best albums 2007:
01. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
[topo: #1, zoviet: #1, freed: #1] video
The fact that they somehow managed to meet the exceed the impossible expectations we had for them is commendable. That they are getting better in the process has us salivating for more. – topomodesto
02. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
[freed: #2, topo: #3, zoviet: #6] sample
As much a voice of Americana as they are of its efforts to redefine itself. Okkervil River are the musical equivelent of Quentin Tarantino, only if Quentin built on his influences rather than mimicking them with painstaking accuracy. – topomodesto
03. The National – Boxer
[zoviet: #4, freed: #4, topo: #5] sample
Matt Beringer’s dark and brooding mood finds hope in the soft lyrics and sweet melodies of their 4th full length, while retaining their edgy Brooklyn sound. – freed
04. Radiohead – In Rainbows
[zoviet: #5, freed: #5, topo: #9] video
They stopped pushing boundaries and just made a great record instead. – zoviet
05. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
[zoviet: #3, topo: #6, freed: #14] sample
Somehow more polished without losing one bit of edge. – zoviet
06. of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
[topo: #2, freed: #6] sample
An honest expression of the self as villain – complete with put-downs and threats against the lovers that break our hearts – only to come back full circle with a happy ending. More genre-bending that they get credit for, and a strong counter argument to the anti-drug campaign. – topomodesto
07. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
[freed: #3, topo: #10] sample
Lilting with the gentle melodies that Bird has become master of, this album is a full lineup of finely crafted pop. Lyrics read like the dialog of a Michel Gondry film. – freed
08. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
[topo: #4, freed: #11, zoviet: #12] sample
Nice tide-over until the next Wolf Parade album. I feel the parts (note my list’s omission of Sunset Rubdown) are less than the whole. – zoviet
09. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
[zoviet: #2] video
This took me a couple of listens to get into, but then I couldn’t stop. Perfect pop. – zoviet
10. (tie) The New Pornographers – Challengers
[topo: #7, freed: #12] sample
I was surprised that some longtime Pornographer fans didn’t take to Challengers. For me this was an incredibly well-crafted pop gem, and one that meshed the combination of individual talents in a far more cohesive way than previous efforts. – topomodesto
10. (tie) The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
[zoviet: #7, topo: #12] sample
An impressive balance between sonic bombast and intricate melodies, woven together by James Graham’s thick Scottish howl. – zoviet
Great list!!
You can watch Of Montreal, Spoon , Bright Eyes and many more on VIRV.TV-the indie music channel online.
topomodesto:
1. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
2. of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
3. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
4. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
5. The National – Boxer
6. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
7. The New Pornographers – Challengers
8. V/A – Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation
9. Radiohead – In Rainbows
10. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
11. Deer Tick – War Elephant
12. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
13. Sexton Blake – Plays The Hits
14. Band of Horses – Cease To Begin
15. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
zoviet:
1. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
2. Stars – In our Bedroom After the War
3. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
4. The National – Boxer
5. Radiohead – In Rainbows
6. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
7. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
8. Band of Horses – Cease To Begin
9. Sigur Ros – Harf/Heim
10. Feist – The Reminder
11. Kevin Drew – Spirit If…
12. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
13. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
14. Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature
15. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
freed:
1. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
2. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
3. Andrew Bird – Armchair Aprocrypha
4. The National – Boxer
5. Radiohead – In Rainbows
6. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna you are the Destroyer
7. Magic Bullets – A Child but in Life Yet a Doctor in Love
8. Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature
9. The Album Leaf – Into the Blue
10. Feist – The Reminder
11. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
12. The New Pornographers – Challengers
13. Band of Horses – Cease To Begin
14. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
15. Caribou – Andorra