Holiday weeks are normally devoid of new releases, and this July 4
th week is no different. So in lieu of my normal recommended release post I present to you my best of 2007 so far. Obviously this is all up for debate and will probably change quite a bit by the time the end of the year comes up, but its what I got so far. Feel free to chime in if there are any glaring omissions, or you feel I slighted an album you love, or even if you think the list is perfect as is. (note: no leaked albums will be making this list, it is only albums that have been released up till today)
15.
Deerhoof -
Friend Opportunity;
Friend Opportunity was the first album of the year that I whole
heartedly recommended and amazingly it managed to withstand the amount of time between now and then and the
barrage of amazing albums to move its way into the top 15 of the year so far. This was definitely
Deerhoof's most
accessible album to date full of the noise rock we've come to love from the band, but laced with a new found pop sensibility.
Deerhoof - "+81"
14. Boris w/
Michio Kurihara -
Rainbow; From the first listen to this
EP I was blown away by the amazing meld of the brilliance of guitarist
Michio Kurihara with the chamber noise of Boris. The music on this disc is
mesmerizing throughout and shows that Boris is certainly not a one trick pony.
Boris w/ Michio Kurihara - "虹が始まるとき"
13. The Field -
From Here We Go Sublime; On
From Here We Go Sublime, The Field find the perfect blend of ambient music with electronic sounds, crafting the perfect minimalist record for 2007. Instead of being overloaded with a ridiculous amount of samples and effects, The Field go for a straight forward electronic mix with just the bare essentials making their way onto the album.
The Field - "Good Things End"
12. Times New Viking -
Present the Paisley Reich; From the very beginning of
Present the Paisley Reich, you know you are in for a loud, fast paced, and undeniably fun time listening. The band plows through a dozen songs, none of which last much more than three minutes, making it the perfect noise-rock album for the ADD generation. More than that though,
Present the Paisley Reich gives us a proper introduction to Times New Viking, a band that could be making waves for quite some time.
Times New Viking - "Teenage Lust"11. Ra Ra Riot -
Ra Ra Riot (
EP); Last year Ra Ra Riot invaded the
CMJ Music Marathon with a slew of raved over shows, several of which I attended and raved over as well. With nothing but a three song demo disc to hawk many of us were left salivating for more. This month we finally got the long awaited debut
EP from the band with a few tweaks of the three demo songs and a couple of new tracks added on top of it. It is as good as any live show I have seen from the band, rife with sugar coated, and highly addictive indie pop music. Songs like "Can You Tell" and "Dying Is Fine" display a sharp understanding that you don't need the most intelligent lyrics to gain attention, just the ability to hook your fans through enthusiasm and a catchy chorus.
Ra Ra Riot - "Can You Tell"
10. Dan Deacon -
Spiderman of the Rings; Somehow the city of Baltimore has become a hot bed of the indie rock scene and has absolutely exploded this year with a variety of bands and sounds ranging from obscure art rock all the way to indie pop. Because of this it seems fitting that one of the city's most popular artists would make their way onto most of the top albums lists around and that person is Dan Deacon. Using his reputation as a ridiculous live performer, Dan launched his album
Spiderman of the Rings this year and has only built his following thanks to the sick use of electronic sounds all over the place. Full of samples of everything including Woody Woodpecker, the album translates well to any venue whether its live, in a bar, or in your room while dancing in your underwear.
Dan Deacon - "Jimmy Roche"9. The Antlers -
In the Attic of the Universe; At this point, if you frequent my blog, you are well aware of my adoration of The Antlers, so finding them on this list should be no surprise. But if you just happen to be stopping by today because you love the lists we
bloggers make, well you should take the time to listen to this under appreciated album. For the first time Peter (aka The Antlers) has expanded his sound to include a range of instruments to go with his acoustic guitar and singing. Those instruments just serve to complement the strength of his voice and the beauty of his songwriting though, as those remain the most prevalent features on the album. Its a beautiful accomplishment for the 21 year old, and shows promise well beyond this
EP.
The Antlers - "The Universe Is Going to Catch You"8. Tim
Fite -
Over the Counterculture; When I was compiling this list I was shocked that it contained no hip-hop anywhere. Its been a really weak year thus far in the hip-hop genre with very few releases making an impact on my ears, but then I realized that we had Tim
Fite and his crossover album
Over the Counterculture to provide some wicked flow and beats to the list. If you don't know Tim
Fite you should get to know him by downloading his album (which is still free on his
website!) and immerse yourself in his political and social commentary hip-hop. The lyrics are what make this album above all else as Tim show a deft hand at spinning rhymes about consumerism, the world of hip-hop, and bacon.
Tim Fite - "It's All Right Here"
7. Marnie Stern -
In Advance of the Broken Arm; Whoever would have thought that some finger tapping guitar work could sound this good? On her debut full length Marnie Stern displays some serious guitar chops, building lush guitar symphonies over Zach Hill beats to create one of the loudest, deepest, and best albums so far this year. Using a seemingly endless amount of guitar loops Marnie skillfully emotes the sometimes childish, and sometimes crazy lyrics of her songs. There's actually so many layers on this album that for a while Marnie was playing with an
iPod to keep the full texture of the songs in tact.
Marnie Stern - "Patterns of Diamond Ceiling"
6. Arcade Fire -
Neon Bible; At the end of 2006 it seemed like a foregone
conclusion that the follow up to
Funeral would be the album of 2007, and it was for a few weeks at least, until some slightly more amazing albums were released. Still we shouldn't lose sight of what a masterpiece
Neon Bible truly is. From end to end it is full of rocking songs that have meaning and purpose, and still have that amazing vibe that was so ever present on the debut album. At some point the argument over Arcade Fire is going to turn to who is more important in the world
Bono or Win, and at that point most of us will be completely head over heels in love with the band that we will tolerate the incessant messages in the music and the long lectures on the stage. Till that time we have two amazing albums to listen to.
Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
5.
Deerhunter -
Cryptograms; Wrapped in a blanket of emotion due to the death of a
band mate and the turmoil of the band wrestling with the decision to continue on,
Cryptograms is a maze of electronic sounds mixed with your more traditional rock instruments. The blending of the traditional rock sound with the more synthetic sound isn't anything new but the way
Deerhunter navigates their way through it puts a whole new twist on the sound. Half way through the album the emotionally landscape changes from the darkness to a sound of more optimistic times, a time where they hope to continue on and making music like this for a while.
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
4. The Twilight Sad -
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters; You could have a field day drawing
comparisons of other bands with The Twilight Sad. From Arab Strap to The Smiths even a bit of U2, but to just pigeon hole them like that would be wrong on so many levels. For starters The Twilight Sad are an earnest band, they wear their hearts on their sleeves, but they do it behind a wall of sound and through a
Scottish brogue few singers could match. Throughout their debut album they list the trials of being a young teenager, that sad and depressed state made worse by a poor family life. Its a heart wrenching album, but within the sadness is an utter beauty. This is an amazing debut album.
The Twilight Sad - "Talking With Fireworks, Here, It Never Snowed"
3. LCD
Soundsystem -
Sound of Silver; James Murphy, the man behind LCD
Soundsystem, is a bit of a pompous ass. His interviews are always overly wordy and thoroughly pretentious. The whole reason behind his band and his label (
DFA) was to take down the garage rock found in New York at the turn of the century, and he has really strong opinions on a lot of different subjects. But somehow none of this matters when you put on one of his records especially the
Sound of Silver. Even when he is attacking us as he does in "New York I Love You", you wind up loving the song he is playing thanks to its infectious rhythm. Throughout the album you'll find songs you can dance to, but unlike his previous self-titled release you'll be able to sing along to this one as well. Its a remarkable album that somehow trumped his previous work in every way possible.
LCD Soundsystem - "New York I Love You"
2. Panda Bear -
Person Pitch; As a member of Animal Collective, Panda Bear has already proved his ear for music but with the release of
Person Pitch he stationed himself as one of the groundbreaking pioneers in music today. With songs built around electronic samples, slow beats, and Beach Boy like harmonies, Panda Bear has truly pushed his genre to new levels, whatever genre that may be. Every song on the album has touches of greatness found within that every fan of music should hear for themselves.
Panda Bear - "Comfy in Nautica"
1. Battles -
Mirrored; At this point of the year there is not a single record I have listened to more, nor do I plan on listening to any more than I do this one. Since I first
heard the opening fast beat on "Race:In" I have been utterly hooked by the first full length Battles album. This is an obsession I didn't see coming. I have never been the biggest fan of "math rock", I've enjoyed it in bits and pieces but never as
wholly as I do
Mirrored. The album thrives by going against the norm in ever way possible. For starters it completely obliterates the typical 4/4 structure switching the rhythm every chance it gets to keep you completely off kilter. But in doing this it allows for a more full sounding album, an album that blends its rhythms with odd vocals, electronic blips and bleats, and
lush guitar work. Over the course of 52-minutes as a listener you are moved about by each song thrusting you into new, unexplored territories. Its an accomplishment that should stand up for quite some time.
Battles - "Atlas"
Following my excursion to the very strange lineup at the South Street Seaport on Friday night I headed to my home borough of Staten Island to catch a last minute set by local faves Dead Rabbit. The band wasn't planning on playing, but were offered a spot, took it, and promptly told all their friends about it. This left Martini Red full of Dead Rabbit friends and the few random people that were there solely to forget the work week with pint after pint of booze.
How this band has yet to receive much notoriety in New York I will never know, I mean I swear I've given several big time bloggers their CD and I've heard nothing from them. Its about time people started to recognize the Staten Island scene 'cause it really is booming right now with bands like Pablo, Murray, The Budos Bands, The Great Unwashed, and of course Dead Rabbit. If you've yet to check them out do so now, you will not regret it!!!
