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POP STOPS
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25 Albums of 2007 • December 2007
John Everson
Launch and Landing
popstops.net
2007 In Review: Silverchair and Brandi Carlile
top Best CDs of the Year list
By John Everson
Pop Stops reviewed or mentioned more than 200 albums
in 2007 and came up with a handful of 4.5-5 star albums, which is always
a good indication of a strong music year (there have been years that I've
not given out a single 5-star rating).
I don't claim to have listened to every disc released
this year -- for example, despite it being "free" for download,
I never got around to checking out Radiohead's middle-finger-at-the-ailing-music-industry
release. But generally I only have the space to mention one-third or one-fourth
of the CDs that I receive to review, which means that the following is
my distillation of at least 600 albums that I heard which were released
in 2007. That's a pretty wide survey of popular music!
Following are my thumbnail reviews of my favorite 25
discs of the year, along with links to the reviews and the Pop Stops star
ratings they received.
* * * TOP 25 ALBUMS OF 2007 * * *
1) Silverchair —
Young Modern (Eleven) Young Modern continues and builds
on the cinematic intensity of their last release, melding Beach Boys-esque
harmonies and string arrangements with a modern rock intensity. Legendary
Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks reprised his Diorama role,
penning orchestrations for three of the songs, and throughout the 11 tracks
on Young Modern, the band displays an astonishing maturity and
inventiveness, dropping song after song of catchy pop-rock that is, frankly,
uncategorizable. There are lazy, cozy interludes, jaunty guitar stomps,
falsetto croons, hip-shaking rock riffs… this is an album to get
lost in – it's a panoramic world unto itself. If you like music,
you owe it to yourself to hear one of the best examples of pop fusion
that has been recorded this decade.
( 5 stars)
2) Brandi Carlile — The Story (Columbia):
There are 14 songs on The Story (including one hidden "bonus"
track about hiding one's heart away for fear of losing that which is loved).
Every one of them is a victory in breathtaking songsmithing. As the year
has gone on, I've probably listened to this disc more than any other (I've
changed my original newspaper column rating from a 4.5 to 5 stars at this
point!) Don't miss this gentle, tightly drawn album from a voice whose
pen is far wiser than her years should allow.
(5 stars)
3) Amy LaVere — Anchors & Anvils
(Archer): Throughout Anchors & Anvils you can hear a twinkle
of a quietly rebellious smile as Amy LaVere sings of the mundane frustrations
of women locked in a thankless world of dishwashing, laundry and putting
up with unappreciative louts. A 10-song CD smoldering with hidden, understated
passions, it strolls across a tapestry of classic Americana music styles.
LaVere sings with an innocence that belies the desperation of some of
the lyrics and which ultimately makes the performances even more gripping.
LaVere grew up on the border of Texas and Louisiana, and you can hear
those influences in her vocal delivery, sometimes reminiscient of the
whimsically girlish whisper of Kim Fox, as well as of the country-pop
chanteuses of the '50s. LaVere's gently sweet cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll
Remember You" closes an album that I can only describe as "too
short."
(5 stars)
4) Various Artists — Auralgasms: Breath
of Stars (Auralgasms): The third compilation from the
Internet radio station Auralgasms.com
is a collection to dream to, filled with warm fuzzy guitar songs, rich
ethereal synthesizer tapestries, astonishingly affecting vocalists singing
familiar themes of love and loss that reverberate with timelessness. My
favorite tracks come from Sleepthief, Costanza and Ether Aura as well
as from the dreamy Honeybreath and Lou Rhodes and the rhythmic but heavenly
Sky Project. But there are also great songs from Trashcan Sinatras, Neverending
White Lights and Hotel De Ville (who provide what sounds like a lost This
Mortal Coil song) and many more. Breath of Stars offers some of the most
entrancing music being crafted today, by artists who, at this point, remain
largely unknown outside of the dreampop circle.
(5 stars)
5) Tegan & Sara — The Con (Vapor/Sire):
For their fifth album, these Canadian sisters collaborated with Chris
Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) introducing more keyboard and electronic textures
to their songs than their previous work, resulting in a wide-ranging disc
that allows the beauty of the twins' vocals to shimmer on every track
as they dole out 14 songs that tend to focus on the trials of love gone
wrong. The Con is a rich, varied album full of pop hooks and
deep emotion – and one of the best albums of the year.
(4 1⁄2 stars)
6) Chris Pureka — Dryland (Sad
Rabbit): Issued on her own label, this is an album of autumn beauty –
melancholic emotion colors the songs, which slip by as easy as the landscape
on a long Nebraska drive. The drama is there, but you have to let it sink
in slowly. Hers is a style that will overtake your heart, if you sit still
long enough to let it. Now that I've let her voice in, I can't recommend
this album enough!
(4 stars)
7) The Feeling — Twelve Stops and
Home (Cherrytree/Interscope): The Feeling lives somewhere between
1974 Paul McCartney & Wings and Gerry Rafferty's Stealer's Wheel,
not to mention the '90s best harmony rock throwback band, Jellyfish. This
is an album for lovers of the slick sounds of '70s harmony rock as well
as for those who know that powerpop is timeless (and sweet as candy!)
(4 stars)
8) Tori Amos — American Doll Posse
(Epic): American Doll Posse is an ambitious, confident sprawl
of an album that ultimately pans out stronger than her last couple releases,
and displays a rock passion that we haven't heard from the "Piano
Girl" since her From the Choirgirl Hotel album nine years
ago. Don't dismiss this on a first listen or two… let Tori and her
dolls sing to you for awhile and you'll soon find yourself joining the
posse.
(4 stars)
9) Chris Knight —
The Trailer Tapes (Drifter's Church): recorded with just an acoustic
guitar just prior to Knight's big break with his self-titled major label
debut, The Trailer Tapes now stands as Knight's fifth released
album, and finds the singer sounding melancholic and alone, a Steve Earle-whiskey-voiced
lamenter in a Johnny Cash lonely wilderness. By turns lost, angry, hurt
and haunting, The Trailer Tapes offers a lost emotional treasure
that's thankfully been found.
(4 stars)
10) Travis — The Boy With No Name
(Epic): A tour de force of melancholy harmony and quixotic guitar, this
is an brit-pop dream-gazing album that you can't help but get lost in.
After I put it on, I'm always surprised to find that I'm singing the final
chorus so soon...
(4 stars)
TIE:
10) Kenna — Make
Sure They See My Face (Interscope): A techno-pop gem, Kenna plays
all over the quirky electronic pop map on his latest release, co-produced
by The Neptunes.
(4 stars)
11) The Fratellis — Costello Music
(Interscope): An infectious slam of cheeky rock 'n' roll, this
is an album of non-stop breezy fun. With a bevy of bouncing rollicking
rhythms, a penchant for early Beatles-ish harmonies and smatterings of
keyboards, bells and horns lurking between the chimey bass and guitar
work, every track on Costello Music sounds like it was a party to record
in the studio.
(4 stars)
12) Heavy Trash —
Going Way Out with Heavy Trash (Yep Roc): The last person to use
this much reverb on a recording may have been Buddy Holly! Heavy Trash
– the invention of singer Jon Spencer (of Blues Explosion) and guitarist
Matt Verta Ray (of Madder Rose) – reinvents the "be-bop-a-lu-la"
sound in spades on Going Way Out… with the help of a parade
of backing session musicians, including Canada's The Sadies. By the time
the disc ends with its 13th track, the beat-poet twang-guitar backed spoken
word experiment "You Can't Win," you may have dug out your motorcycle
jacket and pomade.
(4 stars)
13) Wilco — Sky Blue Sky (Nonsuch):
While on a first listen, Sky Blue Sky is a fairly sedate recording,
repeated listens reveal a wealth of melodic hooks (especially in my favorite
track, "Impossible Germany") along with the wonderfully clean,
twining guitar work of Tweedy and avant-jazz guitarist Nels Cline that
will remind you of the best of '70s AM rock radio. If you enjoy laidback
guitar music, honest vocals and a hint of radio days gone by, check this
one out.
(4 stars)
14) Carina Round
— Slow Motion Addict (Interscope): if you like albums that
don't rest simply on a bunch of quickly knocked out three-chord rock tracks
that will be forgotten tomorrow… Slow Motion Addict is
for you. This is an inventive and quirky pop-rock disc that melds New
York glam and punk with offbeat pop vocal backups and an unabashed manic
energy that Debbie Harry once might have approached. Round gets compared
frequently to PJ Harvey and Patti Smith, who also work in offbeat pop
palettes, and those comparisons ring true throughout the vocal calisthenics
of Slow Motion Addict, where Round sometimes moves from quiet
growls to high-pitched wails to whispery pleas — all in the same
chorus.
(4 stars)
15) The Alarm — Under Attack (EMI):
While their later albums were colored with gobs of studio polish, Under
Attack returns to the fist-raising punkier raw rock of the band's early
days. From the pounding beat of "Without A Fight" to the rising
"whoa-oh-oh" vocals of the anthemic "My Town" the
disc bristles with energy and great hooks. Just listen to "It's Alright,
It's OK" once and you'll be humming the chorus in your head for days
afterwards — this one's begging for repeated radio play.
(4 stars)
16) The Lost Patrol — Launch and Landing
(self-released): The Washington Post called their sound "retro-surf-alternative-cocktail
rock" which I suppose captures it as good as anything. This is an
album that listens like a hip movie soundtrack. Dreamy, evocative, and
catchy in a sneak-up-on-you kind of way. Coolness factor: 10! Highly recommended.
(4 stars)
17) The Pipettes — We Are The Pipettes
(Cherrytree/Interscope): A British all-girl trio with a jones for the
Phil Spector wall-of-sound attack, We Are The Pipettes is a saucy
16-song collection rife with deliciously sweet "la-la-las,"
sockhop handclaps, sugary string backups and snare-drum fun, not to mention
a touch of lyrical lasciviousness.
(4 stars)
18) Scorpions — Humanity Hour 1
(New Door/UMe): While Scorpions have always known how to turn the amps
to 11 and punch out some hard rock, they've also always had an exceptional
melodic sense, and Meine's voice only seems to get better at exploiting
that with every album. Tracks like "Your Last Song" will keep
you nodding your head in thrall within seconds of its first play. And
if it's driving guitars you want, give a close listen to the buzz of "The
Cross," which features a guest appearance by Billy Corgan of Smashing
Pumpkins. The day of pop metal may have faded, but the sting of the Scorpions
remains as potent as ever.
(4 stars)
19) Gore Gore Girls — Get the Gore
(Bloodshot): Pegged dead-on in one review as the "gum-popping, guitar-toting
granddaughters of Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys," and in another
as "The Stooges meets The Supremes," Detroit's Gore Gore Girls
have been carrying on the garage-rock, punky girl-group tradition now
for a decade. Get The Gore is the band's third full-length album,
just released on Chicago's Bloodshot Records, and it's a must-have for
anyone who loves harmony backed but raw-energy bar rock (most recently
given a shot in the arm by the Donnas). Big vintage guitars, white and
black leather minis, go-go boots and '60s girl-group song structures are
what the Gore Gore Girls are all about, and they have a blast with the
gimmick. Overall, this is a party album, just waiting to be spun well
into the sock-hop night. This is rock 'n' roll the way it was meant to
be — sometimes sweet, sometimes dangerous, and always a whole lot
'a shakin' fun.
(4 stars)
20) The Hives — The Black and White
Album (A&M): No band since The Ramones has a band thrown down
so many riff-rich anthems one after another played so…fast! The
Hives are a Swedish quintet who broke onto the U.S. rock scene with Veni
Vidi Vicious seven years ago, at the same time as a late 60's garage
band-meets-late '70s punk music sound revival was in full swing (reference
also The Vines and The Strokes). They've since learned when you pound
out manic 2-3 minute songs one after another that you can't put together
a very long album without changing it up a little. The Black and White
Album clocks in at 45 minutes with 14 songs, and it crackles with
energy, even on the "changeup" tracks. This is an album that
needs to be listened to start to finish, as the pounding punk attacks
slide into the quirkier rock explorations that serve to clear and whet
the aural palate for the next attack of three-chord guitar distortion
and anthemic vocal yells. The Black and White Album should bear
the cover admonition: "must be played loud." But listeners will
undoubtably figure that out.
(4 stars)
21) Johnette Napolitano — Scarred
(Hybrid): Since her '80s hitmaking days with Concrete Blonde, Johnette
Napolitano has continued to craft inventive, poetic, edgy and often dark
pop-rock music. Her latest solo release includes her whiskey-tinged bittersweet
cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist" (which originally appeared
on the Wicker Park movie soundtrack) and finds her handling a
folk-march rendition The Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties".
(3 1⁄2 stars)
22) Klaxons — Myths of the Near Future
(Geffen): The album is definitely all over the map, with punkish attacks
a la The Vines and even a melange of African rhythm with '80s techno and
Brit-pop vocals. From experimental punk noise to polished synth pop, this
is a CD that truly mixes it up – Myths of the Near Future is like
a random rock jukebox, which never fails to interest, and usually manages
to entertain pretty well too!
(3 1⁄2 stars)
23) Matthew Ryan — From a Late Night
High-Rise (Plastic Violin): The Nashville-based folk-rock singer-songwriter
has released a quietly moody 10th album that spotlights his acoustic guitar
and emotion-laden, sometimes earnestly raspy vocals. Over his career,
the singer has worked with Lucinda Williams and Neilson Hubbard, among
others, and has earned critical raves on the alt-country scene for a decade,
though he's never met with critical success. His latest CD listens like
a bedroom confessional, stark and troubled, but achingly honest.
(3 1⁄2 stars)
24) Blaqk Audio — Cexcells (Interscope): While
much of the first half of the disc has a moody gothy vibe to it, the second
half starts to sound more bubblegum-oriented, with that sugary technopop
hitting full force in tracks like "Semiotic Love" and the driving
gallop of "Again, Again and Again," which sound like a summit
between The Lovemakers, Neuropa and Intuition. Focus problems aside, for
fans of hook-laden synth pop, there's bound to be something here you'll
want to add to your iPod songlist of the week.
(3 1⁄2 stars)
25) Chief — Chief (TSRK): A Wisconsin trio
with a thunderous bar-rock attack, their 14-song release initially struck
me as a throwback to the early '70s era of hard rock. But repeated listens
have revealed a wide palette of influences here, including Foo Fighters.
In their own parlance, this is just good-time, 100-mile an hour, ass-kickin'
rock. Play it loud.
(3 1⁄2 stars)
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- John Everson
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