is it something we gotta get used to?
It wouldn't be a music blog without some sort of end-of-year review or list, would it? To this end, over the next ten days both Swiss Toni and I will count down our respective top 10 albums of 2007.
Without further ado....
10. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (ST)
This was a tough album to choose, and in putting this here, I've had to leave off albums by the likes of The White Stripes and Cold War Kids [the Cold War Kids was 206, for the record - Ed] - albums that are much more obviously up my street and far more likely to feature in "best of the year" type lists. In the end, this album pushes them all off to make the top ten, and it's a cracker too. My iPod tells me that I've had an Okkervil River Christmas song off a compilation for years ('Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas"), but I only really discovered them this year when "Our Life is Not a Movie or a Maybe" was included on the mix CD sent to me as part of the Shuffleathon CD exchange. It just knocked me down. It's such a good song that I had to get straight out and get myself the album... literally on the same day.
The songs are usually driven forwards by a pumping rock and roll riff, but there is far more to this band than that.... they have a definite country twang to them, singer Will Sheff has a very distinctive voice and the guitars in the songs are often accompanied by sweeping violins, horns, maracas, pianos, ticking clocks. It's not the first time in my life that a mix cd has turned me onto a band, but this one is certainly a keeper.
Favourite song: Our Life Is Not A Movie Or A Maybe
10. Athlete - Beyond The Neighbourhood (LB)
Eschewing the lush strings and melodies of 2005's "Tourist", Athlete returned in 2007 with an album largely ignored by the public and largely sneered at by the critics.
It's not as easily accessible or as catchy as their previous work, and the bleepy electronica can become a little irritating, but if you persist with it and give it half a dozen listens you are rewarded with an interesting and good quality album with a couple of standout tracks. I am surprised that "Hurricane" failed to perform better in the singles charts (it made #31) and the excellent "Airport Disco" eases effortlessly into the brilliant "It's Not Your Fault".
Ending with the pared-down "This Is What I Sound Like", Athlete have moved on from their jaunty beginnings and their lush string phase into a new sound which, whilst not likely to appeal to everyone, remains a cut above the indie-pop of many of their peers.
Favourite Song: Hurricane
Without further ado....
10. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (ST)
This was a tough album to choose, and in putting this here, I've had to leave off albums by the likes of The White Stripes and Cold War Kids [the Cold War Kids was 206, for the record - Ed] - albums that are much more obviously up my street and far more likely to feature in "best of the year" type lists. In the end, this album pushes them all off to make the top ten, and it's a cracker too. My iPod tells me that I've had an Okkervil River Christmas song off a compilation for years ('Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas"), but I only really discovered them this year when "Our Life is Not a Movie or a Maybe" was included on the mix CD sent to me as part of the Shuffleathon CD exchange. It just knocked me down. It's such a good song that I had to get straight out and get myself the album... literally on the same day.
The songs are usually driven forwards by a pumping rock and roll riff, but there is far more to this band than that.... they have a definite country twang to them, singer Will Sheff has a very distinctive voice and the guitars in the songs are often accompanied by sweeping violins, horns, maracas, pianos, ticking clocks. It's not the first time in my life that a mix cd has turned me onto a band, but this one is certainly a keeper.
Favourite song: Our Life Is Not A Movie Or A Maybe
10. Athlete - Beyond The Neighbourhood (LB)
Eschewing the lush strings and melodies of 2005's "Tourist", Athlete returned in 2007 with an album largely ignored by the public and largely sneered at by the critics.
It's not as easily accessible or as catchy as their previous work, and the bleepy electronica can become a little irritating, but if you persist with it and give it half a dozen listens you are rewarded with an interesting and good quality album with a couple of standout tracks. I am surprised that "Hurricane" failed to perform better in the singles charts (it made #31) and the excellent "Airport Disco" eases effortlessly into the brilliant "It's Not Your Fault".
Ending with the pared-down "This Is What I Sound Like", Athlete have moved on from their jaunty beginnings and their lush string phase into a new sound which, whilst not likely to appeal to everyone, remains a cut above the indie-pop of many of their peers.
Favourite Song: Hurricane
delivered by LB at 3:04 PM
1 Discussions:
I'm hopeless at these lists because I always forget what albums were released in any given year. Apparently, as well as forgetting the Athlete album (which I didn't think was great but is growing on me), I have also forgotten the Foo Fighters and the Manic Street Preachers albums, both of which would probably have made the top 5. Bugger. Oh well, eh?
Interesting game anyway.
ST
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