The Pelican’s Perch Top 50 Albums of 2007: 50-26
And so we’ve finally arrived, 15 days late. I’m writing this intro after finishing this first part of the list and let me tell you, this is a beast to write. It’s a labor of love and even though it’s a pain to write, I look forward to writing it every year. I’ll keep it brief so you can get to the list, but with this list I want to stress one thing in particular. Most of these albums could have easily been placed as much as five higher or even five lower, so don’t make a big deal about album placement. I honestly got to the point where I was satisfied with the top 20, had an idea of where I wanted the rest of the albums, then finally just left them where they were. What I want you to get out of this list mainly is some great new music. Simple as that. Hopefully you find an album or two that becomes your new favorite album. Every album on this list made it because it affected me this year in one way or another, so if you usually agree with my music picks, then this is the cream of the crop for you. I hope you all get a lot out of this list and I look forward to hearing everyone’s comments. Enjoy!
50. Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals
Yeasayer is a quartet from Brooklyn that I simply can’t describe, but I sure do like them. I didn’t get a hold of their album until later this year, so I can’t put it higher, but if you’re looking for a unique album full of atmosphere and harmonies, this is a good bet.
RIYL: A strange, atmospheric hybrid of the Police?
2080
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49. Feist – The Reminder
I have a strange facination with all things Feist, so the initial few listens surprised me at how reserved the new album was overall. I’d all but written this album off for the year when I revisited it recently after sharing it with a friend and found that I liked it a lot more than I remembered. So, if you’d given the cold shoulder to this album like I had, perhaps you should go back and give it another spin.
RIYL: Feist’s debut album obviously, and cool, breezy female vocals good for a summer day
1, 2, 3, 4
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48. St. Vincent – Marry Me
Annie Clark, formally the guitarist for the Polyphonic Spree, released a little gem in Marry Me. I’ll admit, this album is mainly on my list because of her amazing live show I got to catch when she toured with John Vanderslice (1, 2), but the album itself tried to capture her intense and energetic live presence and almost succeeds. Not every song is a winner, but if anything it shows just how much potential there is in Clark’s repertoire and I can’t wait for a follow up.
RIYL: Feist, More cool, breezy female vocals, only this time with truly unique guitar playing and a wide range of genres and time period styles covered
Paris is Burning
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47. Ben Lee – Ripe
Who doesn’t like Ben Lee? I mean really. He makes pop rock easy to like because his music could still be considered “indie”, but definitely doesn’t take itself serious enough that you can’t just up and dance to most of it. Which I often did. This time around, Ben is accompanied by a whole slew of guest artists like Mandy Moore on “Birds and Bees”, the optimistic, happy ending answer to Postal Service’s “Nothing Better”. Rachel Yamagata sings in the opening song, Rooney guests on “American Television”, and you can’t forget the simple fact that there’s a song called “What Would Jay-Z Do?” on this album. Need I say more?
RIYL: Ben Kweller, upbeat rock songs about love, life, and Jay-Z
American Television
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46. Black Before Red – Belgrave to King’s Circle
The first of many promos Irecieved that have seemed to stay under the radar for the most part. Marc Hogan, notorious reviewer over at Pitchfork for negative reviews, actually had quite a few things to say about these guys and while it’s weird for me to say, I completely agree with Hogan. These guys are good. Melodic, piano driven indie rock that at times sounds eerily similar to Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, which is a plus in my book.
More mp3’s
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45. Minus the Bear – Planet of Ice
This year I met my first group of people that actually knew who in the world Minus the Bear was. You’d think of all the people I talk to daily about music, someone along the way would like Minus the Bear even half as much as I do. Nope. Not until I started running around with Chris and his gang had I ever heard Minus the Bear at a party. Now, we play “Absinthe at the Fly Honey Warehouse” at every party like clockwork. As for this album, it’s like Minus the Bear pay homage to Pink Floyd in the only way they could. I sure enjoyed it, but unfortunately a lot of fans felt this new direction wasn’t their best move. I didn’t think too much into it honestly. Good album, no Highly Refined Pirates, but what really is? That one’s a classic in my book.
RIYL: Math rock, Pink Floyd (for this album at least), an excess of finger-tapping
Dr. L’ling
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44. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
I think I almost like the album artwork better than the actual songs on this new effort by my good friends in Band of Horses. Of course, I’m not really good friends with them, but Amy and I did go to their video shoot for “Great Salt Lake” when I interned at Sub Pop and we had quite a few chats with Ben Bridewell and the other members of BoH. Good guys. This album I honestly didn’t get to sit down with as much as I wanted, but the listens I did have with it were enough for me to put it on my list. I can’t say it’s better than their debut, but it’s still great none-the-less.
RIYL: Dark, atmospheric melodies, vocals reminiscent of My Morning Jacket
Is There a Ghost
[audio:http://www.subpop.com/assets/audio/3593.mp3]
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43. The Acorn – Glory Hope Mountain
I’d been sitting on their previous EP for what seemed like forever, then out of nowhere I randomly ran across a review of their new full-length. I couldn’t believe I almost missed an album I’d been desperately waiting for. Right from the opener, “Hold Your Breath”, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. It’s not one everyone will love, but fans of calm, finger-picked folk led by gentle vocals and hand percussion will love this album. It’s not higher on my list simply because it’s gotten to the dreaded point of me having to be in the mood to listen to it, but with this album, that’s usually when I feel happy and relaxed. So, spring to summer. That’s a solid five or so months of listening to this album, so no complaints here.
Hold Your Breath
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42. Seth Lakeman – Introducing Seth Lakeman Vol. 1 & 2
I think I may be cheating with this pick. I didn’t exactly look up any info before putting this one on the list, but it seems the album these “introduction” songs may end up on is coming out later in 2008. But the seven or so songs on the promo I absolutely loved, so on the list it goes. Who knows, this pick may only be recognized by bloggers, but at the least you can look into the three singles he released last year, because that’s what this seemed to be. A compiling of those songs plus a few. All I have to say is that if that 2008 release is, in fact, these songs officially being released, then be sure to pick that release up. I know I will.
Lady of the Sea (Hear Her Calling)
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41. The Octopus Project – Hello, Avalanche
I remember a while ago, the members of Octopus Project were trying out new guitarists and if they weren’t across the country slash I wasn’t in the middle of my college years, I would’ve gone and tried out for sure. But, I finished school, and Octopus Project got a new guitarist and have made two stellar albums since then. This newest release is impossible to not like. If you don’t like it, you may be in some sort of depression and I really recommend seeing a doctor. Happiness in the form of music, that’s what the Octopus Project’s music represents.
RIYL: Happy, electronic rock. Danceable tunes. You know, poppy instrumental dance music.
I Saw the Bright Shinies
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40. LCD Soundsystem – The Sound of Silver
This may seem like super low placement for an admittedly amazing album that found James Murphy reaching new heights in maturity both musically and lyrically, and redifining what a dance album can sound like. The only problem is that I never said that stuff, the reviewers all over the net and print press did. I always just thought it was a great dance album I was really into during that rare part of 2007 when all I wanted to do was listen to dance music. That phase has passed, so it sits at #40. Now let’s dance!
RIYL: Really smart, well written dance music that almost feels more like a rock album than a dance album.
North American Scum
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39. Tuung – Good Arrows
My love for The Books leads me to loving basically any other band that can come close to creating music using vocal clips and samples like they do. Tuung are easily the runners-up to The Books in that category, or if you don’t want to compare them in that way, they’re the folk version of The Books. More electronic elements than the Books, less vocal samples, and way more acoustic guitar and singing. Good Arrows is probably their best, but it’s really just more of the same their debut EP hinted at, and that’s a good thing.
RIYL: a folktronica version of the Books
Soup
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38. John Vanderslice – Emerald City
It’s fitting this is the first Vanderslice album to feature him on the cover, because the songs are appropriately personal. This release finds Vanderslice much more reserved than some of his previous releases, and gone for the most part are the big horn parts and poppy piano lead riffs, but this initial turn-off was eventually overlooked when I dove deeper into the album’s lyrics. The Life and Death of an American Fourtracker still remains my favorite Vanderslice album, it’s such a great concept album, but Emerald City is still Vanderslice doing what he does best, and I can hardly complain about that.
RIYL: smart singer/songwriting similar to The Mountain Goats
White Dove
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37. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Note to Sam Beam: keep it simple. I like it much better that way. Sure, it’s understandable that time with Calexico and the opportunity to expand on your sound with more money thrown at you leads to one wanting to experiment with more full band stuff, but with Sam Beam, he’s known for his gentle lullabies with just him, a guitar, and backing vocals. It’s not that I dislike this album in the least, I was just a bit sad to only hear a few tracks on the whole album that could have fit on his past releases. Hopefully next album we get more “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” type songs and less songs like “White Tooth Man”. But, c’mon, it’s Iron & Wine. So, all the little complaints I may have for this release are far outweighed by the great songs and vintage Sam Beam sound I’ll never get tired of.
Innocent Bones
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36. Novi Split – Pink in the Sink
I’ll never forget the first email I recieved from David Jerkovich, the musician behind the one man band Novi Split, in which he described his music being so hard buildings fell and heads exploded. This made me curious for obvious reasons, but what I found with his debut wasn’t some sort of crappy metal like I’d thought, but genuinely great acoustic driven rock. His email only made me like him and his music more, but it’s definitely one of those under the radar releases I couldn’t recommend more.
RIYL: Acoustic songs for a summer’s day. Owen. Kind of Like Spitting (his old band)
You Got Served (youtube)
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35. New Buffalo – Somewhere, Anywhere
This album means a lot to me. It was the one album I’d always go back to when Tiffany and I were first talking and I remember specifically answering my phone with “Cheer Me Up Thank You” blaring out my speakers because I knew she was on her train ride home and that she loved that song. It’s rare two people can connect to a specific album like the two of us did with this one, and I’m glad I had that for a while. It’s not higher on the list simply because as a whole I think it could have been better. I found her because she co-wrote “1, 2, 3, 4″ with Feist and she was a welcome alternative to Feist last year. I put her on my list because it was Tiffany and my album of ‘07.
RIYL: Feist
Cheer Me Up Thank You (unofficial video)
Emotional Champ
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34. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
Okkervil River has always been beautiful, heart breaking music, and while I enjoy everything they’ve released, sometimes it’s just too much for me. So, their music is usually reserved for rainy days or winter trips. That said though, The Stage Names is right up there with anything they’ve released to date. I just didn’t give it enough listens to warrant any higher placement on the list, but just listening to each song I know this is one heck of an album I’ll be listening to for years to come.
RIYL: Depressing music full of horns and strings
Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
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33. Sea Wolf – Get to the River Before it Runs Too Low/Leaves in the River
Alex Brown Church had a big year in 2007 with two releases, both of which I really liked. It’s simple music that never gets too far beyond acoustic guitar, piano, and vocals, but that was often the beauty in Church’s music. I have been listening to his EP since May, and the resulting LP only about a month, so I figured they should just go on the list as one entry. Church’s vocals are pretty distinct and fit perfectly with the surrounding gentle acoustic guitar, occasional synth lines, and string parts.
Black Leaf Falls
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32. Canon Blue – Colonies
Canon Blue was one of those year end finds I come across in December after reading someone’s blog saying if you missed this, you missed out, that I checked out and loved. Normally, I try not to let my sudden love for those albums overshadow the other albums I’d listened to throughout the year because liking an album at the moment is way different than liking an album all year, so I never want that to sway my list at all. With Canon Blue though, I listened to it religiously throughout December and had to put it on the list. “Sea Monsters” and “Target Practice” make looking into him (Daniel James) more than worth it.
RIYL: Piano driven, sleepy, electro rock
Download Canon Blue’s Halcyon EP free here!
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31. Detektivbyran – Hemvagen EP/Lyckans Undulat EP
Ah Detektivbyran. If you don’t know who this wonderful Swedish band is, you don’t read my blog enough. They had to be the most talked about band on my blog last year. If you decided for some reason to research the release date of the Hemvagen EP, then you caught me. It was released in 2006. But since I found out about them this year, became slightly obsessed, and the fact that they released another EP in 2007, I’ll cheat a little and still put them on the list. I couldn’t leave them out, because then a bunch of people would never know about them. Can’t have that. Plus, this is my list, so I can do what I want and Detektivbyran makes the list because they’re great.
RIYL: Yann Tiersen, the Amelie soundtrack, accordian filled electronic orchestral music
Lyckans Undulat
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30. Menomena – Friend and Foe
I almost forgot about this one. It was released in January, so those early year releases I tend to not remember what year they were released in. Menomena have always been one of those bands I like and always recommend when the topic comes up, but I never end up listening to them much throughout the year. I am well aware of how amazing their live show is, and that may be why they aren’t higher, but until I finally see them live, I just have their albums to go by and I didn’t think this one was better than the ones higher on the list. I missed their recent show and who knows. seeing them live could have bumped them way up on my list like what happened after I saw Sufjan and the Annuals, two albums that got bumped up considerably because their live shows were so great.
Wet and Rusting
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29. Eluvium – Copia
I was slightly saddened by Max Richter’s 2007 release, Songs From Before, since it left my high expectations with very little satisfaction. I still enjoyed it, but most of the epic crescendos found in most his songs were all but gone in this new release, leaving an album full of slow orchestral songs that never built beyond a whisper. Oddly enough, around the time that I was feeling that disappointment for Max Richter’s release, I stumbled across Eluvium’s new album and took it as a welcome sign that all is not lost as far as epic modern orchestral music was concerned. The music Matthew Cooper creates as Eluvium is simply beautiful and not once last year did it lose my interest. That’s a big feat for an orchestral album such as this.
Prelude for Time Feelers
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28. Stars – In Our Bedroom After the War
If I had to pick a single band that I felt could describe the joys and pain felt from love, Stars would be my #1 pick hands down. I’m usually not too interested in the lyrics to most the music I listen to, but I almost always look into the lyrics of each new Stars’ release. This one was no different. Songs like “Personal” and “Barricade” show this lyrical skill perfectly. Much like Damien Rice, I wouldn’t recommend listening to Stars after a break-up, but I also know friends that got through tough times because of Damien Rice and Stars, so who knows. All I know is that this new album isn’t quite up to Set Yourself on Fire or Heart, but it’s still one of the year’s best.
Personal
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27. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
I have mixed feelings about this album. At times, I think their newfound maturity with this album is a welcome new direction for the band, and the songs just sound well produced and well written. While other times I think, eh, I like their older stuff way better. Those are just classics. I remember sitting in Sub Pop’s meeting room in Summer 2006 when the Shins had sent in some finished songs from this album to show that they weren’t just sitting around and swear they were working on the album. Me hearing most of this album half a year before it was released coupled with the fact that it was released in January of 2007 makes it one of those long-forgotten ‘07 releases. If this would’ve been released later in the year, it could have easily cracked the top 10. But the excitement’s gone and #27 is where it ended up. Still though, if you haven’t heard this, you’re missing out.
Phantom Limb
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26. Nicole Atkins – Neptune City
I noticed an unusual amount of female singer/songwriters on my list this year. That’s not a weird thing, that just hasn’t been the case since I started doing this list in 2004. Feist, New Buffalo, St. Vincent, Nicole Atkins, and two others yet to come. That’s a lot of women that know how to write songs. Of all of them though, I think Nicole Atkins caught my fancy the most. Her stage prescence is amazing, she belts it out like no one I’ve heard, and her newest album is some of the most complex stuff I’ve heard in a long while. Complex meaning multiple instruments and a lot going on in each song, borderline showtune style, similar to Sufjan or Format as far as bells and whistles go. I came back to this album more times than I can remember simply to hear some new horn or backing vocal with each listen. It’s one album I’ll probably be listening to after many of the albums in the top 25, and that says a lot about how good both her songwriting and the overall album production was. One of 2007’s keepers for sure.
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Whew! This list always wears me out. Expect my top 25 sometime in the next few days as I won’t exactly have hours to spend writing it up like I did on this lazy Sunday afternoon. Like I said before, most of these albums could have been placed anywhere near where they are now, as much as five spots above or below where they are now. I mainly want you to find some new, great music you may have missed this year, not necessarily to worry about where on my list I put them. So just do me a favor and don’t harp too much on what spot the album got and instead search for those albums you haven’t heard of and find a new favorite album because of this list. Alright, see you soon with the rest of the list!
I think she was in Sufjan’s band too — have to check my references. Octopus Project and New Buffalo is good good esp. the song “City and Sea (Lady Nameless)”. I didn’t connect with Tuung and I get all tingly listening to The Books (too) — man I could listen to “Vogt Dig for Kloppervok” or “An Animated Description of Mr. Maps” on repeat!
Love you.