Top 10 Albums of 2007
10: Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
9: The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Easy to forget, if for the sole reason that this came out very early this year. Am I alone in preferring this to Funeral? If so, good. Because it is. Neon Bible was the victim of the hype in many people’s eyes, the same way Funeral was in mine.
8: Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
There's nothing worse than a smug peer saying: "I recommended this to you, remember?" Yes, Scott, I remember. We found one, finally! Starts off superbly, then holds its own before buggering off and not outstaying its welcome. They know their place.
7: LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
This took me quite some time to get the gist of. In fact, with the exception of North American Scum, the first few listens washed over me with little effect. But persistence was required here, and persistence paid off – making the album ‘quite’ good. Then I saw them live … and the album turned from good to great overnight. Rated in the top 10s of most ‘Best of 2007’ polls, I can finally see why. Electronica with a heartbeat in it. A joy.
6: Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of...
5: Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Why does no-one else know this lot?
4: Bruce Springsteen - Magic
3: Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
What a surprise this was. Most Foo Fighters album consist of a cracking lead-off single, a couple of other good’uns, and the rest … just … tails … off… . Not this time, however – this hasn’t got a bad track on it. OK, maybe just one, but hey, it’s the shortest one, and it’s an instrumental. So we’ll forgive ‘em that.
2: Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance
1: Radiohead - In Rainbows
To quote a peer, Radiohead could release an album of their nans’ farts, and I’d put it at number one. But this… Their best work since OK Computer? Undoubtedly. The tracks hit you first on an intimate, individual basis, and then envelope you in the most expansive way. Whereas before Thom Yorke had a tendency to string lyrics together as soundbites, what he has to say on In Rainbows feels so personal (“Now that you've found it, it's gone. Now that you feel it, you don't ”), that this made me feel the way I felt when I first heard Paranoid Android. And, yes, that’s by Radiohead too. Album of the century, so far.
Close, but no cigar
Editors - An End Has A Start
The Enemy - We'll Live and Die In These Towns
Matt Nathanson - Some Mad Hope
Maps - We Can Create
Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars
The Good, the Bad, and the Queen - The Good, The Bad And The Queen
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
Top 10 Tracks of 2007
9: Ed Harcourt - You Put a Spell On Me
8: Jack Penate - Second, Minute or Hour
7: Radiohead - Bangers & Mash
6: LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
5: Foo Fighters - The Pretender
4: Air Traffic - Shooting Star
3: Editors - Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors
2: Radiohead - Bodysnatchers
1: Cherry Ghost - People Help the People
Some you will know of the highs and lows of Olly 2007. Some of you won’t. But now all of you know that this was a track that backlit the good times and helped fight through the bad times. So, that’s you lot told.
Honourable Mentions
The Enemy - This Song
Cherry Ghost - Mathematics
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
Air Traffic - No More Running Away
Radiohead - Reckoner
Bruce Springsteen - Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Fields - Song for the Fields
Soulsavers - Revival
Ghosts - Wrapped Up In Little Stars
Rufus Wainwright - Between My Legs
Wilco - Either Way
Maximo Park - Books From Boxes
The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
The Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
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