The Cold Cut

Christmas is great fun. Not only do you eat, drink and generally live the life of a slob, you get to spend it with family and friends. I had a great Christmas. There was much gluttony: roast dinners, turkey pies, turkey this, turkey that. Some great presents (a non red-ring of death Xbox 360- touch wood), books, and chocolate. And whilst I love my presents, sharing is the spirit.

I was very happy, then, when my Dad tentatively unwrapped a CD shaped parcel, which thankfully contained both 'Boxer' and 'Alligator', the last two albums by The National. He, and I, have both been very interested in this band since the days when they began to dominate the hype machine popular lists for days at a time. After a long wait, we would deservedly get a listen to what many people say are two of the best albums in a long, long time.

Firstly, 'Alligator', which has a reputation as a 'grower', a word oftern misconstrued as meaning 'difficult'. With both albums, what you put in dictates how much you get out of it. The band have already done the hard work in producing two deep, excellent albums. The question is, how much are willing to give to the albums?

The National- Looking For Astronauts

I gave 'Alligator' my full attention. And its great. People were justified in thinking that 'Boxer' might not match it. Unfortunately, they were all wrong:

Next 'Boxer'. Wow- if you have yet to hear it, the stories are true. It is that good. Even on opener, 'Fake Empire', you can sense the magic. Matt Berninger has a brilliant baritone, and its a fitting opening. Track two, 'Mistaken For Strangers', is amongst the best songs they've yet recorded, brooding and melancholy. Throughout the whole album there is always an overwhelming sense of intensity, maintained from start to finish. Bryan Devendorf, their drummer, is the hero, and for me at least, he makes this album. There is always a militaristic, measured style to his strokes, and his addition alone makes these songs into much more than they could have been.

They are a few other stand-outs: 'Ada', with Sufjan Stevens lending a hand on piano, also features a contribution from touring member Padma Newsome on horn. 'Slow Show' is scathing, but don't read too much into the lyrics (as many people do with 'The National).

The National- Mistaken For Strangers
The National- Slow Show

It's frustrating that I didn't have the opportunity to listen to 'Boxer' in time for my end of year list, as it would most certainly have placed in the top 10 (replacing what?- have a guess).

Ahh, but which is better? An important, but necessary, question to pose. I can answer almost without thinking; 'Boxer' is superior, in that the sounds produced are those of a band at the top of their game. The National are here to stay.

After a four day stretch, I've finished the list, and I'm honestly quite proud of it.

The quality of music released in 2007 was high, and because of this, many special albums didn't find their way into my top 20. Therefore, its only fair that I have a post devoted to a round-up, including the notable mentions, who just missed out on the top 20. I will post a couple of great tracks as well...

Top 20 Albums:
1. Lupe Fiasco- The Cool
2. Patrick Wolf- The Magic Position
3. M.I.A.- Kala
4. Arctic Monkeys- Favourite Worst Nightmare
5. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
6. Burial- Untrue
7. ?- The Good, The Bad And The Queen
8. Radiohead- In Rainbows
9. Daft Punk- Alive 2007
10. Les Savy Fav- Let's Stay Friends
11. Kings Of Leon- Because Of The Times
12. The Shins- Wincing The Night Away
13. LCD Soundsystem- Sound Of Silver
14. Justice- †
15. Bloc Party- A Weekend In The City
16. Interpol- Our Love To Admire
17. Klaxons- Myths Of The Near Future
18. Jay-Z- American Gangster
19. Bright Eyes- Cassadaga
20. Foo Fighters- Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace

Notable Mentions:

Rock/Indie/Pop
The Maccabees- Colour It In: If I'd given this a few more listens, it probably would have flown into my top 20. Unfortunately, I never really gave it the time of day. I'll quote my brother on this (a HUGE fan): "I see this album as the coming of a really great band".

The Maccabees- Latchmere

Band Of Horses- Cease To Begin: To the trained ear, this was apparently worse than previous Band Of Horses album 'Everything All The Time'. If that's the truth, Everything All The Time must have been bloody amazing.

Band Of Horses- Is There A Ghost
Feist- The Reminder: The experience from dozens of other projects gave Leslie Feist the necessary grounding to produce such a great solo album. Easy-going, memorable, and remixed to death, The Reminder has established Feist as a serious songwriter.

Feist- My Moon My Man

Maximo Park- Our Earthly Pleasures: Our Earthly Pleasures got destroyed by the NME for some reason, and although I don't believe its top 20 worthy, it still chock full of great pop songs.

Maximo Park- Books From Boxes

Hip-Hop/Rap:
Kanye West- Graduation: Graduation was a return to form after the disappointing Late Registration. Other than 'Drunk And Hot Girls', it gels to perfection.

Kanye West- Good Life (ft. T-Pain)

Wu-Tang Clan- 8 Diagrams: Have you been missing the way rap used to be? Look no further. 8 Diagrams is the Clan doing what they do best, and their sound is almost totally unchanged from the throwback days.

Chris Brown- Exclusive: This guy can do it all. Sing, dance, act (for 15 minutes of Stomp The Yard at least). And whilst Exclusive isn't really good, it does show the smallest bit of progression on Chris' part. Maybe he will be the next Michael Jackson after all?

Dizzee Rascal- Maths+English: Now twice nominated for the Mercury award, and much deserved. No tricks- what you see is what you get.

Dizzee Rascal- Sirens

Chamillionaire- Ultimate Victory: No, he isn't a one hit wonder. His flow is almost unmatched in my opinion ("so fluid its like drinking a song"), and he has really improved between albums.

Chamillionaire- The Ultimate Victory

Things I haven't heard but really should do:
Bruce Sprinstein- Magic
Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
The National- Boxer

The final 5. How emotional *wipes tear from eye*. These are the five albums that I really connected with this year, and the only advice I can give is to buy them now if you haven't already. As usual, comment, and click the album title to buy it, or the artist name to find out a bit more about them.

Come back tomorrow for a round-up, as well as some more end of year lists.

5. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
Neon Bible seems to be the epitome of 'bigger is better'. They bought a church, converted it into a recorded studio, learned some new instruments (hurdy-gurdy and organ, for starters) and had loads of fun whilst recording a more rocking second album. Its a slight departure from Funeral, and I wouldn't go so far to say its equal in quality, but Neon Bible is still one of the most complete rock albums this year.

Favourite Track: No Cars Go

Its been around for a long time, but this song has really benefited from being re-recorded. A rollicking tune with some grandiose production.

4. Arctic Monkeys- Favourite Worst Nightmare
How do you build on such a brilliant introduction as Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (WPSIATWIN!)? Take a cue from this band- get better at your instruments, improve production and up the tempo- then the world's your oyster. Okay, Favourite Worst Nightmare isn't as instant as WPSIATWIN, but the quality of songs on this album absolutely trounces their debut in my opinion. Its bigger, faster and more brutal- a high octane beast of an album. Where next? Only time will tell.

Favourite Track: Teddy Picker

Teddy Picker- the bass driven third single- concerns modern society's chase for fame. In the wake of rubbish like Big Brother and X-Factor, you can see how true this is. They also made the brave move of recording using a live audio track in their video. Watch it here

3. M.I.A.- Kala
Kala was definitely the most diverse album of 2007, and M.I.A. continued her party trick of splicing styles and cultures together into an epic musical concoction. First off, the beats are ridiculous; some of the samples on this album would put most rap/hip-hop albums to shame. Lyrics have always been a key part of M.I.A.'s appeal, and thankfully, her style wasn't hugely altered between Arular and Kala, with political verses still featuring strongly:
"Do you know that cost of AK's
Up in Africa
20 dollars ain't shit to you
But thats how much they are"
All in all, its comforting to see Kala high up on many end of year lists, and once you've heard it, its easy to see why.

Favourite Track: World Town

Who would of thought that the sound of a gun cocking was so cool? M.I.A., ever the pioneer.

2. Patrick Wolf- The Magic Position
With the Magic Position, Patrick Wolf was no longer only for those with 'eclectic' musical tastes. Some critics have accused him of taking the easy 'pop' route, but when the results are so encouraging, it really doesn't make a difference. Patrick recieves very little recognition, which may have been the reason he moved in a 'poppier' direction, but even on unfamiliar ground he excels. The title track is the definition of happiness, but halfway in, things turn dark with Bluebells. Other than the confusing Secret Garden, this is a flawless, undervalued album.

Favourite Track: (Let's Go) Get Lost

No explanation required- listen, and you will be swept up by this song. Happiness, wrapped into a 3 minute package.

1. Lupe Fiasco- The Cool
This album was the latest, and best, addition to this list (full review here). Quite simply, Lupe Fiasco is a legendary rapper, and its a massive shame that he will be retiring after LupEND, his next album. Both Food And Liquor and The Cool are both serious contributions to the musical archives, and illustrate that Lupe is not your generic rapper. He really has something to say in every instance, and a lot of his rhymes contain content that is 'now'. He will also go down in history as the only rapper to ever record a succesful concept album, and a rare lyrical talent. Truly revolutionary...

Favourite Track: Little Weapon (I've bought the album, and its now out, so I feel okay about posting one track)

Fallout Boy singer Patrick Stump produces, and in the process creates the best backing track of the year. Lupe pulls a trick, opening with the line:
"I killed another man today
shot him in his back as he ran away"
All is revealed at the end, when we realise that this is, in fact, occuring in a video game.

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.

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?

This is a daunting post. Not only am I walking an exceedingly well trodden path, I'm also aware that my top 20 might not fit with your idea of great albums. Oh well- blogging is about opinion, so here we go. This will take the form of 4 posts, each with 5 albums. I should be done before Christmas... If you want to buy the album, click on its title. If you want to see a bit more about each artist, click their name.

After I've got through the top 20 there will be a round-up, with some notable mentions, my top tracks of the year, top films and a general 'best of the year' feature. Enjoy, and have a merry Christmas. As usual, leave comments, both good and bad. I like to read what you think.

20. Foo Fighters- Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
I've debated long and hard as to whether this deserves a place in my top 20, but I was bowled over by its simplicity and balance between anthemic rock and intimate ballads. If you are willing to take this album for what it is- a balls to the wall stadium rock album with a few soft moments- I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

Favourite Track: The Pretender

When coupled with its explosive video, 'The Pretender' becomes my favourite rock song of the year. No contest...

19. Bright Eyes- Cassadaga
Before Cassadaga, Coner Oberst had never really met my expectations. I mean, come on, being proclaimed a 'musical prodigy' ramps up the pressure a bit, doesn't it. Well, Cassadaga finally fulfilled what he, and Bright Eyes, were capable of. You could say he came of age, although he is already 27.

Favourite Track: Four Winds

Has to be 'Four Winds', for its provocative lyrics concerning religion. Folk at its most enjoyable.

18. Jay-Z- American Gangster
At the time, Jay-Z coming out of retirement was a massive mistake in my eyes, and he put fuel to the fire by releasing 'Kingdom Come', which seemed superficial and over-produced. American Gangster, on the other hand, has put my mind at rest: a concept album such as this is just the medium required for Jay to show what he is still capable. It's one of the few solid rap albums of this year, and it fully deserves its spot in my top 20.

Favourite Track: Roc Boys (And The Winner is...)

Roc Boys is a celebratory track, and Jay is obviously enjoying the fruits of his efforts. Thankfully, this song is so good that we can enjoy the moment with him. Rolling Stone's favourite track of the year, and for a good reason.

17. Klaxons- Myths Of The Near Future
So the Klaxons brought "new-rave" back to life? I don't really know what new-rave is, and to be honest, I don't really care. What's really important is that Klaxons are a weird (in the good way), revolutionary band, and Myths Of The Near Future is a fantastic debut album. Winning the Mercury award was a lovely present to cap off a brilliant year, and hopefully they will capitalise on their popularity and release some new material soon.

Favourite Track: Golden Skans

Golden Skans, a song which simultaneously invaded your conscience with its ah-wooh-ah-wooh-ah-wo-oh's and inventive video. After they released this, they became contenders.

16. Interpol- Our Love To Admire
Interpol have pulled the sneaky trick of writing the same album, three times in a row. It doesn't bother me though, and whilst 'Turn On The Bright Lights', 'Antics' and 'Our Love To Admire' are all very similar, each album is better than the last. Next time round I'd like to see a bit more progression, but you can't help loving an album with great songs such as 'Pioneer To The Falls' and 'Mammoth'.

Favourite Track: Pioneer To The Falls

A song which they now open live performances with, this song says more about Interpol than 'Turn On The Bright Lights' and 'Antics' bundled together. Looking for a chilling, atmospheric composition? Look no further...

Well, thats it for now. Parts 15-11 will be up tomorrow.