i'll tell you some more about me
1. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures (ST)
This is my number one album of the year for the simple reason that I have listened to it far more than any other. The reviews were lukewarm at best, but launched by the kinetic rush of opening single, "Our Velocity", this album is a cracker from start to finish.
I think what I like most about them is that for all their spikey, new wave guitars and geordie accented lyrics, they're actually quite a thoughtful band, and Paul Smith's lyrics sometimes sound like poetry. They were the best thing I saw at Glastonbury this year too.
Favourite song: Books From Boxes
1. Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance (LB)
The only duplicated album in these lists, and for excellent reasons. ST spoke eloquently yesterday about the brilliance of this album, and I cannot help but agree.
From the opening bars of "Thirst For Romance" it's an album full of great lyrics, old-fashioned melody and no shortage of sincerity and hope. Simon Aldred's voice is the cherry (pun intended) on the icing on the cake of this album, and it also contains two of my singles of 2007.
The haunting genius of "People Help The People" made the charts and Radio 1's playlist, but it's also hard to ignore the more upbeat charms of the final track, "Mathematics". It might not be the coolest record released in 2007, but in my opinion it is most certainly the best.
Favourite Song: Mathematics