Contributions to rockfeedback.com Top 100 Records of 2007

2007 has been a mixed year for records, with a couple of let downs (ahem Bloc Party) and a general lack of excitement in British music. There were, however, some exceptions, including LCD Soundsystem’s drooled-over ‘Sound Of Silver’, Jamie T’s debut, Editors dark second album and The Cribs Lee Ranaldo-featuring third. The other side of the Atlantic produced more works of substance with the likes of Battles, Liars, Animal Collective, Explosions In The Sky, Beirut and Deerhoof all earning high praise.

I managed to dash off a few words about some of my favourites below…

(59) Jamie T – Panic Pevention (Virgin)

Jamie Treays is a young middle-class Londoner who, like many of his peers, spent his teens drinking, taking recreational drugs, getting into fights and everything else typical of ‘naughties’ youth. How do we know? Because, unlike any of his peers, he articulated it perfectly in his inimitable urban poet style, delivered it backed by only an acoustic bass and finally put it to music that was as achingly modern as it was a display of musical kleptomania, borrowing from everything from to ska to drum’n’bass to punk.

23) Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond (Pias)

In an age when even the original line-up of the Beatles (with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass) are probably about to reform from beyond the grave, this was the most glorious of all 2007’s reunions. How did J, Lou and Murph do it? By recording a perfectly timeless Dinosaur Jr record. One of the few times you can honestly say it was just like they had never been away.

18) Panda Bear – Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)

If Brian Wilson had grown up in 80s Baltimore County and hung out with people with names like Avey Tare and Geologist instead of bloody surfing all the time, he probably would have made albums that sounded a bit like Person Pitch. Not content with contributing to Animal Collective’s delicious Strawberry Jam, Panda Bear outdid his band’s work with his third solo album. Managing to make surf pop sound experimental and lo-fi - Person Pitch is a joy from beginning to end. (Chris Helsen)

Honourable mentions also go to: The Strange Death Of Liberal England, Arctic Monkeys, The Tailors, Two Gallants, Kings Of Leon, Destroyer, Gravenhurst and more…

Above reviews first published on rockfeedback.com.