| The Year in Music (Thus Far) |
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| Posted by Matt Conner |
02:41 PM Monday, 30 April 2007 |
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I receive, in some form whether digital or physical - approximately 10-12 albums per week every week of the year. It makes for a lot of time listening which is a rather enjoyable way to spend your free moments, if you're like me. But it's hard to keep up on what's good and what isn't. It's difficult to unearth the hidden gem when Justin Timberlake is still bring sexy back on the airwaves and MySpace could be a real friend to you except videos of half-naked girls distract you from finding the best tracks. So let me be that friend. These are in no particular order, but if you're gonna buy albums in 2007, these are the ones you should possess. Then again, these things are so subjective that really you might be happy with Avril Lavigne's newest (not that it's that bad actually)... 1. Travis - The Boy With No Name - This effort does nothing different than the last four albums, which is a great thing. "Big Chair" is the best song the band has written since 2000. In short, the band that invented the current Brit-pop lite genre and invented a slew of copycats (Coldplay, Keane, Starsailor, Snow Patrol) are still the best at what they do. 2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - My favorite album of the year thus far because of my favorite song of the year thus far. "My Body is a Cage" is just undeniably brilliant. You just need to hear it to believe it. That's really all I need to say. 3. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha - I absolutely love this album and I love this artist. Who else layers violin with whistle with glockenspiel with... you get the point. Bird creates unbelievably accessible songs out of completely foreign elements. 4. Derek Webb - The Ringing Bell - To let Derek speak for himself, "It's a rock and roll record about peace." He's my favorite Christian making music and his lyrics are penetrating sermons with each track. 5. Aqualung - Memory Man - The melancholy poet fond an electric guitar and chose to create bombastic choruses rather than stare-out-through-the-rainy-window melodies. The result? An album you play from beginning to end. 6. Rue Royale - The Search for Where To Go - This little EP won't cost you much on iTunes and yet those who are fans of acoustic Pedro The Lion or even Sufjan will find plenty to like here. "U.F.O." mesmerizes with a simplicity and this husband/wife duo are definitely ones to watch. 7. Bright Eyes - Cassadega - You either think this guy is brilliant and the next Bob Dylan or you think he's overrated and not worth the hype. Consider me a convert on this new album. 8. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky - Jeff Tweedy seems more versatile than ever and goes Americana to folk to country to pop and sounds at home on each. If you like early Wilco or Tweedy's side projects, then you'll love this one. Don't expect the progressive. 9. The Frames - The Cost - Man, I love this band and this is easily their best album. Glen Hansard is a bleeding heart of a frontman and his delivery has never been more convincing. Sit and listen for an hour and just tell me you're not a Frames fan. 10. The Cinematics - A Strange Education - I'm a sucker for these bands - my favorite being She Wants Revenge - but The Cinematics are so infectious with their dance-meets-garage-rock sound. Other albums I think are great, but don't want to write anymore about: Low - Drums and Guns; Vega4 - You and Others; The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters; Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City; Deas Vail - All The Houses Look The Same |
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