Rockfeedback’s Top 100 Records of 2007 Pt.1
By: Thomas Hannan, Thomas Hannan, Thomas Hannan
50) The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder (Simian)
Proof positive that Hobbits have great musical taste. Released via Ellijah 'Frodo' Wood's record label, album number 6 from the Colorado funsters was a giddy, playful technicolour riot, as indebted to the The White Album as it was the Flaming Lips, and provided this year's answer to Graham Coxon's 2006 pop opus Love Travels At Illegal Speeds. (Matt Tomiak)
49) Gruff Rhys - Candylion (Rough Trade)
These aren't sketches of songs, like his last one turned out. Not a solo record for the sake of it, no - proper stuff, this. You wonder why more of this isn't saved for the full band experience when you hear something as good as 'Cycle of Violence', but maybe he worries what those pranksters would have done with these persistent, jaunty rhythms and succinct, rewarding melodies - stretched them out beyond recognition and ruin them perhaps? If so, Rhys needs to be more of an arrogant lead singer. (Tom Hannan)
48) The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams (Modular)
Long available on import, we now have Erlend Øye's intended electronic foray away from the evidently crowded confines of the Kings of Convenience duo. However, surprisingly it's less in keeping with his patchy electro solo/collaboration album Unrest, and more acoustic than perhaps he intended. However with arrangements this tight the project comes across as a strumming Kraftwerk, with pristinely clean guitars reminiscent of the Blue Nile. 'Burning' is like the Cure without make-up or big shoes and 'Golden Cage' even teeters along the bass-line of 'Another One Bites the Dust' like a cheekily charming 6-year old. (Tom Hocknell)
47) The Maccabees - Colour It In (Polydor)
The vocals might become a distant chirrup after a while but there are songs here that you can put in a draw, forget about, rediscover months later and still enjoy with the same sense of elation. Simple songs delivered with genialness and happy-clappin' gusto the likes of which overwhelm your inner indie-kid with lyrical whips of poeticized life mendacity. (Alex Lee Thomson)
46) Von Sudenfed - Tromantic Reflections (Domino)
Collaboration of the year! (Hopefully they'll quote me on that and put it on a sticker in Woolworths) Sporting an alter-ego, Mouse On Mars take us on a journey through electronica, from thumping tech-house, to squelchy two-step, past glitchy electro-grime and glam stomping, before closing rather unexpectedly with gentle folktronica. Rising to this challenge of eclecticism, Herr Mark E Smith displays a plethora of vocal ticks from various quacks, slurs, garbles, gargles and grumble-croons. Extolling the wonders of nothing but himself, the self-acclaimed Great MES, like a drunk roused from his phone box slumber, slack raps his way through encounters with an incontinent DJ Sven Vath; the moral dilemmas of boiling poultry; a mountain biking troubadour; an argument with workmen outside the studio; and a gentle ode to friends lost along the way. An exhausting and disturbing, yet thoroughly delightful, journey (HMV can quote me on that). (Liam Manley)
45) The White Stripes - Icky Thump (XL)
After the piano and marimba experimentation of 2005's Get Behind Me Satan and the seventies MOR of The Raconteurs, many wondered if Jack White would ever return to the ragged blues of earlier albums. With 'Icky Thump' he and Meg managed to pull off the most difficult feat of all by taking a simple blueprint of guitar and drums and creating something thrilling and inventive, as on the off-kilter title track, or the amazing mariachi blues of 'Conquest'. Icky Thump was also notable for the return of White's sense of humour, shown brilliantly on 'Rag & Bone' in which Jack and Meg imagine themselves as travelling salesmen. Some scoffed at the use of bagpipes on two tracks, but it's a record whose flaws are still fascinating. (Michael Cragg)
44) Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure)
Potentially their last album given their current hiatus on live activities, Electrelane will have produced four wildly different LPs should this prove to be the end. No Shouts, No Calls explored branches you would never have foreseen the originally instrumental group treading. Perfectly produced, but achingly restrained, it occasionally leaves you wishing they could have rocked out just a little more. But the very fact it gets you clenching your fists, anticipating that moment of climax throughout the LP, is a mark of its greatness. It's like the constant tease: it leaves you feeling slightly hollow inside, but in a good way, and one you'll definitely repeat, again and again. (Kevin Molloy)
43) Blood Brothers - Young Machetes (Wichita)
Yet another band deciding to call it a day in 2007, citing musical differences but probably just because they hated each others guts, at least they went out on their finest record. Why do we assume hatred amongst Blood Brothers members? Because only genuine tension could have made music this violent, virulent, visceral and all kinds of other words that mean 'really blood loud' that don't happen to begin with the letter 'V'. (Tom Hannan)
42) Sigur Ros - Heim/Hvarf (EMI)
This might not have a 'Hoppipolla' to shout about but what it does have is beauty, stacks of it, coming out of every pitch perfect and brutally planned stick of notation. It's a wonder how this band continue to scrape the life out of you and slosh it around a bowl of their own musicality, but they do it, time and time again on this breathtaking and eloquently astonishing new album. We can't use mere words to match such benevolence in music; it needs to be heard to be truly understood. (Alex Lee Thomson)
41) Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Vice)
With a few predictable exceptions, it's omitting a sense of carelessness and fun where indie bands so often go wrong. If this immaculate album were any more fun it'd be a pit of lurid-coloured, plastic balls a mile long. They are also the least likely people to drag the saxophone back from the cheap racks of music/video exchange. It's packed with handclaps, dirty synth lines, belting cheap guitar solos, nonsensical lyrics and enough hooks on which to hang every disco coat. If you put this on in a cemetery the earth would move. (Tom Hocknell)
40) Pinch - Underwater Dancehall (Tectonic)
A late contender for record of the year. Released only last week when Burial was stealing the column inches, Pinch, the man behind Tectonic Recordings, dropped the album that should have put Bristol back on the map. A slicker, more naturalistic production style, and an exhilarating approach with a selection of guest vocalists (don't worry - the cd also comes with full instrumentals), rewards the listener who pines for a little more Dub in their step. (Tim Dellow)
39) Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends (Wichita)
Yeah, no matter how much you compare them to other people who definitely aren't, Les Savy Fav are pretty much an emo band (really, let's all just f**king get over it, they are!), yet one who existed before any of those caught in the current wave. By missing it, they probably did miss out on a fair bit of acclaim (not to mention lovely, lovely money). But they survive, stronger, making genuinely relevant art like 'Let's Stay Friends', perhaps simply because they've had to do it on their own, away from the gaze of the public at large that they deserved. If only any of the bands they supposedly influenced had any concern with truly following their lead as opposed to hollowly name dropping them in interviews, they might come close to making a record as excellent as this one. (Tom Hannan)
38) Justice - Cross (Ed Banger)
This was the year dance smacked a blow in the face of turgid indie rock (I'm looking in your direction Pigeon Detective Milburn et al.). Justice's debut was like a tornado of fresh air with its beats and instantly recognisable electro. It's all about 'Waters Of Nazareth' as far as we're concerned. No tune in 2007 has measured up to having quite as close as a distorted, danceable, loud and euphoric feel clocking in at 4 minutes. There is no better tune this year than this and no higher praise that I could possibly give. (Yousif Nur)
37) Good Shoes - Think Before You Speak (Brille)
Despite having my copy of Good Shoes' debut long player stolen from me while DJing in Japan earlier this year, the herky jerky, slightly cross-eyed pop of Think Before You Speak has remained sewn to the synapses. A little chubby round the chops and insistent on cramming too-many words into too little time, Good Shoes may not have quite delivered on their initial commercial promise (boo to the public), but more importantly, produced a debut of awkward, off-kilter post-punk nuggets that have revealed their genius over time. 2007 was the year of the teenager, but no one better summed up that adolescent stew of exuberance, arrogance, paranoia and doubt than this lot. (Stephen Pietrzykowski)
36) The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Rough Trade)
Even for hardened fans, getting used to this might take weeks of intent listening. Whilst it's not difficult or abrasive, it's just, well, not The Decemberists. Except on this record, the funny thing is that this is The Decemberists. The Decemberists the prog band. Yet, once over that fact, you'll come back to this for both its stories and the tunes it tells them to, focusing on a different facet of its wonder each time. It's a pleasure to be able to salute it not just for its ambition, but for the delightful execution of those ideas too. (Tom Hannan)
35) Blonde Redhead - 23 (4AD)
As much as we all love the spooky horror film sounds in the background, as much we all love the incredibly delicately played guitars, as much those sweet and yet luscious vocals float over the album perfectly, we all know that the thing that really makes this album what it is, that really puts it into the picks of the year, is the melodies. These melodies are incredible - there's always at least one fascinating, motivating instance in every song that seems to swoop in from nowhere and just do something that no other band does, or can do. I mean really, how could you ever fault a song like 'Spring and by Summer Fall'? I want to here a lot more Dads talking about this album after Christmas. I mean, really Dads, you have no excuse - this is perfectly acceptable Dad friendly music, it's like Coldplay. But good to listen to. And not played by tw*ts. (Charlie Potter)
34) Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! (Rough Trade)
Thank God (him again - you even there, pal? If so, happy birthday to your lad for the 25th) the only SFA compilations that exist so far are B-Sides and Singles collections, as when they finally compile a 'Very Best Of', a whole host of tracks from their eighth full length studio album proper are going to have to take pride of place on it. And how many other bands can you say that about? (Tom Hannan)
33) The Locust - New Erections (Anti)
After being initially really disappointed with this album, I've found myself listening to it more and more, and though it's still not quite as good as the classic Plague Soundscapes, it still connects foot with bottom rather forcefully. Initially New Erections sounds like one long slur of jittery math rock, but this is probably their most experimental album to date, with loads of really tense breakdowns. This is where we hear the incredible towers of rack synths being utilised, the sound often being reduced to one mesmerising high pitched noise. Also, it's the first time we've really heard The Locust do ssslllooowww, and man are they good at it, - the brutal crushing sound of the first track 'Aotkpta' will become completely addictive to you, when you first get this album. The Locust are proving themselves to be the most promising band to really take grindcore out of its little tight circle and turn it into something far more innovative. (Charlie Potter)
32) PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)
The utterly beautiful White Chalk is such a delicate record - so studiously quiet and comfortingly gentle at times that it's barely there - that it seems OK that it gets carried away on a light breeze without you really noticing. It makes for quite a fitting ending to this stage of a fascinating woman's career. You'll return to it again, ponder its worth endlessly, whilst simultaneously wondering what on earth Polly Jean Harvey will do next. (Tom Hannan)
31) Low - Drums and Guns (Sub Pop)
Drums and Guns is a record which starts by predicting your imminent death, and near the end threatens to become a murderer before recalling its 'violent past'. Not all's well. But by taking themselves out of their comfort zone and presenting their bare bones, Low have on their eighth album breathed new life in to an already fantastic act. (Tom Hannan)
30) Destroyer - Destroyers Rubies (Rough Trade)
Destroyer is the recording alias of Dan Bejar, a Vancouver based artist. Recording under the mantel since 1995, Bejar has consistently produced winning, insightful, lyrical recordings - in the vein of the Mountain Goats, Rock Central Plaza and (Smog). With Destroyer's Rubies the ensemble has hit a winning formula; their expressive lyrics perfectly capturing fleeting moments we all encounter each day and presenting them in rosy coloured hues. The lyrics are midway between obtuse ramblings and crystal clarity, while the music is direct, raucous and saccharine - Bejar is the drunk at the back of the room, eloquently expressing the thoughts of others with charming aplomb. (Chris O'Toole)
29) The BesnardLakes - The BesnardLakes Are The Dark Horse (Jagjaguwar)
F**k Klaxons, f**k ironic tracksuits and f**k 'the future'; let's go live in the woods. An outstandingly gorgeous as it is vaguely luddite, The Besnard Lakes sophomore effort sought to captivate all that came within earshot of their incandescent melodies and heart-melting wonder. Seemingly akin to a backwoods Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker in a far cosier version of 'The Hills Have Eyes', TBLARTDH suggested a past-time of kidnapping members of the Canadian musical cognoscenti, summoning the spirits of Wilson brothers come and gone, while competing for the most aching falsetto between them. Putting pay to the theory that all year end round-ups should now be limited to 'Best Album From Canada Released this Year' (runner up: Do Make Say Think's A History In Rust) at times the results sound similar to Twin Peaks chanteuse Julee Cruise backed by Spiritualized and Low (minus the backwards-talking midget - they left that to Battles, thankfully). Immaculately produced, from the most feather-light of touches to space-rock sturm und drang, this is sublime and sleaze-free ear-fondling. (Liam Manley)
28) Nina Nastasia and Jim White - You Follow Me (Fat Cat)
There's still Nastasia's defining mystery and distance to it. You're no closer to figuring out Nina as a person or a songwriter by listening to these songs. But for now, enjoy this new pairing, enjoy the way they sound like they're enjoying each other, and hum these melodies as you go about your daily business. You can figure out what the songs are about later. Get lost in the melody, get caught up in the complexity of it all, it's your call. And as you may have noticed, I love being able to make that choice with a record. (Tom Hannan)
27) Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (Island)
A voice with depths that commercial radio often refuses to acknowledge, Amy continues to write a bluesy heartbreak that has enticed many, swept the masses into a new blue period with the drama and immediacy that few singers have managed in past years. Bringing a sound at home in the Jazz Café to the playlists of twelve year olds and fifty year olds from New York to Scotland, Amy's charisma and musical integrity standing out against the pretty harmonies of other bland songstresses. Amidst the noise therefore, have played some beautiful songs, neatly recorded onto this gorgeous album. (Christiana Spens)
26) The New Pornographers - Challengers (Matador)
It really was the year for This Kind Of Music, so it was a bit weird that Challengers got so overlooked. Really, if you're digging the Decemberists, Arcade Fire, The National, Modest Mouse, you gotta start digging in this direction, as things are about to get a lot more interesting. The combined songwriting talents of AC Newman and Dan Bejar (yep, him of Destroyer, mentioned above - a good year for that lad) here produced about the most melodic thing since Brian Wilson last hummed the theme from Cheers, but it had an underlying sinister side that rewarded repeat listens handsomely. (Tom Hannan)
25) Feist - The Reminder (Universal)
This is cut from ashes of love, and if not the sound of Gonzales, Eirik Boe and Feist having a ball, it is certainly the sound of spontaneously, rediscovered soul, and this loose, well arranged album, like the track 'A Limit To Your Love', haunts long after it has finished playing. (Tom Hocknell)
24) Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
Built out of the remnants of the oft-maligned Math-rock genre, Mirrored was an auspicious debut from this New York quartet. The beauty and brutality of the album is that it's almost impossible to pin down a running musical theme, genres flow in and out of the mix with little regard for structure or cohesion, most notably on the glam-stomp of first single 'Atlas' or the jazz-techno of album opener 'Race: In'. Pure pop pleasure, meanwhile, surfaces on the joyous 'Ddiamondd'. (Michael Cragg)
23) Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (Pias)
In an age when even the original line-up of the Beatles (with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass) are probably about to reform from beyond the grave, this was the most glorious of all 2007's reunions. How did J, Lou and Murph do it? By recording a perfectly timeless Dinosaur Jr record. One of the few times you can honestly say it was just like they had never been away. (Chris Helsen)
22) The Tuss - Rushup Edge (Reflex)
This is an album by Richard d. James, aka Aphex Twin, OK? There is no doubt in the world. Find a copy of the press release and tell me that is anyone other than Aphex Twin's humour. But not only is it a Richard D. James album, it's a bloody good one. It has all the fun of the rack synths and Rolands on Analord, but is perfected to a tee - no wading through any dud tracks on this album. If you only buy a few albums a year without a vocalist on it, make this one of them. As an all round package this is a really fun thing to own, particularly the vinyl - not to long and not too challenging, but it is perfectly crafted. (Charlie Potter)
21) The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good The Bad & The Queen (Honest Johns)
Few could have imagined at the beginning of the '90s that Damon Albarn would go on to become British music's most daring and intelligent figureheads, and yet seemingly everything he touches turns to musical gold. After the cartoon pop group incarnation came this 'supergroup' made up of afro-beat legend Tony Allen, The Clash's Paul Simonon, The Verve's Simon Tong and Danger Mouse on production duties. The result is an often gorgeous indictment of the state of the nation, a kind of post-war version of Blur's Parklife. Highlights included the beautiful dub of 'Behind The Sun', the delicate 'Green Fields' and the relatively raucous title track.
20) Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch and Go)
Though it's since been maligned as one of their weaker records, it's interesting that if you talk to any Shellac fan they'll actually struggle to name one individual track that they don't like. That's because there aren't any that are worth of anything other than heartfelt love, and Excellent Italian Greyhound is actually one heck of a record - in 'The End of Radio' they opened it with their best ever song, and in the penultimate 'Paco' offered one of the finest pieces of minimal instrumental music anyone - anyone - had ever released. (Tom Hannan)
19) Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino)
He's having fun with this, playing with some guest musicians you get the feeling he values perhaps even more highly for their ability to be his close friend rather than sonic colleague, messing around with words (he's said to be delighted with combining the words 'comic' and 'opera' - and I like the thought of him giggling whilst looking at his own record cover) and, like a proper opera, splitting the record in to three acts, each dealing with their own theme (relationships, ones surroundings, the war...). Yet crucially, you don't really need to know any of this to enjoy just how luscious and brilliantly thought out 'Comicopera' actually sounds. It requires no prior knowledge, no higher mindset. Just that you accept, and more importantly respect, Wyatt's invitation to a few hours round his place. (Tom Hannan)
8) Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
If Brian Wilson had grown up in 80s Baltimore County and hung out with people with names like Avey Tare and Geologist instead of bloody surfing all the time, he probably would have made albums that sounded a bit like Person Pitch. Not content with contributing to Animal Collective's delicious Strawberry Jam, Panda Bear outdid his band's work with his third solo album. Managing to make surf pop sound experimental and lo-fi - Person Pitch is a joy from beginning to end. (Chris Helsen)
It is ridiculous how low on some of the other albums of the year lists (not that they're worth reading when all you need is our list) this album is occurring. A lot of people seem to have been scared away by the sizable Arab Strap connection, although though I think that this is pathetic, frankly, and I also think that this album's reach goes far beyond Arab Strap - this album has all the hall marks of a classic indie pop album, brilliant song structures, fantastic choruses, and no dud tracks. For many people, myself included, this album makes you feel finally someone is saying the things that I think a lot of the time, set to good melodies. Just so many of these lyrics will speak to so many people. Don't wait until Malcolm Middleton has been Christmas number one to become a fan, although do buy 'We're All Going to Die' for Christmas number 1. (Charlie Potter)
16) Radiohead - In Rainbows (Self Released / XL [CD])
Radiohead surprised everyone when they released their new album online two months before the physical CD release, via a groundbreaking 'honesty box' system in which the consumer could pay however much they deemed the music to be worth. For a band of their stature it was a brilliant move, side-stepping the usual problem of the album leaking months in advance. But what of the music itself? Gone were the somewhat lumbering takes on electronica that marred parts of Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief, instead the band seem to have learned how to take the blueprint of electronica and play it with guitars, keyboards and percussion, as on the extraordinary 'Reckoner'. Also, back at the forefront of the mix is Yorke's voice; an instrument so perfect that it always seemed such a waste to distort it beneath all those bleeps and hums. The clattering opener '15 Step' is a (brilliant) red herring, just like it's follow-up, the guitar heavy 'Bodysnatchers', the band settling into their groove by the time the gorgeous 'Nude' arrives. From there the album unravels like a dream via the underwater murmur of 'Arpeggi/Weird Fishes' and the string drenched 'Faust Arp'. The album closes with death on the beautiful 'Videotape', Yorke's voice and piano battling against the rolling drums at heaven's "pearly gates". (Michael Cragg)
15) MIA - Kala (XL)
Following 2 years of Stateside visa complications, MIA returned with her riposte to New Rave asking 'where were you in '92?' (I was playing Scalectrix at my gran's, if you must know). Robbed of the opportunity to work with DJ Diplo, who so illuminated her debut, Ms Arulpragasam's loss proved to be our gain as she revealed an uncanny knack, like many era-defining artists, of only working with the best producers, including tubby Timmy Timbaland. Though this year's Sound Of Young Britain turned out to be simply trad-indie boys with new haircuts, her follow-up to Arular managed far more successfully to marry itself to the alternative canon, mixing references to Modern Lovers, Pixies and The Clash into its broad palette. As a result, Kala comes on as glamorous an entertaining as Jimmy Saville running down the offie in his gold lamé shellsuit for ten Hamlets, dressed up like Oxfam's version of Bling, without the implied guilt or the faint smell of piss. (Liam Manley)
14) Grinderman - Grinderman (Mute)
Nick Cave's place in the canon of rock was assured decades ago by his work with the Birthday Party. But while his live shows with the Bad Seeds have maintained a biblical urgency, their recorded output has been a touch maudlin, even pompous for those raised on the visceral rage of his earlier band. What a surprise then, for Cave to return to the primitive, minimal, aggressive - yet literate, intricate and involving - work of his youth. With Grinderman, named in hour of a John Lee Hooker track, that is exactly what the Australian singer-songwriter has done. Taking some of the 'Seeds with him, including long time collaborator Warren Ellis, cave has stripped back the years to create a stark, confrontational rock record. (Although Cave now finds himself oiling hinges and stroking chiwawas, whereas in his drug fuelled youth who would have taken an axe to any women who dare oppose him). Filled with threatening distortion, maniacal screaming and dark marauding - as well as a decidedly twisted sense of humour - the Grinderman is an enduring image to a reborn lust for life. (Chris O'Toole)
13) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Epic)
This was the year when Modest Mouse finally came of age. Two years ago 'Float On' was a subterranean anthem adopted by the over ground community, allowing the long time cult rockers to break out into the bright light of day. Returning with We Were Dead... there were fears the group may have capitulated to the pressure of celebrity, diluted their sound and taken the easier road. But Modest Mouse hit pay dust through the addition of some Manc. called Marr playing guitar, whose inspirational musical taste is so wide it's hard to see how he finds time to play the sublime guitar licks for which he is so admired. But let's not allow the band, nor singer Isaac Brock, to be overshadowed; for it's his hillside growl and their collective, that lends these, off-beat, magnificent songs their edge. The hidden harmonies and lyrical sweeps that develop with each listen, means by the end of this year this album's grown into their most mature and solid collection of songs yet. (Chris O'Toole / Tom Hocknell)
12) !!! - Myth Takes (Warp)
More confident, more skilled at their craft, and probably just enjoying some particularly rich period of being on form, this is better than probably the band themselves even suspected it could be. Make no myth take (see?), this is how to grow up without forgetting how much fun it is to be a kid. (Tom Hannan)
11) The National - Boxer (Matador)
While Arcade Fire, and to a lesser extent Cold War Kids, took the new Americana headlines, The National quietly released this follow-up to their brilliant debut, Alligator. Stately and poised, songs such as the Sufjan Stevens-assisted 'Racing Like A Pro' and 'Fake Empire' revealed their qualities over time, planting a seed in your mind that was hard to shake, Matt Beringer's baritone slowly taking on a hypnotic quality. But the band also knew how to get the blood pumping, shown to spectacular effect on the bruising 'Mistaken For Strangers'. Boxer is an intriguing mix of controlled, channelled aggression, enigmatic, aloof posturing and spell binding production. It is an album best enjoyed alone, and is the perfect travelling companion; a soundtrack to a night time journey - gently whispering the answers to the questions spinning in your head. Filled with everyman ballads, the album is a reinterpretation of the traditional rock format, adding strings and melody to the robust guitar and bass lines to create something at once solid and intimate. An intriguing album from one of the most underestimated bands around. (Michael Cragg / Chris O'Toole)
10) Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
Burial has effortlessly followed the near perfect concept of his debut, in which South London was lost under a wave of depression. In terms of evolution, he's expanded his variations on a theme by the integration of vocals and more direct, dare I say it, commercial song structure, yet still seems years ahead of his dubstep contemporaries. This is both the true sound of London today, and a cataclysmically accurate portrait of humanity at the start of the century. Utterly involving, horrifically compelling and truly essential. (Tim Dellow)
9) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Sonovox)
For all the low-end Wombat-like sh*t that 2007 has been associated with, it's been albums like this which restore our faith in Mother Music. The clichéd 'more mature album' this might be, but running out of ideas it certainly isn't. The morning spark that set fire to Funeral is still burning, now setting the curtains alight and taking all those old records from the 1920s with them. It's dark, melancholy and endearing. It snatches you from you sleep and makes you cry on the underground. It forces its way into your life and plays sick games with your mind, taunting you until you're nothing more than a shell of existence. A set of divine songs that make it seem as though Music is another natural element, light rain or sun or stone. Sounds that echo the gales outside and command the attention of a sunny day's crowds as the dusk deepens and you're dancing with strangers. Luminous like a candle flame. You still don't know what's going on, but it's very pretty. Can pop music go too far? This album says no. (Alex Lee Thomson / Christiana Spens)
8) Durrty Goodz - Axiom (Awkward)
2007 has been an amazing year for grime, but this was far and away its crowning moment. Everyone knew Goodz had it in him but after finally overcoming both personal and legal crisis, Goodz gets the chance to really drop a classic and we get the chance to remember just why grime, sometimes, is the best thing since sliced bread. Skilful, catchy and devastatingly incisive in his observations Durrty Goodz is heading straight for the top and taking all of East London with him. (Matt Reed)
7) Bjork - Volta (One Little Indian)
Three years after the introspective, instrument-free Medulla, everyone's favourite pop troubadour returned with Volta, her most energetic and day-glow album since 1995's Post. Gone were the intricate beats and introspective lyrics of Vespertine, instead replaced by an almost tribal theme, supplemented on 'Earth Intruders' by Timbaland's deft touch. Mr Mosley also helped construct the triumphant 'Innocence', all clattering beats and anguished yelps, with Bjork's exquisite voice riding the beat as if with a smile. 'Declare Independence', meanwhile, saw Bjork tackling imperialism via a gonzo techno beat that built to an ear-crushing crescendo. Solace came via the sublime 'The Dull Flame Of Desire', in which Bjork was joined by Antony Hegarty to create one of the most beautiful songs of the year. Where she'll go next is anyone's guess, but 'Volta' is another wonderful milestone in a career littered with them. (Michael Cragg)
6) Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming (Rough Trade)
While one of the bleakest listens since 'Berlin', the self aware humour saves it from overindulgence, into an ultimately uplifting, life affirming experience - best typified on the closing 'Shut Up I am Dreaming of Places where Lovers have Wings', perhaps the best song these jaded ears have heard all year. Opening with a timid picking, lifting and swooning with the romance of its sentiment, 'As I fall into the drink', he cries, 'I will say your name before I sink', before conceding that 'Oceans never listen to us anyway... so don't make a sound', before the song frizzes into a jaw dropping sonic splash that genuinely leaves your heart in your mouth, in a lifeboat lost at sea. And you realise you've been listening to a very special record indeed. (Tim Dellow)
5) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (EMI)
Another fine example of pure raw emotion, colliding violently with cold repetitive loops and succeeding entirely. It also happens to include the achingly beautiful 'Someone Great' which as we all know is quite probably the track of 2007. Extending its reach over every dance floor from Club NME to the Panorama Bar, few were able to resist such a surprisingly melancholy slice of brilliance. (Yousif Nur)
4) Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
A record deal with Domino finally allowed the band to realise their potential to reach a far bigger audience, as well as offer the truly expansive album they've always had in them. Strawberry Jam is also Animal Collective's most accessible album to date, but one that keeps their imprint and integrity very much intact. The songs are also poppier if that's imaginable, 'Peacebone' and 'Fireworks' being two prime examples of a band taking a new tangent. And if all of that sounds appetising, you ought to see them live - not so much a gig as much as an obligatory event. (Yousif Nur)
3) Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian)
As editrix la Hannan will undoubtedly say more and better than your humble scribe, and handsome lad Tim Dellow will just say more, I'll be brief. Both my general state of perpetual indolence and necessarily enforced word limits will not allow for a suitable discussion of the genius of this record, its post-modern sensibilities, witticism, lyricism, absurdism, love-lorn and hopeful all crashing down around you in slow motion as you spin, viewed from above, arms outstretched rejoicing in the rain that everything maudlin is wonderful and kinda funny-sad. The trite amongst the music criterati might willingly mention names like Morrissey and Merrit, but Lekman is quite certainly his own man, living in a silly melancholy bubble of sepia-tinged fantasy and romance and avocados. (Michael Lewin)
Michael's a tw*t. (Tim Dellow)
2) Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Rough Trade)
You could ramble on about the concept behind Rise Above - Dirty Projectors main man Dave Longstreth apparently attempted to record a version of Black Flag's Damaged, his favourite album as a child, entirely from memory, and came up with this - until you're blue in the face. Still you'll never have it quite figured out, and you'll never quite decide whether the whole thing is a joke or not. For indeed, it sounds nothing like Black Flag. Lyrically the songs are (pretty much) the same, sure, but this sounds more like Paul Simon, R. Kelly, David Bowie and Captain Beefheart than it does the work of some American hardcore punk band. Somehow though, regardless of the artier-than-thou air that surrounds it, it's one of the most remarkable pieces of music, inventive and rewarding, abrasive and soothing, that I've ever heard in my life. (Tom Hannan)
1) Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity (ATP)
A magnificent, weird and wonderfully abstract collection of songs ranging from pop perfection to almost unlistenable indulgences, it is perhaps this element of unpredictability that really makes Deerhoof the best band of 2007. They've been special for a long time, but with Friend Opportunity they become very, very important. Ignore this at your peril, intelligent music listener - it's a record that's a testament to the power of imagination. Imagination, and pure, unadulterated happiness. It's utterly, joyously free - not in terms of being devoid of structure, more like they can structure themselves in any way they want. There's the freedom. You get the feeling that there is nothing Deerhoof considers impossible, and that makes for one hell of an enlightening listen. Deerhoof's charm is that you're happy to follow them in to uncharted waters simply because the boat they sail there on looks so appealing. We knew it from the moment we heard it - Friend Opportunity is, without a doubt, the finest record of the year. (Gareth Roberts / Tom Hannan)