Albums Of 2007
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 26-Aug-08 @ 05:42 PM|
Selected by AP's Editors.
To say you didn't enjoy music in 2007 is to admit you were born without ears. (Our apologies to any of you who actually suffer from anotia.) The past 12 months saw absolutely killer albums issued by Say Anything, Lifetime, Against Me!, Chiodos, Big D And The Kids Table, the Fall Of Troy, Every Time I Die, Interpol, Crime In Stereo, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Fall Out Boy and many more. While the AP skyscraper rocked the hell out of the above titles, each editor definitely has a few "pet bands"-ones who will always come through in the clutch when we're having a bad day (sort of like the musical equivalent to a pint of Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra). Read on to discover exactly what makes us happy (without adding extra pounds). -Scott Heisel [JP] Jason Pettigrew, editor in chief [LS] Leslie Simon, managing editor [SH] Scott Heisel, music editor [TJK] Tim Karan, associate editor [RL] Rachel Lux, copy editor |
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CIRCA SURVIVE On Letting Go (EQUAL VISION,2007)  At a time when rock mystique is misconstrued as bands in bubbles and the courtship of Ashlee Simpson, the world needs Circa Survive more than ever. On Letting Go and its progressive vastness evoke an era when hazy lyricism and reckless introspection were prerequisites for legitimacy and timelessness. As Anthony Green’s androgynous first-person vocals vacillate over alternately fragile and thunderous soundscapes, you get the distinct feeling that a decade from now, it’ll be one of the select few albums you’ll actually still blast through headphones. (If, ya know, headphones still exist.) [TJK]
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GRINDERMAN Grinderman (ANTI-,2007)  Middle-age never sounded so violent. Cultivated by Nick Cave as a subsection of his long-running vehicle the Bad Seeds, the band-Cave, Warren Ellis, Jim Sclavunos and Martyn Casey-trade the Seeds’ trademark lushness for attitudinal energy and a stripped-down animal impulsiveness that hasn’t manifested itself since the release of Cave’s 1984 solo debut, From Her To Eternity. From the meanest bastard in the room grandstanding of “Get It On” to the desolate guitar scraping of the title track, Grinderman (the band) tear up rock’s antiseptic convention and set it on fire. The world should jump headfirst into the flames. [JP]
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HOLY FUCK Holy Fuck (BEGGARS BANQUET/YOUNG TURKS,2007)  My second pick was a hard choice between the glorious neo-prog of Battles’ Mirrored and the Locust’s teeth-grinding New Erections, followed by the totalitarian electro-warnings of Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero. But when I looked at the “most played” list on my iPod, the self-titled Beggars debut from Toronto synth collectors Holy Fuck narrowly edged them out. The Fuckers’ ability to create inspired atmospheres and road-rage soundtracks (as well as those intangibles that somehow make indie-rock nerds blog longer than usual) should be embraced by everyone who’s down with Synth Nation-in spite of the band’s patently awful name. [JP]
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MINUS THE BEAR Planet Of Ice (SUICIDE SQUEEZE,2007)  Planet Of Ice is the best album Minus The Bear have written to date, but I hesitate to give it five full stars-only because I know they will top it once again. Knife-edge guitar lines cut through swathes of synths propelled by the most innovative rhythm section in indie rock, all anchored by Jake Snider’s coolly detached vocals. I’m proud to be MTB’s biggest fanboy, and I simply can’t comprehend why they aren’t enormous yet. If you want to see them take over the world-or just be on the cover of AP-in 2008, write us at incoming@altpress.com. [SH]
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NEW YEARS DAY My Dear (TVT,2007)  If I ever decided to quit my job at AP and front a band, I would want it to be just like New Years Day. Thus, in my musical utopia where my hypothetical band would change lives, cure cancer and replace the wiper fluid on my Toyota Matrix, I would also want the moves and vocal prowess of NYD frontwoman Ashley Costello. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten kind of attached to the simple pleasures of having a career-like a paycheck, health insurance and a bedroom not in my parents’ house. Good thing New Years Day exist, huh? [LS]
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OKKERVIL RIVER The Stage Names (JAGJAGUWAR,2007)  As far as “complete” albums go, Okkervil River’s The Stage Names most definitely qualifies for one of the best of 2007. Every song fits so perfectly with the others, I can’t imagine a single note changed. Not to mention Will Sheff may have the richest, most confident voice in my entire iTunes library. Though the band are by no means “new,” they’re still a relatively small blip on far too many indie rockers’ radars. That said, The Stage Names proves Sheff & Co. are poised to break out big time-if they want. For our sake, let’s hope they do. [RL]
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TEGAN AND SARA The Con (VAPOR/SIRE,2007)  The first song I ever heard by Tegan And Sara was, ironically, called “The First,” off their second album This Business Of Art. It was back in 2000, when the twins were relatively unknown-even in their native Canada-and still looked kind of like Telly from Kids. Seven years and three albums later, the Quin sisters have released their most succinct musical statement to date with The Con. Whether you’re in love, broken-hearted or somewhere in between, there’s something for everyone on this album, which is probably why I can’t seem to stop listening to it nearly six months after its release. [LS]
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THRICE The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II: Fire & Water (VAGRANT,2007)  Please, for one damn minute, forget about the whole “elemental” thing. Now, double-click on “Firebreather” in your iTunes and try not to become exponentially more stoked about life. You can’t. You can’t do it. The first two volumes of Thrice’s Alchemy Index find the band fully conceding to the daring sonic indulgences they hinted at on Vheissu, creating an album that’s alternately more brutally sophisticated and atmospherically ethereal than anything they’ve done before. If it’s genius reinvention you’re after, it could have been called The Fire And Water Are Raging Inside Me. [TJK]
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WEATHERBOX American Art (DOGHOUSE,2007)  For the record, I never attended the Jason Tate School Of Pointless HyperboleTM, even if my review of American Art from earlier this year indicates otherwise. But please don’t let my grandiose statements on how spectacular this debut is scare you away from it; Weatherbox have truly made a rock album for the ages, full of confidence, gusto, self-awareness, raw emotion and most importantly, really fucking good songs. To all loyal AP readers: If you don’t like this album-not even a little bit-I don’t think we can be friends anymore. I’m kind of serious. [SH]
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WILCO Sky Blue Sky (NONESUCH,2007)  I know most of you reading AP don’t listen to Wilco. It’s possible you’ve never heard of them (um, if you live under a rock or were born after 1993). Most likely, though, you believe listening to anything in the y’allternative family falls somewhere between getting a cavity filled and playing your little sister’s Hannah Montana CD. However, I’m convinced Jeff Tweedy’s “I’ve been to hell and back” vocals and Nels Cline’s incendiary fretwork on Sky Blue Sky can reach even the Hot Topic masses. You just gotta give it a chance. [RL]
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