Goods of 2007

I don't like calling my best of 2007 list a "best of 2007" list. How am I to know without having listened to every single release what is and is not the best? Rule by album art? Instead I offer up my "albums that I really liked" "of 2007". Not sorted qualitatively, just alphabetically.

I know there's a ton of stuff I've missed out on. I'll either get around to filling in the musical gaps in 2008 or, and this is far more likely, not at all. I also apologize for posting this so far into '08, thus nullifying the relevancy of this list. Stay tuned for my best-of-2008 list to be published sometime in 2015.

Unfortunately my go-to file hoster, Filegunner.net, has been haxx0rcized, so when I want you to listen to choice tracks it'll either be a link from somebody else's music site or a link to Myspace. It's not the way I want to do it, but I guess you get what you pay for (which, to date, has been zero dollars and zero cents).

Enough 'splaining. Here are the goods of 2007.

Air
Pocket Symphony
Great chilllll music. Good atmospheric music without being too ambient. That is, the songs of Pocket Symphony work well as background music, but you could also pop on the headphones and pay close attention to the dynamics of every song. Not too electro, if you're not into the whole techno thing. Not too soft if you're not into the whole Yanni thing. Not too anything, as a matter of fact. Just perfect music that will drop you off somewhere between the ocean and outerspace.

"Once Upon a Time"


Arcade Fire
Neon Bible
The Arcade Fire have become so popular that they've become an indie cliche. But if you're honest with yourself and listen to them with undiscriminating ears you'll (re)find that they're really very good. Anyway, I find that I enjoy Neon Bible much more than I enjoy Funeral. This is either because Neon Bible is a step-up for the band with regards to songmanship and sonics (and whatever else makes up a piece of music), or it's because I burnt myself out on Funeral a long time ago. Both are probably true, and I imagine I'll burn myself out on this album as well.
"Intervention" .mp3 (via Alucinante.net)


Beirut
Lon Gisland
Maybe EPs are a cop out as there's less opportunity to drop a terrible song to ruin the performer's credibility. On the other hand, sometimes you say everything you need to say in just five songs. As is the case with this one, sometimes I wish the artist would say more. Five tunes? Let's hear ten! These songs are a lot of fun, but in a stumbling gypsy carnival kind of way. There are accordians and horns and various other odd instruments and, of course, the warbly voice of Zach Condon.
Why am I talking about the EP instead of the full-length The Flying Club Cup, which came out in September? Because I haven't listened to that one yet. That's why. So deal.
Why am I talking about this EP instead of the other two that also came out in 2007? I don't know. Leave me alone.

"Elephant Gun"


Blonde Redhead
23
People usually say, "This album isn't as good as their other ones, but it's still pretty good." I say the exact same thing. But shoot me in the face, 23 gets better and better with each listening. The band shies away from that arty fartiness that up until this point made their music interesting. But while this is definitely a more pop-oriented album, it is (once you listed to it a half-dozen times) no less awesome. In fact, I would say that 23 is a good start for people checking out Blonde Redhead for the first time.
myspace.com/blonderedheadislove
Listen to "23", then listen to the other three songs.


Deerhoof
Friend Opportunity
Speaking of accessibility from bands who normally shun such general appeal, if you've never had an opportunity to let your ears experience the off-kilter excellence of Deerhoof, now's the time. The time is now. It's now time. Time: NOW. The inanity is still there, and at times they seem on the verge of a complete musical meltdown, but this time around the band crafts (rather than barfs) their tunes into shape, and the result is amazing. Song after song of blow-your-mindism.
"Believe E.S.P." mp3 (via Busted Up Bulldozers)


Deerhunter
Cryptograms
All the epicness and gloom of Explosions in the Sky without any of the pomp. There are vocals on these songs, but more often than not they fall into the dense haze of guitars and become a part of the musical landscape. I don't have much else to say about this album or the band because I have such a hard time wrapping my mind around these songs. But sometimes it's okay to be overwhelmed.
myspace.com/deerhunter
Start with "Heatherwood", then listen to the other tunes.


Julie Doiron
Woke Myself Up
I don't know why I like the music of Julie Doiron so much. It's all fairly simple, very subdued. Maybe it's because her straight ahead folky tunes are the yin to the nearly convoluted yang of such bands' music as the aforementioned Deerhunter. Complexity is neat, but simplicity is refreshing. Anyway, Doiron's been making music since the mid-nineties, but I find her latest full-length album to be pretty dang enjoyable (though there's still that 2003 split with Okkervil River I really need to check out). Give 'er a listen if for no other reason than she deserves one.
myspace.com/juliedoiron
Only one song on her myspace, but it's exactly the one I want you to listen to.


Feist
The Reminder
Feist is almost overplayed, but not quite yet. I might be done with "1234", but there's still the whole rest of the album to enjoy. A bit bluesy, a bit groovacious, a tiny bit folky... this one's a nice unintrusive soundtrack to most casual social situations. What's most important, though, is that these songs will stick with you. I've had the word "sealion" bounce around my head for days at a time.
By the way, the other day I overheard somebody refer to her as Feast.

"My Moon My Man"
She totally stole that idea from OK Go, who totally stole it from Jamiroquai.


Klaxons
Myths of the Near Future
Dancy punky psychedelically funky rocky rock. From the planet Spectra. This band, their songs, and this album are all a whole lot of fun and would make a suitable soundtrack to a mind-altering pixy stix binge (including also the horrifying comedown crash).
myspace.com/klaxons
After listening to "Golden Skans", pick yourself back up and jam out to the other songs.


Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Living With the Living
This is all I've heard other people say about this album: it's good, but his older stuff is better. I tend to agree, but that's how awesome Ted Leo is; even his less-than-stellar material is still quite stellar. There are fifteen tracks on Living, so whatever might be lacking in quality (which actually happens to be nothing, thus rendering this sentence non-sensical) is made up for in quantity. Ted Leo has always given me insane deja vu as I always feel I've heard each of his songs somewhere else before. This isn't a bad thing, and this ghost-familiarity is probably the thing that makes his music so initially appealing to me in the first place, and so once again he's given me another excellent album that messes with my perceptions of space and time.
"La Costa Brava" .mp3 (via Captainsdead.com)


Mixtapes & Cellmates
Mixtapes & Cellmates
Swedes! Ambitious and creative ones! This self-titled release is full of etheral atmospherey stuff, some electronic boops and beeps, hushed male vocals, hushed female vocals, some angst here and there, and a bunch of good songs. I think this album is internet-only in North America, but if you want to shell out some extra kronas for an imported and tangible compact disc then by all means do it.
myspace.com/mixtapesandcellmates
"The Better Half of Cynical Boys", then "Hold", then "Dress Up Wear Down", then "Quiet", IN THAT ORDER.


Mob
Polygon
Super emotional (and super-emotional) stuff reminicient of the old-school days of emo. If broken hearts were to piece themselves back together with equal parts sadness and rage, and they had singing voices and could play driving music, and they were Danish, then you'd have yourself a Mob. They label themselves "shoegaze" on their Myspace, but I don't think that definition fits unless their shoes are on fire. Though just a four-song EP, there's more awesomeness on Polygon than there is on a lot of other full-lengthers.
www.myspace.com/mobnoise
The first two tracks are from the Polygon EP, but the other ones are good as well.


New Pornographers
Challengers
I had previously considered the New Pornographers the outlet for AC Newman's poppy bubbly songwriting efforts (though his solo material isn't what you would call overly saddish) and the twing to Neko Case's country twang. Indeed, the band's prior albums sounded as though they were fashioned from sweet dancing candy canes. But here on Challengers they go in a different and mellower direction. I was off-put at first, but these songs have really grown on me. There's still plenty of head-bopping to be had, but there are also handfuls of surprisingly low-key moments. Good album.

"Challengers"


Of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
More psychedelia! This time a bit darker and with more electro-dabble. There are still elements of their old poppy selves on this album, but until you've listened to all twelve minutes of the track "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" then YOU JUST DON'T KNOW. Other songs spazz all over the place, slow down, speed up, get lost in the haze, breakdance on your retinas, teleport to 1980 leaving behind an environmentally disasterous contrail, and do various other crazy interesting things.
"The Past is a Grotesque Animal" .mp3 (via PrettyMuchAmazing, via KeithSchofield.com)


Rosie Thomas
These Friends of Mine
Rosie Thomas has the prettiest voice ever, and that's just something you'll have to deal with. And as if hearing her soft sweet folky tunes weren't enough, Sufjan Stevens, Denison Witmer, David Bazan, and Damien Jurado all make appearances on this album. It's like a Christian coffehouse wet dream! The harmonizing is glorious, the lyrics are honest and poignant, there's a great rendition of "Song Bird", a great REM cover, and a great Witmer cover. And really funny between-song studio banter to lighten those heavy moments. Every minute not spent listening to These Friends of Mine (it's only half-an-hour long, by the way) is a minute of your life wasted. Don't waste your life, friend.
myspace.com/rosiethomasmusic
"Much Farther to Go" kills me. "The One I Love" is also killer. The other two songs are off of If Songs Could Be Held and are just as killful.


St. Vincent
Marry Me
Also pretty-voiced is Annie Clark, whose stage name, for whatever reason (though simple research could probably explain why, but I'm not really interested in simple research right now), is St. Vincent. Her songs are a little bit loopy, but not overtly zany. A little bit experimental, but still quite palatable. Interesting and good. She also has a neat blogger blog (that hasn't been updated in a month, but I'm sure she's been busier than I have) that's full of tour pictures and various Youtubery and word snippets. My favorite is the piano she manually bloodied, though apparently she's done that more than once. Anyway, Clark's the American Kate Bush of the aughts, so check her out.
myspace.com/stvincent
Listen. To. All. Four. Songs.


Tegan and Sara
The Con
Is it funny that I like Tegan and Sara? That I've followed their career for years? That I'm a fan-letter-written-in-blood away from being a creepy stalker? Anyway, after being dissapointed with So Jealous I was (and continue to be) very super impressed with The Con. The recording quality, as well as the song-writing itself, is a great improvement over most of their prior material. They ease back on that tinny "Tegan and Sara sound" (which made it seem like they filtered their music through AM radio) and allow a backing band and various keyboardy/synthy instruments to fill things out. Retained are the elements that make T&S so appealing in the first place (the folk-punk attitude, the killer hooks ["Back In Your Head" is often stuck in my head for days at a time], the faux adorableness).

"Back In Your Head"

Voxtrot
Voxtrot
Voxtrot's first full-length album is really dang good. Imagine Ted Leo being a bit mellower and more rounded, but equally as catchy.
"Kid Gloves" .mp3 (via Despite the Times)





Various
Definitive Swim
What's better than a sweet hip hoppin' comp? A FREE hip hoppin' comp. There really isn't a bad song here, which says a lot about the quality performers on Definitive Jux records. I'm not even a huge fan of the genre, but I can appreciate creativity, and I can appreciate a dang good song, and I can appreciate ten dang good creative songs found together in one place. My favorite is the Aesop Rock tune, which will absolutely spin you around.
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass .mp3