The Rock Blogger

Here it is, the Top Ten Rock albums of 2007. I hope you’ve enjoyed my list as much as I did listening to it. It will be interesting to compare my Top 50 to the lists put out by Stylus, Pitchfork and Metacritic at the year’s end. Check it:

Numbers 10-1.

#10. Between the Buried and Me. Colors. 4.5 stars.

This album is quite possibly the most daring hardcore album I have ever heard, as the band extend into incredibly long and complicated jams that incorporate the genre’s traditional technical complexities with progressive elements, interchanging vocals and phenomenal guitar solos. Quite possibly the best metal album this year.

#9. A Place to Bury Strangers. A Place to Bury Strangers. 4.5 stars.

A loud and glorious exercise in neo-shoegaze/post-punk/whatever you want to call it, this debut album may where its influences on its sleeve (Jesus and Mary Chain cough, cough) but that doesn’t take away from the intensity shown here. Yes, there is plenty of distortion (I’ve heard the lead singer makes his own effects pedals) but there are also great melodies and song structures underneath all that noise. Songs like “Missing You”, “Don’t Think Lover” and “To Fix the Gash in your Head” are among the walloping highlights.

#8. Neverending White Lights. Act II: The Blood and the Life Eternal. 4.5 stars.

A stirring compilation of gothic ballads led by the multi-talented Daniel Victor, Act II brings together some of Canada’s richest vocal talent to guest on each track, while Victor handles the swirling string arrangements, piano lines and layered guitars. While the different vocalists on each track grant the album a considerable degree of variety, the mood and tone of the album is cohesive and often very moving. “The Living”, “Where we Are”, “The Warning” and “Always” are the most notable standouts.

#7. Radiohead. In Rainbows. 4.5 stars.

Forget about the unique, pay-what-you-want release strategy the band used to get this out, the main draw of In Rainbows is its highly refined melodic elements and its dark yet cathartic emotional impact. Greenwood’s guitar is as hypnotic as ever and Thom Yorke’s vocals are both as inspiring and unsettling as you would expect. While not nearly as abstract as Kid A and Amnesiac, In Rainbows maintains the feelings of modern alienation and anxiety that have made the band’s music so enduring.

#6. Nine Inch Nails. Year Zero. 4.5 stars.

Trent Reznor has got his groove back. After making his relatively safe comeback album With Teeth in 2005, Reznor has accelerated his venerated NIN brand into more experimental territory, offering a politically charged concept album that bursts with electronic squalls and industrial beats. Reznor’s songwriting too has developed, shedding away most of the personal angst you would expect for a broader, more worldly and dystopian outlook that despairs over the bleakness of our political and social realities, rather than strictly dwelling in an insular hell-hole. The music here is noisy, direct, well-produced and distinctively NIN.

#5. The Arcade Fire. Neon Bible. 5 stars.

The Arcade Fire gracefully managed to match the high expectations I had for them following their explosive 2004 debut Funeral. Like its acclaimed predecessor, Neon Bible packs an emotional punch, delving into incendiary themes of war, isolation, religiosity, social decay and poverty. Win Butler’s vocal presence has grown tremendously and the band’s orchestral aspirations are as inspiring as ever. Truly a worthy successor to their previous masterpiece.

#4. Jesu. Conquerer. 5 stars.

Justin Broadrick’s Jesu has cemented its status as one of the greatest industrial projects of the decade. This release is a shining example of musical craftsmanship, with its deliberate beat programming and sludgy guitars that pulsate and reverberate with immersive intensity. Conqueror takes the hypnotic bliss of post-rock a la Sigur Ros and combines it with the heaviness and cathartic energy found in metal acts like Tool and Isis. The result is a landmark album that will surely influence a new generation of artists.

#3. The National. Boxer. 5 stars.

I had never heard of The National prior to hearing Boxer and after I heard it, I immediately got a hold of their entire catalogue. The National possess both intelligence and musical aptitude as they play emotionally engaging numbers that are lyrically reflective and darkly beautiful. Songs like “Fake Empire”, “Squalor Victoria” and “Slow Show” dazzle with stunning lyrical imagery, swooning string arrangements and memorable guitar hooks. An evocative masterpiece.

#2. The Twilgiht Sad. Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters. 5 stars.

The debut album of the year, Fourteen Autumns is packed with drama as the songs build from delicate, almost folk-like serenades into crashing crescendos, evoking feelings of desperation, longing and anxious anticipation. James Graham’s distinctively Scottish bellow resonates with the band’s drawn out guitar haze and martial drumming. The songs here are vivid, earnest and empowering.

#1. Matthew Good. Hospital Music. 5 Stars.

The coveted number one spot goes to Matthew Good’s tumultuous album that explores the deep dark spaces of his afflicted personality and the world at large. Suffering from bi-polarity, Good’s recent personal life has been a perfect storm of illness, broken relationships and a bleak worldview that leaves the socially conscious with the burning globe on their shoulders.

Good’s emotional investment in these 15 tracks is as clear as day, as the songs range from being vindictive, hurt and angry to resigned, distant and defeated. Whether he is singing about the hypocritical political initiatives of the West in “Black Helicopter”, personal heartache on “She’s in it for the money” or lashing out at the general apathy of our materialistic society on “Champions of Nothing”, Good’s lyrics are as poignant as ever.

As far as the music itself, Hospital Music offers a generally stripped down approach on the majority of the tracks, focusing on intimate acoustic performances with the subtle accompaniment of piano, strings and keyboard, drawing the listener closer into Matt’s personal state and challenging them to take a good look at themselves. An honest and uncompromising record, Hospital Music is a work of intense introspection.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 10:10 am and is filed under Lists, Reviews. 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.