The past year has been a banner one for music fans. A staggering number of outstanding albums came out in 2007 — just look at the lists that follow, contributed by Fast Forward’s music writers. The sheer variety is a testament to the year’s strength.
On the local front, Calgary saw the launch of the Sled Island festival, which brought acts like Spoon and The Boredoms to our friendly little town. They shared space with the ever-growing ranks of top-quality bands that call Calgary home — far too many to list here, in fact. With the return of Sled Island next year, plus the Virgin music festival and the re-launch of the Republik, it should be another amazing year all around.
MYKE ATKINSON
Top 10 albums
(in alphabetical order)
• Akron/Famil, Love is Simple (Young God Records)
• Battles, Mirrored
(Warp Records)
• Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dandelion Gum (Graveface)
• Caribou, Andorra (Merge)
• Chris Garneau, Music for Tourists (Absolutely Kosher)
• Le Loup, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millenium General Assembly
(Hardly Art)
• Panda Bear, Person Pitch
(Paw Tracks)
• Pterodactyl, Pterodactyl (Brah)
• David Vandervelde,
The Moonstation House Band (Secretly Canadian)
• Wooden Wand, James & the Quiet (Ecstatic Peace!/Universal)
So close it hurts
• Castanets, In The Vines (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Dungen, Tio Bitar
(Kernado Records)
• HEALTH, HEALTH
(Lovepump United)
DAVID BOYLE
Top 11 albums
1. O.S.T., I’m Not There (Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax) — Compilers Todd Haynes, Jim Dunbar and Randall Poster accomplish the feat of creating a great album from components as diverse as you might find in a month of blog-surfing. The two-disc set reflects Haynes’s audacious multiple-casting choices, illustrates Bob Dylan’s still-current influence on Cat Power and Steve Malkmus — neither obvious acolytes — and shines a well-deserved light on Dylan’s contemporaries Roger McGuinn, Richie Havens and a reinvigorated Willie Nelson. With their near-telepathic backing abilities rivalling The Band, Calexico reveal themselves as the record’s MVPs.
2. Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, “Thou Shalt Always Kill” (http://www.myspace.com/lesacvspip) — Even the most valued pop convictions should hold up to an occasional challenge. Here, in an unvarnished voice worthy of an Aardman Creature Comforts short, Stanford-le-Hope rapper Scroobius Pip reminds us “The Beatles were just a band,” as were Minor Threat, The Pixies and Radiohead. Like early Public Enemy, the ideas fly as furiously as the speech, and not without humorous misdirection: “Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.”
3. Cinematic Orchestra, Ma Fleur (Ninja Tune) — The impact of calling an album a performer’s Pet Sounds has diminished from overuse, but when Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden is cited in a comparison — as Rob Fitzpatrick did in The Word — I take notice. I’d offer Lou Reed’s 1992 meditation Magic and Loss as further analogy. Like that album, Ma Fleur expresses mourning (singer Fontella Bass lost husband and Art Ensemble of Chicago mainstay Lester Bowie in 1999), in this case tempered by the Buckley-esque hopefulness of Patrick Watson — outstripping his own Polaris-winning Close to Paradise — and Lamb’s Lou Rhodes.
4. The Clientele, God Save the Clientele (Merge) — Only the band’s third full-length in a career dotted with EPs and singles comps, the title recalls John Mendelsohn’s 1968 slogan “God Save the Kinks.” On “Isn’t Life Strange,” the band departs from indie-friendly territory to evoke John Lennon’s dreamier moments. They even underpin “Bookshop Casanova” with a glam groove that invites comparisons to The Auteurs.
5. Richard Hawley, Lady’s Bridge (Mute) — Everyone else is wrong — or at least, everyone who slagged the followup to Coles Corner with lukewarm reviews. Perhaps they were latecomers to Hawley’s world, where Sheffield is the universe and stoic heartbreak the order of the day, with only Hawley’s Scott Walker-meets-Bobby Goldsboro croon as consolation. Rather than huge stylistic leaps, Lady’s Bridge’s gains are incremental. The album is dedicated to Hawley’s late rockabilly-loving dad, so “Serious” turns the word you dread hearing from an ailing parent into a Sun Records toe-tapper, firmly transporting the album away from melancholy to the side of the living.
6. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (Island) — By virtue of the actual musical thrills offered on this record (released on December 12, 2006), Winehouse stayed one step above Pete Doherty in tabloid infamy. On the title track, she reveals the bruised heart at the centre of her Shangri-Las and Ronettes-influenced persona. Not that producer Mark Ronson is on par with Shadow Morton or Phil Spector, but his one trick — insert Dap-Kings here — is a surprisingly potent one.
7. Aliens, Astronomy For Dogs (Pet Rock) and Caribou, Andorra (Merge) — To oversimplify, Aliens use the mechanics of electronica to make superior psychedelia, while Caribou uses the mechanics of psychedelia to make superior electronica. Aliens, with their links to the Beta Band and Fence Collective mastermind King Creosote, deliver deceptively dumb space rock that conceals songwriter Gordon Anderson’s heartbreaking recollections and damaged psyche. On Andorra, Dan Snaith adds Left Banke-style melodicism to his My Bloody Valentine template, vastly expanding his musical parameters — and even winning out over Four Tet’s initially more appealing mix of “Melody Day.”
8. Bruce Springsteen, Magic (Columbia) — If I hadn’t resisted Springsteen’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions until this year, it would surely have appeared on my Top 10 of 2006 as a counterpoint to Midlake and Joanna Newsom’s wyrd-er — and far less communal — brand of folk. “Radio Nowhere” — an uncalled-for remake of “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)” — implied Magic might lack the ramshackle charm of The Seeger Sessions. However, Springsteen challenges himself doubly on the album, first as a songwriter on “Your Own Worst Enemy” and “Girls in Their Summer Clothes,” and then as a singer, shunning his default mumble to pursue the songs’ soaring melodies.
9. Super Furry Animals, Hey Venus! (Rough Trade) and Gruff Rhys, Candylion (Rough Trade/ Team Love) — After the masterful Rings Around the World, the Furries showed signs of fatigue: Phantom Power sounded like a retread, Phantom Phorce irrelevant and Love Kraft sounded neither super, furry, nor animal. Candylion, with its The-Jackson-5-on-LSD title track and the smile-inducing epic “Skylon!,” suggested all was not lost. SFA’s Rough Trade debut quickly followed. Glorious throwaways like “Baby Ate My Eightball” nestle alongside the gorgeous “Carbon Dating” and “Suckers!,” re-establishing the group as consummate album artists — genre-shufflers defying a song-shuffling world.
PATRICK BOYLE
Top 10 albums
1. Bill Callahan, Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City)
2. Of Montreal , Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl)
3. Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum Records)
4. Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars)
5. The Fiery Furnaces, Widow City (Thrill Jockey)
6. Dungen, Tio Bitar (Kernado Records)
7. Shellac, Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch & Go)
8. Gruff Rhys, Candylion
(Rough Trade/Team Love)
9. Dinosaur Jr., Beyond
(Fat Possum Records)
10. Mother Mother, Touch Up
(Last Gang)
ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH
Top 10 albums
(in no particular order)
• Feist, The Reminder (Arts & Crafts) — She’s gone from the stage of the Republik to Saturday Night Live. Who would have thought that Ms. Leslie Feist could have improved on her last album, the revelatory Let it Die?
• Bjork, Volta (Warner) — Bjork rocks with a beat that we haven’t heard for a long time. If you have a chance to see her live, take it: nothing tops the energy of seeing her do “Earth Intruders” in person.
• Loudon Wainwright III, Strange Weirdos (Concord) — This sort-of soundtrack to Knocked Up has its ups and downs, but the two songs that appear at the end of the film (“Grey in L.A.” and “Daughter”) are perhaps the finest of Wainwright’s career.
• Rufus Wainwright, Release The Stars (Geffen) — This may be one of the younger Wainwright’s weaker efforts, but it’s still nice to hear something from him this year. His newly released Judy Garland extravaganza is just a bonus in a very Wainwright-y year.
• Bruce Springsteen, Magic (Columbia) — While not his most vital or critically important album with the E Street Band, the Boss’s latest effort is still a lot of fun.
• Super Furry Animals, Hey Venus! (Rough Trade) — This Welsh band got a little less arty, and released an album full of fun, reference-laden pop songs.
• Caribou, Andorra (Merge) — Even if you’re not a fan of Dan Snaith’s earlier work, it’s hard to deny the gorgeousness of this album.
• Oh Susanna, Short Stories (MapleMusic) — Suzie Ungerleider’s newest (and perhaps best) album is filled with haunting stories of made-up characters who stick with you for much longer than any autobiographical navel-gazing ever could.
• Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Merge) — Give Montreal’s favourite collective their props. Neon Bible may not be an improvement on their debut, Funeral, but it proves that Win Butler and Co. are in it for the long run.
• The National, Boxer (Beggars Banquet) — With dark nods to Joy Division and the like, this album is filled with interesting turns that make it a satisfying listen.
CHARLES GUNN
Top nine albums
• Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl)
Top Song: “The Past is a Grotestque Animal”
• Frog Eyes, Tears of the Valedictorian (Absolutely Kosher)
Top Song: “Bushels”
• Fiery Furnaces, Widow City (Thrill Jockey)
Top Song: “Duplex of the Dead/Automatic Husband/Ex-Guru”
• Feu Thérèse, Ça Va Cogner (Constellation)
Top Song: “Ferrari en Feu (pt.2)”
• Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars)
Top Song: “Perfect Me”
• Les Savy Fav, Let’s Stay Friends (Frenchkiss Records)
Top Song: “The Year Before the Year 2000”
• Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
Top Song: “The Ghost of You Lingers”
• Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover (Jagjaguwar)
Top Song: “Mending of the Gown”
• Daft Punk, Alive 2007 (Virgin) Top Song: “Human After All”
PETER HEMMINGER
Top 10 albums
1. Gruff Rhys, Candylion (Rough Trade/Team Love) — The front man of Super Furry Animals, pop-rock’s most restless innovators, Gruff Rhys has turned in the year’s most effortlessly catchy release, bouncing from kids-story pop to delicate folk without skimping on the depth.
2. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl) — “She’s a Rejector” might just have the best breakup lyric ever in “There’s the girl that left me bitter/ want to pay some other girl to just walk up to her and hit her.” Kevin Barnes has been building to this glam-pop masterpiece for his entire career.
3. Caribou, Andorra (Merge) — The leap between 2005’s The Milk of Human Kindness and Andorra is staggering. Dan Snaith begins his new album with a perfect piece of pop-psychedelia in “Melody Day,” then gradually picks it apart until nothing’s left but the swirling textures.
4. Torngat, You Could Be (Alien8 Recordings) — This Montreal trio does things with their keyboard, drum and French horn lineup that you wouldn’t believe. It was even more impressive when they replicated even the most complex moments at Broken City.
5. Julie Doiron, Woke Myself Up (Jagjaguwar) — This is the album that should have won the Polaris Prize this year. There’s no atmosphere-inducing electronics, no complex instrumental tangents, just exceptionally strong songwriting from start to finish.
6. Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum) — On his last album, world-class whistler and violinist Andrew Bird sang about trepanation and calcium-based life. This time it’s obscure medieval empires and single-celled reproduction. Whatever he sings about, it always comes out like magic.
7. Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars) — No one mixes spazzed-out weirdness and pure pop appeal quite like Deerhoof. Their sound has gotten a bit more straightforward over the years, but Friend Opportunity is still miles away from a conventional pop record and is all the better for it.
8. Pop Levi, The Return to Form Black Magick Party (Counter/Ninja Tune) — “Sugar Assault Me Now,” “Pick Me Up Uppercut” and “Dollar Bill Rock” each have enough energy to carry a whole album on their own, but it’s when Pop Levi slow into an acid-blues groove that the magick really happens.
9. The Real Tuesday Weld, The London Book of the Dead (Six Degrees) — A blend of ambient electronics, Vaudeville-inspired samples, classic jazz and sad-bastard rock, not much compares The London Book of the Dead. Just enjoy the consistently cynical worldview and consistently gorgeous music.
10. The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Addicted to Bad Ideas (Chunksaah) — It’s tempting to call Addicted to Bad Ideas an example of pure rock ’n’ roll, but then how would you account for the string section (and pair of tubas) in the band’s 30-piece lineup, or the album’s focus on the life of character actor Peter Lorre? Still, it rocks like little else does these days.
Two that came close
• Barmitzvah Brothers, Let’s Express our Motives (Weewerk) — The album’s theme — 19 songs about underappreciated careers — is dangerously close to novelty, but the consistently sharp songwriting keeps it on the right side of the line.
• Battles, Mirrored (Warp) — Powerfully rhythmic and oddly catchy, despite (or thanks to) an assortment of truly bizarre vocal effects.
CHRISTINE LEONARD
Top 10 albums
(in no particular order)
• Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (RCA) — The true descendents of all things stoner rock. The sultry “On Call” can easily be considered the feel-good hit of the year.
• Coheed & Cambria, Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow (Sony) — Unapologetically over-the-top. This is what Geddy Lee listens to when he goes out cruising in his Boxster.
• Ministry, The Last Sucker (Megaforce) — Purportedly their last studio album. Jourgensen stuck his head out of the bunker (a.k.a. his ass) long enough to record the legendary industrial band’s best album in years.
• The Donnas, Bitchin’ (Purple Feather) — Janée Meadows designed the sizzlin’ artwork for this rock diva quartet’s latest haymaker, additionally winning my vote for Best Album Cover.
• Bad Brains, Build a Nation (Megaforce) — Fierce, fun and chalk full o’ Jah! Who knew they still had it in them? A pleasant surprise for their fans (especially those of us who saw them at the Night Gallery).
• Bad Religion, New Maps of Hell (Sony) — Proving once again that a good punk sound is the only navigational tool you need to get through life. — • Ween, La Cucaracha (Schnitzel/Chocodog) — Every leaf they’ve ever turned rolled into one.
• Pinback, Autumn of the Seraphs (Touch & Go)
• Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (RCA) — Oh, Dave. Why do I feel guilty about calling you a “guilty pleasure?” Signed: Conflicted Critic.
• Galactic, From the Corner to the Block (Anti) —Really a tie with Billie Holiday: Remixed and Reimagined (Sony). Both albums could have been better, but I played them to death anyway.
Top 10 world music releases
• Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale, Breathing Under Water (Manhattan)
• Mr. Something Something, Deep Sleep (Bullfrog Music)
• Thieves of Kailua, Thieves of Kailua (Milpond)
• MIA, Kala (XL)
• Vieux Farka Toure, Remixed: UFO Over Bamako (Modiba)
• Prince Fatty, Survival of the Fattest (Mr. Bongo)
• Habib Koite & Bamada, Afriki (Cumbancha)
• Vieux Farka Toure’, Remixed: UFOs Over Bamako (Modiba)
• Aggrolites, Reggae Hit L.A. (Hellcat)
• Manu Chao, La Radiolina
(Radio Bemba)
Top 10 Canadian releases
• Square Root of Margaret, Teragram Photeur (33 1/3)
• Tetrix, 8 (Odin Audio)
• C’Mon, Bottled Lightning of an All Time High (Zunior.com)
• Cripple Creek Fairies, Curl Up and Die (Transistor 66)
• Evaporators, Gassy Jack and Other Tales (Mint)
• Hot Springs, Volcano (Aquarius)
• Great Outdoors, Food, Booze and Entertainment (DDG Records)
• Keepin’ 6, Uncensored (Stereo Dynamite Recordings)
• Mark Birtles Project, ART Crime (Rectangle Records)
• The Russian Futurists, Me, Myself and Rye (Upperclass)
Best of the brand new heavies
• Witchcraft, The Alchemist
(Rise Above)
• Against Me!, New Wave (Sire/London/Rhino)
• Turbonegro, Retox (Edel)
• Dungen, Tio Bitar (Kemado)
• Dragons of Zynth, Coronation Thieves (GTC)
• Liars, Liars (Mute)
• QOTSA, Era Vulgaris (Interscope)
• KMFDM, Tohuvabohu (Metropolis)
• Three Inches of Blood, Fire Up the Blades (Roadrunner)
• Bigelf, Hex (Custard Records)
Honourable mentions
• The Real Tuesday Weld, The London Book of the Dead (Six Degrees)
• Billie Holiday, Remixed and Reimagined (Sony)
• Rasputina, Oh Perilous World (Filthy Bonnet)
• Bjork, Volta (Atlantic)
• White Stripes, Icky Thump (Warner Bros.)
• Dropkick Murphys, Meanest of Times (Born & Bred)
• Heavy Trash, Going Way Out with Heavy Trash (Yep Roc)
• Beastie Boys, The Mix-Up
(Capitol Records)
• Cake, B-sides and Rarities (Upbeat)
• Stinkmitt, The Red Album (Cochon)
JESSE LOCKE
Top 10 albums
1. Panda Bear, Person Pitch (Paw Tracks) — Music fans may have lapped up the Strawberry Jam big time this year, but what they seemed to forget is that Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox also self-recorded and released a solo album that’s even more addictive. Heavy on the reverb, blessed-out dub grooves and Brian Wilson vocals, the search for delicious ends here.
2. Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover (Jagjaguwar) — If we’re talking about album albums — ones meant to be listened to from front to back in order to appreciate their dense, overriding narratives, and that employ evocative imagery, theatrical art-rock and synths straight out of a ’70s sci-fi soundtrack — then the new Rush album gets my vote. Seriously though, Spencer Krug is king.
3. No Age, Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat) — Super posi skateboarding guitar-drum duo Dean Spunt and Randy Randall assembled the highlights of their first five vinyl EPs into Weirdo Rippers, my choice for the full-length debut of the year. Like Jane’s Addiction if they were a K Records fuzz-rock band, or Lightning Bolt if they took their Ritalin, these guys make me excited about music.
4. Daft Punk, Alive 2007 (Virgin) — Perfectly capturing the sound and spirit of Daft Punk’s now-legendary live show, Alive 2007 runs through and re-imagines the catalogue of the enigmatic French electro-pop duo. I’d rate this one up there with The Name of this Band is Talking Heads, The Last Waltz and maybe even At Budokan.
5. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (Domino) — Probably the most joyous recording created this year, the collected animals toy with ear-pleasing harmonies and hyperactive electro-pop, all while flirting with big league crossover success. These nine songs still aren’t quite as mesmerizing as their live show (two words: “Brother Sport”), but AC are getting closer every time.
6. Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy (Ecstatic Peace!) — Sonic Youth’s Moore seems like he’s mellowing out these days, with his laissez-faire attitude towards teaming up with Starbucks and this stripped-down set of acoustic guitar jams. However, if he can still write songs this hypnotizing, I don’t care if he plays them on a lute Sting-style. Oh, and a few cameo freak-outs from J. Mascis never hurt either.
7. Radiohead, In Rainbows (ATO) — Whether you count yourself a “‘head head” or just a casual fan, LP7 is unfuckwithable. The surprise pay-what-you-want Internet release may have set them up for success regardless of the quality, but when they offer us songs as good as “15 Step,” “Nude” and “Reckoner,” you have to give Thom, Jonny and co. the props they deserve.
8. Menomena, Friend and Foe (Barsuk) — On their Barsuk debut, my favourite Sesame Street/Piero Umiliani-referencing trio has come up with another collection of dynamic, distinctive art-rock. All three members’ singing is impressive, but Justin Harris’s baritone sax squawks, Brent Knopf’s splashy piano and Danny Seim’s hip-hop-inspired rhythms are what really set this band apart.
9. Wooden Shjips, S/T (Holy Mountain) — Amidst the Hammond organ haze, these San Francisco psych-rock weirdos channel the spirits of Spacemen 3, “Sister Ray” and Syd Barrett-era Floyd. There’s definitely a Doors vibe going on as well, but even that can’t stop me from loving it.
10. Blonde Redhead, 23 (4AD) — Initially underrated by many (including myself), Kazu Makino and the twins’ latest offering is lush, consistent and only gets stronger over time. Note: not the soundtrack to the Jim Carrey film.
SEAN MARCHETTO
Top 10 albums
(in no particular order)
• Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Merge) — Everyone will point out that it’s not as adventurous as Funeral, but music is ultimately about finding personal meaning, and no album has captured the turmoil of growing up Catholic, being racked by self-doubt, guilt, loss of faith and wrestling with the problems of modern alienation and mass marketing as well as Arcade Fire does here. Plus, I really was working downtown when I was your age, parking cars for minimum wage.
• Blonde Redhead, 23 (4AD)
• Beirut, The Flying Club Cup
(Ba Da Bing!)
• Radiohead, In Rainbows (ATO)
• Feist, The Remainder
(Arts & Crafts)
• Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic)
• The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, S/T (Parlophone) — Stunning, though the live recordings play much better than the studio album. Drink all day ’cuz the country’s at war. Damon Albarn might push more musical envelopes with his Gorillaz, but this one was a black eye and bloody nose on the face of modern life.
• Les Savy Fav, Let’s Stay Friends (Frenchkiss Records)
• Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts) — When was the last time you listened to an album on which every song evoked scenes from a movie? Perhaps never intended as a concept album, someone, somewhere, is no doubt writing a screenplay based on it.
• Georgie James, Places (Saddle Creek) — Such a polished piece of pop music, it made me want to reconsider my embargo on Fleetwood Mac.
Most hyped band that could actually be worth it
Tokyo Police Club. The band’s constant touring this year, despite having only a couple of EPs to their name, resulted in a label bidding war that eventually saw them sign to Saddle Creek. A nine-song live album recorded during a Chicago stop on the Lollapalooza tour has only whetted appetites for their future efforts.
GARTH PAULSON
Top 10 albums
1. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (Domino) — For a band that’s always revelled in being difficult, Strawberry Jam sure is straightforward. By focusing on the basics for the first time in their career, Animal Collective have finally illustrated their full potential as songwriters who are able to do an awful lot with only a handful of tools. This scaling back also highlights the band’s greatest strength: their endlessly inventive and resolutely gorgeous use of the human voice. Though perhaps not their most ambitious release, Strawberry Jam is a near-perfect distillation of everything that makes Animal Collective thrilling.
2. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl) — Overflowing with intricate melodies, danceable beats, seething electronics and a crazed “anything goes, so long as it makes every second infinitely superior to the one before it” attitude, Of Montreal’s masterpiece is thoroughly exhausting, but it’s equally arresting. Chronicling the aftermath of front man Kevin Barnes’s separation from his wife, subsequent spiral into self-destructive depression and eventual David Bowie-esque transformation into a hedonistic glam god, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is a dark affair, but it’s also an undeniable blast and next to impossible to stop listening to.
3. Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover (Jagjaguwar) — With Random Spirit Lover, Spencer Krug makes his obligatory year-end best-of list appearance. It would be getting boring if it weren’t for Krug’s uncanny ability to one-up himself at every turn. With an infuriating ease, Krug somehow manages to write songs on Spirit Lover that are simultaneously more prog-like, more lyrically complex, denser and catchier than his already absurdly strong back catalogue. It’s like the man is physically incapable of writing a bad song.
4. St. Vincent, Marry Me (Beggars Banquet) — Annie Clark escaped the cult of the Polyphonic Spree in 2007, and it’s a damn good thing she did. Marry Me, her debut as St. Vincent, is a perfect background in practically any situation. It’s got a great, unassuming nature for idly humming along to while studying. It’s got enough upbeat ditties and singalong choruses that make a perfect soundtrack to a round of drinks with friends. It’s got ample quirks and musical flourishes wrapped in its charming pop songs, making it quality ear candy. Ultimately, it’s just really good.
5. Low, Drums and Guns
(Sub Pop) — No one could have expected that slowcore stalwarts Low would release the strongest entry in their storied 14-year career in 2007, but that’s exactly what they did. Displaying an even more minimal esthetic than usual, Low have proven once and for all that double kicks, finger-shredding guitar progressions and black clothing aren’t necessary to create completely devastating music.
6. Menomena, Friend and Foe (Barsuk) — Rarely do artistic vision and accessibility mesh as well as they do on Menomena’s Friend and Foe, an album that is as lofty as it is catchy. Though Menomena might have pop deconstruction on their minds, they resist the urge to mess with their songs for the sake of doing so. Every tangent, every unconventional shift and every use of a saxophone instead of a bass adds something to Friend and Foe’s warped proceedings.
7. Panda Bear, Person Pitch (Paw Tracks) — Built upon a sprawling base of samples — ranging from reggae songs to the sound of skateboards — Person Pitch can sound like nothing and everything is happening at the same time. Songs routinely ride a pleasant drone, imperceptibly changing until they’ve become completely new beasts, creating a constantly disorienting experience that only becomes more bewildering and dazzling with each listen.
8. Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian) — A baroque croon, charming folk-pop, liberal soul samples, deliberately schmaltzy strings, hip hop beats and a self-deprecating sense of humour are all rolled into one giant slab of delight. Though Lekman has been guilty of being too cute in the past, Kortedala is irresistible pop gold and a pure joy to hear.
9. Phosphorescent, Pride (Dead Oceans) — On paper, Phosphorescent (a.k.a.: Matthew Houck) sounds like a poor man’s Will Oldham — and lord knows there are enough of those — but on Pride, Houck uses these acoustic-folkie limitations to produce a truly bewitching album. It’s spooky, spine-tingling stuff perfect for cold winter nights when the sounds coming from outside seem more like ghosts than the wind whistling through the trees.
10. Dirty Projectors, Rise Above (Dead Oceans) — Picture the lovechild of Tom Verlaine and Robert Smith fronting Fugazi, who happen to be jamming with Mariah Carey’s backup singers and, strangely, the only songs they both know are all off of Black Flag’s Damaged. That’s about as close a description of Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above as you’re going to get.
Eight great songs in no particular order from albums that are not in my Top 10
• “Thieves of Kai’ Lua”
by Jason Holmstrom
• “Birdflu” by M.I.A.
• “Melody Day” by Caribou
• “Little Brother (Electric)”
by Grizzly Bear
• “All My Friends”
by LCD Soundsystem
• “Wannabe”
by Dizzee Rascal (feat. Lily Allen)
• “Stereo” by The Brunettes
• “News from your Bed”
by Bishop Allen
MARY-LYNN WARDLE
Top 10 albums
1. Lucinda Williams, West
(Lost Highway) — Gritty grace kisses maturity, without a hint
of boredom.
2. Peter Case, Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (Yep Roc) — Poetic melodies embrace a social conscience, sans self-righteousness.
3. Corb Lund, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! (Stony Plain) — Equus and Mars are alright tonight.
4. Kris Demeanor, The Guilt and the Shame: Tales of the Canadian West Go Away with Me (Independent) — Sure, it’s two albums, but on the first Demeanor boldly unties the G-string of convention while on the second he proves he didn’t have to.
5. Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (Sony) — Great screamers never lie.
6. Various Artists, Just One More: The Songs of Larry Brown (Bloodshot) — An uneven but intriguing offering. You ride it like a corkscrew that keeps pulling you into the bottle.
7. Joe Henry, Civilians (Anti) — “Time is a lion and you are a lamb.” So turn it up.
8. Jackpot, Moonbreath (Jackpine Social Club) — Drowsy stoner reflections strung out on drowsy stoner vocals. “I was in a fine mood, then you had to go and fuck it up.” God I love this band.
9. Tim Williams, Songster, Musicianer, Music Physicianer (Festival) — A collection of classics mixed in with the kind of self-penned numbers that have Willie Nelson threatening to record them. How can such a smooth album have so much soul?
10. Various Artists, Wounded Heart of America (Tom Russell Songs) (Hightone records) — No one does Tom Russell like Tom Russell, but anyone who attempts it and comes close is a winner in my book.
