Lost Socks: December 2007

Damn it was an outstanding year for music. I had a hard time just picking 25 albums, hence all of the honorable mentions. What can I say, this barely covers one of the best years in music I have been alive for. I hope you all enjoy my picks. Nothing is in a particular order.

LCD Soundsystem – Sounds of Silver : No album this year felt more urgent and alive in the present than James Murphy’s sophomore effort. Forget terms like electroclash, neo punk disco, or any other genre combos that people have tried to attach to this album. If you truly love music, then you will love this, it breaks down any barriers critics try to set around it. The middle of the album peaks with two of the best songs of the year, “Someone Great” and “All My Friends.” I have to admit, throughout the whole year I have always had a copy of this album with me rather it be on my iPod, in my car, or out spinning in the clubs. A masterpiece and my pick for album of the year.

Radiohead – In Rainbows : Certainly the way Radiohead chose to release this album is groundbreaking and should make it the album of the year. In fact, this is by far the most personal and subtle album of Radiohead’s career, and one of their best. After what some may call a long trip into electronica, Radiohead focus their efforts on a perfect blend of guitars, swirling strings, and precise drumming only sparkled with digital tweeks and R&B influences centering around Thom Yorke’s beautiful voice. This is as accessible as Radiohead has been and in no means does that mean they have given something up. In Rainbows has zero weak spots, a flawless record made by a band who proves they can do anything they want to. “House of Cards” is the sexiest Radiohead song yet.

Arcade Fire – Neon Bible : Thank God this album didn’t suck. Funeral is one of those albums that will forever have a special spot in my heart. Neon Bible didn’t achieve the same effect personally, but that shouldn’t distract from the fact that this is a strong, well crafted follow-up. To see them live this year, only cements my love for them and every song upon this album. Neon Bible is about living with fear and dread in this world, with everyone looking for some spiritual answer. Unlike Funeral’s more personal inverted nature, Neon Bible looks outward to find “not much chance for survival.” “Keep the Car Running” and “No Cars Go” feel like anthems for my generation.

Feist – The Reminder : She’s the singer of our generation. I am so pleased by her growing popularity because she’s let it come to her. This album isn’t perfect, especially in its tin can production, but the songs on here feel timeless and familiar but new and fresh. Something tells me Feist will go down as a legend. “1234” is the obvious hit here thanks to the iPod commercial but “My Moon My Man” and “The Park” are equally amazing songs. The thing about this album that gets me every time I listen to it is how effortless it feels. Its as if it were recorded on the cuff without any pretensions. Feist’s greatest strength comes for her ability to let the strength of her songs stand on their own without ornately dressing them up with a large band.

Burial – Untrue : The headphone album of the year without a doubt. In fact, I would say there is no other way to experience this album. Untrue is so atmospheric, that while listening to it, it transports you to lonely back alleys of dark streets laced with fog and rain. The vocal samples scattered throughout sound like long lost lovers dying to reach you again. Dubstep has never been a music I gravitate towards but Burial has expanded so much upon the genre and created an undeniable classic. There is so much going on in this record that the only thing to do is to surrender to it and be transported someplace otherwordly.

Deerhunter – Cryptograms : I wish records where still made with the intention to be played in two different listening session, side A and side B. Deerhunter granted my wish with this ethereal, psychotic meditation on frontman Bradford Cox’s loneliness and desire to be a part of a larger whole. Side A is frightening and troubled as guitars drone and the bass thumps through a sea of reverb on the turbulent “Lake Somerset.” Side B finds more control and subtle melodies as guitar riffs become beautiful representations of hopeful desire on the standout “Hazel St.”

The Field – From Here We Go Sublime : When I hear critics and scholars talk about the transformative power of music, the ability for a song to take you to some unknown landscape in your mind, I think of this album. It’s unlikely for me to give such high praise to a techno album(is that word even used anymore) but when I listen to this album it takes me somewhere icy and cold but comforting at the same time. I used to criticize electronic music for never feeling human or rather connected to emotions. This album proves me wrong. “A Paw in My Face”

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? : Finally this band has reached its peak that I believed it could. This is their masterpiece. An album of love and loss as seen through some crazed Ziggy Stardust loving madman. Gone are the overly pop filled songs of make believe lands. In its placed are dark, self seeking therapy themed, glam tinged tunes. This band has gone from a well liked but easily written off psych-pop outfit to a worldly yet self aware group making a record intended to save themselves from going nuts and lashing out on the ones they love. “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” is easily one of the best songs of the year as it swells over 12 minutes to become an anthem of an honest need for stability. “Cato As A Pun” is also an album highlight.

Kanye West – Graduation – This is simply the best hip/hop album of the year. In fact, I think its one of the best ever. West proves to be the hardest working man in hip/hop. This album is full of unique, challenging hooks and rhymes. Blending everything from Daft Punk to Coldplay, West is making music of the future and so far this is his best album. Graduation sounds far ahead of anything else coming out against it. West seems fearless and determined to set himself apart from the rest of the pack, commenting specifically on how he is differs from the majority of other rappers. His alienation works wonders for him making him beloved by both indie kids and mainstream music lovers. “Flashing Lights” is the album’s highlight with its electro-club synths mixed with a smooth R&B chorus.

Amy Winehouse – Back To Black : The best production on any album this year. Maybe its because I am a huge Motown fan, maybe its just because Mark Ronson brings something modern to a classic sound, but I love this album. Winehouse is a true music legend in the making. The world of music needs reckless people like her that everyone is waiting to see how long it takes for her to drink herself to an early grave, its essential to rock n’ roll. None of this would matter if the music wasn’t beautiful, heartfelt, and brutally honest. Her lyrics are like windows into a troubled soul yearning for relief behind a stubborn exterior. “Rehab” is a cry for help under the guise of a rebellious chorus. Every time I listen to this I feel as though I have found some lost classic.

Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga : This band’s sixth album proves them to be one of the most consistent rock bands around. However, this album feels like a new peak for them. The songs are so carefully structured yet so catchy it’s almost too easy to miss the brilliance within them. This is music that makes you tap your toes as you ponder the craft and execution. The songs here range from sparse to full blown, which has always been the bands strength, while holding a familiar yet new sound. This is Spoon’s pay off after years of crafting minimalist rock tunes.

Caribou – Andorra : A cleverly disguised tribute to the Zombies’ Odyssey and Oracle album, Andorra is soaked in 60’s psychedelia. It feels as though Dan Snaith has been working towards this album in some sort of backwards fashion. His earlier efforts are loaded with experimentation putting the melodies in the deep recesses of the songs. Here, the experiments float around more standard structured tunes. Snaith voice finally rises to the front and so do some catchy melody lines. Overall, Andorra is the full realization of music that has been toiled on over 3 albums.

M.I.A. – Kala : A true original, M.I.A.’s music is at once pop and political. Her music is worldly yet completely accessible. On Kala, she has truly embraced her strengths, that of humor and importance. Her songs are playful yet aware, catchy yet uncompromised. “Paper Plans” makes a good argument for song of the year. It’s a song of competing layers whether it be musically with a Clash sample warring with gun shots or lyrically with kids singing chillingly about cash and ammo. Kala is a remarkable, fierce soundtrack for the world.

Panda Bear – Person Pitch : A record of an overwhelming wall of sound that is so warm and glowing that comparisons to Brian Wilson are unavoidable. However the album deserves to stand on it’s own as a singular, personal, and daring new version of psychedelic pop. This is music best heard with eyes closed and the sun beating on your face. The overall analog sound to an album that must have been comprised of several loops, the album’s repetition is part of its charm, feels drenched in sunlight. Pop in this album, hit play, and listen to the new psychedelia.

Justice - + : The comparisons to Daft Punk are almost too easy and for me don’t paint the brilliance of Justice properly. Justice’s music, unlike Daft Punk’s, comes from an infusion of heavy metal, Italo disco, and good old pop super compressed to sound like its being squeezed out of an amplifier against its will. “D.A.N.C.E.” is a club track way ahead of its time while still throwing homage to the insatiable sounds of the Jackson 5. However, Justice doesn’t rely on just one catchy tune. Cross is a dance album that manages to avoid the usual slump. They keep it interesting right up to the closing moments. That may sounds easy, but electro is a finicky genre and Justice have managed to master it.

The National – The Boxer : I admit, this isn’t as strong as Alligator, their previous record, but The Boxer is full of heartbreakingly beautiful and dark moments that haunt me long after listening to them. I have melodies from this album floating in my head without having listened to the record in weeks. The staying power of many of these songs astounds me. The comparisons to Joy Division are finally starting to make sense. I often get a feeling of suffocating while listening.

Battles – Mirrored : I have never been one for projects seeped in showmanship however this is the exception. Battles features many a talented player with in it but none of that would matter to me if the music wasn’t mindblowing to match the credentials. On Mirrored, it is. “Atlas” is a stunner as a myriad of sounds cycle a thunderous drum pattern. The song has a power and energy equal to thunder and lightning. It is an album of highs. Everything is at its fullest, the cymbals crash louder than anything I have heard, the vocals pushed and pulled to their extremes. The album with the biggest balls of the year.

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala : An easily looked over artist that can be said to be a mix between Belle & Sebastian and perhaps Donovan but that would be doing an injustice to the power of Lekman’s storytelling abilities. Through the course of this album, Lekman paints funny and sweet tales of love and lesbians and the Swedish countryside. These are songs that grow more familiar and beloved to me every time I hear them without losing their comic nature. Musically, Lekman borrows from styles all over the world, mainly setting on crooning pop that allows his lyrics to be front and center. I will never forget how hard I laughed the first time I heard “A Postcard To Nina.”

Kevin Drew – Spirit If… : Kevin Drew breaks off from his collaborative super-group Broken Social Scene here but only kind of. This album still manages to sound like a BSS album if not only more acoustic driven. Found here are the dream-like atmospheres that surround tunes of love and lost. Drew sounds much more confident by himself here letting his voice take center stage for once. The result is a haunting record of desire. The scattered guests on the album only add to the multi-layered songs.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump : To be honest, I am waiting for this band to disappoint me. This record, however, reminded me of every reason I love The White Stripes: crazy, catchy riffs, weird tangents, and cute sing-a-longs. Every track on Icky Thump was another reason to keep loving Jack and Meg, especially “Rag & Bone.” Rock groups simply don’t get better than these guys. They are destined to become legends of their time.

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare – I wasn’t all that big a fan of their first album, which is why this was such a surprise. The most satisfying rock record of the year. I put this on every time I needed something loud and rude. The Arctic Monkeys show they are more than just another band in the post-new wave rock flood of British bands. This album shows range for soft, sweet tunes, as well as rocking, critical tunes about scenesters and punks.

Beirut – The Flying Club Cup : A mood album that is at once a personal collection of self-reflective songs, by virtuoso Zach Condon, as it is a love letter to France. The music of Beirut sounds both fresh and profound while still holding a clear tie to an older form. Not for everyone’s tastes but certainly became a favorite of mine as winter closed in. This album seems to live in another time where past and present exist as one.

Menomena – Friend and Foe : A groundbreaking debut from these Portlanders, Friend and Foe finds the perfect mix of electronic sequencing and standard rock band structuring. This reminds me of Elbow’s Cast of Thousands in that it mixes the dark and sinister with the glorious and heavenly. Menomena is the band I look most forward to hearing a sophomore effort.

Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity : A consistently amazing experimental rock band that found all its right parts on their latest album. By far the band’s most focused and accessible album, Friend Opportunity is a bombastic blast of pop. Every song is a controlled venture into new territory. It’s an amazing feat for a band well into its career. Believe me, this one grows on you until you know every song inside and out.

Talib Kwali – Ear Drum – The other remarkable hip/hop album of the year that was unjustly overlooked. This should have been the album to push Talib Kwali into mainstream success. Instead, I will view this as I did Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale of last year, an unnoticed gem admidst a sea of half-assed hip/hop releases. The production on this album is insane. Several tracks defy easy description as they combine hooks from several eras and genres of music. This is a hip/hop album for music fans. Plus, why hasn’t anyone else used Norah Jones’ sultry voice to such memorable effect.

Best Album of Last Year I Found This Year
Cold War Kids- Robbers & Cowards : A collection of ragged tunes that clink and clank together like broken beer bottles. Cold War Kids produce a surprisingly rich debut here. The songs hold a reckless power to them that is cathartic to listen to. This is the kind of album that has a homegrown, pots and pans type of feel that will charm some and repulse others. I am hopeful of what is to come from Cold War Kids.

Honorable Mentions

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights

Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover

Shocking Pinks – Shocking Pinks

The Bees – Octopus

The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Woman’s Needs

Les Savy Fav- Let’s Stay Friends

Klaxons – Myths of The Near Future

White Williams – Smoke

Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature

Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

The Shins –Wincing The Night Away

Black Lips – Good Bad Not Evil

Modest Mouse -We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Digitalism – Idealism

The Go! Team – Proof of Youth

St. Vincent – Marry Me

Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline

Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams

Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog

Liars - Liars

!!! - Myth Takes