the best of 2007... part 2

Are we halfway through 2007 already??? I should believe it, what with all the new releases this year that I can't seem to keep up with. I have done the best I can, and would like to share the fruits of my "labor" with you - part 2 of 2007's best new music tracklist:

01 Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping
02 Cloud Cult - Pretty Voice
03 Revival - Favorite One
04 Get Him Eat Him - The Coronation Show
05 White Rabbits - While We Go Dancing
06 Good Shoes - Never Meant To Hurt You
07 Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
08 The Veils - One Night On Earth
09 Dan Deacon - Pink Batman
10 Handsome Furs - Dead + Rural
11 Art Brut - People In Love
12 The Teeth - Shoulderblade
13 Pela - Trouble With River Cities
14 Voxtrot - Firecracker
15 The National - Apartment Story
16 Elliott Smith - Looking Over My Shoulder
17 Ryan Adams - Pearls On A String
18 Bright Eyes - If The Brakeman Turns My Way
19 Page France - Pigeons
20 Blonde Redhead - Spring And By Summer Fall
21 Narrator - A Decade In Kentucky

download it!

And I've re-posted my tracklist from January-March at sendspace, in case you missed it the first time around:

01 - The Apples In Stereo - Can You Feel It?
02 - Deerhoof - +81
03 - LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
04 - The Broken West - Down In The Valley
05 - Apostle Of Hustle - Chances Are
06 - Of Montreal - A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger
07 - Menomena - Air Aid
08 - CYHSY - Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles In The Air...
09 - Illinois - Nosebleed
10 - Modest Mouse - Spitting Venom
11 - The Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
12 - The Besnard Lakes - Devastation
13 - Panda Bear - Take Pills
14 - Beirut - Scenic World (Version)
15 - Andrew Bird - Dark Matter
16 - Jamie T - Calm Down Dearest
17 - Dr. Dog - Worst Trip
18 - The Shins - Girl Sailor
19 - Papercuts - Take The 227th Exit
20 - A Sunny Day In Glasgow - 5:15 Train
21 - Do Make Say Think - A Tender History In Rust

download it!

And again, my favorite albums, take two. These are the ones I listened to the most from April - June... some released during those months, some released earlier that I didn't hear about or have a chance to get to (no order here other than good ol' alphabetical...). I tried to limit myself to 10 again, I really did. But to no avail:

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare:
I gotta say that nobody is more surprised than me at how much I am loving this album. Last year's overhyped Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not didn't really do a whole lot for me. The sophomore effort from these kids is a completely different story. It's fabulous.

Favorite tracks: Brianstorm; Teddy Picker; Fluorescent Adolescent; 505







Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated:
The UK isn't holding anything back this year; Art Brut has delivered another highly enjoyable sophomore album from across the pond.

Favorite tracks: Direct Hit; People In Love; I Will Survive; Post Soothing Out











Bright Eyes - Cassadaga:
I wasn't expecting a lot from this album, especially after the mediocre showing of the Four Winds EP. But Conor yet again turns in a very nice effort.

Favorite tracks: Clairaudients (Kill Or Be Killed); Four Winds; If The Brakeman Turns My Way; Classic Cars









Cloud Cult - The Meaning Of 8:
Cloud Cult has been, hands down, my find of the year so far. I'd never heard of them until about 4-5 months ago, but they've consumed much of my time during those months. They are incredibly talented both live and on record, they are environmentally sound, they are amazing. If you haven't heard them, do it now.

Favorite tracks: Chain Reaction; Chemicals Collide; Pretty Voice; Your 8th Birthday; The Deaf Girl's Song






Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings:
I never thought I liked the so-called "electronica" music. This year is seeing LCD Soundsystem and Dan Deacon unequivocally change my mind.

Favorite tracks: The Crystal Cat; Wham City; Pink Batman









Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday:
It's hard not to feel guilty sometimes by gleaning so much enjoyment from someone else's suffering. In the case of Elvis Perkins, his father (Anthony Perkins) died of AIDS when Elvis was just a teenager. And if that wasn't enough, his mother was aboard one of the planes flown into the World Trade Center on September 11. If only we could all take our tragedies and craft something so lovely as Ash Wednesday...

Favorite tracks: While You Were Sleeping; May Day!; Emile's Vietnam In The Sky; Ash Wednesday




Good Shoes - Think Before You Speak:
Even more from the 2007 UK invasion. This is not a deep album, but it sure is a helluva a lot of fun.

Favorite tracks: The Photos On My Wall; Never Meant To Hurt You; Small Town Girl; Ice Age











Narrator - All That To The Wall:
Bouncy, spazzy, catchy, and wonderful.

Favorite tracks: August 32nd; Speeding Up The Gang; All The Tired Horses; A Decade In Kentucky














The National - Boxer:
Good fucking lord. I'm not too keen on giving away my secrets before the end of the year, but this one and Andrew Bird's Armchair Apocrypha are (at this early stage) duking it out for album of the year. This one is like auditory crack, it is.

Favorite tracks: Fake Empire; Slow Show; Apartment Story; Gospel









Page France - ...And The Family Telephone:
Since the first time I heard Page France, I felt that Michael Nau's voice should be terribly annoying to me. But it isn't... In fact, it's rather endearing. Even more endearing is this album filled to the brim with incredible melodies, lyrics, and musicianship. Brilliant.

Favorite tracks: Wet Dog Afternoon; Be My Pianist; Pigeons; Here's A Telephone






Pela - Anytown Graffiti:
Seeing these Brooklynites live a few weeks ago no doubt has a lot to do with their album appearing here. They are incredible live, and my enjoyment of Anytown Graffiti has increased exponentially since the show. Really really great stuff.

Favorite tracks: Waiting On The Stairs; Drop Me Off; Trouble With River Cities; Song Writes Itself








Revival - Horses Of War:
I guess when you consider how I've taken to all things horses the past couple of years, it should come as no surprise that I fell in love with album immedately. Another great new find.

Favorite tracks: OK, honestly? This is one of those rare albums where every track is just as strong as the next. I have tried to choose favorites, but every time I listen to this album, the conclusion is always the same. I can't choose. You should have seen me trying to pick a song for my playlist! And I'm sure I'll change my mind on that tomorrow... lol.




Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger:
I'm admitting it now - I was afraid to have high hopes for this album. Ryan hasn't released anything "officially" since 2005, which was hit or miss for me. I loved Cold Roses, I liked Jacksonville City Nights, and I likely listened to 29 about 3 times before deleting it from the iPod. But apparently I needn't have worried at all... with Easy Tiger Ryan has released a masterpiece, critics be damned. I love this album, it's a very healthy mix of all the styles Ryan's adopted over the years. And like many of his fans, I've harbored some concerns about him in the past few years... I gotta say that nobody is more thrilled than me to know that he's working clean and sober these days. xoxo.

Favorite tracks: Goodnight Rose; Two; Tears Of Gold; Pearls On A String

Voxtrot - Voxtrot:
Poor Voxtrot. Over the past couple of years they've released 3 EP's to some very critical acclaim. Come their first full-length, though, they've had to really take one on the chin. Personally, I don't get all the negativism about this album. I think it's amazing.

Favorite tracks: Introduction; Firecracker; Easy; Every Day






White Rabbits - Fort Nightly:
My goodness, where did this band come from? I love this album, and I'm proud to say that I heard of them before I read about them on Pitchfork OR NME... yeah, that's right.

Favorite tracks: Kid On My Shoulders; Navy Wives; While We Go Dancing; Tourist Trap








And of course, some more albums that are certainly worth a listen:

Aereogramme - My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go
Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music
Battles - Mirrored
Bear Colony - We Came Here To Die
Ben + Vesper - All This Could Kill You
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
Blackstrap - Steal My Horses And Run
Blonde Redhead - 23
Cary Brothers - Who You Are
The Clientele - God Save The Clientele
The Comas - Spells
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
Dntel - Dumb Luck
Dungen - Tio Bitar
Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted
Elliott Smith - New Moon
Feist - The Reminder
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Fields - Everything Last Winter
Frog Eyes - Tears Of The Valedictorian
Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things
Get Him Eat Him - Arms Down
Grant-Lee Phillips - Strangelet
Grinderman - Grinderman
Guster - Satellite EP
Handsome Furs - Plague Park
Idlewild - Make Another World
Joanna Newsom - Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band
The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future
Land Of Talk - Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
Moonbabies - Moonbabies At The Ballroom
Mouthful Of Bees - The End
Neko Case - Live At ACL
Odawas - Raven And The White Night
Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida
Palomar - All Things, Forests
Peel - Peel
Pelican - City Of Echoes
The Photo Atlas - No, Not Me, Ever
Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers - No More Beautiful World
The Rosebuds - Night Of The Furies
The Sea And Cake - Everybody
The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands
Shapes And Sizes - Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner
The Tailors - Wakey Wakey
The Teeth - You're My Lover Now
Travis - The Boy With No Name
Tupelo Honeys - Tupelo Honeys Salute You
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters
The Veils - Nux Vomica
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Yacht - I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real

Crazy to think that some albums I love won't even make it into the top 50 for this year.

Another yay for 2007!