Hello friends!

And so...here it is - finally. I could not bring myself to write proper reviews due to a lack of motivation and time constraints so I took the liberty of providing some of my favorite reviews for twenty of my favorite records from 2007. Feel free to post your thoughts and your own lists should the urge strike you.
Enjoy.



1.) And Also the Trees – “(Listen For) The Rag And Bone Man”

How this swarthy band eluded my attentive ear for so long has me positively baffled. Having only recently discovered the brilliant music that AATT have been writing for the last 25 years, I was delighted to discover that their latest record is arguably among the most mysteriously urgent and darkly mesmerizing to date. Nothing this year even came close.

“And Also The Trees have been ploughing their own musical furrow since the late 70s and this, their latest album, illustrates quite neatly the strange, schizophrenic nature of the band. '(Listen For) The Rag And Bone Man' demonstrates both that it is practically criminal that they remain so obscure, and yet the singular, uncompromising focus that drives the album means that there is no hook, no single, no catchy anthem. What there is, instead, is a collection of songs that I can only describe as the English equivalent of Nick Cave, not in terms of sound or style, but in terms of a determined, writerly instinct to construct a narrative; the ability to imbue the mundane with qualities both epic and menacing. The album opener, 'The Domed' is compelling, hypnotic and utterly exceptional, the vocals croon gently across a shimmering, thrumming musical background. The album then meanders its way across an mesmerizing landscape, where nothing is exactly as it seems, where disaster and tragedy lurk below the surface of delicately crafted tunes and the careful listener is richly rewarded. Gentle melodies suddenly crash into ferocious assaults like unexpected summer storms and fade as suddenly.
This is a quite remarkable record.”

- Antonis Xaga (Essential Albums)

And Also The Trees Info:
Homepage - www.andalsothetrees.co.uk
MySpace - www.myspace.com/andalsothetreesofficial



2.) Hearts of Black Science - "The Ghost You Left Behind"

Quite possibly the most addicting release of 2007, this release from HOBS is without doubt one of the finest debut recordings I have ever heard. Each track is a gloomy pop-masterwork, especially tracks like “Walking With The Sun”, “Serene”, “Snowfall”, and “Silver”. Superb album.

“Hearts of Black Science are a band whose name sums them up quite nicely. They dabble in electro beats set to the sound of deeply emotional and often sombre sounding lyrics and music. Having formed a few years ago in their native Sweden, Thomas Almgren (synths, programming and beats) and Daniel Anghede (Vocals, guitar and Bass) had come together after various other bands/projects had finished. The childhood friends left everything and everyone behind to go write and record this album in an abandoned power plant outside Gothenburg. Prior to the band taking off, Almgren had been heading in the direction of horror movie producer and this penchant for harnessing the darker side of life is obvious in his music as well. Knowing all this it is not hard to see how a bleak and lonely landscape came to form much of their sound and the album’s feeling.

This album isn’t something that will grab you instantly, but if you like the moodiness and darkness of the likes of Joy Division and Depeche Mode then Hearts of Black Science are worth checking out. You have to let the music take hold of you, and allow yourself to be lost within the dark melodies that are woven throughout. ‘Snowfall’ and ‘Revolver’ set the pace for the album early on and you quickly get a feel for what to expect from these. The pace does tend do develop at points, particularly during ‘In A Park’ which sounds like a mix of New Order and Bloc Party, but at the most bleak. This song along with the first single, ‘Empty City Lights’ liven things up a bit with trance like keyboard parts which notch the tempo up, but are still backed by the slow and melancholy vocals from Anghede.

‘Driverlights’ gives the vocalist a chance to shine, being the most up-beat feeling song very much in the Depeche Mode style. Keyboards and drum loops are set against quieter acoustic guitars, creating a blend of simple acoustic melodies and vocals enhanced by the use of the programmed beats and effects. It’s this fusion of styles, which makes the band stand out. The styles compliment each other; the bleak keyboards and synth backing create the atmosphere, but never does this drown out the bare bones of the songs with noise.

This may be one to steer clear of if you’re sat alone in a dark room with only a razor blade and the Samaritans phone number to hand, as it may just tip you over the edge. However if you like dark, deeply emotional tunes which above all create a feeling, then Hearts of Black Science are worth seeking out.”

- Adrian Huggins (Disorder Magazine)

Hearts Of Black Science Info:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/heartsofblackscience



3.) Lights Out Asia - "Tanks And Recognizers"

The sophomore release from Lights Out Asia was hypnotic and beautiful. I can perpetually listen to “Tanks and Recognizers” and never tire of the album, which made it a deserving mainstay in my listening rotation throughout 2007. The record is a flawless progression from LOA’s debut; the only drawback is that it could be impossible for any future release to rival “Tanks and Recognizers”. Only time will tell.

“Wisconsin post-celestial-shoegazer trio Lights Out Asia delivers their sophomore full length and debut for n5MD titled Tanks and Recognizers. This follow-up to their critic and fan favorite Garmonia (sun sea sky) pushes their sound far forward with a palpable intensity by giving a seemingly subliminal nod to some of the more electronically minded ethereal bands of the mid 80s to early 90s like Breathless, Chapterhouse, My Bloody Valentine or even the more emotionally rich moments of Colourbox. Lights Out Asia who is actually influenced more by a more current crop of like-minded artists such as Mogwai, Massive Attack, and Robin Guthrie’s various works, blend them all, the erstwhile and contemporary, with an updated style, feel and modern expansiveness. Tanks and Recognizers is a cinematic and ambitiously crafted album, which could easily fit into any indie rock or electronic music collection. Soaring, floating, and moving forward as it pulls you in to its hopeful heart consuming ebb and flow of electronics, guitars and lofty vocal yearning. Tanks and Recognizers is that perfect album for those days when the horizon and sky are of the same hue and for those moments where every perspective is so gorgeously blurred.”

– n5MD Website

Lights Out Asia Info:
Homepage - www.lightsoutasia.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/lightsoutasia



4.) Blackfield - "II"

In 2007, Blackfield > Porcupine Tree.

“Much like its predecessor, Blackfield (2006, Snapper Records), Blackfield II lays down graceful, elegant melodies and rich vocal harmonies set amid airy, symphonic elements. What their album titles lack in the way of ingenuity, Blackfield make up for with their thickly atmospheric soundscapes. All the while, Blackfield II tracks move about like different weather rolls in and out.

The open-space drumming that starts the disc in "Once" almost sounds like rumbling thunder here and there in the atmosphere as a thunderstorm rolls in. At about the 1:21 mark, when the roaring guitar and clashing drums kick up, the storm moves in and intensifies, before tapering off during the verses. Throughout the track, the storm drifts and lunges, advances and retreats. Like the majority of cuts on II, "Once" follows Londoner Steven Wilson's (Porcupine Tree's own front man/producer) vocal delivery that's at times gentile, mournful, and contemplative, at others, soaring and bordering on celebratory.

"1,000 People" follows "Once" and drifts into frame sounding like spotty rainfall. Wilson's soft croon directs this down-tempo cut with Israeli singer / songwriter אביב גפן, the other half of the founding / creative force behind Blackfield, backing in the choruses to add depth. The Geffen-led "Miss U" barges in with the force of a driving rain after "1,000 People" quietly drifts out. "Miss U" choruses are highlighted with Jamaican drum-like keys before breaking down into mid-tempo, serene verses with sparse piano keys. When the chorus kicks up, Geffen's voice sounds as though it's craftily masked by murky vocal effects, creating an intriguing, eerie haze about the delivery.

The Wilson-penned and led single "Christenings," faintly drifts into picture with a lazy, mournful guitar part and Wilson's pacific delivery. Wilson tells the tale of what seems to be a fallen-from-fame musician turned vagabond. Great lyrics include the ascending / descending choruses' ("High times and vodka in the morning") and ("Shoplifting, getting your essentials / Gatecrashing christenings and funerals / And weddings too").

After "Christenings" gently trickles out of frame, the chillingly-lyriced, Geffen-written "This Killer" slides in slowly with Wilson's hauntingly indifferent-turned-sorrowful vocals. The Geffen-backed, and foggily-delivered words, "Falling man", slide in and out in the chorus. "Epidemic" dances in with piano keys before Wilson and Geffen tradeoff equally yearning vocals in a symphonic track that kicks into a mid-tempo cut with guesting female backing vocals.

"My Gift of Silence" comes next following some piano keys and a repeating, distanced guitar part that sets the stage for soaring choruses with Wilson's delivery and the growing backing instrumentation. "Someday" moves in much like "My Gift of Silence," slow and steady. And like its predecessor, sets up huge choruses. This time, the chorus gradually and optimistically lifts higher and higher. Again, Wilson and Geffen split vocal duties in the next cut, "Where Is My Love?," a track that follows "Someday" in similar fashion, with gargantuan choruses, down-on-the-upside hooks, and a sprawling, elongated Wilson guitar run to boot.

Finally, "End of the World" totes a repeating piano part and those familiar sweeping, grandiose Wilson-Geffen vocalized choruses. While Blackfield songs are footed in the melancholic, tracks on Blackfield II see the sun starting to peek through the clouds just a bit more than on Blackfield. But much like the debut, this sophomore effort showcases Wilson and Geffen's uncanny ability to craft memorable songs that boast quality lyricism, anthemic sing-a-longable choruses, and beautiful layers.
Elegant, regal, sweeping music set to serve as the creme de la creme of the genre. A must-have.”

– Josh Barr (Aversion.com)

Blackfield Info:
Homepage - www.blackfield.org
MySpace - www.myspace.com/blackfield



5.) PJ Harvey - "White Chalk”

I have always loved her music, and many of her earliest records ooze a certain recollection and nostalgic quality, having first heard “Dry” and “Rid Of Me” in high school – what seems like an eternity ago nowadays. The last couple of records, however, I haven’t been altogether thrilled about. “Uh Huh Her” was mediocre in comparison to the other releases in her discography, and while I enjoy “Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea”, it lacked a certain distinguishing ambiance and prior records had. “While Chalk”, a return to form and altogether something totally new is – arguably – her most inspired and daring release to date. I love the fact that after several years it is possible for me to relentlessly listen to a PJ Harvey album again.

“Don't hold your breath -- she doesn't pick up her electric guitar on this one either. White Chalk, PJ Harvey's eighth full-length and first in three years, isn't loud or brash; it isn't Rid of Me" (1993) or even Is This Desire? (1998). But this album will still take away the breath you aren't holding: It's at once bleak, aching, and insidiously beautiful.

One of Harvey's strengths is that she can release an album that sounds nothing like any she's put out before it but still make it sound exactly like a PJ Harvey record should. Even behind the piano, her music retains the depth and spark she is known for, and her voice floats off to new heights. White Chalk is meant for headphones, with intricate layers and buried surprises.
On "Dear Darkness" John Parish's voice offers a lovely bass counterpoint to Harvey's voice (and perhaps hints at what we can expect on their forthcoming 2008 collaboration). Parish's voice is like butter trying to melt on Harvey's ice cubes.

The title track is the album's centerpiece, Harvey's vocals ranging from soft-spoken to husky and cold. This may well be the sound and implication Cat Power was going for and almost captured on You Are Free. Harvey sings about white chalk sticking to her hands and feet, and the song is punctuated by ethereal wailing, pinned down with harmonica, guitar, piano and plucking -- the blood on her hands is still ruby red and wet.

"The Piano" is the closest thing to an upbeat pop song on this album, if only because the tempo picks up the pace a bit and the key is major for a change. It's almost jaunty, but it isn't a total distraction from the murky waters she treads on the rest of the album; the heartbreak is still apparent in the lyrics, "Oh, god I miss you," and "nobody's listening."

"To Talk to You" sounds like Harvey's taken the Radiohead blueprint and made her own track that would sit comfortably on Hail to the Thief. Maybe this is a lasting impression from her work with Thom Yorke on "This Mess We're In" from 2000's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. Its off-kilter piano and pale white noise wander in that general direction.

White Noise may be a somewhat quieter record for Harvey, but it's very much distinctively her. She still has one of the most jarring and versatile voices in music, and it's just as stunning toned down. White Chalk is like a frayed blanket from your childhood, threadbare in places, but still trying to keep you warm. Those drafts that do get in are welcome in their coldness, and it makes you feel alive -- and possibly glad that you aren't the one who's inspiring all the gorgeous chill in her songs.”

- Lee Fullington (PrefixMag.com)

PJ Harvey Info:
Homepage - www.pjharvey.net
MySpace - www.myspace.com/pjharvey



6.) Blonde Redhead - "23"

From start to finish: beautiful, catchy, melancholy, inventive, remarkable at every twist and turn in each successive track – with “23” Blonde Redhead have recorded their magnum opus. The progression this band has shown is extraordinary, and having not been the biggest fan prior to this release, I am a full-fledged Blonde Redhead addict now after hearing “23” and subsequently spinning it relentlessly. Great record.

“Blonde Redhead are that rarest of things – a band whose voice has grown stronger, clearer and more distinctive with every record that they have made. Their reward for this has been an audience whose numbers have quietly grown over the course of their career, almost entirely by word of mouth.”

With that comes a double-edged sword. As a band matures, a portion of the band’s longtime followers will inevitably feel jilted with the band’s growing fan base and the development of the band’s sound. This will likely apply to Blond Redhead since their days of Sonic Youth inspired no-wave rock sounds are all but forgotten. Blonde Redhead’s 2004 album “Misery Is A Butterfly” set the stages for the band’s growth as musicians. The songs on that record contained more ambitious production, as well as more sensuous melodies that often wrestled with the band’s foreboding and melancholy based songs. One of the more impressive aspects with each of the Blonde Redhead albums is hearing Kazu Makino’s development as a singer. While early in the band’s career Kazu Makino’s high pitched voice was grating, she is now able to sing in a manner where the adjective “gorgeous” would not feel out of place.

When listening to “23″ there are three tracks that shines slightly more brightly than the others. Those tracks would be “23,” “Silently,” and “Publisher.” Opening track “23″ may be one of the more thrilling songs that the bands has created to date. The bass lines are simply massive, while the military style drumming and the chiming guitar lines sets up the song with a thick cinematic like tension. Once Kazu Makino does her LUSH-cious “la la la’s,” followed by her multi-tracked “House of The Rising Sun” inspired falsetto, the song just goes insane. Insane I say! “Silently” stands out for being one of the most upbeat / chirpy songs that the band has made to date and, again, Kazu Makino sounds absolutely LUSH-cious on that song.

“Publisher” is more of the foreboding type of song that would fit well on “Misery Is A Butterfly,” that also features a killer chorus that kind of begs for an Eminem type of booger to come along and sample it into pop radio oblivion. With these three impressive songs that’s not to say the rest of the album is filler material. Far from it actually. “Dr. Strangeluv” is another great song where Kazu Makino makes your heart melt with the type of sadness that only Blonde Redhead can create. “SW” has a similar “massive” sound as opening track “23,” except vocals are handled strictly by Amadeo Pace and the song features an unexpected Beatles like diversion with some very trippy horns.

“23″ by Blonde Redhead impressively builds off of their equally impressive 2004 album “Misery Is A Butterfly,” with a sound that is even more expansive and diverse. There will inevitably be some people that will complain about the production and melodies being more accessible, but that’s not really a concern of mine. I just can’t stop playing this album.”

- Lunapark6.com

Blonde Redhead Info:
Homepage - www.blonde-redhead.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/blonderedhead



7.) God Is an Astronaut - "Far From Refuge"

Since 2002, GIAA have been among my most listened to and favorite post-rock bands. “Far From Refuge” is anything but a disappointment, but I’m not so sure where I would rank it within the bands own discography, since all of their recordings are entirely magnificent. The music this band creates has always had a certain hypnotic and almost transcendental quality to it, but without the trademark post-rock crescendo’s of discordance many of their peers exhibit. Thankfully, “Far From Refuge” does not divert from this ideal and uplifting formula, and I look forward to many additional moving and beautiful pieces of music from this unique band in the future.

“When last we encountered God Is An Astronaut within these pages, it was to review their album, All Is Violent, All Is Bright. It was a lovely discovery, which afforded us the opportunity to wax poetically about twinkling constellations and distant horizons. Yet even before the last rumble of that album's lovely thunder had subsided, I had begun to harbour concerns for our Irish trio. Where could they go from here? Far From Refuge is their answer, an album which, as the name might suggest, avoids playing it safe on any level.
The pulsar-beats that kick-start opener Radau could almost be cousins to Prince's Sign Of The Times, but their coolness is soon overtaken by pounding snare drum and cymbals.

In turn, even this most persuasive of percussion will submit to a surge of skyward guitars. Welcome back, God Is An Astronaut! Their trademark guitar melodies remain intact, but things have taken a noticeable turn for the darker. The difference this time around is in the mix. Bass and drums are not only more prominent, but the role they play has altered. Where once they supported the melodies like a comfort blanket, here on Far From Refuge, they whirl, collide and compete. Like the bag in the wind scene in American Beauty, Radau proves far more effective than we had any right to expect.

The title track feels as though we are back on familiar God Is An Astronaut territory, but that sure-footed rhythm section is on hand again to remind us not to make assumptions. The band really rocks here. These bass-lines would be more at home in a nu-metal or funk rock arena. Is Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) moonlighting in God Is An Astronaut these days? Seriously though, what is clear to me is that God Is An Astronaut are striving to recapture the energy of their live shows. All was bright before, but the violence was conspicuous by its absence. Here, Far From Refuge, literally is a less safe place to tread. For every dazzling light there is shadow, and for every slice of beauty there is another more threatening passage.

Patience is a virtue worth any listener bringing along to this album. New Years End really is as perfect an example of the dichotomy of God Is An Astronaut. In isolation, it's a lovely piece, to be admired and enjoyed in equal measure. However, as one of a succession of instrumentals it loses impact. In this band's world, we can't see the trees for the wood, and it's a pity because these trees are exquisite. Yet if any of these nine tracks had been THE instrumental track on an otherwise conventional rock album, they would probably work beautifully. The minimal, piano-led Darkfall is as varied as things get. Actually, I really enjoyed this phase of the album, from Darkfall through Tempus Horizon and onto the close of the album with Beyond the dying light.

It's pleasure to see God Is An Astronaut back. They've allayed my inner fears that they might have been a spent force, and I'm delighted that they've shown the ambition they have and not merely stand still. Just be warned, they are no longer the comfy pair of slippers that they used to be.”

- Brent Spaceman (Evil Sponge)

God Is An Astronaut Info:
Homepage - http://www.superadmusic.com/god/
MySpace - www.myspace.com/godisanastronaut



8.) Kent - "Tillbaka Till Samtiden"

This band should be playing stadiums. For the duration of the musical journey Kent have been on for the last 10+ years they have consistently delivered some of the best pop music available to erudite ears – albeit in the beautiful Swedish language most of the time. "Tillbaka Till Samtiden" is in the same vein as the preceding records, but here they sound even more polished, concise, and catchy that ever before. This is an excellent album to listen to while driving, working out, or shopping at Ikea. Good stuff.

“Kent is probably the most popular Swedish band in Finland (with permission of The Hellacopters or The Ark), and good proof of it is the massive amount of followers that attract in every visit here, with venue after venue sold out.

The band is back from studio and in excellent shape with this Tillbaka Till Samtiden. The opening track, Elefanter, starts slowly and languid, but step by step grows with glittering guitars on top of the electronic beats and bass. That could be a perfect metaphor for the whole album: the first time you listen to it seems to be another one more in a million, but you need to taste it step by step to appreciate all the connotations. And once that the sensuality of the Swedish language gets inside you, turns impossible to escape from the spell; Joakim´s intriguing voice just conquers your ears even if you cannot understand more than 5 words in Swedish (as it is my case).

Touches of instrumental dance music like in the catchy Våga vara rädd that counts with a hypnotic trumpet, mixed with darker atmospheres that remind their beloved Depeche Mode like in Berlin or especially in Columbus which sounds like a slower Swedish version of I feel You. No wonder that these guys cram people together whenever they come to play to Finland. With excellent release after release they show why they continue on the top of the charts after more than one decade of existence.”

- Antonio Díaz (Free Magazine – Finnish Culture)

Kent Info:
Homepage - www.kent.nu
MySpace - www.myspace.com/kentsweden



9.) Radiohead - "In Rainbows"

My thoughts: Best Radiohead album….ever. ‘Nuff said.

“Like many music lovers of a certain age, I have a lot of warm memories tied up with release days. I miss the simple ritual of making time to buy a record. I also miss listening to something special for the first time and imagining, against reason, the rest of the world holed up in their respective bedrooms, having the same experience. Before last Wednesday, I can't remember the last time I had that feeling. I also can't remember the last time I woke up voluntarily at 6 a.m. either, but like hundreds of thousands of other people around the world, there I was, sat at my computer, headphones on, groggy, but awake, and hitting play.

Such a return to communal exchange isn't something you'd expect to be orchestrated by a band who's wrung beauty from alienation for more than a decade. But if the past few weeks have taught us anything, it's that Radiohead revel, above all else, in playing against type. It's written in their discography; excluding the conjoined twins that were Kid A and Amnesiac, each of their albums constitutes a heroic effort to debunk those that came before it. Although 2003's Hail to the Thief was overlong and scattershot, it was important insofar as it represented the full band's full-circle digestion and synthesis of the sounds and methods they first toyed with on OK Computer. So, after a decade of progression, where do we go from here?

If the 2006 live renditions of their new material were anything to go by, not much further. With few exceptions, the roughly 15 songs introduced during last year's tour gave the impression that after five searching records, Radiohead had grown tired of trying to outrun themselves. Taken as a whole, the guitar-centric compositions offered a portrait of a band who, whether subconsciously or not, looked conciliatory for the first time in its career. Although a wonderful surprise, their early October album announcement only lent further credence to the theory. Where they'd previously had the confidence to precede albums like OK Computer and Kid A with marketing fanfare worthy of a classic-in-making, this sneak attack felt like a canny strategy to prepare fans for an inevitable downshift.

The brilliant In Rainbows represents no such thing. Nonetheless, it's a very different kind of Radiohead record. Liberated from their self-imposed pressure to innovate, they sound-- for the first time in ages-- user-friendly; the glacial distance that characterized their previous records melted away by dollops of reverb, strings, and melody. From the inclusion and faithful rendering of longtime fan favorite "Nude" to the classic pop string accents on "Faust Arp" to the uncharacteristically relaxed "House of Cards", Radiohead's sudden willingness to embrace their capacity for uncomplicated beauty might be In Rainbows' most distinguishing quality, and one of the primary reasons it's an improvement on Hail to the Thief.

Now that singer Thom Yorke has kickstarted a solo career-- providing a separate venue for the solo electronic material he used to shoehorn onto Radiohead albums-- Radiohead also sound like a full band again. Opener "15 Step"'s mulched-up drum intro represents the album's only dip into Kid A-style electronics; from the moment Jonny Greenwood's zestful guitar line takes over about 40 seconds in, In Rainbows becomes resolutely a five-man show. (For all of Yorke's lonely experimental pieces, it's easy to forget how remarkably the band play off each other; the rhythm section of Phil Selway and Colin Greenwood are especially incredible, supplying between them for a goldmine of one-off fills, accents, and runs over the course of the record.) A cut-up in the spirit of "Airbag"-- albeit with a jazzier, more fluid guitar line-- "15 Step" gives way to "Bodysnatchers", which, like much of In Rainbows, eschews verse/chorus/verse structure in favor of a gradual build. Structured around a sludgy riff, it skronks along noisily until about the two-minute mark, when the band veers left with a sudden acoustic interlude. By now, Radiohead are experts at tearing into the fabric of their own songs for added effect, and In Rainbows is awash in those moments.

The band's big-hearted resurrection of "Nude" follows. The subject of fervent speculation for more than a decade, its keening melodies and immutable prettiness had left it languishing behind Kid A's front door. Despite seeming ambivalent about the song even after resurrecting it for last year's tour, this album version finds Yorke wrenching as much sweetness out of it as he possibly can, in turn giving us our first indication that he's in generous spirits. Another fan favorite, "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" brandishes new drums behind its drain-circling arpeggios, but sounds every bit as massive in crescendoing as its live renditions suggested it might. "All I Need", meanwhile, concludes the album's first side by dressing up what begins as a skeletal rhythm section in cavernous swaths of glockenspiel, synths, pianos, and white noise.

With its fingerpicked acoustic guitars and syrupy strings, "Faust Arp" begs comparisons to some of the Beatles' sweetest two-minute interludes, while the stunning "Reckoner" takes care of any lingering doubt about Radiohead's softer frame of mind: Once a violent rocker worthy of its title, this version finds Yorke's slinky, elongated falsetto backed by frosty, clanging percussion and a meandering guitar line, onto which the band pile a chorus of backing harmonies, pianos, and-- again-- swooping strings. It may not be the most immediate track on the album, but over the course of several listens, it reveals itself to be among the most woozily beautiful things the band has ever recorded.

With its lethargic, chipped-at guitar chords, "House of Cards" is a slow, R.E.M.-shaped ballad pulled under by waves of reverbed feedback. While it's arguably the one weak link in the album's chain, it provides a perfect lead-in to the spry guitar workout of "Jigsaw Falling Into Place". Like "Bodysnatchers" and "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" before it, "Jigsaw" begins briskly and builds into a breakneck conclusion, this time with Yorke upshifting from low to high register to supply a breathless closing rant.

Finally, the closer. Another fan favorite, Yorke's solo versions of "Videotape" suggested another "Pyramid Song" in the making. Given the spirit of In Rainbows, you'd be forgiven for assuming its studio counterpart might comprise some sort of epic finale, but to the disappointment of fans, it wasn't to be. Instead, we get a circling piano coda and a bassline that seems to promise a climax that never comes. "This is one for the good days/ And I have it all here on red, blue, green," Yorke sings. It's an affecting sentiment that conjures up images of the lead singer, now a father of two, home filming his kids. A rickety drum beat and shuddering percussions work against the melody, trying clumsily to throw it off, but Yorke sings against it: "You are my center when I spin away/ Out of control on videotape."

As the real life drums give way to a barely distinguishable electronic counterpart, Yorke trails off, his piano gently uncoils, and the song ends with a whimper. The whole thing is an extended metaphor, of course, and, this being Radiohead, it's heavy-handed in its way, but it's also a fitting close to such a human album. In the end, that which we feared came true: In Rainbows represents the sound of Radiohead coming back to earth. Luckily, as it turns out, that's nothing to be afraid of at all.”

- Mark Pytlik (Pitchfork Media)

Radiohead Info:
Homepage – www.radiohead.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/radiohead



10.) Elsiane - "Hybrid"

In a year when trip-hop enthusiasts and downtempo fans received the long-overdue yet incredibly disappointing return of Portishead, a band like Elsiane comes along to soothe the wounds of dissatisfaction with one of the most surprising debuts of the 2007. “Hybrid” is a wonderfully creative record, the vocals are smooth, the chill out overtones consist of a haunting groove, on the whole the record is an almost ethereal and sexual escape into a different state of mind. Brilliant release, and far better than any Portishead release (blasphemy I know). I sincerely hope that Elsiane are able to avoid the sophomore curse that plagues those bands that release extraordinary debut records. Check out “Hybrid” folks, you’ll love it.

“Until recently, I’ve held the cynical belief that no artist would ever emerge to rival Björk in terms of utter confidence in getting across musical emotion through a uniquely personal use of vocals. Elsieanne Caplette does it by shaping her mouth differently than the rest of us; her pronunciation and timbre are unusual. In addition, she opts for odd note choices creating highly original music with fresh oddness.

Her style evokes a magical soundscape: a heavenly dream with groovy electronic overtones. She accomplished this feat by using layered keyboards and a smattering of melodious violins, guitar and bass; all are held together by an unassuming rhythm, tastefully held down by drummer Stephane Sotto. Caplette’s voice, the centrepiece of the soundscape, is remarkable, as she becomes an enchanted fairy intently whispering stories in your ear in an oddly familiar language. A great record for deep breathing, it allows you to reconnect with love after a lonely day at work.”

- The Manitoban Online

Elsiane Info:
Homepage - www.elsiane.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/elsiane



11.) Bat For Lashes - "Fur And Gold"

Yet another amazing debut release for 2006-2007! I must see this band live. I can’t say enough positive things about this record or the woman behind the music so I’ll let someone else do it for me. Get your hands on this one.

“Fur & Gold is the stunning debut album from Bat For Lashes, aka former nursery school teacher Natasha Khan. Inspired by tales of Joan of Arc and a particularly vivid dream, Natasha set about crafting an album of exquisite beauty – one that haunts and captivates in equal measure. Her music is cinematic in scope, no doubt inspired by her degree in film and music, and in live form includes thunderous marching bands, desert guitar, ballet school piano, harpsichord, sub-bass snarls, hand-claps and naive beats.

Underpinning many of the tracks is a sombre piano – heartbreakingly beautiful but tellingly effective. While Natasha’s mournful vocals emerge as a cross between the ethereal quality of Bjork and the fragile beauty of Imogen Heap. Thematically, it embraces Natasha’s vivid imagination and tells of natural forces and animal kingdoms, rugged English cliff tops and engulfing oceans.

Opening track Horse And I was inspired by a dream involving a black horse at her window and unfolds in suitably mesmerizing fashion – delicate chords hooking you from the outset before a marching band-style drum kicks in and Natasha’s voice transplants you into a different, magnificent world. From that point onwards, as the lyrics themselves state, “there is no turning back” – you should be hooked. Second track is the brooding live favorite Trophy, one of three tracks to feature the backing vocals and guitar of Josh T Pearson. Vocally, it’s very striking, thriving on the moody boy-girl trade-off, while the instrumentation is extremely atmospheric.

Sombre love song What’s A Girl To Do? is a gutsy lament about a dwindling passion that unfolds in curiously upbeat fashion – the beats are top-notch. And they come in stark contrast to the achingly poignant Sad Eyes – a piano ballad that has reduced many fans to tears in live form. It’s supremely fragile and packed with sad but beautiful words. Prescilla is another highlight, built around hand-clapping beats and more layered instrumentation that seems to work in perfect accompaniment to Natasha’s tender vocals – the chorus, in particular, is genuinely inspiring. And Bat’s Mouth is another firm favourite, once again placing the piano to the fore to intoxicating effect, as well as some background strings.

Fur & Gold is nothing short of a stunning debut – an album as unique in style as it is breathtakingly brilliant. You can’t fail to be captivated by its charms.”

- Jack Foley (IndieLondon)

Bat For Lashes Info:
Homepage - www.batforlashes.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/batforlashes



12.) Promise and The Monster - "Transparent Knives"

Yet another fantastic debut album in 2007. What an incredibly mature release from such a relatively young person, the Swedish Billie Lindahl, only 19 years of age. I would never have guessed that someone her age could deliver such a gripping and poignant recording that sounds so established and passionate that it puts many of her elder peers to shame. The light and dark contrasts on the release lend it a certain kind of unsettling ambiance that I particularly enjoy, and I think many of you will as well. Give it a try.

“Promise and the Monster is a children's book about a pony named Promise and a monster called, well, presumably, Monster. Promise and the Monster is also the adopted name of Swedish singer/multi-instrumentalist (guitar, cello, flute, organ, glockenspiel) Billie Lindahl, who, at 19, isn't that far-removed from picture-book reading herself. As if traced from some market-tested "indie girl" template, Lindahl has Feistian dark bangs and a coltish, eye-skirting demeanor, and sings in a high, breathy, elfin chirp in the neighborhood-- though with nowhere near the fence-building potential-- of Joanna Newsom.

That sounds unbearably precious, but it isn't. Lindahl's songs are as indebted to pre-adolescence as her moniker, but they don't document devotion to ponies or, I dunno, Disney's mind-bogglingly successful High School Musical, but anxiety over skin, bodies, adult sexuality.

"I think I'd rather be made out of porcelain. Because I hate the body as a physical object," Lindahl has said, sounding like that girl at the party with her nose defensively buried in a battered copy of The Sorrows of Young Werther, wishing she had the courage to speak to someone (so stated, hopefully, with a smidgeon of self-mockery). But her first LP, Transparent Knives, pursues this theme relentlessly with a succession of frigid motifs: shivering lips, frozen sheets of skin, steel veins channeling cold, roots recoiling into winter soil. Lindahl's vocals perch high in the songs' chilly mixes like carrion birds dispassionately surveying snow-sheathed hills for fresh kill. At the same time, she articulates repulsion's inevitable corollary-- attraction. "When I watch you sing/ Along with that song/ I love the way you move," she coos contradictorily in "Night Out", more fire than ice.

Lindahl shares a label (and has toured) with countryman José González, and fingerpicked figures and classical guitar cadences mark Transparent Knives' surfaces. The common carp about González-- that all the songs sound the same, even the covers-- might also implicate Promise and the Monster. "Antarktis", "Light Reflecting Papers" and "Trials" are powered by low steady currents rather than fuse-blowing surges, their arabesque guitar figures shapeshifting languorously via subtle tempo and tone permutations. This makes for ethereal and mesmerizing, but not always memorable, music. Lindahl's capable of dynamic arrangements, though. "Night Out"'s chorus explodes like a thicket of fireflies against the midnight sky, its double-tracked vocals and string section marking the album's warmest, and Euro-poppiest, moment. While "Sheets'" organ vamps aren't exactly electrifying, they shade the track with spooky gothic menace. And her version of Carter Family staple "Single Girl, Married Girl", trades mountain-folk fatalism for percolating plucked strings and a sprightly singsong.

Sweden's thick on the ground with chanteuse-troubadour types these days, and the more obviously charismatic El Perro del Mars and Jens Lekman of the scene could easily overshadow Promise and the Monster's dark, diffident presence. Which would be a pity. Transparent Knives is a tuneful, complex-- and surprisingly mature-- debut from a kid who's likely to have even more to say as she accumulates life experience.”

-Amy Granzin (Pitchfork Media)

Promise and the Monster Info:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/promiseandthemonster



13.) Piano Magic - "Part Monster"

Though not the best Piano Magic record by any means, it is still head and shoulders above many of the other releases I heard in 2007, regardless of genre. If asked what albums would be ample starting points for new listeners to the band, I would immediately suggest my personal faves “Disaffected” and “Writers Without Homes”. However, “Part Monster” is not without merit because it’s a very solid record from start to finish. Piano Magic is among a handful of the most criminally underrated artists that I have ever heard, so check this band and release out. I highly recommend it.

“I'd already hear the latest Piano Magic record a couple of times when I received it to be reviewed in Heathen Harvest, which was a pleasant surprise. Piano Magic is one of those bands that have been combining dark pop, experimental sounds and folk during many years. They sound haunting, like many 4AD artists (they've actually released a record there themselves), distorted and dark like The Jesus and Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine and delicate. Although the main voice of the England based and partially French composed band is masculine, Glen Johnson, they have already been accompanied previously by the rasp and sensual voice of Angèle David-Guillou. They have called themselves 'ghost-rock', yet the influences from dark wave are very obvious. At times, references like Pink Turns Blue or The Chameleons pop up, while at moments they seem lost into a whimsical world of folk.

They have also released music on Morr Music (yet they don't go as far into happy pop as many of their other artists) and Important Records. In Spain they are extraordinarily popular; they seem to have connected very well with the indie public that comes from dark 80s guitar-based bands. They have visited most of the large music festivals and have even written the soundtrack for Bigas Luna's 'Son de Mar'.

The problem with bands that are recognized in the alternative scene (well, as big as not being in the mainstream can be) it that many dark guitar sounding lovers will look at them with suspicion. Piano Magic have been active for more than ten years and have released up to seven long plays and various Ep's and maxis. Yet many people than are very willing to listen to 80s pop, or labels that have moved after-punk, death rock or post-rock in all the 'dark' magazines' are oblivious to their existence. That's ok, I guess. They sound much better than most of those bands anyway.
'The last engineer' opens with drum work.

The instruments are introduced one by one: the guitar, the piano melody, the voice. They slowly blend. The song is repetitive and clean, the melody mostly falls into the voice line and the responding, mellow piano. Distortion comes in with the instruments when the voice finishes its reciting. Then comes the pleasure of pure music: during three minutes each instrument with its highlight, variations galore and, of course, the thick wall of distortion that becomes painted on the canvas of their first song. In 'England's Always Better (as you're pulling away)' the energy is sucked into silence again, and expulsed slowly yet surely through the voice. The sadly ironic lyrics tumble through Glen's half-talking, half-moaning voice. A guitar is the responsible for the background melody. At the end of each phrase, the female voice underlines it. For the long chorus, a circling melody walks in, through a trumpet and synthesizer - the percussion makes the image of a faltering carousel moving on its broken hinges.

'Incurable (reprise)' belongs to the female voice. A catchy bass and drum line construct a brooding pop song, full of dark images that develop with a exceptional candor. The chorus picks up many of the other instruments and doesn't forget its distortion. All in all, it is a compact, excellent, dark rock song. Think of The Chameleons, The Smiths, JAMC with a raspy female voice blended together into Piano Magic. 'Soldier Song' keeps Angèle's voice and is purely folk. Dreamy and languish, the voice carries the easy melody wrapped by a double chord line and subtle percussion. The instrumentation is frail and full of beauty.

Piano Magic push another rock song with 'The King cannot be Found'. The bass line combined with the screechy guitar and the heavy accompanied synth are so purely dark rock somebody could actually told me it had been made in 1991 and I would believed them. Powerful, coherent and good. 'Great Escapes' already opens with a complex bass/drum line and high-pitched guitars - it transforms into an orgy of music, where the sounds develop, evolve and return, in a wave-like manner. Clearness comes with 'Cities and Factories' with the voice and guitar opening. Yet in the next compass many more instruments are introduced. It carries a slow-paced tempo, soaked in a dark crooning feeling. 'Halfway Through' brings back a compact energy with an 80s feel, a slightly out-of-synch singing brings Morrissey to mind, yet the song is, for good and bad, much more complex than his original band's. The long, distorted guitar notes remind me personally of a 'Songs of Faith and Devotion' DM sound. - Might be my imagination, though. The trumpet use has reminisces of Tindersticks. So, imagine how richly detailed this song is.

A blast of energy marks 'Saints preserve us', where the contrast between piano, savage guitars and dense bass is exceptional. It is sort of like a battle between voice and instruments. As soon as one takes over, the other gives it a couple of compasses and then takes over. The pace is full of trepidation. To close, 'Part-Monster' is dedicated to Joseph Carey Merrick (The Elephant Man) - a slow song, clean and sad: "Though I stare into the mirror, it does not tell me how I look". Perhaps not all the songs are classics, but they have enough quality to overthrow numerous other bands if you want to compare. Perhaps 'Part Monster' is not Piano Magic's best record, but it holds many jewels if you want to prove its worth. So just listen to it a couple of times - purchase it if you enjoy it. I don't doubt many of you will.”

- Isis (Heathen Harvest)

Piano Magic Info:
Homepage - www.piano-magic.co.uk
MySpace - www.myspace.com/lowbirthweight



14.) Onetwo - "Instead"

As a devoted Claudia Brücken fan (and I enjoy Propaganda and OMD) I completely loved this debut release. While I enjoyed every single track (except one: the Pink Floyd cover of “Have a Cigar”), there are a few incredible songs on the record that I have continuously listened to over and over again. The most notorious of those is the beautiful and ominous “Home (Tonight)”, which I have probably spun more than any other single track from 2007. This is a relaxing, addicting, somber and yet uplifting release that while paying homage to a decorated past also looks towards an innovative future. Love it.

“I am pretty sure my first encounter with the existence of Onetwo spells Martin L. Gore. Rumours kept floating around, several years ago, that Gore supplied some guitar melodies for a song called "Cloud 9", sung by Propaganda legend Claudia Brücken. I did not realise at the time that OMD's Paul Humphreys, one of the electronic pop movement's most under-rated musicians, was a part of the Onetwo lineup until their "Item" EP was released in 2004.

I went into "Instead" hoping for something vital and vibrant, attributes rarely heard when eighties pop stars return to the spotlight, and I got it. The Humphreys/Brücken combo has squeezed pure ear candy from their machines, forging ahead seemingly unaware and uninfluenced by past stardom. "Instead" is no club staple, but it cunningly builds on foundations laid by both OMD and Propaganda. The stale grandeur of the latter blends well with the pop atmospheres of the former, creating a unique, rich sounding project. Fast or slow, this is an album charged with quality and catchy hooks.

Seeing Paul Humphreys back in business in such a vital musical environment is indeed a pleasure to witness. I just wished he would take the step up to the microphone more often, as his brittle vocals radiate emotion. I have always had a special place in my heart for the OMD songs sung by Humphreys, especially "Souvenir", an all time favourite and the simplistic "Promise" from the "Organisation" album. On "Instead", this happens only once, in the ballad "I Don't Blame You".

It took me a while to get into Propaganda and their industrial pop machine, but I have always liked Claudia Brücken's power and it is showcased well on this, the evenly great, debut album by a constellation to watch out for in the future. Suddenly, a new OMD album on the horizon does not seem so scary anymore.”

- Niklas Forsberg (Release Magazine)

Onetwo Info:
Homepage - www.theremusic.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/weareonetwo



15.) Ólafur Arnalds - "Eulogy For Evolution"

Simply put, this is some of the most beautiful and interesting music I have ever heard. To listen to the entire release from start to finish is the only way to truly appreciate a record such as this elegant piece of orchestrated work. Ólafur truly is an Icelandic mastermind! I have already heard the 2008 EP and it is equally as brilliant and beautiful as prior efforts. I can’t wait to hear what he does next.

“Icelandic composer and multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds is bound to find himself met with comparisons to his fellow countryman Jóhann Jóhannsson: Arnalds' highly cinematic approach has that same instantly digestible quality that Johannsson, and for that matter Max Richter, are able to tap into. After its initial string swells, the sweetly sorrowful opener '0040' starts to sound vaguely reminiscent of the mournful piano music at the end of the '70s Incredible Hulk movies, and that certainly isn't intended as a jibe, it's lovely stuff, if rather dramatized.

The ensuing pieces maintain this wistful, downbeat sound, riffing on various permutations of string and piano arrangement, only for Arnalds to whip the rug from under your feet with the brash guitar distortion of closer '3704/3837' which features some seriously histrionic quiet-loud post-rock action, only for all the drums and fuzz to crumble away abruptly for the lonesome, organ-fuelled coda. Gorgeous."

- Anonymous (boomkat.com)

Ólafur Arnalds Info:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds



16.) Ab Ovo - "Mouvements"

I love electronic releases such as this one. “Mouvements” was as ominous and bleak as it was beautiful and reassuring. Yet, throughout the release there is a semblance of claustrophobic tension and subtle malevolence lurking within the dark corners of each of the haunting and sometimes minimalist tracks. What I enjoyed most about the album is that unlike much of the power noise/industrial material that is released on Ant-Zen, “Mouvements” takes its time delivering a precise and unhurried ambiance that lulls the listener into an evocative soundscape that is altogether as comforting as it is unnerving. Wonderful record.

“Like their fellow Ant-Zen artists, Ab Ovo's Jerome Chassagnard and Regis Baillet have a fondness for cold electronics and distorted drum patches, but the duo's latest offering, Mouvements, has more in common with Boards of Canada than Synapscape. There's certainly no shortage of dark and unsettling material here; "Hemisphere" opens the album with subtle ambience and then builds into some wicked downtempo breaks adorned by ominous analog arpeggios, and "La Memoire du Futur" takes a spooky soundtrack approach that relies on haunting strings but ratchets up the tension with bursts of stark drum & bass rhythm. The overall feel of Mouvements, though, is almost soothing. The aptly titled "You Are Very Far Now" sends the beats off into the distance, drenched in reverb and floating serenely in a lush pool of soporific drones, and "Nevermore" tempers a clanking rhythm with fuzzy ambient textures. "In Some Ways" starts off with a return to abstraction, but sustained organs build a sense of warmth even as guest vocalist Judith Juillerat's breezy, dreamy vocals make their appearance. It is "L'ecume d'un Soir," though, that stands out as the highlight on this album.

It's a lovely downtempo IDM piece that deftly combines quiet breakbeats with softly overdriven electronic tones, then adds a wavering piano to add a sense of the organic. It also manages to use sampled birdsong without coming off as schmaltzy. Instead, the unhurried twittering effortlessly evokes a sense of pastoral calm. It's about as far as you can get from the bone-crushing power noise most people would expect from an Ant-Zen artist, but it's hard to imagine any fan of electronic music not being moved by this masterpiece.”

- Matthew Johnson (Regenmag.com)

Ab Ovo Info:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/abovomusic



17.) Hannu - "Worms In My Piano"

“Worms In My Piano” was yet another brilliant debut release in 2006-2007. For anyone who has a penchant for beautiful, innovative, and relaxing music, this is the album for you. I await Hannu’s next release with unbridled anticipation and hope that they are able to build upon the sensation of the extraordinary atmosphere they were able to produce on their first release. The following review says it all…

“The sinewy piano compositions of this Finnish collective, dappled with mutating electronic atmospheres and granular flecks, brim with a languid, windswept resplendence that is meditative, gently hypnotic and oftentimes completely involving. Theirs is a skewed energy, a music that relies on creating clouded visual impressions of its sonic inputs.

From the beginning, eerie, plaintive piano chords collide with helter-skelter harmonics, are torn asunder by divergent responses, or are filled out by interjections of vast reverberant chasms. Many works are thereby richly spatial; and the slightly discordant or otherwise murky electronic accents act as a cut or traumatic obstacle that, to the albums advantage, unsettles the smooth operation of its self-satisfying melancholia. A track such as ˇMetsaˇ, for one, is notable as a result of its ability to disseminate organ chords into atmospheres of swirling vapor, which rush through a slipstream of trippy surges and twittering insects.

On occasion, the group decides to get rid of these ’dark spots’ and renders their sound more fully exposed. During these sections, the previously gentle, atmospheric gambits are gradually transformed into a megaton stomp or otherwise lurching rhythm section, a move which, perhaps counter-intuitively, over constrains these pieces and all but suffocates them in the clean air. Nonetheless, for a debut effort, it no doubt shows promise, as the hazy mirages of the aforementioned moments are endlessly absorbing and fertile.”

- Max Schaefer (Cyclic Defrost Magazine)

Hannu Info:
Homepage - http://hannumusic.com/
MySpace - www.myspace.com/hannumusic



18.) New Model Army - "High"

My only criticism of this release was that in these politically charged times I was hoping for something more…well, political from the band. Perhaps a release indicative and analytical of current international atrocities; perhaps a record more reminiscent of their reputation for delivering honest and sincere messages, something more urgent, more evocative, more controversial. However, I am anything but disappointed with “High”. New Model Army are among the most consistent artists I have ever heard, and their 2007 release is as essential as any other they have ever recorded in their long and brilliant career. “Into The Wind” is probably my favorite track found on this album, but as with all New Model Army releases, they grow on you with time. Excellent record.

“It’s been three years since their last album, Carnival, which was a rhythm section led masterpiece and now New Model Army have just released High, an album that sounds a little more akin to their typical songwriting style, but is no less compelling. The band have been described as being everything from punk to goth to folk, but the truth is that they have always eschewed categorization by just being themselves, a unique rock group led by Justin Sullivan, who continues to write intelligent, passionate music without effort. In this regard, High picks up where Carnival left off and New Model Army remain instantly identifiable and yet constantly evolving with another excellent release.
The new album sounds more traditional to their early sound than the last few have, but it also sounds like it was more of a band effort too.

Their last few records sounded like they had less input from the band members. So what do we have here exactly? High features all of the usual New Model Army ingredients: great songwriting, rock and folk guitar songs, scaling bass lines, fire, passion, anger, politics and the inimitable voice of Justin Sullivan. Like all of the previous ones, it is a spiritual record in the true sense of the word. New Model Army have always sounded inspired and full of spirit for writing music. There is hardly a dull moment on any of their records, which is far from common among a band who has been around for almost thirty years.

The overall theme, if there is one on this record, seems to be resignation. Although the songs are as exultant, desperate and radiant as ever, one can’t help but notice a certain amount of defeat in the vocals and the lyrics. In the song “No Mirror, No Shadow,” a great track booming full of finger picked electric guitar and some equally great drumming and bass parts, Sullivan sings “It seems so simple, but they just don’t get it/I meant what I said at the time that I said it/Nothing is ever to last.” On a similar note, he sings the lines “You can lose too much to ever want to start over again” is the acoustic based track “Dawn.” This song carries with it a jaded, fed-up set of lyrics, but also contains a drive to the vocals and music that charge down the stairs in fury.

There are some beautiful songs on the album as well. “Sky in your Eyes” is particularly moving. The instrumental track is gorgeous, but it is perhaps the vocals of Sullivan that make the song so captivating. It is a song full of questions and mystery. “Between the chords of a song years ago/You saw a crack of light or was it a cause to follow?” These lines are just the beginning of many more fantastically written lines accompanied by a melancholy soundtrack. “Rivers” is another marvelous song that meanders along, led by some truly cool jazz-like drumming. Once again, there is sadness and a degree of desertion in the lyrics with lines such as “And so I came to this dream-like place/But I can’t remember why/I was never quite ready for what came my way/But I’ve always been ready to die.” It is difficult to say if the song reflects a beginning or an end, but it succeeds in sending shivers down your spine.

This is yet another essential album for anyone interested in New Model Army. The album, like many of theirs, grows on you and it continues to grow more with each listen. It is full of and bubbling over with secrets and a rare unhinged honesty. The production is good on High and the sound is reminiscent of their brilliant 1993 album, The Love of Hopeless Causes, but the songs themselves are of a new era. Consistent artists are hard to come by, but New Model Army have never sold out and have remained true to themselves throughout their unwavering career.”

- Andrew Boe (UsSounds.com)

New Model Army Info:
Homepage - www.newmodelarmy.org
MySpace - www.myspace.com/newmodelarmymyspace



19.) Beirut - "The Flying Club Cup"

I love this band. If I ever visit Istanbul, this would be the perfect soundtrack while walking its city streets. What I enjoy most about Beirut is that I have never heard anything particularly like it in terms of sound. Exceptionally original stuff, Beirut are truly an enigma in an otherwise cluttered music scene. “The Flying Club Cup” is a wonderful release. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

“More than three minutes into the Lon Gisland EP's "Elephant Gun", the horns pause, and the song lingers on a few of Zach Condon's syrupy syllables before returning to Beirut's strongest melody. It's the sound of Condon and his band shedding its layers of self-packed cultural baggage. As Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy wrote earlier this year of Lon Gisland: "Condon has shown that, yes, there are songs behind the international flavors, that his work would be interesting even if he kept the trumpet at home."

Surprisingly, Condon's horn remains in Brooklyn for the bulk of his sophomore album, The Flying Club Cup. Condon himself returns to France-- the place where he was first exposed to the Balkan music that colored much of this debut, Gulag Orkestar. It's clearly a place he loves. "Once we got there, we kept trying to go to other places, but we didn't feel like traveling so much as being in Paris," he said when I interviewed him a year ago. It's reflected here, with both Gallic brass and accordion and song titles that reference French cities and locations. Crucially, however, Flying Club Cup would be a triumph even with those layers stripped away; that's not to say that the cultural patina obscures the "real" songs underneath, but its removal allows us to sidestep mind-numbing questions about authenticity and intention.

Flying Club Cup deftly showcases Condon's gifts: "Nantes" sounds exotic without directly referencing a particular era or feeling, and "A Sunday Smile"-- despite being about specific people and places-- evokes universal sensations such as sleepiness and warmth. "Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)" and "Guyamas Sonora" show off Condon's increased love of piano-driven pop songcraft-- as well his band's frequent trick of introducing the best part of the song (here, the way the lithe percussion and ukulele contrast with the heavy accordion and his vocal layering) three-quarters of the way through. "In the Mausoleum" begins with some "Come On! Feel the Illinois!"-ish piano (Sufjan Stevens playing the U.S. cultural cannibal to Condon's worldly connoisseur), but what I like best is the violins, arranged by Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett (in conjunction with Beirut's violinist Kristin Ferebee), which are strong throughout the record and provide a perfect, light-as-lashes counter to Condon's thick instrumentation.

Vocal layering is another Beirut gift, but it also weighs heavily on each track, which is appropriate when nearly every song is about feeling weary or old beyond your years. But despite the well-traveled themes, Condon's vocal melodies, as on standout "Cliquot", are still dangerously romantic, veering closely to musical theater. Condon also does well by "Forks and Knives (Le Fête)", where the instruments hold back to give him more room to sing. And here, once you get past this spent-cigarette, empty-hotel story he's selling, it's obvious that what Condon lacks in lyrical ability, he more than makes up for in prosody. He has an impressive flow, a delicate glide that perfectly compliments the oft-commented-upon exoticism that tends to divide Beirut listeners.

On The Flying Cup Club, and maybe on all of Beirut's records, this exoticism takes the form not of alienation but of a search for a familiar place within what seems (or sounds) unfamiliar, difficult, or repulsive. It's the process of searching that untethers the record from any limiting sense of place, be it an Arrondissement in Paris or a village in the Balkans.”

- Jessica Suarez (Pitchfork Media)

Beirut Info:
Homepage - www.beirutband.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/beruit



20.) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Dig Lazarus Dig"

I am more torn in regards to this release than any other of the year. Also, probably more so than any other record in the legendary discography Cave & co. have accumulated over the course of three decades, “Dig Lazarus Dig” took the longest to grow on me. While not the best effort Cave and the Bad Seeds have recorded, it is surely not the worst either, but somewhere in between. Lyrically, however, it is easily one of the strongest releases to date. “Dig Lazarus Dig” has the potential after further listens to move up in my Top 20 of 2007, but even if it isn’t as good as “Henry’s Dream”, “Let Love In”, or many of the other memorable classics Cave devotees swear upon, it is still better than just about everything else by everyone else out there. Bottom line: This is an incredibly amusing reinvention of the sound you are expecting from Cave and the Bad Seeds, and few records were as fun to listen to in 2007.

“Up to a point, you always know what you're going to get with Nick Cave. He's unlikely to swerve off into glam disco or start boo-be-dooing the great American songbook in evening attire (although, come to think of it...), so Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is compelled by instinct to return to certain obsessions in the same way that a murderer always returns to the scene of the crime. There's oodles of sex; a bevy of dangerous women, often clad in red; death, literature, religion and a very generous bellyful of laughs.

As a man who perennially runs the risk of toppling into caricature, however, Cave recognises that, as he sings near the end of this hugely entertaining album, 'The game is never won/By standing in any one place for too long.' After the barely evolved Stoogian clatter of Grinderman, heroically dedicated to the pursuit of a single idea, Cave and the Bad Seeds regroup this time around with a little more consideration and restraint. Indeed, at first Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! sounds a little too straightforward, before the sheer extent of its expansive ambition becomes thrillingly evident.
Musically, the album is a triumph from first to last. Built around a deep, Doors-y swirl of sound, the bass-heavy groove is crucial in binding together the scattered outpourings of Cave's fevered imagination. The faster songs drive and thrust without ever losing their sense of elegance and poise, while the slower set-pieces are loose and serpentine, allowing the words plenty of breathing space.

And my, what words. Only Dylan and Tom Waits people their music with such a rich cast of characters: Nubian princesses, Charles Bukowski, Lolita, Mr Sandman the Inseminator and - intriguingly for those familiar with Cave's past romantic entanglements - a Miss Polly, whom he instructs to tie him to the mast.

There is not a whiff here of the confessional, heart-sick soul who wept through The Boatman's Call. Cave pointedly avoids romantic love, with the exception of the outstanding 'Jesus of the Moon', where he leaves a woman 'curled up like a child' in the St James Hotel and walks through the streets, struggling with faith and fidelity in the face of temptation.

Alongside the desolate 'Moonland', it's as close to teary as the album gets. Elsewhere, the songs are often beautiful, but never tortured. Instead, Cave sounds mad but rather chipper, playing the deranged preacher man with relish.

Of all his records, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! scores highest in the rib-tickling stakes. On the thick soul-stew of 'Midnight Man', he roars, 'Everybody's coming around to my place!' as though leading a press gang through the doors of Valhalla. The rollicking 'We Call Upon the Author', a rant against God, self-importance and, not least, Cave himself, boasts the punchline: 'Prolix! Prolix! Nothing a pair of scissors can't fix!' The title track, too, is laugh-out-loud funny, a blackly comic travelogue following the doomed 'Larry' as he cannons around New York and LA.

This is an entire, self-contained world, melodic and accessible without ever being easily decipherable. Words and ideas spill out all over the place. If there is one overriding message it seems to be that the world is burrowing into hell but there is much fun to be had as it does so. Rarely has the exhortation to pick up a shovel and start digging sounded quite so life-affirming.”

- Graeme Thomson (Guardian.co.uk)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Info:
Homepage - www.nickcaveandthebadseeds.com
Other Info - www.nick-cave.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds

Honorable Mention:

Alamaailman Vasarat - "Maahan"
Alaska In Winter - "Dance Party In The Balkans"
Andrew Bird - "Armchair Apocrypha"
Antimatter - "Leaving Eden"
Arc Lab - "No Spectre"
Arms and Sleepers - "Black Paris 86"
Asobi Seksu - "Citrus"
Band of Horses - "Cease To Begin"
Björk - "Volta"
Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago"
Caribou - "Andorra"
Crippled Black Phoenix - "A Love Of Shared Disasters"
Deas Vail - "All The Houses Look The Same"
Division Kent - "Gravity"
Efterklang - "Parades"
Emancipator - "Soon It Will Be Cold Enough"
Explosions in the Sky - "All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone"
Helios - "Ayres"
Iron & Wine - "The Shepherds Dog"
M83 - "Digital Shades (Vol. I)"
Maps - "We Can Create"
Marsheaux - "Peeka Boo - Now You Are Mine"
Moving Mountains - "Pneuma"
Mus - "La Vida"
Neverending White Lights - "Act II - The Blood and the Life Eternal"
Null Device - "Excursions"
November Növelet - "Magic"
Partha du Prince - "This Bliss"
Piana - "Eternal Castle"
Pink Martini - "Hey Eugene!"
Pooma - "Persuader"
Porcupine Tree - "Fear Of A Blank Planet"
Rumskib - "Rumskib"
Solar Fields - "Earthshine"
The Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"
The Snake the Cross the Crown - "Cotton Teeth"
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie - "The Patron"
Tuxedomoon - "Vapour Trails"


Fine ~*

All Tomorrow’s Parties Launches ‘ATP New York’
September 19-21
My Bloody Valentine Set To Play First US Show in 16 Years
At Three-Day Festival

LAST BATCH OF TICKETS AND ROOMS ON-SALE NOW - WWW.ATPFESTIVAL.COM

LASTFM EVENT PAGE

UK-based All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) is pleased to announce ATP New York, its first east coast festival set for September 19th to 21st at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, NY. (http://www.kutshers.com)

The Three Day Festival curated by both My Bloody Valentine and ATP, will be headlined by My Bloody Valentine in their first US appearance in 16-years and include performances by:

My Bloody Valentine - 1st show in 16 years in US
Built to Spill performing Perfect From Now On
Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II
Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts
Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Bardo Pond performing Lapsed
Shellac
Mogwai
Polvo
Fuck Buttons
Autolux
The Drones
Low
Wooden Shjips
Edan with guest Dagha
Dinosaur Jr.
A Silver Mt. Zion
Yo La Tengo
Mercury Rev
Harmonia
Growing
Lilys
OM
Le Volume Courbe
Apse
Les Savy Fav
Bob Mould
Gemma Hayes
Spectrum
The Wounded Knees
Alexander Tucker
Lightning Bolt
Robin Guthrie
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
EPMD
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

+ comedy from
Patton Oswalt
Eugene Mirman
Maria Bamford

+ film program from Criterion
+ games room with Steve Albini at the cards table

The three-day boutique festival will have less than 3000 people attending. Performances start in the mid-afternoon, with around 30 acts set to play live across the weekend along with DJ sets until late night. There is dining, bars and other onsite amenities, such as, an indoor swimming pool, tennis, and golf.

Three day festival passes are on sale now at http://www.atpfestival.com with and without accommodation at Kutshers. Tickets are also on-sale with accommodations in a nearby hotel. Shuttle buses will run between the second hotel and Kutshers.

Limited accommodations are available on-site in motel-like rooms that sleep 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 people. Accommodations are sold by the room in 3 day blocks only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday.) You are permitted to have any number up to the maximum occupancy in the room. For example, if you wish to purchase a 4 person occupancy room, you are permitted to have 1 – 4 people sharing the room during the event, and the price is the same for the room, regardless of how many people stay. Each person will still need a festival pass.

Accommodation only comes as a three-day package, you cannot buy just a single night. Check-in is from 11am on Friday September 19th and check out is 10am sharp on Monday September 22nd.

Room configuration with price information is available at our website - www.atpfestival.com. Please note that these are all extremely limited.

All rates subject to state and local tax. Rate for less than maximum occupancy is same.

You should work out ahead of time how many people you wish to buy tickets for and share accommodations with, then decide who is going to be the ticket buyer. You will be asked first how many festival passes you wish to buy. These cost $225 each and will gain you entrance into the three day festival including all performances, plus applicable booking fee.

You will then be asked whether you wish to purchase accommodations. If you choose yes, you will be asked which room you wish to purchase and how many people you intend on having sleep in it.

Please note that the person whose credit card is used to purchase the tickets will be required to be present at the site to collect the tickets in an effort to prevent scalping. If the person whose credit card is used cannot be present, a photocopy of the front and back of their card along with the email confirmation letter they received when purchasing the tickets will be required.

Hidden Shoal Recordings, today announced the availability of Colour Kane’s highly acclaimed dream pop masterpiece A Taste Of on CD in the US through Amoeba Music.

“A Taste Of features no shortage of blissed-out material but perhaps no songs are more heavenly than the anthemic “Share My Ease,” “Silya,” and, yes, “Seaside Dream” which constitute as magnificent a sampling of dream-pop as you’re likely to hear in this lifetime. Especially magnificent, the Robin Guthrie collab teleports Colour Kane into another stratosphere altogether for three-and-a-half minutes of pop perfection.” - Textura Magazine

A Taste Of is now available on CD in the U.S. through Hidden Shoal Recordings ongoing partnership with the Los Angeles music store Amoeba Music. The album is available in store as well as via mail order (U.S. and international). All availability information can be found at the HSR Store.

The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia
Mates of State - Bring It Back
Architecture in Helsinki - We Died, They Remixed
Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things
Les Georges Leningrad - sangue puro
James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
The De