The Top Fifty Favorite Albums Of 2007 - Pt.1

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All right, here we go! Only about four months late, but I do have an excuse the last five-six months have been filled with loss and tragedy. I'm not going into that. Let me just say – welcome to my Fifth Annual Top 50 Favorite Albums of The Year list. The 2007 edition is filled with some really terrific records. As in the past, I will start off by saying: 1) this is not a definitive list (of course, there are records that I didn’t hear and would’ve loved, or records that I got into too late to make my list, or records that I’m too thick in the head to comprehend their excellence, etc.); 2) I am applying the Album Quantifier Model score (e-mail me if you need more info) which is one indicator of ranking; and 3) I may like records a lot that didn’t have the best songs, and the converse applies. The key to understanding the list is this question I asked myself: “How often did I reach for the record and listen to it straight through?” The answer was a major determinant of where the record finally ended up in the rankings. I will be posting ten each day all week, so be sure to check back often!!!

50. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away, (Sub Pop Records) 73.86
Way, way, way back in January 2007, Wincing The Night Away sold over 110,000 copies to debut at number two on the Billboard charts. This instantly made The Shins the darlings of the mainstream press and the in-tune indie diehards. It also surprised the masses and next thing you know, the band was the featured guest on Saturday Night Live. Back in 1987, this would have really been something, but not in today’s -groan- digital age. La tee dah. What got me was the everywhere single, “Phantom Limb”, but even more addictive the nervy-paranoia vibe of “Split Needles”. I didn’t forget you, The Shins.

49. The National – Boxer, (Beggars Banquet) 77.67
The National is one of those bands who have steadily increased their visibility at the same rate of the improvement in their songwriting. Boxer built on the sophistication and maturity (I mean this in the best way possible) exemplified with 2005’s Alligator. One cannot deny the quality of the songs, the problem is in the heavy handed approach – it’s deep and foreboding, so much so it takes effort to put the damn thing on. So while the AQM is high, the play (at least on my stereo) was low.

48. Joy Electric – The Otherly Opus, (Tooth & Nail Records) 76.54
The Otherly Opus is the ninth Joy Electric full-length, the nom de musique of Mr. Ronnie Martin. He can be accused of being too literal in his quest for the perfect pop album – staying entrenched in the sub-genre of synth pop and his analog-only constraint, making it impossible to craft anything other than the blip-beep cutesy pop. I will admit, that yes, there is only so much he can do with these constraints, but the genius is found in the ever-so slight deviations. The deviation here is a cavalcade of vocals juxtaposed with mechanical dissonance – these vocals build on words and phrases to create long-extended hooks that are ridiculously spectacular.

47. The Ponys – Turn The Lights Out, (Matador Records) 74.83
This record renders the band’s noise-pop-post-punk crafty with straight up rollicking sixties Stones and jittery post-punk in a way that is simultaneously restrained and unbridled. Yes, this means that, in many ways, this is a tamer record than their previous two. This development made the songs stronger, with compelling melodies and huge hooks jumping out the execution. Nowhere is this more successful than on “1209 Seminary”; the song is relentless, catchy, and constantly teetering on oblivion ---> much like the rest of Turn The Lights Out.

46. Panda Bear – Person Pitch, (Paw Tracks) 74.18
Let’s face it, strip the record of the soundscapes, the electronic futurism, the production tricks and you’ve got this: (from my Apr-07 review): “Luckily, Mr. Panda Bear is a melodic auteur, so more often than not, the record is fascinating. Delving into each song reveals that Person Pitch isn’t as weird as some would make it out to be. The noises and the effects are dressing. What we essentially have is simple hippie-stink-Beach-Boys pop accompanied by elongated krautrock and interesting auxiliary sounds. It’s probably pretentious and cuckoo, but also cool.”

45. Anything After – There’s Something Warm, (self-released) 74.74
I found out about this Downey, CA courtesy of a guerilla/viral marketing campaign by the band itself via a “Friend Request” at MySpace. I heard Anything After late one evening as I went through 20 or so of these requests, clicking the link then backspace and deny (if you don’t have the ability to put two-and-two together, that means the band sucked). The lo-fi recordings of The Jesus & Mary Chain feedback drone mixed with pop-punk exuberance bleated out of my teeny laptop speakers grabbed me thanks to huge choruses and killer hooks. The entire record really works despite the heavy appropriation of style. It’s because the songs are of a serious quality.

44. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga, (Merge Records) 76.54
It’s well-documented how I feel about Spoon – I bought the records and never understood the hype/critical drooling. I mean I understand it … I just don’t agree with it. HA! So … what is this doing in my Top 50 when this is not [considered?!]the best Spoon record? I suppose that it comes down to this: I actually spent more time with this record than I ever intended to and it was due to one song: “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb”. Then that rhythm rhythm rhythm started creeping in.

43. Peter Bjorn & John – Writer’s Block, (Wichita Recordings) 71.02/76.64
It seemed that 2007 was the year of PB&J - from the ubiquitous "Young Folks" that inspired frat rats and sorority swine to whistle into their lite beers and sex-on-the-beach's to "Up Against The Wall" as soundtrack to actors in commercials pulling up-and-down their pants. When the record is on, it's very on (see aforementioned tracks and the shoegaze-y "Objects of My Affection" and the slightly ignored "Let's Call It Off"), as a whole its kind of spotty. Further, this honestly is not as good as 2005’s Falling Out.

42. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala, (Secretly Canadian) 77.67
Lekman had annoyed me as nothing more than the Swedish Stephen Merritt. That's pretty easy and slightly unfair criticism, but his previous records did little to persuade otherwise. Night Falls is different in the diversity - swelling chamber pop, flirty bossa pop, jumpy twee pop, etc etc. Nearly every song is top-shelf craft and the lyrics are sad, funny, clever, insightful putting in the man in the same breath as Merritt, Morrisey, and Murdoch.

41. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver, (DFA) 76.94
This highly anticipated follow-up to the highly received debut just didn't have the elusive "it". Still, one cannot deny the deliberate nature of the songs and the sequencing of the album. Mr. James Murphy always has attempted to reconcile the dance floor with the rock club and Sounds of Silver is a record in limbo because of it. He and his band succeed in spades on the raucous cheekiness called, snicker, "North American Scum", the gorgeous sinewy New Order homage "All My Friends" and the stellar confessional absurdist truth of "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down".

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