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Songs You Should Be Listening To
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Best albums of 2007:
1. The Nobility- The Mezzanine Formerly known as Jetpack and Jetpack UK, these local boys have dropped one of the best records the Nashville rock community has seen in many years. Sean Williams' songwriting really "hit the spot" on this album. The strong Kinksy feel of the songs is only bolstered by the relatively simple and straight-forward analog production style of Murfreesboro producer/engineer Brian Carter. The masterful songcraft, full yet concise instrumentation, and simplistic production style all come together in just the right places to make this a very satisfying listen. The rotating cast of bass players hasn't hindered their live show, either.
2. Miracle Fortress- Five Roses Miracle Fortress is the brainchild of Graham Van Pelt from the Montreal band Think About Life. The album was recorded in his home and has a bit of a lo-fi vibe, yet the songs are somewhat complex in their instrumentation and arrangements. The songs have quite obvious Beach Boys and Phil Spector influences and feature lush vocal harmonies and plenty of reverb. Overall it's a very satisfying and soothing listen that can both lift the mood of a rainy day or boost that of a lazy sunny afternoon.
3. Justice- Cross Dancing suddenly became cool for hipsters this year, and no indie dance party was complete without the hit single D.A.N.C.E. from this breakthrough debut album. These two French DJs seem to have defined the sound of "indie dance music" with their hard, thick beats, gritty synth lines, and strobe-like vocal stabs. It's rare that I'd put an all-electronic album on my "best of" anything list, but the shorter, more traditional song structure makes this album appeal to my taste. They even managed to D.A.N.C.E. their way to a grammy nomination.
4. Black Lips-Good Bad Not Evil These Atlanta garage rockers had slipped under my radar until my spring radio interns in 05 turned me on to them. This album is much more polished and poppy than their previous material, but in my opinion that doesn't hamper the quality of the album. Obviously more radio-friendly and "accessible" than anything they've done to date, this album has only broadened their fanbase and with all the touring they've done over the past year, probably allowed them to quit their day jobs.
5. LCD Soundsystem- Sounds of Silver The second effort of New York dance mogul James Murphy is an easy choice for everyone's top albums of 07. This guys really knows how to lay down some grooves and though I find myself regularly skipping some of the tracks on this album, overall it's a winner in my book. It doesn't quite have the effect that his breakthrough self-titled debut had, but it doesn't disappoint, either.
6. Glossary-Better Angels of Our Nature These local Americana boys (and girl) cranked out yet another phenomenal record full of well-crafted songs, and gave it all away for free. They made a statement (coincidentally around the same time Radiohead released "In Rainbows" digitally for whatever the hell you wanted to pay for it) by offering the record for free digitally on their website, and it was so well-recieved that it crashed the server. This album is somewhat lighter-hearted than the heavey-handed "For What I Don't Become," as the band seems to develop and progress in all the right ways.
7. White Stripes-Icky Thump Jack and Meg made a serious statement that they aren't quitting anytime soon and still rock like they always have. I just hope Jack can keep from going crazy with all the projects he's rumored to be involved with... movies, other bands (including but not limited to The Raconteurs).
8. Arcade Fire-Neon Bible This album took Arcade Fire from "pretty cool new indie band" to "HUGE indie superstars that went almost mainstream." Oh hell... let's face it, they are mainstream... they played a song onstage with The Boss afterall. They haven't let their success affect their lives in a negative way, however, as they're taking a year or so to cool off from the intense touring of 2007. As an album, I'm not sure if I can say I like more or less than "Funeral," but it's worthy of mention here nonetheless.
9. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Yet another great, solid album from Britt Daniel & co. I can't say much about them because I'm relatively new on the "Spoon scene," but this album is worth every penny.
10. Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna,... Although not their best work in my humble opinion, this album is a very strong and personal statement of frontman Kevin Barnes, and he needed to make this record. It's easily the darkest of the whole O.M. catalog, and it's main characteristic is Barnes' lyrics that take a much deeper, more personal turn than ever before. Say goodbye to the whimsical, circus-like dreamland of his older material. Say hello to the REAL Kevin Barnes, having REAL life issues and sorting through them lyrically.
I had the opportunity to see/photograph Peter Bjorn and John at City Hall in Nashville on Aug. 8th. I was a little skeptical of their ability to fill that 1200 person venue, and my skepticism proved to be somewhat well-founded. I doubt there were more than 400 people there, but that didn't stop them from bringing their A-game. They had a fill-in drummer, citing family emergencies for John's absence and Peter, the "frontman" looked eerily like Rollum Haas of the Features. The first part of their set was good but not great, though the crowd seemed to keep the energy up more so than the band. Finally they kicked it into high gear toward the end of the set and Peter's stage antics became more and more interesting. They took the stage for an encore and the crowd was finally getting to their energetic apex. During the last song, three African-American guys took their shirts off and started really going crazy, front and center in the crowd. Now, I had been noticing these three gentlemen all throughout the show simply because something about three guys obviously from a solid hip hop background and Peter Bjorn & John just doesn't seem to go together. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they were there, but those guys were obviously a little out of place standing in a crowd of indie hipsters standing in their tight jeans with their arms crossed... doing the occasional "white-boy bounce." I pondered on this for a few minutes and finally toward the end of the show, it clicked. KANYE WEST! That's the connection. In case you hadn't heard, Kanye West used the beat/whistle/bass riff from "Young Folks" for a B-side track on an EP (if I'm not mistaken), then asked PB&J to be his backing band for a festival performance in Sweden. Suddenly it all came together. These guys were obviously Kanye West fans who had discovered PB&J through him. I thought to myself, "what an interesting phenomenon, I wonder if this has been a common occurrence at their shows." It would be interesting to find out if it has... Congratulations, Mr. West, the hip hop kids are showing up at indie rock shows because of you! A successful cross-genre connection if you ask me. Now we just need TV on the Radio to cover Snoop Dogg and we'll be set. Either way, the show was awesome, as PB&J pulled the aforementioned gentlemen onstage, which set in motion a barrage of fans rushing the stage, that resulted in a very Girl Talk-esque dance party on the stage. I think Nashville made an impression on them... whether it was good or bad is up to interpretation of Bjorn's last statement, "We love this shithole."
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Yet another phenomenal album from Nashville is about to hit shelves tomorrow 7/31. The Nobility will be releasing their album "The Mezzanine." Produced and engineered by the amazing Brian Carter in Murfreesboro, this album is a masterpiece. I can't stop listening to it! This band has come a long way since their days as Jetpack. They've shed the 90's Weezer-esque skin for a much more mature, 60's influenced sound. Sean Williams' songcraft combined with all analog production will have you thinking Kinks/early Beatles from the first few chords. It's no surprise that 60's British pop is basically all they listened to while making this record. Brain Carter basically "got it just right" with the production, though there are a few places that I think could've used a little more EQ, especially on the vocals. I absolutely adore every second of every song on this album, and while you may not share such an extreme sentiment, I assure you this album will not disappoint.
P.S. Another band I'm really digging at the moment is the 1990's. Check out their album "Cookies."
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the more i read about the justice album, the more it intrigues me. and now that you've mentioned the songs are shorter than your usual electronic songs, i'm more motivated to buy it. i love that single but i have a short attention span when it comes to that kind of music so i wasnt sure if i'd be able to listen to it all. thanks for enlightening me!