Fuzzy Lion

It was very hard for me to compile a list of only 20 albums for this year’s “best of” list and there were some really strong records which didn’t make the cut. For example, Jimmy Eat World’s Chase This Light was a very solid offering, as was Elk City’s New Believers and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Some Loud Thunder. While I do like (not love) Radiohead’s In Rainbows, I do give the band a lot of props for trying to shake up the music industry with their “pay what you want” plan.

All that being said, I present to you my Top 20 Albums of 2007. As usual, if you like what you hear, buy the music and support the artists, or go see them live and buy their merch!

Fuzzy Lion’s Top 20 Albums of 2007

	20. The Snake The Cross The Crown – Cotton Teeth Best Tracks: “Gypsy Melodies” “Cake Walk” / “Behold the River”
	19. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills Best Tracks: “Normandie” “Tonight I Have To Leave It” / “South America”
	18. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger Best Tracks: “Pearls On a String” “Two” / “Halloweenhead”
	17. Rilo Kiley – Under the Blacklight Best Tracks: “Silver Lining” “Under the Blacklight” / “Breakin’ Up”
	16. Minipop – A New Hope Best Tracks: “Like I Do” “Butterflies” / “Someone To Love”
	15. Mika – Life In Cartoon Motion Best Tracks: “Lollipop” “Love Today” / “Any Other World”
	14. Matt Pond PA – Last Light Best Tracks: “Sunlight” “Last Light” / “Until the East Coast Ends”
	13. Jeremy Enigk – The Missing Link Best Tracks: “Tatseo Show” “Chewing Gum” / “Oh John”
	12. Patty Grifin – Children Running Through Best Tracks: “Heavenly Day” “No Bad News” / “I’m Getting Ready”
	11. Stars – In Our Bedroom After the War Best Tracks: “Take Me to the Riot” “The Night Starts Here” / “Today Will Be Better, I Swear!”
	10. Kate Nash – Made of Bricks Best Tracks: “Birds” “Foundations” / “Pumpkin Soup”
	9. Travis – The Boy With No Name Best Tracks: “Closer” “Big Chair” / “Selfish Jean”
	8. New Pornographers – Challengers Best Tracks: “Myriad Harbour” “My Rights Versus Yours” / “Challengers”
	7. Okkervil River – The Stage Names Best Tracks: “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” “Savannah Smiles” / “A Girl In Port”
	6. Young Galaxy – Young Galaxy Best Tracks: “Embers” “The Sun’s Coming Up and My Plane’s Going Down” / “Outside the City”
	5. Band of Horses – Cease To Begin Best Tracks: “No One’s Gonna Love You” “Is There a Ghost” / “Ode to LRC”
	4. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible Best Tracks: “Intervention” “Black Mirror” / “Keep the Car Running”
	3. The National – Boxer Best Tracks: “Apartment Story” “Fake Empire” / “Start a War”
	2. Pela – Anytown Graffiti Best Tracks: “Song Writes Itself” “Waiting On the Stairs” / “Lost to the Lonesome”
	1. The Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist Best Tracks: “(Come On) Let’s Go” “Pomp and Circumstances” / “Zeitgeist”

Zeitgeist takes the #1 spot of the year for me not just because it’s a Smashing Pumpkins record, but because it’s the record I wanted the band to make for a long time. Corgan and Chamberlin went back to their rock roots and created an album that schools all mainstream wanna-be rockers how it’s done.

Pela and The National round out my #2 and #3 spots. Pela’s Anytown Graffiti is a work of art from start to finish. The National’s Boxer proved to everyone that the hype surrounding Alligator was no fluke and it’s possible for a band to experiment and grow without abandoning their roots.

Please feel free to post your best-of lists in the comments or links to your own blogs, as I always love to see what the readers opinions are.

One of 2007’s best albums thus far has got to be Pela’s Anytown Graffiti.

Hailing from Brooklyn, Pela formed in 2004 and released two EPs before releasing this year’s debut full-length. Citing influences from such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Hubert Selby, Hüsker Dü, Raymond Carver, The Replacements, Andre Dubus, The Pixies, Wilco, and the Hold Steady, Pela has crafted a masterpiece that I have been unable to turn off since my very first play.

Listening to Pela, I can’t help but draw comparisons to one of my favorite bands, The National.  For example, “The Trouble With River Cities” features a simple repeated guitar melody over a shuffling drum beat played with brushes. While the timbre of Pela singer Billy McCarthy’s voice doesn’t sound anything like The National’s Matt Berninger, the same dark simplicity is there and works wonderfully.

Have a listen to a couple of my favorite songs from Anytown Graffiti, “Waiting on the Stairs” (mp3) and “Lost to the Lonesome” (mp3).

The band’s official website can be found here.

Lastly, if you still need convincing that this is one of the best “new” bands out there, you can listen to a wonderful performance the band recorded back in June for KEXP which has recently been made available here.