10. The Good, The Bad, And The Queen - The Good, The Bad, And The Queen (Virgin)
Coming out earlier this year, The Good, The Bad, and The Queen took producer Danger Mouse and Blur’s Damon Albarn out of their Gorillas work and into something mellower. When you toss in Simon Tong from The Verve, Paul Simonon from The Clash and the Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen you have the makings of one hell of a supergroup. The music is fairly easy going and well put together, no one element overpowering and no one showing off as an individual as something like this easily could. Start to finish, it’s a strong album for just relaxing to or setting as background music.
Official Website
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9. Grinderman- Grinderman (Anti-)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds minus a couple seeds churned out one hell of an album. A late addition to my personal collection this year, I’ve been listening to this CD non-stop for the last week. As Amazon.co.uk said, “Grinderman is the sound of indie rock legends growing old disgracefully, and that is by no means a criticism.”
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8. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse (Sony)
Modest Mouse’s first album since their breakthrough “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” fails to disappoint. The addition of Johnny Marr from The Smiths gives the band a fuller sound and helps the album take the harder, darker elements from “Good News” and really make them shine for a full album. It’s a stronger outing with two potential singles starting the album off and the rest holding steady. Never a dull moment.
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7. Cease To Begin - Band Of Horses (Sub Pop)
A late pick up this year but one I’ve been meaning to get for a while. Last year’s “Everything All The Time” made many “best of lists” and put the buzz in my ear to give them a listen. Still didn’t do it (because I suck) but now I’m in the Band Of Horses camp. Light music and echoing vocals give the album and soft indy pop feel that sticks with ya.
Official Website
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6. Drums And Guns - Low (Sub Pop)
Minimalist, dark, and soothing, “Drums and Guns” is unlike anything else you’ll hear this year.
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5. The Shepard’s Dog - Iron & Wine (Sub Pop)
I didn’t quite give Iron & Wine’s new outing a fair shake when I started listening to it. Now that I’ve had time to really sit back and digest it, it’s a really good album. More produced than previous albums, Sam Beam fleshes out the sound (perhaps picking up a bit from working with Calexico in last year’s “In The Reigns”). Fun, acoustic based work with plenty of energy from the music and Beam’s vocals.
Official Website
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4. Golden Daze- Wildbirds (Republic)
Not only can these guys rock on an album but they can put on one hell of a show, too. With a sound a bit of Petty, a bit of Stones, some Black Crowes and a lot of awesome, this is probably the most rockin’ album I’ve heard this year.
Official Website
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3. In Rainbows- Radiohead (Ato Records)
A lot of talk about “In Rainbows” has been all about Radiohead’s internet-first pay-what-you-will method of release. But beyond that one realized that, wow, they’re practically giving away what is a fan-damn-tastic album. While not their best outing (I’m a huge fan of “OK Computer”), Radiohead continues to tweak their sound and deliver something different from what they’ve done before. Hands down one of the best bands out there that continues to deliver.
Official Website
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2. Wincing The Night Away - The Shins (Sub Pop)
The third full length outing from The Shins and their best. “Wincing” shows a development and maturity that really works. While a bit more produced than their previous albums, it tightens the sound and really makes for a great album start to finish.
Official Website
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1. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon (Merge)
The moment it came out I felt that this was the album of the year. I haven’t looked back since. Spoon’s newest album builds off of their previous outing “Gimmie Fiction” and knocks it off as the best Spoon album yet. Great album start to finish, opening with the strong “Don’t Make Me A Target”, holding you with the first single “The Underdog” in the middle and closing properly with a lighter fare from “Black Like Me”. If you buy any album on this list, buy this one. You won’t regret it.
Official Website
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December 29th, 2007 at 11:47 am |
Tags: 2007, awesome, music
