via//chicago

2007 Year in Review V: The Albums (part 5)
Here we are... the top 20 albums of 2007 according to via//chicago.

20. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Merge)
Topping Funeral was never going to be easy. It would be next to impossible for this band, no matter how talented they may be, to live up to all the pressure and expectations placed on their sophomore album. So I wasn't terribly surprised when this was a little bit of a letdown upon first listen - but that was before I had time to work my way into the album and discover its strengths.
Recommended tracks: "Keep the Car Running", "(Antichrist Television Blue)"

19. Pela - Anytown Graffiti (Great Society)
There is nothing grand or groundbreaking about this disc, just a handful of the simple and straightforward indie rock songs that seem to be in short supply in recent years. Tuneful and literate, these guys deserve a wider following after putting out a solid album like this. I hear hints of U2, but without the grandiose posturing that can spoil Bono for some.
Recommended tracks: "Tenement Teeth", "Waiting on the Stairs"

18. Dinosaur Jr - Beyond (Fat Possum)
J, Lou, and Murph are undoubtedly back! The reunion tour was a nice taste of nostalgia for Dinosaur Jr fans, but the real treat was the original trio's first album together in almost twenty years. They haven't lost a step in the intervening years, leaving this album sounding like a great lost treasure from the essential years. J's guitar playing is as incendiary as ever, the primordial glue that holds this stuff together.
Recommended tracks: "Almost Ready", "Pick Me Up"

17. Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls (Too Pure)
I got to see these girls open up for Arcade Fire earlier this year and they absolutely blew me away. Of course, now that I've become a rabid fan, they announce that they are heading for an indefinite hiatus soon. Luckily they left us with the best album of their too-short career. My best description is Kraftwerk meets Sonic Youth meets Stereolab, but check them out for yourself.
Recommended tracks: "To The East", "Tram 21"

16. A Place to Bury Strangers - A Place to Bury Strangers (Killer Pimp)
This Brooklyn trio churns out loud and noisy dream-pop that swirls, squalls, and screeches. Underneath all the noise are some very lovely melodies and hypnotizing drones, placing the band somewhere in between Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and early 80's pop.
Recommended tracks: "The Falling Sun", "To Fix the Gash in Your Head"

15. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
Noah Lennox, one of those Animal Collective geniuses, gave us his highly anticipated third solo album and dropped a whole lot of jaws in the process. Veering away from the campfire madness of his main band, Person Pitch stretches back to the 1960s and, most especially, Brian Wilson. Killer harmonies float in and out of awareness as Noah's controlled madness sucks you in.
Recommended tracks: "Bros", "Comfy in Nautica"

14. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino)
Another band with a difficult first album to top, but these Brit youngsters ably step up to the plate and hit another one out of the park. Alex Turner is still one of the most promising young lyricists in rock right now, tossing off captivating tales of everyday life that cut right down to the heart of things. And the rest of the band fires on all cylinders as well, making for an engaging listen.
Recommended tracks: "Fluorescent Adolescent", "505"

13. Working for a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen and Ghosts (Deaf Dumb & Blind)
Technically this is an expanded reissue of a different album, but since this is the first we've seen in America from this band I'm going to allow it. Gary McClure and Phil Kay make up this duo that mixes up ambient, pop, and electronica in a wholly original way that recalls early '90s Madchester and early New Order in equal measures.
Recommended tracks: "Rocket", "Heaven Kissing Hill"

12. Chromatics - Night Drive (Italians Do It Better)
I never thought I'd hear a disco album I liked, but this group's modern take on the genre was a pleasant surprise. Captivating music that sounds great behind the wheel of a car, it certainly lives up to the title. Plus one of the best Kate Bush covers I've ever heard!
Recommended tracks: "Night Drive", "Running Up That Hill"

11. Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky)
I've had a really hard time describing this to friends over the last couple of months, but it seems to really captivate anyone I play it for. Bradford Cox, despite the confrontational face he likes to put forward, is one hell of a creative guy, coaxing beauty out of pure noise. Unfortunately it looks like, for the time being anyway, this debut is going to be their last full-length.
Recommended tracks: "Lake Somerset", "Cryptograms"

10. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga (Saddle Creek)
Conor Oberst is maturing as a songwriter at an alarming rate, by the time this dude is 30 he is going to be completely unstoppable. This time around Oberst tones down the melodramatics and allows his love for country and folk music to shine right through. Cassadaga finds Oberst crawling across America, exposing the characters and feelings we all know and share.
Recommended tracks: "Four Winds", "If the Brakeman Turns My Way"

9. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl)
Another former member of the Elephant 6 collective breaks out in 2007 with a stellar pop album, this time infused with dance rhythms and extended grooves. Who knew a nervous breakdown could be this much fun?
Recommended tracks: "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse", "The Past is a Grotesque Animal"

8. Earthless - Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky (Tee Pee)
Three tracks and forty-five minutes of interstellar sonic groove. A little metal, a little progressive, a little Hendrix, and a lot of fire. One of the few bands that makes it exciting to sit through a twenty minute jam.
Recommended tracks: "Godspeed", "Cherry Red"

7. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)
My nominees for rookies of the year, these Scottish lads managed to capture the piece of my heart that's been pining for the Smiths for so long. Not to say these guys sound so much like Morrissey and company, but this album captures the pain of adolescent love and loneliness like few others. And a brilliant live band as well.
Recommended tracks: "That Summer at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy", "And She Would Darken the Memory"

6. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (Capitol)
James Murphy is the man, there are no two ways about it. A laundry list of legendary singles, 2005's outstanding debut album, and now a heartbreaking work of endearing genius. Murphy's trademark rhythms and cowbells are in attendance, but his lyrics have never been so moving and universal. "All My Friends" and "Someone Great" are both among the most beautiful songs I heard all year.
Recommended tracks: "All My Friends", "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down"

5. Radiohead - In Rainbows (self-released)
Moving beyond all the hype about how they released this, Radiohead have bounced back from one of the more iffy albums of their career to give us a disc that will stand up with the many other gems in an already stellar discography. This truly feels like the release that ties their entire career together, melding The Bends with Amnesiac and coming up with something (once again) that only Radiohead could give us.
Recommended tracks: "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", "Bodysnatchers"

4. Boris with Michio Kurihara - Rainbow (Blue Chopsticks)
In which the Japanese doomsters team up once again with guitarist Michio Kurihara to fill up a disc's worth of mellow psychedelic groove that show off the less abrasive side of Boris. This is an absolute must for anyone that loves delicately rocking guitar music.
Recommended tracks: "You Laughed Like a Water Mark", "Starship Narrator"

3. Kanye West - Graduation (Roc-a-fella)
Let's see, what do we have here? An absolutely killer single of the year ("Stronger"), two more that are amongst the best he's ever done ("The Good Life", "Can't Tell Me Nothing"), a Can sample ("Drunk and Hot Girls"), a Steely Dan sample ("Champion"), a track with Chris Martin that doesn't suck ("Homecoming"), and a heartfelt "tribute" to Jay-Z ("Big Brother"). Take away the annoying skits from his last two albums, and you're left with an outstanding album.
Recommended tracks: "The Good Life", "Flashing Lights"

2. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
These four individuals just continue to get better and better with each release. This time around the collective relies less on ambient sound collage and more on immediate melodies and actually discernible lyrics(!). But they never lose the childlike sense of wonder that has permeated every song they have every recorded.
Recommended tracks: "Fireworks", "Peacebone"

1. Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
A mostly instrumental album created by a veritable supergroup of experimental and math rock musicians may at first seem like a strange choice for my favorite album of the year, but I couldn't deny the way this thing kept pulling me back in for more and revealing new layers. The first time I heard it I thought, "hmmm... this is, well, interesting" and the second time I was ready to file it away for good thinking I'd gotten all out of it I ever would. But when I gave it one more spin a couple weeks later, "Atlas" hit me like a ton of bricks and I could not get enough of the song. Slowly other tracks started doing the same thing - first it was "Leyendecker", then it was "Tij", and later with "Tonto". Eventually every single track on the record sounded absolutely essential and enjoyable to me. I felt more energy and enthusiasm in these eleven tracks than I did in any other album I listened to all year. I wish more albums made me feel as excited about music as this one did.
Recommended tracks: "Atlas", "Tonto"