Though all music critics like to present themselves as an all-seeing, all-knowing messenger of good music, I will admit that 12 months is a long time and I may well have missed some blinders over the last year. Regardless, here are the albums and the songs that the Popregister has adored over the last 12 months. These albums are not ranked in order of their musical complexity or their contribution towards contemporary music, rather are picked because I have enjoyed them most. (and yes, there is no Radiohead!)
The Popregister's Top 15 Albums
1. The Wombats - A Guide to...
- The most fun album of 2007, and for that reason my favorite.
2. Patrick Wolf - Magic Position
- There's no one quite like patrick wolf. His third LP marked his poppiest and best to date
3. Beirut - The Flying Club
- Surpassing his first effort, Beirut this time uses Paris as his primary influence. With a wide arsenal of instruments and a catalogue of styles dating back to the 40s its a layered and pop filled lp.
4. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
- An American indie band in the top 5! Every time i listened to this album I discovered my new favorite song. A grower of an album and indie pop at its best
5. The Maccabees - Colour it in
- With their jittery post punk guitar tunes and Orlando Week's tremoring warble the Maccabees were quickly cast into the category of post libertines garbage. But given a little time even the most cynical could come around to their trashy, duelling guitars and wailing choruses.
6. MIA - Kala
- Urban, electro, indie, jungle? Probably all and plenty more rolled into the formula. Plenty of pop sounds from the most unlikely of places.
7. Justice - †
- Uncompromising and ultra modern dance tunes. From the pop strings and childlike chorus of D.A.N.C.E. to the grinding, record screeching whirlwind of Stress, its def the best dance album of 2007
8. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
- Kings of American indie return with a southern twang. Plenty of whittling ballads and even some heavier tunes in their sophomore
9. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
- Establishing themselves as rock heavyweights, the slightly less hairy kings return for a third effort. Arena anthems and plenty of growl.
10. Jack Penate - Spit at Stars
- Funky jigs, checkered shirts and plenty of bubbly pop tunes mixed in with some soulful acoustic tracks. What more could you want?
11. The Cribs - Mens Needs..
- Singing along to just a couple of tracks will leave you with a sore throat. Plenty of enthusiastic vocals in this to-the-formula English indie but some great infectious tunes and punchy guitar melodies.
12. Wu- Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
- After seeing them perform on New Years there's no way they aren't making the list. 9 rappers, one group and a whole lot of madness. Wu Tang clan ain't nothing to fuck with!
13. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
- Though the spitting, shouting vocals are a bit much after a while, there's no knocking the lyrical quality (if a bit religious) and fantastic sound of the CWK's debut
14. Digitalism - Idealism
- Perhaps the most like Daft Punk of the emerging new wave of electro outfits. This record will take you around the universe in a futuristic sonic world of bleeps and thumps.
15. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga
- Tends to fizz rather than go off with a bang yet has grown on me along with many others. Inoffensive and highly engaging.
The Popregister's Top 10 Singles
1. Cajun Dance Party - Amylase
- Amazing that a bunch of teens can produce something so brilliant
2. Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time
- Probably the happiest song i've ever heard
3. Lightspeed Champion - Midnight surprise
- 9 minutes long yet I can't stop listening to it from start to finish
4. SebastiAn - Walkman 2
- A rehash of SebastiAn's signature tune. Packs a loads of guts.
5. MIA - Paper Planes
- Kala's best and surprisingly so considering the pop hooks come from firing guns and the kerching of cashiers.
6. Late of the Pier - Bathroom Gurgle
- 80s synth pop rehashed with panache.
7. The Wombats - Backfire @ the Disco
- A chorus that will drive even your neighbors insane. So good it should be illegal
8. The Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
- The pop charts can lay host to a decent track once in a while...
9. The Whip - Divebomb
- Best electro tune of 2007
10. The Cribs - Men's Needs
- Why people listen to indie.
Top 5 Remixes
1. Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn remix)
- Little known indie band given a new life thanks to trademark SebastiAn
2. The Klaxons - As above as Below (Justice remix)
- A match made in heaven delivers a relic
3. Liars - If fit when I was a Kid (Crystal Castles remix)
- Splashes of Crystal Castles' retro beeps and bleeps sound perfect layered over trademark liars
4. RATM - Killing in the name of (mr Oizo remix)
- What better to mark the return of the best metal band of all time than by bringing one of the their signature tunes into the 21st century
5. Dragonette - I get Around (Midnight Juggernauts remix)
- Camp pop turned dirty electro
3 Most Disappointing Albums
The Twang - Love it when i feel like this
- Well I never thought they were good...
Good Shoes - Think before you speak
- Sounds like an LP of remixes from their only good song, photo on my wall
Black Rebel - Baby 81
- Not a massive flop just nowhere near as good as it should have been.
3 Airwave Whores I love
Chris Brown feat. T Pain - Kiss Kiss
- synth of the vocals makes it sound like bad 90s pop. Always cracks a smile when i hear it though
Soulja Boy - Crank that
- Now whenever someone says the word "you" i think of lil soulja boy
Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls
- Discovering Sean Kingston is actually really chubby made this song even more funny.
Top 5 Movies of 2007
I have missed plenty of good movies...
1. Rocky Balboa (a personal and inexplicable obsession)
2. No Country for old men
3. Last King of Scotland
4. Hot Fuzz
5. Babel
When Metronomy released their first and only album "Pip Paine (Pay back the £5000 you owe) a couple of years ago, the only feeling it left on fans and critics was one of disappointment. After their brilliant single, "You could Easily Have Me", the rest of the album failed to live up to its fantastic effect studded guitar and dance ethos. But new single, Radio Ladio is a return to the brilliance of their first single and hopefully marks a permanent return form. Trademark metronomy effects zip around alongside some justice-like children's choir to create a tune that is both danceable and easy to sing along to.
They've probably started to run out of money since their days of brit pop success, so Supergrass return in The Verve's footsteps. Their return with "Diamond Hoo Ha Man" is set for the end of March. Sounds a bit like their old stuff mixed in with a bit of Jet. The result is a tad bland.
