The Cold Cut

5 down, 15 to go. This is proving more taxing than I initially thought, but on the plus side the fact that I'm struggling emphasises the quality of music that has been released in 2007. Keep checking back daily for the countdown. Any guesses for my top 5? And what are yours?

15. Bloc Party- A Weekend In The City
I wasn't instantly won over by this, but the brilliance of 'Song For Clay', 'The Prayer' and 'On' had me in a head-lock from the start. The album won the battle, and its pleasing to see that their style is changing (and now we have Flux!). Unfortunately, they missed out on a golden opportunity by not releasing the B-Sides with the album- some of the bonus tracks are better than those on the release itself. Even without this addition, A Weekend In The City is a progressive, solid album, whichever way you look at it.

Favourite Track: Song For Clay (Disappear Here)

A brilliant opener, hectic and with more bass than ever seen on a Bloc Party song. Kele takes it to new heights with his falsetto. Tragically, the rest of the album couldn't quite live up to it, but it set the right tone straight off.

14. Justice- †
D.A.N.C.E. is one of my favourite tracks this year, and † lived up to the immense hype surrounding it. The common misconception is that Justice sound like Daft Punk, but as I've made efforts to point out, this really isn't the case. From experience, I've realised that you can't put this album on in the background (try learning for exams with †! Ain't happening...), and that when 'Genesis' kicks in, there ain't no going back. † demands your attention, and you had better give it.

Favourite Track: D.A.N.C.E.

It had to be, didn't it? Now all I have to do is find one of those awesome T-Shirts...

13. LCD Soundsystem- Sound Of Silver
Before Sound Of Silver, James Murphy was an unknown to me, his music an enigma. Despite this, I found it hard to ignore a well crafted, 9 track (no duds) dance album, held out in front of me by my brother. Crafted around the unstoppable trio of 'North American Scum', 'Someone Great' and 'All My Friends' (the latter two are both contenders for my favourite song of the year), Sound Of Silver is a rarity in that the dance beats are actuallly coupled with something meaningful, in the form of Murphy's lyrics.

Favourite Track: Someone Great

This one's for you, Michael! Destroys All My Friends on the emotion scale.

12. The Shins- Wincing The Night Away
The Shins are a frustrating band; whilst they might be big in America, they have yet to make an impact in the UK. That might be in the works, but an 'OC/Garden State effect' might help them along.

Just as with The Hold Steady, its great to see a group of 'older' guys making great music together. I absolutely loved Chutes Too Narrow, and with Wincing The Night Away, things only get better.

Favourite Track: Sleeping Lessons

This caught me off-guard the first time I heard it; unfortunately, it doesn't happen much in music nowadays, but I like being suprised...

11. Kings Of Leon- Because Of The Times
Third time around, the Kings took the road less travelled, and made things difficult for themselves. They emerged on the other side with the new outfits (skinny jeans, leather and new hair) and an updated sound. Because Of The Times pulls a new trick on us, and rather than re-hashing the excellent, but dated, Molly's Chambers and Red Morning Light, there are many signs of progression on their third album proper. Their most challenging, accomplished album to date.

Favourite Song: My Party

It is what it is- the high 'oooooohs' and the relentless guitar feedback make this gritty song into a classic. Textbook Kings with a twist. 'On Call' who?

James Murphy has done extremely well out of his electro-pop hybrid style of music: chances are you won't know he is but his latest musical project LCD Soundsystem has produced two great albums which were both well received. On top of this he runs his own music label, Death From Above, and is constantly in demand as a DJ. Don't forget the fact that in 1992 he was asked to write the script for a small new show called Seinfeld, but turned it down, citing a busy schedule as his excuse. So.... you might call him multi-talented then, what with dabbling (successfully, mind) in different projects. Unfortunately, his mettle is about to be tested by Matthew Dear, the latest contender for the multi talented go-to guy crown. And the way in which Dear is challenging him? Well, you could say imitation.... Asa Breed, Dear's new album, is very similar to the latest LCD Soundsystem release, Sound Of Silver.

Matthew Dear is an Texas-born music producer from the same mold as Murphy, although so far he hasn't managed to emulate Murphy's success. Also the owner of a record label, Ghostly International, Dear has had many successful songs and remixes but has found it hard to translate the success across to a full album. I'm not lying when I say Matthew Dear is one of the most prolific artists I've ever come across, remixing and recording hundreds of tracks under different aliases (Matthew Dear, Audion, Jabberjaw and False) and surprising everyone by constantly flitting between styles and genres of music (check out his wikipedia page if you don't believe me). The last few years have been highly exciting for his followers, who have patiently watched him changing into a first class musician/producer- there were hints of this but his style quite defined yet, so this process was a metamorphosis if you like. With his latest album, Asa Breed, I can happily say that he has found his sound, although its still hard to identify what different elements it is made up of. And there you have the fundamental reason why his music is so interesting to listen to: across Asa Breed there is a varying pace, sound and style to every track, and Dear has obviously come to terms with the fact that his most successful music has been impossible to define: genre tags like hip-hop/electronica/garage/dance are commonplace with his music, and also means that in theory, some elements of each song should appeal to everyone.

This really is a fantastic third album, and in my opinion Dear has really come into his own. If he keeps up his producing and DJing he could be a serious threat to well-established people like Murphy. The only problem is that Dear has to learn when to stop slicing and dicing music, or he could end up alienating his main fan base: Asa Breed is good because it subtly puts together the best elements of many styles of music, although on some tracks there are points where he is close to the edge in terms of how much variety you can stuff into 3 minutes. After I've listened to the album a bit more I will probably do a review of it, probably later this week. There are a couple of tracks available for download below, you should know the drill by now.

Matthew Dear- Pom Pom
Matthew Dear- Deserters

Weird Album Cover?

In a move confirmed today by some of Apple's iTunes representatives, the Apple music store will see lower prices for albums across the board. After an announcement yesterday that Universal would not be continuing their partnership with Apple, there must have been some nervousness in the Apple headquarters. It seems the announcement that many albums' prices will be lowered to around 6 dollars could not have come at a better time.

Artists who will be selling cheaper albums include LCD Soundsystem, Peter, Bjorn and John and Hot Chip, and I'm certain we will see many more music labels signing up over the next few weeks. As an added bonus, some of the tracks are iTunes Plus, so there is no DRM. This- and the fact that the albums are cheaper than you would find them in a bargain bin- will only help to close iTunes hold on the internet music market. So if you're contemplating puchasing a new album over the next few weeks, check out iTunes before you head down to your overpriced local record store...

My track of the day today is the first single off of Sound Of Silver, the latest album from James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem. Its a really driven track, and I'm considering buying the album. Enjoy, and if you like what you hear, Sound Of Silver is on sale here...

LCD Soundsystem- North American Scum