The Rock Blogger

Numbers 20-11.

#20. The Future of the Left. Curses. 4 stars.

This British punk band unleashes a whirlwind of powerful baselines, nonsensical lyrics and foot stomping rhythms. An incredibly fluid album, each track flows steadily with the next, never letting the angular riffage let up. A brilliant debut.

#19. Sigur Ros. Hvarf-Heim. 4 stars.

A two disc compilation of live and acoustic reworkings of their past work, Hvarf-Heim is a sublime exercise in introspection, immersing you with its stirring orchestral movements and soothing vocals. While there aren’t too many new tracks here, the acoustic disc alone is worth exploring, as it adds another layer of sentimentality to already beautiful songs.

#18. Interpol. Our Love to Admire. 4 stars.

The long awaited follow up to 2004’s Antics, Our Love to Admire expands on Interpol’s wiry post-punk with the addition of keyboards and more experimentation, making their output as chilling and moody as ever. But the standout tracks are your rock club standards “No ‘I’ in Threesome” and “The Heinrich Maneuver”, proving once again that Interpol is at the forefront of the post-punk revival.

#17. Burial. Untrue. 4 stars.

An engrossingly atmospheric dub-step album, Untrue is full of cinematic gloom and grit, with haunting vocal loops, stark bass lines and a refined production that brings Burial’s decaying sonic world moving in on you from all directions. The ghostly ambiance of this record evokes images of a nightly stroll through the forgotten alleyways and slums of a rain-soaked cityscape.

#16. LCD Soundsystem. Sound of Silver. 4 stars.

            LCD Soundsystem isn’t just dance music; it’s a wild mixture of punk, disco, electronica and rock that you dance to. “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” demonstrate James Murphy’s songwriting ability while the production boasts the fat bass and synth sounds. This will make you move.

#15. Battles. Mirrored. 4 stars.

            A head-trip of an album, this post-rock band offers a weird synthesis of complex math rock and electronica, resulting in enthrallingly maniacal compositions. The thumping bass, the spastic drumming, tribal vocals and the angular guitar riffs round out a musical experience unlike any other this year. Wonderfully experimental and original.

 

#14. Iron and Wine. The Shepard’s Dog. 4 stars.

            A brilliant folk-rock record full of bright melodies and airy vocals that convey a subtle sense of tranquility. The song’s themselves remind me of pastoral landscapes and road trips through strange American towns, giving this album an almost adventurous and searching bent. The best song in my humble opinion: “House by the Sea”.

#13. Baroness. The Red Album. 4 stars.

            These Georgia newcomers are already making a significant mark on the stoner rock genre, with their deafening wails, sophisticated song structures and long passages of psychedelic guitar work ranking them among the likes of 21^st century metal giants Mastadon and Isis. This is thinking man’s metal. The Red Album also sports the year’s most beautiful cover art as well.

#12. Aereogramme. My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go. 4 stars.

            Aereogramme have proven themselves as melodic masters who excel at producing atmospheric epics full of complex arrangements and lush instrumentation. The inspired vocals also convey heart-wrenching emotion, belting out the sentiments of the lovelorn and distant.

#11. Deerhunter. Cryptograms. 4 stars.

            A complex and fascinating album, Cryptograms schizophrenically darts between cool, dark ambience and raw post-punk from track to track, sounding like two records in one. The album as a whole has an uneasy beauty to it, with both tranquil and noisy passages that showcase the band’s uncompromising attitude towards their art.

The final 10 are coming soon!

 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.