At the end of every year, a couple of my pretentious music snob relatives and I exchange our 15-track, "Best of" mix CDs. We always attempt to one-up each other, whether it’s by digging deep into our indie piles for that one forgotten gem from January or sneaking in a hit summer single that still pops the cork of a champagne bottle on New Year’s Eve. I can already envision my playlist recipe for 2007: a dash of Kings, a pinch of Spoon, a handful of Andrew Bird and St. Vincent, and I’ll have to stir in some Kanye or he may never be on my album again. Unlike Christmas shopping, however, I’m trying to get an early start on deciding my under-the-radar joints, my "sleepers," if you will.
So far, I’ve got the usual suspects on my list: The National, Sunset Rubdown, Devendra Banhart, Joe Henry, et. al. But I’ve been kicking around the new Shout Out Louds (pictured) album Our Ill Wills since it dropped about two weeks ago. I’ve come to the conclusion that at least one song will have to squeeze its way in.
With the hundreds of CDs piling up on desks here at EW, it’s difficult for our savvy bunch of critics to get them all in the magazine. Some worthy candidates become victims of album saturation, and I’d say the SOLs were, well, just SOL. You may have already heard the anchor single, "Tonight I Have To Leave It," but I can’t get the hook-heavy, guitar-bending track "Normandie" out of my head. It reminds me of a summer night riding around drinking beer and bashing mailboxes in my hometown. I can see the video now: young star-crossed lovers making out in the back of a convertible as their friend swerves down the highway, all of them trying to slough off their teenage angst. And, yeah, the band’s basically the second coming of The Cure — as if Adam Olenius took voice lessons from Robert Smith — but you still can’t deny the musicianship. (Check it out via the YouTube clip embedded below.)
So, PopWatchers, what do you think of the kids from Sweden? And what other bands have we slept on in the first nine months of 2007?
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Funny, I was just thinking about this today, compiling my own year-end Top Ten. The US press has definitely been sleeping on another Swedish band, The Ark, who do the glam-rock revival thing with better hooks and a better voice than The Darkness. The Ark album is called PRAYER FOR THE WEEKEND, and the lead single “Absolutely No Decorum” is my pick for song of the year – a huge, fist-pumping, live-while-you-can anthem.
And just one more from me – my #2 spot goes to Maria McKee: the album is called LATE DECEMBER, and “No Other Way To Love You” is a stormer. Twenty years after Lone Justice, McKee’s voice could still knock a bishop through a stained-glass window, and the chorus is an absolute earworm. Give it a listen and just *try* not sing along, I dare you.
She may be uber-famous, but Kelly Clarkson… why the heck don’t people realize that it’s an amazing CD, and one of the best this year!
Top 5:
5. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump”
4. of Montreal – “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?”
3. Spoon – “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
2. M.I.A. – “Kala”
1. LCD Soundsystem – “Sound of Silver”
Battles’ “Atlas” is by far one of my favorite songs of the year. Pretty much anything off LCD Soundsystem’s cd would make it too, especially “All My Friends.” My favorite track off Spoon’s album is “You’ve Got Yr. Cherry Bomb.”
I loved Shout Out Louds’ last cd, I haven’t had a chance to pick up the new one yet since I can’t find it at a decent price in most stores. Looking forward to it very much though.
You’ve got to add Josh Ritter’s “Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” to your list. It’s fabulous!
I’m enjoying 2007 releases from Rilo Kiley, Spoon, the White Stripes, Stars, M.I.A., Arcade Fire, and The Black Lips.
You better include:
Pearl Jam’s “Love, Reign Over Me”
Eddie Vedder’s “Hard Sun”
The White Stripes’ “Icky Thump”
Modest Mouse’s “Dashboard”
Okkervil River’s “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
I second Andrew on the Kelly Clarkson front. I will never meet a bigger KC fan than myself, but even I admit the album had its flaws. Still…”Sober”, “Maybe”, “Irvine,” & “Dirty Little Secret” are some of her best tracks, if not her best.
I think the REAL news of this year though is Alice Smith. Thanks to this site’s feature on her, I got the whole album is a landmark. Its the first time music has sounded creative in a very long time. A song that ends an uplifting ballad evolves there so perfectly over 3.5 minutes that you forget it started out sounding like the soundtrack to a blaxploitation movie.
“Gary’s Song” by Alice Smith. I probably wouldn’t argue with you if you put “Desert Song” instead.
I’m LOVING Kings of Leon, can’t get enough. Also White Stripes Icky Thump and I’m looking forward to next Tuesday’s release of the new Band of Horses.
MIKA
Rufus Wainwright-Release the Stars
Bright Eyes-Cassadega
Jeremy Fisher
Ben Lee
Patty Griffin
Porcupine Tree’s “Fear of a Blank Planet” is the best new music I’ve heard all year. Atmospheric yet powerful enough to blow a hole in your wall. This band has flown under the radar long enough.
The best release of the year, hands-down, is Okkervil River’s “The Stage Names”. Start to finish, it’s bloody perfect.
Close second, the new Modest Mouse — “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”.
Definitely Kelly Clarkson’s “My December.” She proved she has more talent than the crap that’s on radio.
“Silver Lining” by Rilo Kiley
I’m always working on my year-ends, as I love to compile lists. While I may number these, they aren’t in any particular order:
1. Siobhan Donaghy – ‘Ghosts’ (album) – former Sugababes co-founder, she channels Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and Texas.
2. Margaret Berger – ‘Pretty Scary Silver Fairy’ (album) Former runner-up on Norwegian Idol, this electronic-pop-dance album is my guilty pleasure of the year. Every track is guiltastic.
3. A Fine Frenzy – ‘One Cell In The Sea’ – so far the leading candidate for best album
4. Of Montreal – ‘Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?’ – the groups most accessible album to date, get it quick cause it won’t last. their next album is rumoured to be just the opposite. this one is pure gold and a lot of fun.
I thought I’d list some songs, too:
Aesop Rock – ‘None Shall Pass’
Bishop Allen – ‘Click, Click, Click, Click’
Kate Nash – ‘The Sh*t Song’
Lo-Fi-Fnk – ‘What’s On Your Mind?’
The Bird And The Bee – ‘Again & Again’
Pleasure – ‘Out Of Love’
Lantana – ‘Siempre’
MiNa – ‘Complete’
Robyn – ‘Cobrastyle’
Sondre Lerche – ‘Say It All’
Gogol Bordello – ‘Wanderlust King’
So many more, though…
Just listened to some of Shout out Louds album and really liked it.
For anyone interested they have this in Amazon’s MP3 section. It’s cheaper and better quality than getting it through iTunes but it will still load directly into iTunes. Pretty cool.
In addition to ones already mentioned
Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
Handsome Furs – Plague Park
Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
This has been an outstanding year for female indie bands – Tegan & Sara, Northern State, St. Vincent, etc. have all released outstanding albums. That’s not to say that there haven’t been good albums from guys, too, as the new Ted Leo & the Twilight Sad are both stellar.
Collective Soul’s new album “Afterwords” is great, one of their best albums. Now that they have their own label, they don’t get the kind of play they used to, which is really a shame. They’ve always been so good at music that can be both catchy and thought provoking, and this album is no exception. It’s very different from what people may remember them for in the 90s, which is a good thing since they’re one of the few so-called post-grunge bands that are still around.
I really like the new Jose Gonzalez CD, especially his cover of “Teardrop.” Have loved recent discs from Tegan and Sara, Just Jack, and Miranda Lambert. You should definitely throw on a track from Mark Ronson’s “Version” as well.
I feel like The Killers have not received enough recognition for their excellent sophomore disc. I recommend “Bling (Confessions of a King)”, “For Reasons Unknown” or maybe even “Uncle Johnny.” Great guitars, smart lyrics that could be called poetic, and great rock that must be played loud.
Oops – The Killer’s CD is called “Sam’s Town.”
To name a few:
Explosions In The Sky – All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
Okkervill River – The Stage Names
Pelican – City Of Echoes
Machine Head – The Blackening
Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times
Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
The National – Boxer
Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris
The White Stripes – Icky Thump
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
The Animal Collective output this year has been stellar. Both “Strawberry Jam” and the Panda Bear solo record “Person Pitch” are brilliant beyond belief. Also, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s sophomore offering “Some Loud Thunder” was unfairly maligned when it was first released back in January. In 5 years, people will rediscover and hail it as a classic. It’s a GENIUS start-to-finish LP. Even better on vinyl!!!!
I must give a shout-out to the self-titled debut of The Good, the Bad and the Queen.
After hearing them on David Letterman, I will have to say The National. The Fratellis are good too, but it sounded as if their timing was a bit off when they performed live.
You should check out:
Kate Nash – Made of Bricks
Patrick Cleandenim – Baby Comes Home
Misha – Teardrop Sweetheart
The Brunettes – Structure and Cosmetics
And of course, Art Brut – It’s a Bit Complicated