The Cold Cut

Things are ticking along nicely now, but I've decided to include a few more categories in my 'best of year' list. Keep checking back daily for updates, and comment, whether you like my list or not.

As ever, if you want to see a bit more about each band, click on their name, and if you want to buy the albums, click on their titles. If you think I've missed something glaringly obvious, please let me know. I'm always on the lookout for new material to promote... if it isn't here, I either haven't heard it, or I'm not a massive fan.

10. Les Savy Fav- Let's Stay Friends
I've literally been bombarded with opinions over this album, from those who claim its the album of 2007, to those who think Les Savy Fav are 'past it'. I didn't take the time to listen to it until very recently (i.e this week, when I started noticing it appearing all over the shop), and I lie firmly in the first category. Les Savy Fav have been slogging away for 10 years, and if their back-catalog possesses anywhere near this quality, they have been dealt a great injustice. Somehow, they produce a distinctive guitar sound (come on, its the most popular instrument in the music nowadays), and lead singer Tim Harrington's slightly loopy lyrics brighten things up. Now all I have to do is listen to their formidable collection.

Favourite Track: Patty Lee

Whilst many tracks on this album are extremely crazy, Patty Lee retains the fun side of things whilst focusing a bit more on a cleaner sound. It helps.

9. Daft Punk- Alive 2007
Alive 2007 really came out of the blue, and although live albums don't possess the same sheen as studio ones, I can confidently say that this is the best Daft Punk album, ever. Homework and Discovery are fully deserving of their cult-status, but when you meld them (and the better moments form Human After All) into an hour live set, something far superior is created. On the basis of this, Daft Punk are on of the few bands who are technically and musically better live than on a record.

Favourite Track: Too Long/Crescendolls/High Life

8 minutes, 3 songs, 2 robotic DJ's- the best dance song in a long, long, time.

8. Radiohead- In Rainbows
No surprises here: even if 'In Rainbows' hadn't turned out so great, it would deserve a place on this list for the controversy surrounding it. With their 'you choose the price' scheme, Radiohead proved a valuable point, and made shed loads of cash in the process. By cutting out the middle man, they took all the money, and despite all those who paid nothing (a little bit shameful), the average price paid was still higher than what they normally receive for a label-supported album. A much deserved victory for a band that produce consistently first-rate music.

Favourite Track: Reckoner

Only Radiohead could pull this off. 2 minutes 20 seconds in, and a breakdown occurs- one of the most chilling moments in music of 2007. Beautiful.

7. ?- The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Damon Albarn should really be given a medal or something, for high-standard prolific songwriting. First came Blur, then Gorillaz, and now this. Unfortunately, I was turned off immediately by his pretentious claim that the band didn't have a name, and that The Good, The Bad And The Queen was just the album title. However, I got over it, and once that happened, I was fully able to grasp the quality of this album; its a supergroup, and oh boy, is their music super. After three side-project albums, Albarn's hopefully got them out of his system, and the Blur reunion can move ahead.

Favourite Track: Herculean

The first, and best, single from The Good, The Bad And The Queen. Its about a post apocalyptic wasteland:
"And the medicine man here 24/7
You can get it fast in Armageddon
Everyone on their way to heaven
Slowly"
By no means cheery, but genius nonetheless.

6. Burial- Untrue
As well as being one of my top 10, Burial also wins the prize for 'biggest surprise of the year' and 'most sensitive timing for album release'. Untrue came along at just the right time for me, just when I was in the gutter after being rejected by Cambridge with 'no prospect of gaining a place'. Pretty harsh, but this album was almost like therapy. I've never heard anything like it before; when dubstep is a household genre (in 2020 of course!), Burial will be remembered as the forerunner.

Favourite Track: Shell Of Light

The first time I heard this- on the Hype Machine of course- it opened my mind to another world of musical opportunities. I really have never listened to anything that is simultaneously so wrong, but so right.

You would expect that the Christmas spirit would make people happier, but in reality, Christmas spirit at school is an absolute nightmare. The teasing advent calenders reveal how little time is left at this place. Songs are even recited by the lower years:
"One more day to go
One more day of sorrow
One more day in this old dump
And I'll be home tomorrow!"
Reading that, I realise how childish it is, but this place is depressing. Considering we have excruciatingly long days at my school, even on Saturday(!), you would think the staff would cut us a little slack, with only a week left. But no; instead they press on. It's not as if I haven't got enough to worry about with a 4000 word physics research project. My only comforts and distractions are my friends and my music, which save me from the general moodiness and depression that occurs when the sun sets at 4 o'clock.
There is one artist that has been on repeat at nighttime, due to the fact that I feel like his album was written for me, to suit my mood at this exact moment in time. A quick search on Google shows that I am not alone in this: Burial's new album 'Untrue' is a late entry for best album of the year. But classing it among the other great albums of 2007 is a mistake, because none of the other albums on my list (soon to be posted) are as unique and daring as 'Untrue', or lie under such a cool moniker as 'dubstep'.

Burial is the working name of an anonymous dubstep artist thought to reside in London. He doesn't do live shows, and despite being a ghost he's released two critically acclaimed albums since 2006: his self titled debut and 'Untrue'. Both of these albums are a bit special; I can't quite pin my finger on- or explain- the way they make me feel, but lets just say they are both brilliant. Which is weird, I suppose, considering that you would do well to find a more solemn couple of albums. The main reasons they appeal to me are the layered beats, synths and vocals. It's not so much your typical music as an emotional recording of sounds. And it works...

Burial- Shell Of Light
Burial- Etched Headplate
Burial- Ghost Hardware
Burial- Archangel