It was an unusually strong year for music, even if the latter half of the year yielded few aural pleasures. From Of Montreal’s shiny dance-pop to the smart, smoldering lit-rock of the National, 2007 did not disappoint.
Here are my picks for the 10 best records of the year.
1. Of Montreal, “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” Polyvinyl
Kevin Barnes’ jittery meditation on depression and relationships traded Brian Wilson’s melodies for ’80s synth-pop rags, making the year’s most danceable headphone masterpiece. Trying to wrench songs like “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” from my brain became a daily, ultimately pointless task.
2. Land of Talk, “Applause Cheer Boo Hiss” EP Rebel Group
Relaxed almost to the point of slurring, singer Elizabeth Powell and her Montreal bandmates created a compelling argument for a genetic hybrid of PJ Harvey, Sebadoh and Cat Power, using mid-fi guitars, propulsive indie rock beats and conversational lyrics as fodder. Indie rock (the aesthetic term, not the means of production) at its finest.
3. Radiohead, “In Rainbows” self-released
Brilliant sales experiments aside, this oft-imitated, never-bested group again stunned me with the gorgeously naked “Nude,” the ripping “Bodysnatchers” and eight more exercises in palatable cognitive dissonance. It might have been a return to form if the band hadn’t sloughed off any recognizable shape years ago.
4. The National, “Boxer” Beggars Banquet
Don’t run from the “literate” tag this slow-burning masterpiece has attained — it’s appropriate and nowhere near as disengaging as it sounds. If anything, tracks like “Mistaken for Strangers” and “Squalor Victoria” betray the vigor hiding in each of these dark, subtly gritty narratives, but the slow pleasures are there, too.
5. Spoon, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” Merge
Austin, Texas, indie rockers Spoon may never get the visibility they deserve, but we get documents like this, and that’s good enough. At this point in Spoon’s career, leader Britt Daniel has nearly proved himself incapable of diluting the brilliant melodies and riffs that pour out of his head. Pure pop-rock sugar.
6. The Caribbean, “Populations” Hometapes
This D.C. group’s deceptively complex art-pop teases with layers of existential dread and bright, sideways drumming while never losing sight of the guitar-vocal locus of each song. In a just world, “The Go From Tactical” would permanently replace prescription antidepressants and professional massages.
7. Neil Cleary, “I Was Thinking of You the Whole Time” Doozy
Cleary turns the tables on tired love themes by embracing the role of the dusty cad on this disc of kiss-offs and striking confessions. Fans of classic pop-rock melodies and killer riffs will be rewarded by exploring this perfectly-pitched collection. Rootsy indie pop? Modern folk? Check and check.
8. Georgie James, “Places” Saddle Creek
John Davis and Laura Burhenn likely ingested a steady stream of Sloan, New Pornographers and Rosebuds records before crafting this taut, catchy debut. A better marriage of bracing percussion and cutting melodies is difficult to find.
9. Albert Hammond Jr., “Yours to Keep” New Line/Scratchie
This moppy-headed Strokes guitarist stepped out with this grab-bag of classic pop disguised as hipster anthems and ragged, guitar-driven rock. Hammond’s main band would do well to take a hint from this addictive disc.
10. Band of Horses, “Cease to Begin” Sub Pop
Like the Shins and countless others, this group made a more focused and ultimately more sedate second album that proved its worth through meditative ballads as much as rollicking indie rock.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
