This is hardly comprehensive. There is so much music I havent heard this year, thus I need your input....



1.Panda Bear - Person Pitch - Fucking genius!!! 10 stars out of 5
2.Radiohead - In Rainbows - 5 stars
3.Deerhunter - Cryptograms - utterly original
4.Film School - Hideout - even better than the self titled
5.Dinosaur jr. - Beyond - The power returns!
6.LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver - 2 incredible singles: "Someone Great" and All My Friends"
7.?
8.?
9.The Sadies - New Seasons
10.Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls - Check out "To the East"

o r d e r d i s o r d e r

Wrote this for Free Times and it was never published:

1. Psychedelic Horseshit- "Magic Flowers Droned"
(Siltbreeze)
Severely addictive jangle pop slop encrusted in wasted
basement soundscapes. Along with its Columbus-based
comrades Times New Viking, more purveyors of this
Ohioan bubblegum fug will encompass the nations by
next year.

2. Eternal Tapestry- "Vibrations New Dawn" (Not Not
Fun)
Authentic-sounding rural U.S. kraut monster in the
vein of Ash Ra Tempel's first album, but with totally
'07 cavernous doom vibes in place of the space. It
still could be mistaken and expediently hyped as some
acid voyage acetate lost in Grandpa's toolshed since
1971.

3. Pink Reason- "Cleaning The Mirror" (Siltbreeze)
Visionary folk sludge once composed with broken toy
instruments snatched from dumpsters outside of meth
houses is given otherworldly bedroom goth production.
A intensely exciting debut from a rare iconoclast
songwriter/arranger of recent times.

4. Borbetomagus & Hijokaidan- "Both Noises End
Burning" (Victo)
Two of the catchiest names in pain core have teamed up
to deliver high art brutality. This charmingly ogreish
free jazz rape and pillage fest conatins sounds that
if animate would lunge out of the speakers and kill
its listeners.

5. Ex-Cocaine- "Esta Guerra" (Siltbreeze)
Archaic raga-psych reverberations from fried Montana
duo. Ideal for sun-scorched morning trips from here
til 2012.

6. Blues Control- "Puff" (Woodsist)
Despite the name, there is nothing bluesy or
relatively rhythmic about this. Just two extended
astral rock floaters that reveal shamanic truths when
played repeatedly.

7. Sapat- "Mortise and Tenon" (Siltbreeze)
The most alarming percussive-heavy pagan freakout LP
to emerge from the rising Kentucky death cult movement
to date.

8. Wooden Wand & The Sky High Band- "Wasteland of the
Free" (Skulls of Heaven)
Downer prophet in the vein of Neil Young accompanied
by a pot-blitzed David Gilmour on guitar and recorded
in a religious commune house. Cultic female gospel vox
(ala "Dark Side of the Moon") and keyboards add a
chillingly genuine 70s effect. If this was slipped on
WNCX at 5am, phones (and brains) would explode.

9. Factums- "Alien Native" (Siltbreeze)
More like "Alien Soundtracks Part 2". Weirdly
meditative lost in space snottiness from Seattle that
flounders in sinister mechanical funk grooves like a
chance meeting of Residents and Throbbing Gristle at a
Sheffield dissection table circa '78.

10. Wooden Shjips- "Wooden Shjips" (Holy Mountain)
The singles and live boots are way more out there, but
this super competent debut of finely groomed psych
would appeal to practically anyone (especially Doors
and Pink Floyd fans, no kidding). Contrary to the
krautrock comparisons, this tranquil barroom-
masking-as-motorik rhythm section is as fantastically
Yankee as Budweiser and weed.

I stand corrected

Personally, I think that Wooden Shjips CD is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overrated. Unless you like The Doors, because it sounds exactly like The Doors (I do not like The Doors, with the exception of the albums they made after Jimbo "the Lizard King" "I'm not dead, I currently run a multinational corporation" Morrison died). The EP that came with it is better, but still suffers from lousy production and sub-competent drumming.

Also, The Wire claimed the new Burial album was the #2 best record of the year (Pitchfork- who would win in a fight?- placed it at #10) and that, in my opinion, is also ridiculous. It's totally weak compared to his debut.

The 11 or so minutes of the Panda Bear record that I listened to sounded pretty decent. I recall it sounding something like a church choir singing hymns with Elvin Jones playing racquetball.

I genuinely enjoyed MIA "Kala" (couple bad tracks, but nobody's perfect), the Von Sudenfed album (Mark E Smith can do no wrong), and the Flower-Corsano album.

The Venetian Snares hilarious AND mighty Sabbath dubs 10" certainly stole the show as a downright brilliant piece of music from '07, but as it's only 2 songs it can't be called an 'album'.

Haven't gotten around to hearing the newest Yellow Swans album yet, but I'm guessing that's terrific.

Other than that, for me, musically, 2007 was the year that British rap became better than American rap. This frightening development occurred without any "best albums" per se (hip hop has always been basically a singles game) but you gotta wonder what's going on when the Brits are representing harder than our own countrymen. For shame, New York. But big ups to Skepta, JME, Roll Deep, and the others I was introduced to this year who kept my fingers snappenin' and hands clappenin'

Oh yeah, I still haven't heard OM "Pilgrimage" yet, but that's on my nominee list based on their other records...

-Harmonia Live 1974 CD is pretty kickin' (but of course, 1974)

-Hey, Expecting Rain's CD is really, really good. Good job, guys! Those are some good lyrics- and damn pretty music. Reminds me kind of Crowded House meets Harry Nilsson with some Brian Wilson mixed in (now that's a unique comparison!)

Other Critically Acclaimed stuff that seems lacking:

1. PJ Harvey (come ON now. REALLY.)

2. Sir Richard Bishop. Now, I know I'll catch hell for this, and in truth I am a BIG SCG fan, and 2007 will certainly be remembered for the passing of Sir Charlie Gocher (I still remember when I found out and I damn near cried when I did), but these albums are GOING NOWHERE. OK, so you can play the guitar. BIG DEAL. So can Joe Satriani. As my brother is fond of saying, "Every hero at last becomes a great bore." There I said it. I'm sorry, but I'd rather just listen to Les Paul or Chet Atkins if I want to feel like I'm at some 'chops clinic'. Come on, Rick, make something COMPELLING. You remember how to do that, right??

Bands I like that made lackluster albums in 2007:

1. The Red Krayola (but fun to drink with!)

2. Dan Higgs (but the artwork and live performance at Asterisk was top notch). The music is getting there, but not quite as good as I expect from the Evil Master.

3. Bert Jansch (will someone PLEASE stop allowing Devendra Bizizzlehart to be on every folk album that comes out?? And did you read his liner notes on that Karen Dalton reissue? God! Shut up, hippy!)

4. Throbbing Gristle. I mean, I love 'em, but their new one is simply just OK. Certainly not essential, and maybe it's just cool that they even got back together (or maybe not?)

Notable shows of 2007 (in no way comprehensive, I have, like, early alzheimer's):

1. Higgs at Asterisk
2. Richard Thompson @ Kent Stage
3. Eagle Ager
4. Charalambides (never got into their records, but live, WOW.)
5. Gowns at PHC

actually Herr DK, i'm in agreement with you, the drumming and production on Wooden Shjips totally sucks dead dogs. after writing my list, i realized that Grady Runyon (Monoshock, Liquorball) put out the best album of the year with his new band The Bad Trips on Rocketship Records. Real deal acid casuality stripper pole music.

Best shows of the year:

Dark Meat/New Lou Reeds/Buster Backfat Orchestra- Parish Hall
Scarcity of Tanks/Rocky's Chili Brigade- Fuck Island
Plastic Crimwave Sound- Pats in the Flats & Parish Hall
Emeralds- Parish Hall
Alex Chilton- Beachland
Magik Markers- Mocha
Acid Mothers Temple- Grog Shop
Pink Reason/Psychedelic Horseshit- Pats & Now thats Ass
Sunburned Hand of the Man/Tusco Terror- Beachland

I will have to agree the Dark Meat show was one of my favorites of the year (but I didn't want to write that before what with the obvious bias).

Also, I forgot White Magic "Dat Rosa Mel Apibus," oh wait, I guess that came out in '06. Never mind, ladies, you're disqualified. Great record, though.

i don't think i like any music made in the last year. then again i don't keep up with current stuff at all. i'm in my own world.

----------------------------------------------
Drinking Electricity-all your new wave, no wave and post-punk favorites
Friday nights 9pm-11pm

the times new viking record
the psychedelic horseshit record
every other record that came out on siltbreeze (xnoxbbqx yessssss)

group doueh - guitar music from the western sahara
group inerane - guitars from agadez
folk and pop music of myanmar vol 3, music of nat pwe
every other record that came out on sublime frequencies

most everything that came out on holy mountain. ainotomenshis.

maher shalal hash baz - l'autre cap
suishou no fune - the shining star
alan vega - station

bill callahan, hototogisu, fursaxa, daniel higgs, sword heaven, dead c, broom dusters, blah blah etc etc

that michael yonkers grimwood reissue was amazing

baby grandmothers

a bunch of locals. bee mask, skin graft, all those jokers

good shows all around. esp pink reason and clockcleaner, homostupids, cadaver in drag, etc



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2008 05:00AM by d.imburgia.