This is essentially a blog from my lastfm page that I posted a couple of days ago, I thought there would be no harm posting it here as well. Now I'm no professional music critic, nor do I aspire to be, so the writing on display isn't grade A material. But at least its a tad more interesting than a standard lastfm list with the artist and album featured and nothing else. Anyway, here it is...

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If its one thing that 2007 taught me, its that music can be a fickle thing and you can never quite pin down your opinion on an album until you’ve heard it, no matter how highly opinionated you are of a band based on their prior material. For instance, if anyone had told me last year that I would like the new Hard-Fi album more than the forthcoming Ash LP I would have laughed in his/her face. That The Thrills would release the best album of their career or Thirteen Senses would let enormo-flop Contact upon the world after the ethereal masterpiece of The Invitation?! I just can’t fathom these things anymore and find it best to go with the flow, if I toss expectations aside then maybe I won’t be so let down all the time, and pleasantly surprised more often. So anyway, my top 50. And if you disagree furiously with any particular statement on this list then do not fret and remember this…I like Jamiroquai. Enjoy!

Albums 50-6 are scored 8/10
Albums 5-1 are scored 9/10

50. [artist]Klaxons[/artist] - Myths Of The Near Future

[img]http://i7.tinypic.com/4qfx8xx.jpg[/img]

Possessed dance-rock that’s pure adrenaline rush from start to finish, the maniacal chanting and crude, tattered aesthetic of the instrument-playing deliver a relentless thrill.

Download – ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ ‘Two Receiver’s’

49. [artist]The Shadow Project[/artist] - A Beauty To Fight For

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3319345.jpg[/img]

Electronic post-rock in the same vein as Sigur Ros, the Suffolk quintet create a gentle aura enfolded in haunting ambient textures and serene, glacial melodies with enough rare forays into urgent riffery and quickening pace to give the whole experience significant impact.

Download – ‘Being Here (So Confusing)’

48. [artist]Arcade Fire[/artist] - Neon Bible

[img]http://www.rocklouder.co.uk/upload/neonbible300.jpg[/img]

Not a major departure on the lauded debut but rather an expansion, heightening the drama and internal torment to produce an album that is simultaneously majestic yet joyously OTT.

Download – ‘My Body Is A Cage’ ‘Ocean Of Noise’ ‘No Cars Go’

47. [artist]Stars[/artist] - In Our Bedroom After The War

[img]http://www.titel-forum.de/bilder/musik05/stars_ino.jpg[/img]

Unmistakeably Stars, this is lovelorn romanticism honed to something not quite resembling perfection but pretty damn close. It’s when the band are at their most melodramatic, revelling in the heartbroken angst that they’ve become accustomed to, that the material excels. Fortunately there’s plenty of that to keep any weepy sap busy until the next failed relationship.

Downoad – ‘The Night Starts Here’ ‘Life 2 – The Unhappy Ending’ ‘Bitches In Tokyo’

46. [artist]Wilco[/artist] - Sky Blue Sky

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3276585.jpg[/img]

Tweedy reverts back to the soulful 70’s country rock of early Wilco, all swathed in a pastoral loveliness and rootsy charm. This is music in which to take solace, its steady pace and homely sounds a pleasure to invest time in.

Download – ‘Shake It Off’ ‘What Light’ ‘Either Way’

45. [artist]Shugo Tokumaru[/artist] - Exit

[img]http://zuihitsu.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/exit_art2.jpg[/img]

Inbred J-pop dementia that flings any notions of conventional pop out the window with a unique and jubilant brand of intricate acoustic-guitar plucking to accommodate the bluegrass/folk stylings, an influx of vast instrumentation and off-kilter samples featuring, among others, looped bird calls and school whistles. Think early Beck being buggered by the banjo boy from ‘Deliverance’.

Download – ‘Parachute’ ‘La La Radio’ ‘Button’

44. [artist]The Hives[/artist] - The Black & White Album

[img]http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x187/johnnyratbastard/1b84bad4.jpg[/img]

Free of the unflinching, going-nowhere-fast garage punk that restrained them on Tyrannosaurus Hives, Sweden’s most comical band emerges with a slight experimental streak, giving them a (much needed) new lease of life. Here The Hives lay waste to any genre they can wrap their huge gobs around, the disco groove of T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. likened as a dropkick to a glitterball, while the casiotone ambience of A Stroll Through Hives Manor is both spontaneously hilarious and distressing. This variation on the formula makes the standard rock ‘n’ roll stomps like Return The Favour and Bigger Hole To Fill fresher instead of being bogged down in familiarity.

Download – ‘Return The Favour’ ‘Try It Again’ ‘It Won’t Be Long’ ‘Puppet On A String’ ‘T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.’

43. [artist]Cherry Ghost[/artist] - Thirst For Romance

[img]http://blog.roodo.com/emixe/05ba9827.jpg[/img]

Simon Aldred turns his back on a series of failed bands to tackle a solo career and do things his own way…good move. This is alt-country that feels like its been lived in, magical textures superimposed over gritty tales, brimming with a poignant genuinity that only one man’s devotion to his own cause could have wrought.

Download – ‘4AM’ ‘People Help The People’ ‘Roses’

42. [artist]Minus The Bear[/artist] - Planet Of Ice

[img]http://www.scenepointblank.com/reviews/covers/01480.jpg[/img]

Hyperkinetic prog-rock, all stuttering rhythms, spazzy keyboard effects and dizzy guitar that adds up to a voyage as fun as it is fabulously disorientating. When they do slow things down the results are equally rousing, with the sultry grooves of White Mystery being a particular highlight.

Download – ‘White Mystery’ ‘Throwin’ Shapes’ ‘Knights’ ‘Double Vision Quest’

41. [artist]Interpol[/artist] - Our Love To Admire

[img]http://manufacturedenvironments.com/2007/media/interpol-our-love-to-admire.jpg[/img]

By Interpol’s standards Our Love To Admire is a sub-standard effort. Its sorely missing the themes of loneliness and isolation that marked their debut such a melancholic masterpiece, instead opting for standardized sex and drugs bravado. What’s more, virtuoso and key-member Carlos D has his bass too low in the mix and the overall progression from Antics is slim at best. By any other bands standards however this is more expertly crafted post-punk, brooding with a tense, sardonic edge that radiates with a confident expertise. The jangly guitars still slice with ruthless precision and the rhythm section as taut as a bowstring. But they’re going to have to stray from the formula for the next album if they’ve any wish of staying relevant.

Download – ‘Rest My Chemistry’ ‘Pioneer To The Falls’ ‘The Heinrich Maneuver’ ‘The Scale’

40. [artist]Ghosts[/artist] - The World Is Outside

[img]http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/upload/theworldisoutside300.jpg[/img]

Unabashed pop bliss that sets itself apart from the plastic puerility of the Feelings and Hoosiers of the world thanks to Simon Pettigrew’s unblemished falsetto and the compelling though subtle jazz/electro undertones, adding a substance and dexterity to the deceptively simple ditties.

Download – ‘Musical Chairs’ ‘Temporary’ ‘Something Hilarious’

39. [artist]A Sunny Day In Glasgow[/artist] - Scribble Mural Comic Journal

[img]http://cdn.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3243245.jpg[/img]

Synaesthetic shoegaze splendour that sounds like its arrived from another planet as conventional melodies are buried under a wave of reverb and countless assortments of extraterrestrial noise. Twins Lauren and Robin Daniels top the whole wraithlike haze off with their apparitional vocals. Unique.

Download – ‘5:15 Train’

38. [artist]Cornelius[/artist] - Sensuous

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3257064.jpg[/img]

Hardly the sonic leap forward one would expect of Oyamada, but who’s complaining when his sound is so distinctive. Sensuous’ bizarre concoction of technicolour pop and otherworldly electronica carries the journey along the same road but by inviting so many other genres like funk (Fit Song), ambience (Omstart) and rock (Gum) into the mix, many fascinating side-paths are explored.

Download – ‘Music’ ‘Sleep Warm’ ‘Breezin’’

37. [artist]Explosions In The Sky[/artist] - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

[img]http://radioeclectica.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/allofasudden.jpg[/img]

More utterly entrancing atmospherics from the instrumental Texan post-rockers, arrangements that say so little yet speak volumes. The new addition of piano into the mix only heightens the sheer grace with which they execute these aural vistas.

Download – ‘The Birth And Death Of The Day’ ‘What Do You Go Home To?’ ‘So Long, Lonesome’

36. [artist]Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.[/artist] - Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under The Stars

[img]http://www.ondarock.it/images/cover/822119.jpg[/img]

Demonic riffs, cosmic synths, face-melting psychedelia, ghostly female vocals and songs that last over 40 minutes long…it has to be the work of Acid Mothers Temple. Guitar God Kawabata Makoto and his fellow stargazing freaks reform to a cleaner production while honing the usage of jam sessions to present a mysticism meticulously moulded to the point of drug-induced perfection. Just remember what Mr Mackay says.

Download – ‘Electric Psilocybin Flashback’

35. [artist]Sam Roberts[/artist] - Chemical City

[img]http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/102/202616102.jpg[/img]

Canadian singer-songwriter Roberts sounds like he’s hit a zenith with his combination of clean-cut classic rock and trippy acid-fuelled psychedelia, the styles never once waning, even in the more quieter moments where the pathos and passion still shine through.

Download – ‘Uprising Down Under’ ‘The Gate’ ‘A Stone Would Cry Out’

34. [artist]Mumm-Ra[/artist] - These Things Move In Threes

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3269195-210060477.jpg[/img]

Shimmering, luminous, twinkling…okay enough with the space-related adjectives. This is indie of limitless imagination and exuberance, yet it’s all contained in a starry-eyed naivety that’s compacted into sizeable pop chunks. An album worth investigating for modern pop-classic She’s Got You High, a song that somehow manages to achieve an elevating majesty and playful boisterousness in one fell swoop. At its best These Things Move In Threes provides great background music for those lengthy sessions on We Love Katamari.

Download – ‘She’s Got You High’ ‘Out Of The Question’ ‘Now Or Never’

33. [artist]The Strange Death Of Liberal England[/artist] - Forward March!

[img]http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/894.$plit/C_71_article_1010627_image_list_image_list_item_0_image.jpg[/img]

Barking mad post-rockers that come across like a fusion of Arcade Fire at their most temperamentally operatic, and the maritime squalor that Modest Mouse are invested with. All amid some extra morbidity and scurvy thrown in for good measure.

Download – ‘Goddamn Broke And Broken Hearted’ ‘An Old Fashioned War’

32. [artist]The Thrills[/artist] - Teenager

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3350109-868387048.jpg[/img]

They’ve always had it in them and now the Irish, West Coast-inspired poppers finally release their first consistent album. Laced with unrelenting melodies, hooks and harmonies, it’s an album marked with watertight precision, so concise that ne’er a second could be considered filler. Its all topped off with Conor Deasy’s marmite whine, his voice and song writing never stronger, wracked with a genuine bittersweet nostalgia. Delightful.

Download – ‘This Year’ ‘Should’ve Known Better’ ‘The Midnight Choir’ ‘I Came All This Way’

31. [artist]The Field[/artist] - From Here We Go Sublime

[img]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1019/807195480_3d4b27fb39_o.jpg[/img]

An album that needs to be listened to in its entirety to work. Two tracks in and From Here We Go Sublime begins to flow with a seamless fluidity, the looped synths, samples and beats creating a white noise that’s hypnotic and transfixing to the point of lulling the listener into a blissful state of mind.

Download – N/A

30. [artist]Yourcodenameis:Milo[/artist] - They Came From The Sun

[img]http://dvweb.mpf.arcstarmusic.com/mdb_image5/V1/tVLZ1_478547_l.jpg[/img]

Debut effort Ignoto was an ill-conceived splurge of metal-rush incoherency, so frantic that the only lasting impression it left was a huge migraine. With their sophomore album however Yourcodenameis:Milo lend the usual post-hardcore, pathological assaults with much needed direction, songs like About Leaving and I’m Impressed boasting a flair for electro-laden hooks while retaining the rabid impulsiveness. And, shock horror, they even manage to achieve the unthinkable with sci-fi love story ‘Understand’, a rare divergence into something oddly touching. It’s a shame Yourcodenameis:Milo have split up, they were just getting good.

Download – ‘Understand’ ‘About Leaving’ ‘Pacific Theatre’

29. [artist]The Shins[/artist] - Wincing The Night Away

[img]http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3243014.jpg[/img]

James Mercer remains one of the best songwriters putting pen to paper today, his lyricism unmatched in its intimacy and thoughtful detail. This time however the surrounding music manages to be of the same quality, Martin Crandall’s scattered trip hop beats on Sealegs and the lovely, slumbering effects that suffuse Red Rabbits ensuring that The Shins are no longer a one man band and as a result sees them a more balanced, brilliant whole.

Download – ‘Sleeping Lessons’ ‘Girl Sailor’ ‘Red Rabbits’

28. [artist]The Twilight Sad[/artist] - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters

[img]http://www.avclub.com/content/files/images/twilight-sad-fourteen-autum.jpg[/img]

The chilling chronicles of a neglected teen are laid bare through an explosion of heavily layered guitar distortion and scabrous Glaswegian vocals that truly expose the dark core this album uncompromisingly contains. Powerful stuff.

Download – ‘That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy’ ‘I’m Taking The Train Home’

27. [artist]Saybia[/artist] - Eyes On The Highway

[img]http://www.emiextranet.com/Packshots/Med/5099950032921_M.jpg[/img]

The Danish balladeers shed the overwrought theatrics that oft appeared in previous album These Are The Days to deliver these tightened, superior anthems. If Jess Jensen’s harmonious piano reigns supreme, the band rarely strays into MOR territory, mainly thanks to Søren Huss’ enormously fervent bellow.

Download – ‘Eyes On The Highway’ ‘Angel’ ‘Pretender’

26. [artist]The National[/artist] - Boxer

[img]http://slaver.cutenews.ru/images/upload/the_national_-_boxer.jpg[/img]

Boxer’s triumph is in its restrained approach which shields, simultaneously, an understated beauty and a painfully disquieting melancholy that with each listen gets under the listeners skin and refuses to leave.

Download – ‘Fake Empire’ ‘Ada’ ‘Racing Like A Pro’ ‘Squalor Victoria’

25. [artist]Blonde Redhead[/artist] - 23

[img]http://www.yawam.info/images/albums/grandes/blonde_redhead-23.png[/img]

15 years into their career, Blonde Redhead have realized their most gratifying long player yet. This cinematic dream-pop creation, draped with swirling, lush instrumentation and doused in Kazu Makino’s alien vocal is a spectral pleasure. Sometimes eerie, sometimes tense, always invigorating.

Download – ‘Spring And By Summer Fall’ ‘23’ ‘SW’

24. [artist]Hard-Fi[/artist] - Once Upon A Time In The West

[img]http://www.onlike.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/hard-fi-once-upon.gif[/img]

Miracles never cease to happen, since when were Hard-Fi this good?! Whereas other current purveyors of the dreaded lad-rock genre are content with churning out the same lowest common denominator pup-rock drivel (I’m looking at you Twang, Enemy, Reverend, Pigeons, ad infinitum) Hard-Fi actually take risks and aren’t afraid of progression. Woeful lyrics still abound but honestly…who cares! I Shall Overcome is the greatest Justin Timberlake song never written, the euphoric party rave of Little Angel is pure ecstasy and, best of all, Help Me Please is a achingly touching lament to Richard Archer’s departed mother. With such eclecticism in sight they practically transcend the chav image they’ve been saddled with. That cover is still retarded though.

Download – ‘I Shall Overcome’ ‘Little Angel’ ‘Help Me Please’ ‘Tonight’

23. [artist]Cokiyu[/artist] - Mirror Flake

[img]http://www.haluze.sk/album_tyzdna/Cokiyu%20-%20Mirror%20flake.jpg[/img]

Debut album from Japanese artist Yukiko Ito whose blend of gentle electronica and meditative vocals create such a warm hue of tranquillity, one is both transfixed by its innocent beauty and slightly concerned by an insatiable urge to grab a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate.

Download – ‘Star Takes A Rest’ ‘Piano And Frog’

22. [artist]Holler, Wild Rose![/artist] - Our Little Hymnal

[img]http://cdn.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3380777-1771809780.jpg[/img]

Immense sound waves of such insurmountable epicness, Holler, Wild Rose! make Longview look like Jose Gonzalez. What at first is a daunting listen (songs range between 6 and 11 minutes long and are imbued with religious allegory) soon blossoms into something wholly endearing and embraceable. The all-encompassing shoegaze guitars and John Mosloskie’s sonic falsetto cast them into the perpetual stratosphere and beyond. Put in layman’s terms, you won’t hear a bigger album this year.

Download – ‘Captive Train’ ‘Holler, Wild Rose!’ ‘Poor In Spirit’

21. [artist]Patrick Watson[/artist] - Close To Paradise

[img]http://www.kindamuzik.net/gfx/patrickwatson-cvr-0907.jpg[/img]

Elegiac slowcore that doesn’t just rely on Watson’s sweet croon but rather the band’s joint effort in order to deploy the atmosphere-dripping mood-pieces regimented here, whether it be on the gleeful church gospel of Bright Shiny Lights or the dusty, midnight road trip setting for The Storm, every deviation in tone rings true.

Download – ‘Slip Into Your Skin’ ‘Weight Of The World’ ‘The Storm’

20. [artist]Dragons[/artist] - Here Are The Roses

[img]http://www.new-noise.net/media/65340ced/dragons.jpg[/img]

With a pedigree as fine as Levitation and Dark Star, veteran drummer David Francolini’s pet project could hardly have gone wrong. Combining the vice tight claustrophobia of Joy Division with the synth-led electronica of Depeche Mode, Dragons may sound derivative but not at the expense of the songs. Albert Tombling Jr.’s all-enveloping clarion-call lends the goth-dance an unswerving gravitas and oppressive weight, while the smart song writing paints a wealth of sinister imagery. One of 07’s best ‘dark’ albums.
Download – ‘Forever’ ‘Where Is The Love’ ‘Here Are The Roses’

19. [artist]Eluvium[/artist] - Copia

[img]http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7785/foldermu4.jpg[/img]

Copia could score a Terrence Malick film and accomplish the seemingly impossible feat of outshining the exquisite cinematography one would undoubtedly witness, its sheer grace, grandeur and beauty so unparalleled. It’s ambient/classical music that demands repeated listens for it’s heart-achingly stunning compositions to click, but once it does the results are endlessly rewarding.

Download – ‘Indoor Swimming At The Space Station’

18. [artist]iLiKETRAiNS[/artist] - Elegies To Lessons Learnt

[img]http://lunapark6.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/bbq-257.jpg[/img]

Mankind, will it ever learn from its mistakes? A resounding NO would be the answer according to these enthusiasts of the past as once again they flicker through histories vast array of royal screw-ups to present to us…a whole lot of misery! iLiKETRAiNS ARE depressing, but only because they portray human despair so solemnly, whether it be through David Martin’s deeply unsettling baritone, the wryly introspective lyrics or the bruising crescendo’s that knock you about like a rag doll.

Download – ‘Spencer Perceval’ ‘We Go Hunting’ ‘Death Is The End’

17. [artist]White Rabbits[/artist] - Fort Nightly

[img]http://grogs.ic.cz/fn.jpg[/img]

Imagine if Casablanca featured a Humphrey Bogart far more interested in doing the jitterbug as opposed to bitterly reminiscing over a past love. Or maybe Nazis more willing to tango through the night rather than…well, rather than being total bastards. THIS album could score THAT film! Ska, old-school salsa and indie merge to form a distinct sound, delivered with a riotous energy and exotic flavour that is never less than captivating. Bravo.

Download – ‘Kid On My Shoulders’ ‘While We Go Dancing’ ‘Dinner Party’

16. [artist]Hot Hot Heat[/artist] - Happiness Ltd.

[img]http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4/kuhelklopf.1/0_310d_7f688258_M[/img]

Hot Hot Heat return with hot hot heartbreak as Steve Bays’ split with his long term girlfriend guarantees that their frantic, ADD pop now comes intact with sweeping orchestra and glum observations of a romance doomed never to last, despite all attempts to make it work. It’s not the marvel Make Up The Breakdown was and occasionally the self-wallowing becomes wearisome. Yet despite, or perhaps because of, HHH’s hysterical art-pop catalogue, the newly unveiled sense of vulnerability on offer is startlingly touching (Outta Heart remains one of the most accomplished ballads of the year). Happiness may be limited but HHH’s pop prowess is boundless.

Download – ‘Outta Heart’ ‘Give Up’ ‘So So Cold’ ‘Let Me In’

15. [artist]Electric Eel Shock[/artist] - Transworld Ultra Rock

[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5106ceM9gFL._AA280_.jpg[/img]

Bulging with all kinds of awesomeness, the Japanese rawk trio thrive on cliché-ridden lyrics, preposterous exclamations blurted in broken English and monolithic metal riffs that bludgeon their way into your cranium and ensure you’ll be humming them for days on end. Hugely infectious and, in all the primitive connotations of the word, ‘fun’.

Download – ‘Baby’ ‘Kill The Weekend’ ‘Lovin’ You’

14. [artist]Air Traffic[/artist] - Fractured Life

[img]http://blog.roodo.com/emixe/b33b5d6c.jpg[/img]

The Coldplay comparisons aren’t entirely justified, I’d like to see Chris Martin and chums balance thrashing bumblegum-pop with the usual earnest, stadium-sized ballads in such a fluid package. That these guys do it with ease is a testament to their inherent skill. All in all a self-assured debut, containing some of the most seamless guitar/piano interactivity heard in a British indie band.

Download – ‘Shooting Star’ ‘Charlotte’ ‘No More Running Away’ ‘Time Goes By’

13. [artist]radicalfashion[/artist] - Odori

[img]http://www.kommerz.ch/img/reviews_upload/20070202_radical.jpg[/img]

Newcomer Hirohito Ihara has crafted the seminal ambient package of the year in Odori, an album that’s anything you want it to be, conjuring one’s chosen imagery and emotions gained from these delicate passages and cementing them in mind and heart forever. The beauty is in Ihara’s subtle, minimalist aesthetic as classical piano gently soothes until the intrusion of whirring, clinical electronica threatens to steal the utopian harmony away from the listener. It’s this almost silent battle that forges the understated emotional impact within and marks Odori as a haunting experience.

Download – N/A

12. [artist]Kings Of Leon[/artist] - Because Of The Times

[img]http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/04/05/2_Kings_070404033925105_wideweb__300x300.jpg[/img]

With maturity comes newfound ambition and now Kings Of Leon seem to have evolved once more, the smoke filled garage-rock of yore largely discarded to make way for a newfound, expansive breadth that echoes the stadium glory of U2, thankfully without the severe delusions of grandeur or silly glasses. This willingness to venture into such varied creativity is admirable and it’s all carried out with sufficient aplomb. It’s difficult to see how they’ll surpass this.

Download – ‘On Call’ ‘Charmer’ ‘Black Thumbnail’ ‘The Runner’

11. [artist]Kubichek![/artist] - Not Enough Night

[img]http://funkyimg.com/u/14816cover.jpg[/img]

Fuming with frustration and disillusionment, these nocturnal anthems rocket at breakneck speed, displaying a breathless array of punk dynamics that’s all killer and no filler. The band themselves are as intricate as a Swiss watch but its (former member regrettably) Alan McDonald’s bravura guitar skills that truly excel, his spiky guitar riffs coat every intro, bridge and coda with memorable hooks that sting with a merciless rage.

Download – ‘Start As We Meant To’ ‘Outwards’ ‘Roman Is Better’ ‘Nightjoy’

10. [artist]Fields[/artist] - Everything Last Winter

[img]http://www.new-noise.net/media/832f08fe/fields.JPG[/img]

A dazzling, occasionally berserk cacophony of unnerving hailstorm folk and spacey synthesizer work. This stark contrast of influences is fascinating when melded together, the luscious shared harmonies of Nick Peill and Thorunn Antonia Versatile stun and Henry Spenner’s scatter-gun drum beats pervade with a trademark finesse. If only all tree huggers were this perversely entertaining.

Download – ‘If You Fail We All Fail’ ‘Charming The Flames’ ‘Song For The Fields’

9. [artist]The Hours[/artist] - Narcissus Road

[img]http://www.roots-and-branches.com/Hours.jpg[/img]

British music scene veterans Anthony Genn and Martin Slattery condense all the highs and lows of the past 15 years into 11 hugely impassioned piano-led laments on drug addiction and departed relatives. It’s all delivered with an acute confidence and integrity, the sound of someone finally in control of their own life after overcoming all sorts of hardships. A deeply cathartic experience.

Download – ‘Ali In The Jungle’ ‘Icarus’ ‘Murder Or Suicide’

8. [artist]The Bees[/artist] - Octopus

[img]http://blog.roodo.com/emixe/c0a3dfaa.jpg[/img]

Isle Of Wight’s best (only?) musical export revert back to the multi-genre ingenuity of debut Sunshine Hit Me with Octopus showcasing a band that are becoming increasingly hard to pigeonhole and all the better for it. Where else would one find themselves in the middle of a blues/psychedelia/reggae/60’s-era giddy-pop hybrid? And that’s just the first track! It’s not easy to indulge coherently with a palette of widespread musical styles, but to master such a technique with seemingly effortless breeze is something else. So The Bees then, they remain one of the greatest, and most loveable, bands around.

Download – ‘Got To Let Go’ ‘(This Is For The) Better Days’ ‘Listening Man’ ‘Who Cares What The Question Is?’

7. [artist]Black Rebel Motorcycle Club[/artist] - Baby 81

[img]http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/6e8c/music_phases-39255.jpeg[/img]

Having wowed everyone who dismissed them with masterpiece Howl, BRMC return to their early garage-rock sound while this time incorporating some of the more traditional instrumentation and genres that the previous album was full with. And while it never quite matches the heights reached by the aural overhaul of that aforementioned classic it is rarely less than electrifying, thriving with a vigour rarely found in even the most youthful of today’s acts. There’s no stopping them now.

Download – ‘Am I Only’ ‘All You Do Is Talk’ ‘Killing The Light’ ‘Weapon Of Choice’

6. [artist]Maps[/artist] - We Can Create

[img]http://www.recordstore.co.uk/images/covers/mute/CDSTUMM281-300.jpg[/img]

One of the breakthrough talents to emerge from Britain this year, James Chapman is destined for great things if his own brand of electronica and shoegaze can be kept to this bewitching standard. It’s the mesmerising heights that these songs reach which proves most startling, bouts of ecstatic euphoria that are unbridled in their ability to elevate the listeners spirit and soar up to the heavens. It’s all accomplished with Chapman’s soothing, everyman whisper, drenched in all manner of widescreen feedback and crystalline keyboard melodies. A celestial feast for the ears.

Download – ‘Don’t Fear’ ‘So Low So High’ ‘To The Sky’ ‘Elouise’

5. [artist]Siberian[/artist] - With Me

[img]http://funkysouls.com/img/Siberian-With_Me.jpg[/img]

Teeming with both wide-eyed child-like wonder and erratic intensity, these astronomical guitar-driven compositions combine the wistful tones of Bends-era Radiohead with the windswept grandiosity of The Open to staggering effect. All the ingredients come to a perfect finale in the emotionally charged, pulse-racing Islands Forever, one of the finest album closers 2007 has seen.

Download – ‘Islands Forever’ ‘Belgian Beer And Catholic Girls’ ‘Georg Bendemann’ ‘Futuristic Kids’

4. [artist]The Little Ones[/artist] - Sing Song

[img]http://blog.roodo.com/emixe/679ddb9d.jpg[/img]

Jaunty summertime indie-pop that wouldn’t shame prime Shins, hell it even surpasses them. It’s to The Little Ones credit that the consistently joyous tunes bop along with a harmonious delight that never veers towards becoming too saccharine, thanks to the complex song-structures and resentful lyrics. If anything to go by the LP out early next year will be pop perfection…full-length style.

Download – ‘Lovers Who Uncover’ ‘Let Them Ring The Bells’ ‘Face The Facts’

3. [artist]Editors[/artist] - An End Has A Start

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The transition from indie gothdisco to stadium-rock can’t be an easy, or sensible, one but Editors accomplish it marvellously, Tom Smith’s booming baritone being particularly well suited to the huge desolate soundscapes these anthems occupy. Though the contemplative themes of death mean the songs are always in danger of becoming oppressively disheartening, the trademark whirlwind-tremolo courtesy of guitarist Chris Urbanowicz and Edward Lay’s flourishing juggernaut drums means proceedings are kept exhilarating amidst the morose setting.

Download – ‘Bones’ ‘The Weight Of The World’ ‘An End Has A Start’ ‘Push Your Head Towards The Air’

2. [artist]Goldrush[/artist] - The Heart Is The Place

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‘Life-affirming’, a term perhaps too bold to be realistically described as a quality music can offer. And yet nothing seems more aptly attributed to The Heart Is The Place, which is less a collection of songs and more a healing process for an aching soul. It’s all in Robin Bennet’s tender, breathy vocals, which are at once naturally uplifting yet tinged with a forlorn sadness. And if the reflective lyrics occasionally sound like they’re teetering towards despair in the face of an impending future, the rapturous horns, Garo’s psychedelic guitar licks and the glorious keyboard hooks reassure that everything’s going to be okay. It’s these ‘life-affirming’ virtues that mark the album as a classic, the optimism burning brightest at the end. Consider the final line of the album…“And love, that’s the only thing, keeping us here, in spite of everything”. If you leave the album not feeling the slightest bit of warmth inside then you’re either a zombie or Simon Cowell. Or both.

Download – ‘Can’t Give Up The Ghost’ ‘Yours And Mine’ ‘We Will Not Be Machines’ ‘Aperture/The Story Of The City’

1. [artist]The Cooper Temple Clause[/artist] - Make This Your Own

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Unfairly maligned upon release by both critics and fans alike, the truth of the matter is that this wildly diverse collection of songs effortlessly showcases just how much colossal range and talent The Cooper Temple Clause were capable of. From the wounded electro-pop of Connect to the monstrous prog-rock terror of All I See Is You (their ‘heaviest’ moment) to the heart-wrenching piano-led farewell of House Of Cards, the album marks itself a visceral triumph, so stark is its variety, yet the constant changes in genre never become jarring. So what if Waiting Game mimicked, to an extent, Snow Patrol’s calculated MOR anthemics, TCTC do it with more refinement and style, especially when ravenous metaller Homo Sapiens and ambient/jazz psych-out Once More With Feeling are within short hearing distance away. The Cooper Temple Clause were always about change and progression, the rest of the world just couldn’t keep up. Ben, Tom, Kieran, Jon, Dan, please…come back.

Download – ‘All I See Is You’ ‘House Of Cards’ ‘Head’ ‘Damage’ ‘Connect’