SHAWN’S THE YEAR in MUSIC 2007

I’ve found that it’s hard to classify an entire year’s worth of music as “good” or “bad”. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to do so without the benefit of hindsight. Who knew at the time that 2001 would prove to be such a banger? Anyway, on to the countdown…

Albums

10. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
A worthy follow up to a record that I didn’t think they could ever follow up. The first half is far superior to the second, but I guess that’s not unusual.

9. Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures
One of the best live bands around backs it up with a very solid sophomore offering.

8. Travis – The Boy with No Name
You almost have to see them live to appreciate the new album. Yeah, it’s a bit fluffier than their previous output (fatherhood will apparently do that to a songwriter), but still a nice effort and welcome return.

7. Maps – We Can Create
This Manchester band came out of nowhere with an extremely modern electronic-laced but noisy sound.

6. Lily Allen – Alright Still
Lily’s debut was officially released in the US at the beginning of the year, despite being just about the perfect “summer” record in the UK six months earlier.

5. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
I jumped the gun on the release of this one last year, but I hadn’t yet absorbed just how great this record was. Moving it up 5 notches in its actual release year!

4. Editors - An End Has a Start
Far superior to the latest Interpol, and nearly as great as their 2005 debut. The brilliance of the songs really sneaks up on you after a while.

3. The Cinematics - A Strange Education
Somehow this wonderful album really fell under the radar. This is one of the best pure Shoegazy Brit Pop albums released in some time. It’s almost like 1995 all over again.

2. The National – Boxer
This band was my surprise of the year. Really interesting lyrics, dark noisy guitars, and Matt Berninger’s plaintive baritone deliver a consistently brilliant package.

1.5 – Mew – Frengers
This album is a classic, and would be a shoe-in for best recording of 2007…if it hadn’t actually been four years old! Released in Europe in 2003, Frengers finally saw the light of day in the US this year. One of the most glorious sets of soaring, noisy, proggy, rockin’ tunes to be recorded to disk, the 10 near-perfect tracks here are well worth seeking out. The opening salvo of “Am I Wry? No”, “156”, and “Snow Brigade” is as triumphant as any album ever, in my book.

1. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
AWITC turned out to be a super-confident and winning follow up, despite atmospheric expectations. There’s simply not a weak track on the record, from the opening buzz of “Song for Clay”, to longtime live staples “Hunting for Witches” and “Waiting for the 7:18”, to poppy single “I Still Remember” and epic closer “Srxt”, AWITC is an easy choice for best album of 2007.

Honorable Mention:
Underworld – Oblivion with Bells
Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
Fields – Everything Last Winter
Pela – Anytown Graffiti
Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
Ingrid Michaelson – Boys and Girls
Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead…
New Young Pony Club – Fantastic Playroom
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Gliss – Love the Virgins
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills

Songs
This might seem a little out of control, but I’m naming my Top 40 this year. There really were that many great songs to choose from!

40. “Colder” - Travis
39. “On a String” – Youth Group
38. “The Weight of the World” - Editors
37. “LDN” – Lily Allen
36. “The Magic Position” – Patrick Wolf
35. “Chelsea Dagger” – The Fratellis
34. “So Low, So High” - Maps
33. “By the Monument” – Maximo Park
32. “Waiting for the 7:18” – Bloc Party
31. “Accident & Emergency” – Patrick Wolf
30. “You’re A Wolf” – Sea Wolf
29. “Gimme the Hit” – Gliss
28. “Girls Who Play Guitars” – Maximo Park
27. “Bonafied Lovin’” - Chromeo
26. “Heinrich Maneuver” - Interpol
25. “Closer” - Travis
24. “Detlef Schrempf” – Band of Horses
23. “Squalor Victoria” – The National
22. “Drop Me Off” - Pela
21. “Turn On Me” – The Shins
20. “Smile” – Lily Allen
19. “The Bomb” – New Young Pony Club
18. “Apartment Story” – The National
17. “No I in Threesome” - Interpol
16. “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” - Editors
15. “Song For Clay” – Bloc Party
14. “Spring and By Summer Fall” – Blonde Redhead
13. “Keep Forgetting” – The Cinematics
12. “Bones” - Editors
11. “No Emotion” – Idlewild
10. “An End Has a Start” – Editors
9. “Uniform” – Bloc Party
8. “23” – Blonde Redhead
7. “Mistaken for Strangers” – The National
6. “To the Sky” – Maps
5. “I Still Remember” – Bloc Party
4. “A Strange Education” – The Cinematics
3. “Golden Skans” – Klaxons
2. “No Ones Gonna Love You” – Band of Horses
1. “War of the Worlds” – My Vitriol

Honorable Mentions:

“No Direction” – Longwave (actually still in demo form, but undeniably great)
“Flux” – Bloc Party
“Song for the Fields” – Fields
“Phantom Limb” – The Shins (Just because I’m not clear whether this song was really from ‘06 or ‘07)
“Sleeping Lessons” – The Shins
“Selfish Jean” – Travis
“Take Me to the Riot” – Stars
“The Way I Am” – Ingrid Michaelson
“Ten Dead Dogs” – Wild Sweet Orange
“Don’t You Evah” – Spoon
“Impossible” – Shout Out Louds
“All My Friends” – LCD Soundsystem
“Can’t Believe a Single Word” – VHS or Beta
At least half of the songs from Mew’s Frengers would appear in the top 10, had I decided to include them.

EP’s
My Vitriol - A Pyrrhic Victory EP
Delays – Love Made Visible EP
Wild Sweet Orange – House of Regret EP
The Voom Blooms –
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Is Is EP

Albums That I Didn’t Listen to Enough to Form an Opinion About (But Should Have):
Great Northern – Trading Twilight for Daylight
Gliss – Love the Virgins
Georgie James - Places
Pinback – Autumn of the Seraphs
Rogue Wave – Asleep at Heaven’s Gate
Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!
Adam Franklin – Bolts of Melody
Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye
VHS or Beta – Bring On the Comets
Rilo Kiley – Under the Blacklight

Most Welcome Comeback:
My Bloody Valentine

Most Unwelcome Comeback:
Smashing Pumpkins

Songs I Listened to Most in 2007 (According to My iPod):
1. “Mistaken for Strangers” – The National
2. “War of the Worlds” – My Vitriol
3. “Squalor Victoria” – The National
4. “Another Summer Day” – Belle & Sebastian
5. “Shespider” – Mew/”Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” – Editors/”To the Sky” – Maps
6. “Golden Skans” – Klaxons/”Spring and by Summer Fall” – Blonde Redhead

Great Song of 2006 That I Didn’t Notice until 2007:
“Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” – Camera Obscura

Worst Band Whose Songs I Couldn’t Get Out of my Head:
The Fray

Band Who Hasn’t Aged Well:
Garbage

Best Compilation, Live, or Covers Album:
Idlewild – Scottish Fiction: Best of 1997-2007
The Verve – Live in Blackpool (unofficial release)
James – Fresh As a Daisy (singles)
Daft Punk – Alive 2007

Band of the Year:
Travis
They released a good album, put on a tremendous live show, and are just about the nicest guys in the world. Good enough for 2007!

Best Discovery:
The National

Most Disappointing Albums:
1. Interpol – Our Love to Admire
It’s not that terrible, it’s just nowhere near their usual standards.

2. New Pornographers – Challengers
The finally made a boring album.

3. Radiohead – In Rainbows
Meh.

Best Live Act:
Travis
Runners Up: Mew, Maximo Park
Travis live is an event that you can’t miss if they’re anywhere near your corner of the world. Charismatic, friendly, fun, and rocking! Mew gets the runner up nod, along with Travis tour-mates Maximo Park. At this point Bloc Party also deserves an Honorable Mention for their live consistency.

Bands That I Just Don’t Get:
Battles
Beirut
Arcade Fire

4th Best Folk Artist from New Zealand:
Flight of the Conchords

Band That I Got Sick of in Record Time:
Silversun Pickups
I really enjoyed their music for a short while, but by the time I saw them live I couldn’t stand them any longer. The live show definitely didn’t help matters either.

Look Out for this in 2008:
Otter Petter – Fireflies and Lamplights

Still Waiting for that Second Album:
My Vitriol
Pitty Sing

Favorite Films of 2007:
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Into the Wild
3. Hot Fuzz

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Shawn Delaney, Shoe's Reviews (alt/Britpop/more), Music. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.