SNAS Update Top 10 Albums and newcommers of 2007 (6 month edition)
1.
Benjy Ferree - Leaving the Nest :: You've heard me talk about him. Now I really want you to take a moment and go listen to the freshest breath of indie folk/county/pop that you have heard in a while. He's smart. His lyrics are smart and even better, he's from the area.
2.
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible :: Even though I'm pretty against them - you just can't deny the genius of their music sometimes. It's just too good to hate on for very long.
3.
Elliott Smith - New Moon :: Posthumously released but goddamn doesn't it feel like a cold shower on a hot day to listen to Elliott again. One of the top 10 song writers of the past 15 years doesn't skip a beat...even from the grave.
4.
Pop Levi - The Return To Form Black Majick Party :: Half contrived. Half awesome. In the vein of Andrew Bird and Devandra Banhart mixed with Adam Green but without the hullabaloo that brought all of those creatures to a terminal mass that got stuck in the mud. Talented beyond belief...but as with all solo indie artists the eternal question and situation is always thus: "Well here's your shot. Now let's see what kind of personality you have...cuz that's what is going to make or break you."
5.
The Besnard Lakes - Dark Horses :: Montreal strikes again with the Morphines of the year. It's like Interpol on smack but it's pretty tasty. Canada needs to lighten up. But - it's seriously good. When I bought this I was immediately entranced enough that I had to sit on the curb and listen to it. It's this years Pink Floyd.
6.
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black :: What can you say? Girl's got moxey (sp?). She's a pop icon but at the same time - she escapes enough to get a pass from me about being a pop icon. She looks smelly - which - in rock n roll is a good thing. Oh her music - I don't know how she gets that voice out of that body - but damn. She can bring it.
7.
The National - Boxer :: Again on the Arcade Fire wave which seems to be all the rage this year and last year. I mean - I think what happens is that if you are talented you curve yourself to what it supposed to be next. People still playing acoustic guitar indie songs about pain (unless you are dead - see Elliott) just are 4 years behind by now. That's what these guys would have been doing if THEY were lame. But they mutated into piano awesome goodness.
8.
Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis :: Ole cracked out Jarvis is back but ole cracked out Jarvis has moved passed the Common People and into a realm of his own. His solo career plans to be much more exciting than Pulp was - . Cockney rock will never go out of style - just like green pants.
9.
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position :: For those who need their Morrisey fix. Look him up.
10. I don't really have a 10th. Icky thump is pretty good -
