my top albums of 2007 #30-21

30

Two Gallants - Two Gallants
Excellent folk-country-punk type duo.

29

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Blows their debut away. In my opinion.
TLOBF review

28

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
Ah yes, the album that most everyone either loves or intensely detests. It's not as fun as the debut, but that's not to say there aren't a lot of solid songs. Plus you gotta love that CYHSY DIY business model...

27

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Yay for more Swedish pop music! I adore Jens and often have the feeling that this album should be higher than #27 on my list. But alas it's not.
TLOBF review

26

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Conor's growing up. He sounds great on this album and his songwriting keeps getting better.

25

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Banging Down The Doors
Ezra's a very young Chicagoan who's getting lots and lots and lots of Dylan comparisons. He kinda sounds like Alec Ounsworth a bit too. You should check this album out. It's real real good.
not a review, just something I wrote

24

Revival - Horses Of War
Wow, another great new find for this year. Kind of folky, kind of psychedelic.

23

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
I was so worried that this album was going to suck, but it completely blew me away. There are a couple of tracks I could do without, but for the most part, sobriety is treating Ryan and his songwriting very nicely indeed.
TLOBF review

22

Bishop Allen - The Broken String
This is indie pop at its finest. 'Nuff said.

21

Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
Josh is another young artist who is just getting better and better. Great album.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow...

the best of 2007... part 3

I knew I would get around to this eventually...

So, dear friends, it's pretty clear that the third quarter of this amazing year has been extraordinarily good to me. I hooked up with the inimitable "other MS" Merry Swanskter to bring you news of the finest live shows in the Denver area, I was asked to join the unparalleled staff of the UK-based blog The Line Of Best Fit, and I was invited to bring the glory of Denver's local music scene to the masses at MusicRex. Unfortunately, my humble little blog here has somewhat fallen by the wayside in the wake of all the other projects I've become involved with, but fear not loyal readers (both of you), I am still more than willing to force upon you my favorites in indie music.

All MP3's available here are for promotional use only. Please support the artists by going to shows and buying their stuff. If you own the MP3's here and want them taken down, please e-mail me at brhelgothATgmailDOTcom.

That being said, here is the probably-not-too-long awaited part 3 of the Mystik Spiral 2007 best new music tracklist:

01 Bishop Allen - Rain
02 The Gaslight Anthem - 1930
03 Marmoset - Luckcharm
04 The Avett Brothers - Salina
05 The Broken Family Band - Dancing On The 4th Floor
06 David Dondero - Rothko Chapel
07 Ezra Furman - Hotel Room In Casablanca
08 BOAT - Make Way For The Genius To Appear
09 Les Savy Fav - Scotchgard The Credit Card
10 Spoon - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
11 Stars - Take Me To The Riot
12 Blitzen Trapper - Sci-Fi Kid
13 Josh Ritter - To The Dogs Or Whoever
14 Figurines - Bee Dee
15 The Cribs - Moving Pictures
16 Kevin Drew - Lucky Ones
17 The Ladybug Transistor - Three Days From Now
18 Okkervil River - Plus Ones
19 Iron & Wine - Resurrection Fern
20 New Pornographers - Adventures In Solitude

download it!

And here are my previous "best of 2007" playlists, altered slightly when I made the gut-wrenching decision to limit each to 20 tracks.

Best of 2007, Part 2:

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 Dan Deacon - Pink Batman
09 Handsome Furs - Dead + Rural
10 Art Brut - People In Love
11 The Teeth - Shoulderblade
12 Pela - Trouble With River Cities
13 Voxtrot - Firecracker
14 The National - Apartment Story
15 Elliott Smith - Looking Over My Shoulder
16 Ryan Adams - Pearls On A String
17 Bright Eyes - If The Brakeman Turns My Way
18 Page France - Pigeons
19 Blonde Redhead - Spring And By Summer Fall
20 Narrator - A Decade In Kentucky

download it!

Best of 2007, Part 1:

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 - Do Make Say Think - A Tender History In Rust

download it!

Because I like to convince myself that you love it, here are my ten favorite albums from July - September 2007 (in alphabetical order - links to TLOBF album reviews where applicable):

Bishop Allen - The Broken String:

Aaaaaaah, what can I say about this album that I haven't already said? It's a piece of pure pop heaven, it is. Justin Rice and Christian Rudder are like, totally, my new heroes.

Favorite tracks: The Monitor; Rain; Flight 180; Like Castinets









Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation:

Somehow it's happened that I've missed opening sets by these guys not once, but TWICE this year. I will see this band live one day, I swear. Really unique music from these Portlanders (I'm thinking I need to move to Oregon already...).

Favorite tracks: Devil's A-Go-Go; Sci-Fi Kid; The Green King Sings; Country Caravan





The Cribs - Men's Need, Women's Needs, Whatever:

Have I already mentioned the UK invasion of 2007? Yeah, I thought so.

Favorite tracks: Our Bovine Public; Moving Pictures; My Life Flashed Before My Eyes; Shoot The Poets










David Dondero - Simple Love:

I already wrote about this one too!

Favorite tracks: The Prince William Sound; Rothko Chapel; You Don't Love Anyone; Lone Rose

[TLOBF review]










Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Banging Down The Doors:

Ezra's voice is like a mixture of CYHSY's Alec Ounsworth and a young Bob Dylan. His lyrics are funny and poignant. You should get this one!

Favorite tracks: Mother's Day; Hotel Room In Casablanca; Halloween Snow; The Little Red-Haired Girl








Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog:

This album is so beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Favorite tracks: Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car; Lovesong Of The Buzzard; Innocent Bones; Resurrection Fern; Flightless Bird, American Mouth










Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If...:

[TLOBF review]

Favorite tracks: Tbtf; F--Ked Up Kid; Lucky Ones; Backed Out On The...












New Pornographers - Challengers:

I never thought the New Pornographers could top their brilliant 2005 release Twin Cinema. Challengers proves me wrong. If there is anything in life more perfect than the first four tracks on this album, well... I'd love to hear that.

Favorite tracks: My Rights Versus Yours; All The Old Showstoppers; Challengers; Myriad Harbour; Unguided; Adventures In Solitude

[TLOBF review]



Okkervil River - The Stage Names:

Big surprise, huh?

Favorite tracks: All of them. But especially Unless It's Kicks; Plus Ones; John Allyn Smith Sails

[TLOBF review]










Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga:

Despite the much-maligned title, this is a very solid album. Good work, Spoon.

Favorite tracks: Don't Make Me A Target; You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb; The Underdog; Black Like Me

[TLOBF review]



As always, here are some more albums that are definitely worth your time (links to TLOBF album reviews where applicable):

Alberta Cross - The Thief & The Heartbreaker
Angels Of Light - We Are Him
Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This
The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold
BOAT - Let's Drag Our Feet
The Broken Family Band - Hello Love
Caribou - Andorra
Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance
Figurines - When The Deer Wore Blue
The Gaslight Anthem - Sink Or Swim
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Once OST
Great Northern - Trading Twilight For Daylight
Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
The Ladybug Transistor - Can't Wait Another Day
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - Ends Of June
Marmoset - Florist Fired
Monkey Swallows The Universe - The Casket Letters
Múm - Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy
O'Death - Head Home
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth
St. Vincent - Marry Me
Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
The Thrills - Teenager

Phew. Only three more months to go. Viva music!

brilliant albums for brilliant people #2

I had no intention of talking up The Broken String this week, but everything changed when I saw Bishop Allen last week and became hopelessly obsessed with this album. A lot to be said about this band was mentioned in my review of the show, most notably that one of the reasons I love them so is that they simply cannot be categorized.

Somehow, some way, Bishop Allen completely flew under my radar last year... Band core members/founders Justin Rice & Christian Rudder hit a wall in recording the follow-up to their debut Charm School. After stumbling across a discarded piano (the Muse behind the track Corazon) and attempting to learn songs on the liberated instrument, Rice & Rudder entered into a double-dog-dare kinda situation and ended up goading each other into releasing one EP every month. Eleven EPs of four songs each (August's disc was a live show recording) is an impressive feat for even the most prolific of artists. The fact that nearly 100% of the material on those EPs is pure gold is just icing on the cake. Nine of The Broken String's twelve tracks were culled and re-worked from the EPs.

Though some are stronger than others, there is not a weak track on this album. Justin Rice's tenor resonates throughout, and although tenuous at times, it works for these songs; Christian Rice is brilliant as multi-instrumentalist/vocalist. Out of the whirlwind couple of weeks that has seen me "discovering" them, listening incessantly to The Broken String, Charm School and the EPs, and most spectacularly seeing them live, Bishop Allen have cemented a spot as one of my favorite bands at the moment.

Bishop Allen - The Broken String
available: July 24, 2007
Dead Oceans

well, i did it again.

Bishop Allen/Page France
8/7/2007
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Oh, Hi-Dive, why do you hate me so? I had been looking forward to seeing Page France for weeks. It's fairly standard for shows at the Hi-Dive to start around 9:00; it's also fairly standard that three bands, sometimes four on weekends, play at any given show. I arrived at the venue at 9:40, heard house music and sensed the flurry of action that indicates a set change. I thought I'd played it perfectly, showing up just in time for Page France's set. My stomach dropped when I moved into view of the stage as I realized that Michael Nau was packing up. I'd missed their set completely... so, after missing half of Dan Deacon's set a few weeks back, missing an entire Blitzen Trapper set last week, and now last night's debacle, the score stands: Hi-Dive: 3, Bridget: 0.

It was a 16+ show, so the fence was up. I debated whether to hang back by the bar or duck into the fenced-up crowd. Opting for the latter, I headed for the stage, dodging scene kids left and right. It was a good choice - Bishop Allen puts on a hell of a live show. Multi-instrumentalist Christian Rudder was apparently under the weather, but you couldn't tell - he played his guitar, ukulele & trumpet with much gusto.



I was surprised at how bold Justin Rice's voice was in the live setting; he sings rather tenuously on much of Bishop Allen's studio material, almost Conor Oberst-like in some instances. He's got a great voice, very expressive and the sort where you're reminded of another singer but can't quite place your finger on who it is.



A big part of Bishop Allen's charm is the mish-mash of different styles they adopt: the sweet lilting of Butterfly Nets, the mariachi-tinged Like Castanets, the manic bounciness of Middle Management, and the epic swell of Flight 180, to mention a few. At the end of the night, Bishop Allen had played a poppy and delicious sixty-minute set that seemed over in the blink of an eye. The band performed with infectious enthusiasm and by the last song the entire crowd was singing, dancing, and smiling. They're coming back in October supporting John Vanderslice. Oh, I am so there.





setlist:

The Same Fire
Rain
Busted Heart
Click, Click, Click, Click
Like Castanets
The Monitor
Things Are What You Make Of Them
Middle Management
Clementines
Choose Again
Butterfly Nets
Flight 180
-a rare Hi-Dive encore!-
Charm School
These Arms Of Mine (Otis Redding)