SiS Best of 2007

Well, another year is just about behind us, and everyone here at Stranded In Stereo has sat down and put together their Top 10 Albums of the Year lists. Lots of blood, sweat, and for some, hours of pacing the floor and biting nails went in to making these lists. We hope you enjoy what some of us here at SiS found to be the best finds of the year that was 2007.

Dany Sloan
1. Bloc Party // A Weekend in the City // (Wichita/Vice)
For those of you that are wondering where all of the hits are on this record
or why it's not as good as Silent Alarm, then go back and listen to the
record again. Simply put, this is one of the best sophomore efforts in the
past decade, and while Bloc Party is not yet a great band, they are well on
their way there, as evidenced by one of the best songs of the year, the
stand alone track "Flux."
2. Manic Street Preachers // Send Away The Tigers // (Columbia)
As a teenager, I latched onto the Manics as a latter day Clash -- a band
that could combine politics with undeniably catchy tunes. After The Holy
Bible, the band was on top of the world, but then Richey James Edwards
disappeared. It was an occurrence tantamount to Kurt Cobain's death, and
it's something that would have destroyed a lesser band. In '97, they
returned with Everything Must Go, an album that was not only critically
praised, but one that made them one of the biggest bands in the world.
Since then it's been a steady decline, but as one of my favorite bands, I
stuck with them and I was rewarded by this year's Send Away The Tigers.
It's a stunning return to form that shows that the band doesn't have to
repeat their gems of the past to be a fighting and fit unit. This is a
record borne of desire and reflection, reminding us that the best way to
change the world isn't by living outside the system, but by working from
inside it
3. M.I.A. // Kala // (XL/Interscope)
4. The Wombats // A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation // (14th Floor)
Looking at my iPod, this band was my most played of the year. They're a
group who are undeniably infectious with at least one quotable line in every
verse ("I could see your interest wane my dear/She wanted Mary Poppins and I
took her to King Lear.") and some of the best shows I saw all year. Look
for their album to hit the States in spring of '08.
5. Kubichek! // Not Enough Night // (30:30)
6. Young/Lost Ones // Left Coast or Pacifica and His Misadventures at the
Flower Fields // (Self-released)
7. Les Savy Fav // Let's Be Friends // (French Kiss)
8. Dartz! // This Is My Ship // (Xtra Mile)
9. Jamie T. // Panic Prevention // (Caroline)
10. Rademacher // Stunts // (Self-released)

Rusty Roberts
01 The National // Boxer // (Beggars)
I can’t still come up with the number one reason behind this year’s number one record. It’s beautiful; it is melancholy; it is soaked in white wine. It rocks (“Mistaken For Strangers”) and it sulks (“Slow Show”) and I still say Sonic Youth is hiding away in that auditorium somewhere (“Start A War.”)
02 Spoon // Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga // (Merge)
03 LCD Soundsystem // Sound Of Silver // (DFA/Capitol)
04 The Apples In Stereo // New Magnetic Wonder // (Yep Roc)
Before the year 2007, I had never listened to Robert Schneider and the rest of his Elephant 6 Collective. And then I was given a copy of Wonder to check out before interviewing the band and I was just blown away by every sugarcoated note.
05 Jens Lekman // Night Falls Over Kortedala // (Secretly Canadian)
06 The Rosebuds // Night Of The Furies // (Merge)
Kelly and Ivan Rosebud: pioneers of their time? With their third album, they again set out on a quest to tackle new territory, dropping their former 60s sunny-pop for 80s dark romanticism. Once again, it works in their favor, blending new with old (“Cemetery Lawns,”) and exploring seas never before sailed (“Night Of The Furies.”) Bravo.
07 The Good, The Bad & The Queen // The Good, The Bad & The Queen // (Virgin)
08 Menomena // Friend And Foe // (Barsuk)
09 Georgie James // Places // (Saddle-Creek)
10 Radiohead // In Rainbows // (TBD)

Jose Fritz
1. Qui // Love's Miracle // (Ipecac)
2. Panthers // The Trick // (Vice)
3. The Bad Plus // Prog // (Heads Up)
4. Alina Simone // Placelessness // (54º 40 or Fight)
5. Clipd Beaks // Hoarse Lords // (Lovepump United)
6. El P // I'll Sleep When You're Dead // (Definitive Jux)
7. Dalek // Abandoned Language // (Ipecac)
8. Saul Williams // Niggy Tardust // (Self-Released)
9. Foreign Islands // Restart Now // Deaf Dumb & Blind
10. Health // Health // (Lovepump United)

Kevin Hakansson
1. Wilco // Sky Blue Sky // (Nonesuch)
Volkswagen may have made you sick of several of the songs from this record, but that doesn’t change just how great it is. Jeff Tweedy and company finally hit the perfect union of pop/rock and hallucinogenic inspired jams. The stark contrast of guitar freak outs like “Side With The Seeds” and “HateIt Here,” offset by beautiful ballads “Either Way” and “Leave Me (Like You Found Me)” made Sky Blue Sky any hipster’s summer soundtrack, and the year’s best.
2. Iron & Wine // The Shepherd's Dog // (Sub Pop)
Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam made his name early on with hushed, delicate ballads that primarily feature his voice and guitar. While he’s still quite adept at doing so, The Shepherd’s Dog showed him with a full band behind him, and a more fleshed out sound in hand. While perfect love songs like “Resurrection Fern” and “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” allow Beam to revisit his solo-heavy roots, the ethnic sounds of tunes like “Lovesong of the Buzzard” and “Boy With a Coin” carry his most daring release to date.
3. A Wilhelm Scream // Career Suicide // (Nitro)
Since adopting their current band name (as they were formally known as Smackin’ Isaiah), A Wilhelm Scream have never ceased to push the envelope, and Career Suicide is no exception. Led by guitarist/songwriter Trevor Reilly, this band essentially captures all that is right about punk music, combining catchy dual vocals, harmonized guitar lines, and daring arrangement, all at a breakneck pace. Scream-alongs like “Die While We’re Young” and “Get Mad, You Son of a Bitch” illustrate the high level at which the band merges melody with raw energy.
4. Weatherbox // American Art // (Doghouse)
5. Manchester Orchestra // I'm Like a Virgin Losing A Child // (Canvasback/Favorite Gentleman)
6. The Shins // Wincing the Night Away // (Sub Pop)
7. Every Time I Die // The Big Dirty // (Ferret)
8. Dear and the Headlights // Small Steps, Heavy Hooves // (Equal Vision)
9. Streetlight Manifesto // Somewhere In The Between // (Victory)
10. State Radio // Year of the Crow // (Ruff Shod)

Greg Khaikin
01 Apples In Stereo // New Magnetic Wonder // (Yep Roc)
02 Bloc Party // A Weekend In The City // (Vice)
03 Band of Horses // Cease to Begin // (Sub Pop)
04 Weakerthans // Reunion Tour // (Epitaph)
05 Kanye West // Graduation // (Interscope)
06 Peter, Bjorn & John / Writer's Block // (Almost Golden)
07 Turbonegro // Retox // (Cooking Vinyl)
08 Explosions In The Sky // All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone // (Temporary Residence)
09 The Polyphonic Spree // The Fragile Army // (TVT)
10 Modest Mouse // We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank // (Epic)

Alyce Nicolo
01. Jens Lekman // Night Falls Over Kortedala // (Secretly Canadian)
02. Feist //The Reminder// (Cherry Tree/Interscope)
03. The Shins //Wincing the Night Away// (Sub Pop)
04. Iron & Wine //The Shepherd's Dog// (Sub Pop)
05. Rilo Kiley //Under the Blacklight// (Warner Bros)
06. Hanson //The Walk// (3 Car Garage)
07. The New Pornographers //Challengers// (Matador)
08. Andrew Bird // Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)
09. Arcade Fire //Neon Bible// (Merge)
10. Spoon //Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga// (Merge)

Mike Randall
1. The National // Boxer // (Beggar’s Banquet)
2. Spoon // Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga // (Merge)
3. Thurston Moore // Trees Outside The Academy // (Ecstatic Peace)
4. PJ Harvey // White Chalk // (Island)
PJ Harvey’s most polarizing record to date is also her finest. Half Kid A,
half Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Harvey gets experimental and downright dark. Her voice soars to angelic heights over a haunting minimalist piano base, but don’t be fooled, there’s a devil inside Miss Polly Jean.
5. Dr. Dog // We All Belong // (Park the Van)
6. Wilco // Sky Blue Sky // (Nonesuch)
7. Oakley Hall // I’ll Follow You // (Merge)
On their fourth album in three years and first for Merge, Brooklyn’s Oakley Hall irresistibly traverses the fine line between time-honored folk-rock and modern alt-country. In a mix that’s an occasional cross between the sincerity of Whiskeytown and the fire of The Black Crowes with a hint of Buffalo Springfield, each track seems like a visit to a new swampy backwoods town.
8. Elliott Smith // New Moon // (Kill Rock Stars)
9. A.A. Bondy // American Hearts // (Superphonic)
On his debut solo release, folkster A.A. Bondy (known as Scott Bondy while fronting Verbena) crafts hauntingly dark, rural-sounding songs of retrospection while channeling Harvest-era Neil Young with Ryan Adams/Jeff Tweedy sonic-folk modernism. His authenticity radiates through his Alabama-troubadour growl, sorrowful harmonica and blues-tinged fingerpicking, and you can smell the bourbon on his breath through your speakers.
10. Andrew Bird // Armchair Apocrypha // (Fat Possum)

Justin Porter Stephens
1. Feist // The Reminder // (Cherry Tree)
Even if you don't own this, you've probably heard half of the album—on cell phone and iPod commercials and late night talk shows—without knowing. The Reminder straddles the line that runs between melancholy and beauty, keeping it from overexposure to either. You fall in love with her listening to "1234" and "I Feel It All" while she breaks your heart a hundred times.
2. The Arcade Fire // Neon Bible // (Merge)
With the staggering amount of hype and expectation placed on Win Butler and co. after Funeral, the band seemed destined for a letdown. Yet Neon Bible manages to recapture—if not surpass—Funeral in terms of grandiosity and lushness without merely just rehashing the same album.
3. Jarvis Cocker // Jarvis // (Rough Trade)
The R. Kelly of indie rock.
4. R. Kelly // Double Up // (Jive)
The Jarvis Cocker of R&B/hip hop.
5. 1990s // Cookies // (Rough Trade)
6. Spoon // Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga // (Merge)
7. Iron & Wine // The Shepherd's Dog // (Sub Pop)
8. Bishop Allen // The Broken String // (Dead Oceans)
9. Of Montreal // Oh Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? // (Polyvinyl)
10. New Pornographers // Challengers // (Matador)

Robert Young
1. Bonde Do Role // With Lasers (Domino)
As a DJ I’ve spun this album at everything from roller derby bouts [wassup to the Sac City Rollers!!!] to weddings [what’s up Mr. and Mrs. Herskowitz!!!] and it kills every-fucking-time. The Brazilian baile-funk trio, with Diplo on the beats, can make 70-year old Mexican grandmas and 20-year-old punk rockers shake they stankin’ asses and that’s what it’s all about: Musical harmony that transcends age, race, social status and time. This is my favorite album of 2007.
2. Daft Punk // Alive 2007 (Virgin)
3. Gogol Bordello- Super Taranta! [Side One Dummy)
Pitchfork Media likens Gogol lead singer Eugene Hutz’s vocals to Weird Al Yankovic on this album. Well, to be fair, Pitchfork is sounding more and more like a uber-hipster and coked-out Tiger Beat magazine now that I hearv every “indie” tween walking around town rating their friendships, shoes, etc. on their “PFM scale”. For example, I heard a young chap gave his mom a “PFM 3.5” as she would not prolong his curfew. So, fuck em’. I say, long live the Gypsy rock revolution. This album adds another stellar and worldly notch to their already legendary existence in the global musical world.
4. Agent Ribbons // On Time Travel & Romance (Self Released)
If Blossom Dearie, Dame Darcy, Mirah, Jolie Holland, Faun Fables, Dolly Mixture, Ditty Bops, Mary Timony, Peggy Lee, Josephine Foster, Johnny Cash and Nancy Sinatra all spliced their musical and artistic genome together and had God carry the child, out would pop Natalie Gordon and Lauren Hess AKA Sacramento, CA’s most amazing and beloved duo, Agent Ribbons. These girls are blowin’ up (as we gangsters like to say) as they are closing 2007 on tour with Cake. They need to be on a label NOW!!! sorry…I have impulse control problems. ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS I’VE EVER HEARD…sorry.
5. DJs Of Mass Destruction // War II: The Turd Hunt Continues (Hip Hop Slam)
6. L.A. Symphony // Unleashed (Syntax Records)
7. The Blow // Poor Aim: Love Songs (K)
8. Ween // La Cucaracha (Rounder)
9. Tim Armstrong // A Poet’s Life (Hell Cat Records)
10. Teeko // My Sound Station (4onefunk)