Anthony's World

The first batch of five records to make my countdown features triumphant returns from Spoon and Dinosaur Jr, two bands that make up a portion of the Toronto collective Broken Social Scene, and my personal favorite post-rock band Explosions in the Sky (pictured above).

Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga easily marks their most exciting and overall best record, while Dinosaur Jr's newest release shows that they still got it going on. Explosions in the Sky's latest record is a bit of a disappointment but they have quite a catalog to live up to. The two BSS-related bands, Apostle of Hustle and Stars had solid, though only steady albums; nothing revolutionary or anything that hadn't been seen in the past, but still very listenable and enjoyable albums.

Other albums that did not make the Top list, either because of pure ranking or because lack of listens to grant a ranking include: Kanye West's Graduation, Iron & Wine's Shepards Dog, Kevin Drew's ...Spirit If, The Hives' Black & White Album, Stars of the Lid's beautiful blissful record And Their Refinement of the Decline, and Bjork's Volta.

On a side note, the most disappointing records of the year? Tough to say what's most , but here's a list of some downers: Smashing Pumpkins' first record in forever... Zeitgeist, Interpol's Our Love to Admire (Turn on the Bright Lights may never be topped), Bloc Party's A Weekend in the City, and the Ken Thomas produced, iLiKeTRaiNs' Elegiest to Lessons Learnt.

-- Monday 12/10 --

#20 :: Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham - l'avventura
#19 :: Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
#18 :: Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
#17 :: Battles - Mirrored
#16 :: The Editors - An End has a Start

Battles, pictured above, lead the way with the #17 album of the year. Their brand of fast-paced, high energy and obscure music finesses the line between organic rock, prog-rock, and electronic dance. Luna-frontman Dean Wareham joined forces with singer Britta Phillips for a indie pop gem called l'avventura. The Editors' came back with a sophomore effort to their fantastic debut, The Back Room, with similarly sounding An End Has a Start. Finally, two Seattle bands round out the first wave of Top 20 records with Issac Brock-led Modest Mouse and their most radio-friendly and accessible record to date, We were Dead before the Ship Even Sank, and the second album from rising indie rock stars Band of Horses, and their much improved Cease to Begin record.


-- Tuesday 12/11 --

#15 :: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
#14 :: The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse
#13 :: !!! - Myth Takes
#12 :: The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
#11 :: Okkervil River - The Stage Names

Following the massive acclaim and tribulation of their debut record, the Arcade Fire came back with a solid Neon Bible record. While it doesn't always have the high energy and emotion of the first record, it's still quite a release that only adds to their growing track record. Following their footsteps, actually ahead of them in this year's ranking, is fellow Montreal rockers, The Besnard Lakes. This husband and wife duo put together a moody, yet dreamy atmospheric rock record.

The fanatical dance-punk band, !!! (pronounced chk chk chk; pictured above), may have just broken the door loose after getting pushed up with so many other bands of the same sound. Their latest record, Myth Takes, is a stepping stone towards defining the band and it sounds wonderful; get ready to dance dance dance.

Two indie pop gems with a lot of catchiness round out the 12th and 11th spots on this year's countdown with Portland's Shins putting together another pop masterpiece, and Austin's Okkervil River and their latest lo-fi record, The Stage Names.


-- Wednesday 12/10 --

#10 :: Digitalism - Idealism
#09 :: Jens Lekman - Night Falls over Kortedala
#08 :: Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
#07 :: Feist - The Reminder

The Top 10 records of 2007 kick-off with German duo Digitalism and their fantastic electronica-garage dance record, Idealism, which fuses the dancey culture of electronic music with some subtle garage band features. Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman blends chamber music with indie pop in a retro-sounding record with catchy hooks and tons of variety in his new album, Night Falls over Kortedala.

Elephant 6 darlings Apples in Stereo (pictured) return with a power pop New Magnetic Wonder. It's glossy, cheesy, and wonderously catchy. It's magic. Finally, at the seven spot is Broken Social Scene singstress Leslie Feist and her break-through album, The Reminder, which is most notable for having the "ipod nano song" and the "verizon chocolate song," with her hit song, "1, 2, 3, 4" and "My Moon My Man", respectively. While those songs are solid, they are not the best of the best in this record which really displays her vocal capability and her song writing ability.

-- Thursday 12/11 --

#06 :: Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
#05 :: LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
#04 :: Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block

Finally, we're nearing the home stretch! Well what can I say... the #6 album of 2007 comes from one of the most pleasantly surprising live shows I saw this year. Singer-songwriter Andrew Bird has had made many successful pieces of music, but his latest record, Armchair Apocrypha, puts everything together into a fantastic album. He also plays practically every instrument, including his famous violin and whistle. Yes, I did say whistle. Add that to his Jeff Buckley-style voice and you have some great music.

LCD Soundsystem put together their most complete work to date with the every so dancey Sound of Silver. While it's not a double disc bohemeth like their debut full-length, this one packs alot of punch in a smaller package. Songs like North American and All My Friends will keep you moving and bobbing all night long.

Finishing up at the #4 spot, with a very tough decision to drop a notch is Writer's Block by swedish pop band Peter Bjorn and John. This is anything from any sort of writer's block, as it does creative addition by subtraction. That is, every song is stripped to its core and played out with simplicity, while retaining all the catchy hooks, fun and great singing. Young Folks is an instant classic, while Up Against the Wall may instantly remind you of classic New Order or Joy Division with its pulsating and steady drum beat, killer bass riffs, and timely guitar. This is PB&J's best album to date, and one of my personal favorites of the year. Plus, they are extremely entertaining live! (actually all three of these bands listed in this block of records are fantastic live!)

Also note: PB&J's Writer's Block was actually released in europe in 2006. It made its North American debut in the Spring of 2007, so I was debating on whether or not to put it here or not. I ended up putting it on here, mostly because it was "new" to me and to many in 2007. But it's also a perfect lead into...

-- Friday 12/12 --

#03 :: The Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
#02 :: Radiohead - In Rainbows
#01 :: Blonde Redhead - 23

And then there were 3...
Last year, we saw a remaster of The Cure's Head on a Door make their ways to the shelves. Well let's say you remix the album, and perhaps strip its lyrics, and replace them with new ones, but keep the common theme... well you'd get something like Swedish group, The Shout Out Louds, and their newest album Our Ill Wills. Like the album title implies, its quite a depressing gloomer, but its sparkled with glossy upbeat melodies and beats that are so very reminiscent of Robert Smith and the Cure's 80's hey day. "Tonight I Have to Leave It" is the Shout Out Loud's rendition of "In Between Days" while "Normandie" shares a strikingly similar beat to "Close to Me." This latest SOL's record is a nice trip down new wave memory lane, with other standouts "Impossible" with its fun upbeat drums and well rather depressing lyrics, and the much different "Hard Rain" which is more like a Kevin Shields/Jesus and Mary Chain type song than a new waver. It's also interesting to note that Bjorn of PB&J (#4 on the list) produced this record.

Radiohead made a bold move this year with not only their first full-length album since Hail to the Thief 4 years ago, but decided to sell it on their own on their website. Better yet, they didn't have a fixed price; you pay what you want for it, and it was available for download at this interesting price option. A CD/LP package was also available for approximately $80USD (however, a CD-only option will now be available and mass distributed on Jan 1, 2008). That aside, Radiohead has yet again put together a fantastic work of art. In Rainbows takes the best of singer Thom Yorke's solo debut Eraser from last year, and blends it with sounds from their earlier work and put together a very nice organic/electronic sound that's got to be their most accessible record since The Bends. All the while, this album feels more like a soulful vocal-based album, than the previous texture heavy noise we've become more accustomed too. Thom Yorke sings beautifully throughout.... Yes. Radiohead wins again.

FINALLY.... the number one record of the year....

Two italian guys and a japanese girl. NYC's Blonde Redhead have put together not only their best overall record, but the best of 2007. Their previous albums, including 2004's Misery is a Butterfly, had a tragically epic melancholy to it that was outstanding yet emotionally distraught. All of that has been erased with 23, as Blonde Redhead are moving into the realm of dream pop, putting a slight electronic feel to it, and making sounds danceble and dramatically more uplifting. This is not to say that their sounds don't retain anything of the past; every song remains epic sweeping ballad-like rock anthems. The title track is an impressive rocking opening song which has a killer drum beat, swirling guitars, and vocals from Kazu Makino are off the charts. Amaedo Pace continues to sing in a few songs, including "Spring and by Summer Fall," which has so much texture and feel that you can imagine yourself floating on air and tumbling down to earth as the song progresses. "Silently" is a majestic pop song that has got to be the most simple and most accessible Blonde Redhead song to date. Good things can definitely come in simple packages. (actually the packaging on this CD is anything but simple...)

So there you have it... the Top 25 records of the year!!

I do want to note that there were two honorable EPs that were not added to the countdown since they were not really full albums. These were Sigur Ros' Hvarf-Heim double disc EP, and The Flight of the Conchords' The Distant Future. The former is a beautiful collection of rarities and live tracks, while the latter is actually a television show on HBO - two dudes from New Zealand who put together extremely catchy and comedic songs. :)

Also for those picky about the addition of Peter Bjorn and John to the list. If you don't like it, take them out, shift every prior album up a notch, and insert Field Music's Tones of Town into that 25 slot.

Thanks!