This is the time of year it seems just about every credible publication is doing a “best of 2007″ albums, so I thought I’d join them and do a quick top 10 of my favourite albums this past year. I’ve chosen the top 10 from the 74 albums I’ve “acquired” (either downloaded / bought the CD of / been given the CD of). Disagree? Just say in the comments below.

• Memorable-ness - Does it have you humming it for days after? Can you remember snippets of lyrics?
• “Car factor” - Can you put it on play and leave it going without skipping any tracks / few tracks?
• Irritability - Can you have tracks on repeat without wanting to throw the CD out of the window?
• Musical quality - Is it likely to be a classic / seen as a highlight of the artist’s career?
• Enjoy-ability - Is it fun? Get you going?
• Innovation - How innovative is it?

10. Jack Peñate - Matinee
He may just be one man with a funny swirl over his name, but his album turned out to be one of the most consistent of the year. Many of the tracks are single-worthy, fun, danceable and just the sort of thing that goes down a storm at many end-of term parties.

Tales of bitterness, nights out, missed opportunities, and images of guys in smart suits akin to West Side Story make this album the first in my 2007 top ten.

Buy the CD on Amazon

9. Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
Who couldn’t have heard Mika’s first single, Grace Kelly, which bothered the top 10 for a few months at the start of the year. Fun, simple pop tunes that live are just quality party tunes.

Many people claimed Mika was trying to capture Freddie Mercury, and yes, he does sound a tiny bit like him, but is completely different: the tunes are quite possibly more girly than anything Freddie did, and his shows are far more like an acid trip than Queen could ever pull off.

His come down tunes, “Relax, Take it Easy,” “Any Other World” and “Happy Ending” are quality tunes in their own right, comedowns for the end of the party. All in all a quality mixture of pop, rock, and pure fun.

My Live Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

8.The Wombats - A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation
I only really got into this a couple of weeks ago after the release of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division”, but it was on repeat all the way home from the US, with their amusing tales of urban English life. Songs like “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” celebrate English irony brilliantly, tunes that just have everyone dancing for the hills.

They’re knowledgeable, and the whole album is very tongue-in-cheek, which is just what modern indie-pop should be.

Buy the CD on Amazon

7. I’m From Barcelona - Let me Introduce My Friends
I’ll admit it, I didn’t think I’d like this album. 29 people on a record sounds like a recipe for destruction if you ask me, but somehow they pull it off without sounding as chaotic as the Polyphonic Spree do at times.

Songs like “We’re From Barcelona” are fun, simple tunes which has all the vibe of a secondary-school band gone pro. EP song “Britney” unfortunately doesn’t make an appearance on this album, but if it did, the album would be even higher up my list.

Buy the CD on Amazon

6. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
Opening song, “Is there a Ghost” is enough for Band of Horses to deserve their 6th place position on this list. A quality, haunting tune that just captures the whole vibe of the album - musically capable, listener - accessible.

The entire collection sounds far more polished and consistent than their debut, “Everything, All the Time”, which whilst had moments of brilliance, failed to capture the consistency of this collection.

Buy the CD on Amazon

5. Radiohead - In Rainbows
A suprise release, Radiohead seemed to garner more headlines for their “Music Industry ruining” way of release and letting people choose the price they wanted to pay for the download of the tracks as an MP3 file.

However, the album wa, in my opinion, one of their strongest yet. A distinctly electronic feel, they combined their solo efforts into a collection that was strong, consistent, and interesting. I wouldn’t be suprised if it turns out to be one of their strongest of their career.

My Review of In Rainbows | Buy the CD on Amazon

4. Stars - In our Bedroom After the War
I bought this one on a whim - I didn’t know much about Stars, but quickly grew to love them. Songs like the haunting “Barricade”, the danceable “The Night Starts Here” and the yearning “Bitches in Tokyo” make for a collection that builds on their previous albums (which I’ve since acquired), and makes a strong and consistent collection that I’ll be listening to for months to come no doubt.

Buy the CD on Amazon

3. Tegan and Sara - The Con

They may be two lesbian identical twin sisters, but don’t let you think they’re a novelty act - far from it. They’re a quality duo, who make amazing short stories for the 00’s generation.

Produced by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, The Con is their most accomplished yet, full of drama like their previous records, but a bit more believable, and a bit more stable now that they’re settled down with partners. They seem happier, if that’s possible, which is always good.

Buy the CD on Amazon

2. The National - Boxer
The National’s fourth album, Boxer is a very consistent record, though unfortunately not quite as good as their break-through “Alligator”.

They seem to be more at home with themselves, not quite as angry as standout songs on Alligator “Mr. November” or “Lit Up”. Instead, all of the songs are accomplished, but not as much emotion, which is a shame

The National @ The Astoria Live Review | The National - Boxer - My Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

1. Bloc Party - A Weekend in The City
I’ll admit it here. I wasn’t a big fan of their debut, Silent Alarm. I thought it was crap. However, once I listened to A Weekend in the City I “got” Bloc Party, and fell in love with both albums at once.

Songs such as “I Still Remember” and “Sunday” are the standouts for me, both quality songs that deserve the huge audience Bloc Party have garnered. I’ve possibly listened to this album more times than any other album, and will continue to do so for 2008 no doubt.
My Album Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

Read the rest of this entry »

They’re one of the biggest bands of the past 20 years and have more critical acclaim than they know what to do with. Due to this, reviewing a Radiohead album is possibly one of the hardest jobs going – no matter what is written about the album, there will be someone who has a different opinion of the album. However, whatever your thoughts, you’ve got to agree that Radiohead have guts - their release strategy for this new effort has been well documented in the national press, and has worked out amazingly well for the band. By letting fans choose how much to pay from $0 all the way up to $100, they’ve managed to prove that people are still willing to pay for music.

Radiohead live just 15 minutes drive away from where I live, and whilst a lot of friends love them to pieces, I’ve failed to understand their appeal for many years. Many of their songs from their OK Computer / Kid A period sound simply like Thom Yorke wailing over distorted guitars to me. However, their new album “In Rainbows” offers a surprisingly accessible new sound from the kings of re-invention.

Gaining a more electronic sound that’s more akin to Thom Yorke’s recent solo effort, “The Eraser”, this collection is a trippy visit through the dreamy world of four British guys, rightly worried about the state of the world today. Many of the lyrics are slurred or hard to work out, giving a level of personalisation: everyone will hear the songs differently; they’ll have their own stories to fit the songs. However, out are the lyrics slating today’s leaders that have graced their more recent albums and in are stories of relationships (“I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover. No matter how it ends, No matter how it starts” – House of Cards).

Jonny Greenwood’s recent naming as one of the UK’s best Classical Composers of 2006 and experience as film soundtrack writer shines through, as the more complex music is higher up on the mix. Songs such as “Reckoner”, features a complex, multilayered musical arrangement that would put many film soundtrack scorers to shame.

Many of the songs have a “dream like” hazy feel to them thanks to the electronic beeps and bips, which is in sharp contrast to some of their earlier more guitar based albums. Star of the album, “Reckoner” comes just over the halfway point bringing a mournful song, and typically vague lyrics (“Dedicated to all you, all your needs?”) sung in Thom’s high falsetto. Violins play, tambourines rattle and gentle drums grace the climbing close, for the undoubted highlight.

Closing the album is “Videotape”, the most depressing track of the album as Thom battles with his own mortality – “This is my way of saying goodbye, because I can’t do it face to face”. Building slowly to what you think will be a crescendo, it just dies, a fitting end to the album – strong, beautiful, yet still able to surprise you.