the album necessitates you to listen from start to finish.

As a huge Jane’s Addiction fan, I was skeptical of this new Perry Farrell project. I was refreshed to find this to be the most inspiring album of the year. "It's time to shine and make all your dreams come true," croons Farrell on the opening track. This album shines.

This could have been my number one. The darkly brilliant tone of the stringed instruments in every song on this album tells you why this band is one of the best rock bands touring today. It’s difficult to beat Howl, but I think they did it.

This is, hands down, the most underappreciated album that I have listened to this year. The record explicitly tells you that you are not allowed to read the lyrics in the liner notes as you listen to the tracks. How cool is that!?

I’ve always seen the press-sanctioned hipster backlash against the Mars Volta as a sad commentary on how disturbingly commercialized music has become. People have been conditioned into retardation by the industry's hunger for singles and a quick profit margin. Back in the day, Jimmy Page soloed for thirty minutes at a time, and it ruled. Dude busted out a bow and worked that shit. This is one of apparently three discs that O-Rod put out this year alone, and since I couldn't find the other two, I'm assuming this one is the best. Kind of like a mellower, jazzier -- dare I say, spacier -- Volta with some sparse vocals from Cedric thrown in for good measure. Surprisingly solid.

The obvious choice for Seattle stoner metal album of the year. I'd be the first to admit that as much as I love psych and doom metal, it’s always a little awkward when a particular genre blows up so quickly. It’s not that tough to sound like Isis and so the parade of clones is inevitable, but Lesbian separate themselves from the pack with their acutely bonged out metal chops.

As long as we're on the topic of weed metal, why not give some credit where credit is due? Neurosis have released at least a billion records over the years (okay, so probably more like ten or eleven) and where none of them are bad, I'd say the consensus is that the quality varies a bit here and there. After listening to this for about the fiftieth time I'd now have to rank my top two as Times of Grace, followed by Given to the Rising. That’s some pretty high praise.

El-Producto's last disc, Fantastic Damage, was so good that it pretty much ruined hip hop for me. Everything else anyone recommended thereafter sounded at least twenty years behind the times, including Seattle's criminally overrated Blue Scholars. Finally, there was somebody who got it. The entire genre has limitless potential and should be about the convergence of technology and linguistics, but most of its artists seem helplessly lost in pointless egomaniacal posturing and materialism. I'll Sleep when You’re Dead, picks up where Damage left off and even improves upon the formula in places, making it, in my mind, one of the best rap albums ever. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another five years for a follow up.

After a forgettable and derivative debut, Liars have now put out three consecutive albums that all tread completely different terrain, each one better and more compelling than the last. I can't honestly think of too many other bands that I can say that about. For my money, no one is implementing technology into their sound quite as effectively as these guys. The way this disc oscillates between dark and catchy dance pop and bizarre garage psych experimentation is unprecedented. An instant classic.

The Valley Arena's debut album, Take Comfort In Strangers, is one of my favorite albums... ever. After a label change and lineup change, they come back in 2007 with Sesso.Vita, a less poppy, more These Arms Are Snakes-style album. Although I don't consider this album nearly as loveable as the previous, I still find myself dancing to it in the car quite a bit.

The Bird And The Bee make mellow, entrancing pop music with subtle elements of jazz. Sometimes their music can get a bit repetitive, but ultimately, its great harmonies and melodies make it suitable for a bedtime soundtrack or an introverted reflection. I can easily see why people would get tired of this album, but I like it.

Oh man! I *CANNOT* believe I almost forgot to add this album to the lineup! This, my guiltiest pleasure of all year. This, the Immortal Records offering that is an embarrassing blend of pop punk and classic rock and roll so infectious that the first month I got it I probably spun it a thousand times (okay, a bit of an exaggeration here). No matter, though, because even against my sensibilities, I have to admit that this album is one of my favorite of the year.

Infected Mushroom never disappoints me with their releases, and Vicious Delicious is not different from all of their other offerings. Despite the fact that I am extremely bitter about having missed them play in person three times in a row now, I still like to think that Infected Mushroom and I have a good relationship. A hybrid of psychedelic, trance, hip-hop, and rock, this album shows that the duo still knows what they're doing. It's no Converting Vegetarians, but it's still amazing.

Sadly, this is probably the only album on my list that I am 100% dead sure about. I've always liked the sound of guys singing in high voices, and this album has tons of that, coupled with all the synth goodness one body can handle. As Ryan Pangilinan (below) described it, this album is like "good gay disco pop". I can listen to this all day, and in fact, I do sometimes. It's my fallback CD for the year.

My favorite straight-up rock album of the year, Turn the Lights Out was the dirty rock album I always wanted the Ponys to make. "Double Vision" is a hell of an opening track, and the energy is remarkably high throughout. Just a really solid album that I can't get out of my head.

This isn't just an inclusion on behalf of the dearly departed Pimp C, but also a genuine appreciation for one of my favorite releases of this year. Even though this massive double album covers a lot of ground, it's a diverse and incredibly solid release. I'll never ever get sick of Bun B's flow, and I'll dearly miss his interplay with the aforementioned Pimp C. Also, "International Players Anthem" was hands-down the best single of the year.

It's Ghostface, and it's just as good as Fishscale -- maybe even better. I've had it for about a week and I can't stop listening to it. Sure, it may not be the surreal stream of consciousness that Ghostface has made a living of, but the level of sheen he puts on his normally rough and unfettered lyrical style is impeccable. It's a whole other side to Pretty Toney, and it sounds better than ever.

The flipside to the synthetic crunch of Justice's Cross, Sound of Silver is the perhaps the most soulful and somewhat depressing party album of the decade. While most music of this caliber tends to focus on having fun while looking great, James Murphy takes a more reflective tone. He's on the outside looking in, watching the kids dance and sway like he did only a few years ago. It's a sobering moment in a year that felt very flippant.

By and far my favorite release of 2007. The Numero group's efforts in bringing unearthed relics of the Soul era have been much appreciated by me this last year. But while offerings from labels such as Bandit and Prix are good, this double album compilation from Chicago's Twinight label takes the cake. The first disc of this double CD set is a funk/soul tour de force, rivaling the best singles that Hitsville USA ever put out. Every song has a little dash of brilliance in it, whether it's the strings in "Mama" or the horns in "Package of Love." It’s, funky, sassy, and beautiful and classy, all at once.

Out of Melbourne Australia, Muscles has exploded with as much energy as their music. One listen and you will understand the quirky fun that Australia has blessed us with.

Finnish electro band Pepe Delux has never disappointed me since 2000's Supersound album.

German producer has been experimenting with all aspect of electro since the late 90s, and Goodbye shows his mastery.

Aesop comes back with another solid performance and guest beats by Blockhead that make the title track one of my favorite tracks of the year.

This ensemble of musicians from Toronto continues their tradition of eclectic minimalism, instruments flutter like a swarm and converge with such precision, it will give you goosebumps.

Hour Of the Wolf is like Chuck Berry meets the Misfits meets Kid Dynamite. While hardcore is often plagued by clichéd horror movie imagery and ripping off defunct East Coast bands, Hour Of the Wolf is deftly able to combine those two trite attributes and turn it into their own twisted little sound.

After getting dropped from Atlantic and losing 9th Wonder, the duo of Phonte and Big Pooh assembled their finest record to date, which is saying a lot considering that they've hardly put out anything that sucks.

Taking swipes at religion and partially inspired by Woody Allen movies, Manchester Orchestra put together a quiet hit in the form of their debut long player, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child. While they no doubt found a younger audience by touring with Brand New, Manchester Orchestra's morose tunes will better resonate with a crowd that has a few more wrinkles.

The Con is the catchiest pop record of the year. Tegan and Sara have always had a knack for melodies and hooks, but on this last record, songs like "Floorplan," "Are You Ten Years Ago," and "Like O Like H" flirt with the multi-genre feel, while "Hop a Plane" and "Call It Off" help keep the duo at street level.

Armor for Sleep's third LP installment tears at the emotional insides of listeners with a much more literal and personal sound. The track "Somebody Else’s Arms" takes the cake for lyricism and overall emotion on this painfully honest album.

Lucy Gray keeps up with Envy's signature dynamic, caustic sound. The song "Mirrors" stands out with schizophrenic tempo changes in a dark dedication to Snow White. No two songs on this album sound remotely the same.

Under the Boards mixes clap-your-hands, pseudo-1950s tracks like "Bye Bye Baby" with frontman Chris Conley's usual dark and disturbing tunes, like "Kaleidoscope." The album is the sequel to 2006's Sound the Alarm and precedes next year’s album, Daybreak.

A Lesson in Romantics doesn't deviate from Mayday Parade's poppy and infectious sound, first heard on their EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends. The opening track, "Jamie All Over," gives listeners smooth harmonies about -- you guessed it -- a girl.

The kings of hardcore are back, but bring back with them a more melodic sound. Songs like "Lose It" bring soul back to metal with a deadly combination of double kick drum precision and Brandon Saller's grinding vocals to make another promising album.

Doubters have been deriding Scott Herren's Prefuse 73 guise as being on a downward spiral since his glitch-hop opus, One Word Extinguisher. No surprise then that his new album received such little fanfare. However, repeated listens reveals that Preparations is a slow burner that eventually catches on fire.

Like a distant cousin to Burial's ghostly dubstep hymnals, No Age create a racket that is at once unbridled and oddly subdued. The result is one of the most haunting and original rock records of the last few years.

Speaking of haunting, this record drips with spectral residues, but instead of seeping out of its boundaries, Swedish producer Axel Willner keeps his ghostly techno tightly controlled and calculated making it the finest and most innovative dance record of 2007.

Noah Lennox's sublime pop epics play like the tranquil beginnings of a good horror film. But instead of eventually revealing its dark underside, Lennox, much like his full-time band, revels in teetering on the edge without fully delving into the grotesque or withdrawing into utter ear candy. If anything, it's this balance that demands repeated plays from the listener. And I have yet to stop listening since it was released way back when this year.

Undoubtedly, the mysterious Burial's sophomore effort is destined to stand the test of time, not only as 2007's best offering but one of the most affecting and relevant releases of the last several years. Nothing (but maybe the UK producer’s own debut) has rivaled the delicate and utterly consuming universe of sound created by this album. Its music evokes a deep personal melancholy without sacrificing its larger context; a brilliant feat unto itself. Untrue plays like a eulogy for our entire world, from the kid on his way home nursing a post-rave hangover to the night bus driver taking him there.

The 'blaxploitation' got a bit worn out as it went, but the Portland duo's album was one of the strongest and smartest showings in a rap world that is getting a bit worn thin everywhere.

The lyrics may be a bit corny sometimes, but this is some of the best folk-rock I have heard in a while.

Despite being born and raised on the punk, each year, less and less of it shows up on my list. But each year, without a doubt, one punk album is in the top three having me going off on how the genre is relevant again. A Wilhelm Scream absolutely shred the hell out of the world on this album. That is all there is it to it.

Hardest album to take in of the year. I still listen to it and don't think I can get it all. One minute jazzy interludes, one minute eighty's glam rock, twelve minutes of brutal death metal/core/brick-to-face extravaganza.

What can be said about this album that already hasn't? Each song is catchy but not enough to dumb it down in any fashion whatsoever. But then again, it could be an album comprised of just the song "Atlas" and then 72 minutes of Bill Walton's commentary on the best of Bill Walton's NBA Life DVD and it would still hit at number one.