Better late than never, right?
I started with a list of 45 favorites. Over the course of December I tried to give each one another listen to decide a) where it would land on the list and b) whether or not it would make the cut. I ended up with a list of 24 and, not much to my surprise, many are female-fronted or British bands. I am surprised more alt.country didn’t make my list (I guess Wilco is the token alt.country band) and a complete lack of hard rock is unheard of (oh, how I wanted to love the new Down CD but it just didn’t happen).
From the first 30 seconds of listening to Great Northern’s ‘Trading Twilight for Daylight’, I knew it was going to be my top pick. But along came The Dollyrots a few months later and nearly stole the top spot. Actually, in my mind, they tied for my favorite of the year, I’m sure I listened to both of them an equal amount of times. The rest of the top 10 is pretty interchangeable but I figured I had to put them in some sort of order.
So, here’s my list of Favorite CDs of 2007:
1. Great Northern – Trading Twilight for Daylight (Eenie Meenie Records)
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Part of the Silverlake scene (Sea Wolf, Earlimart, Silversun Pickups), Great Northern provides the soundtrack to a lazy/hazy Friday afternoon. Though Rachel Stolte is the lead singer, her vocal interplay with guitarist Solon Bixler adds depth to the songs.
2. The Dollyrots – Because I’m Awesome (Blackheart Records)
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Signed to Joan Jett’s label (Blackheart Records), The Dollyrots embody a punk rock spirit and, to a degree, a punk rock sound though the band’s single “Because I’m Awesome” (as featured in a Kohl’s commercial) is gaining steam on pop radio stations such as WNCI in Columbus, Ohio. Based on comments left on The Dollyrots MySpace page, the trio is appealing to a wide age range including pre-teen girls whose iPod Shuffles are loaded with songs by Kelly Clarkson, Hannah Montana, and Avril Lavigne.
3. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)
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From the thick Scottish accented vocals to the wall of guitar sounds, The Twilight Sad sound like Snow Patrol if Snow Patrol had started just a few years ago and was influenced by Mogwai, Aereogramme, My Bloody Valentine, and Dinosaur Jr. The band’s SXSW performance in a tent outside of Emo’s left my ears ringing for days … and I liked it!
4. Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer – Schematics (Le Pamplemousse)
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As long as Zolof keeps putting out records, there will be a place for them on my year-end list. The synth-driven pop-punk with an edge is infectious and I can’t get enough of Rachel Minton’s spunky vocals. This band could sell a ton of records if they catch the right break.
5. The Frames – The Cost (Anti)
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The Once soundtrack made a lot of year-end lists, as well it should and it would have made mine had Glen Hansard’s band, The Frames, not put out a record of their own this year. Fully fleshed-out versions of Once’s best tracks (“Falling Slowly” and “When Your Mind is Made Up”) appear on The Frames’ tenth studio album and are just as passionate and emotional as the stripped-down soundtrack versions. My hope is that everybody who loved the music in Once will explore The Frames’ back catalog.
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Sounding (to these ears) somewheres between the Delgados and Housemartins, the debut from this Leeds, England group is an arresting bout of vitriolic pop.
While I dug the Casady sisters’ debut, their sophomore album lost me. Less nefariously obtuse then, their third album is an enchanting mix of worldly rhythms, hip-hop chants and siren singing.
One of my perennial favorites, Calla parted their oceansize electric guitars with acoustic reveries and Tex-Mex accents for their fifth record. The result is no less consuming.
The “other” band of Wire’s Colin Newman, Githead bears much resemblance to Newman’s main preoccupation: glassy guitar riffs, angular rhythms and a mix of pop and avant garde ideas. The band’s second full-length strikes the perfect balance of these qualities.
Locals Times New Viking’s last release with the rejuvenated Siltbreeze label before their out-soon debut with Matador, the Paisley Reich shows the band continuing its expert dismantling of pop archetypes.
The debut full-length from the Maps (a.k.a. James Chapman), is a lovingly textured mix of shoegazed electronica. Awash in warm tones, the record is much more affecting than the sum of its effects.
This curious collaboration between the Fall’s Mark E. Smith and electro experts Mouse on Mars, turned out to be one of the best of both’s output. Mutated pulses and jarring beats clash with Smith’s distinct mutterings, making for a truly unique and ingenious record.
With her second record, M.I.A. proved that her multicultural tract on debut Arular was no flavor of the month. She returned with an album enriched with sundry influences manifested in cohesively infectious songs.
Sweden’s Shout Out Louds increased the pop quotient for their second album, creating a contrasting blend of bittersweets and melodies.
I once had a friend tell me that “there are two kinds of people in the world: freaks and weirdos.” So with its liner notes transcription of “Psychotic Sounds for Freaks and Weirdos,” could these British upstarts’ debut unite the two? I don’t know, and it certainly doesn’t matter. The band’s blend of Iggy-ed caterwauling and Birthday Party?recalling rumble is top-notch, while their sense of humor (“Sheena Is a Parasite”) helps lighten the batcave aesthetic. I’m always suspicious of the authenticity of any band (especially one that’s British) with this much put-on, but when it’s this good, best just to suspend any disbelief.
The title suggests that this Brazilian composer has a fear of color — within these cold and calculated structures that may be true — but Boratto reveals human error, a human hand that allows cracks through which vibrancy flows. Of all the brilliant minimalist releases this year, Chromophobia sounds the most organic, a prism through which all forms of melody are welcome even when traditionally shunned.
Hard to find a party starter as solid as Justice (but we’ll get to that). The only reason this doesn’t eclipse Mr. James Murphy’s LCD is experience. While the debut by the Ed Banger Illuminati is exhilarating and above all else a fun trip, it lacks in songwriting. As a ephemeral piece of 2007 though nothing will top it.
The most sincere record of the year. Despite it’s pasted-together ambiance, Magic Flowers Droned is a meticulously-crafted manifesto against the mundane, the disposable, and the transparent. Mr. Whitehurst is at once the most detail-oriented and haphazard person I know.
Beautiful and uplifting without overstatement, Noah Lennox has trumped every dream-pop or collage-work record over the last fifteen years, including his own band’s best work, with Person Pitch. The most forward-looking album of 2007.
True postmodern psychedelia. Guitar, keys, some pedals and a Walkman are all this duo need to create a 21st Century Atlantis. It’s like the bong is taking hits from you.
The Ed Banger hype finally culminates stateside with this French duo’s debut. House grooves, hi-jacked funk, disco strings, a Devo video sample…this is a rare dance record that will stand the test of time.
Primal screams from Kevin DuBroux, the Midwest’s finest post-hardcore singer/songwriter (don’t call him that to his face). Rumors that he might end the PR book have me bummed.
Never-wave jams outta Monterrey, Mexico. This one climbed up my list as ’07 rolled along, its scuzzy vibes finally able to penetrate my dense skull.
I would probably put this in my top two or three if a) it were a tad longer, b) the drummer wasn’t my brother and c) they didn’t have the album of the year ’08 coming out in a little more than a month. Still, a huge piece in the TNV puzzle and the most bang out of fifteen minutes ever.
As big a breakthrough for dubstep you’ll see in the US, Burial takes a dated artform (minimal breaks) and somehow makes it vital again.
Not quite your older brother’s Kiwi Pop. DFA compiles the best from Nick Harte’s two Flying Nun albums to make this domestic long-player. Love the live feel of these recordings.
Read my full review of this 
Read my donewaiting.com review of Entrance 
I wish Kels would serialize “Real Talk” like he did “Trapped in the Closet”. And isn’t it time he got his own reality show?
A human pulse for adderall-fueled robots. Warmth + repetition = ecstasy.
SC4 are a French group that play spirited garage in the VU/Kinks vein. Fun stuff, I’m really kicking myself for missing not one but two shows in Columbus this Fall.
Sublime Frequencies’ first foray into new, album-length releases, Guitar Music showcases Doueh’s virtuosic string talents. This is their first official release outside of Morocco and deserves a much wider edition than its 1000 copy, vinyl-only run.
