Recommended Listen: In Colour by Jamie xx

I was excited for this album to be released in June, if only to tide me over to the next release from The xx-- the group Jamie xx is a member-- but I've come to love it on it's own merit. While this CD isn't nearly as stark or moody as The xx albums, this should still please existing fans and perhaps gain some new ones due to his expanding repertoire. Three tracks feature vocalist Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim, both members of the xx. So, even though this is a solo album, he's still got one foot planted in the group. The track that diverts the most is the hip-hop and dance-hall inspired I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times), featuring Popcaan and Young Thug.

What makes this album different from previous efforts is that it's not as cohesive from track to track. It's more diverse: this disc oscillates between house and more-laid back compositions and the aforementioned hip hop/dancehall track. You can dance, or just plain relax to this disc, which isn't true of all electronic albums. My standouts include Sleep Sound, Obvs, Hold Tight, The Rest is Noise, and Girls, which is my favorite of the pack. This is a definite step forward for Jamie.

In Colour by Jamie xx
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My Music Year: Trapped in 2007

Following in the footsteps of fellow Media Corner Blogger Jason and the AV Club before him, I highlight one of my favorite years in music.

There is a certain type of people who seem trapped in a period of their life—for instance, people who relieve their high school glory days well into adulthood.  Similarly, I think some people have a musical peak; they get fixated on a particular period in music and never quite move on.  Their musical taste slowly atrophies into unhipness.  I had a neighbor in college who seemingly only listened to music which was popular circa 1996.  This would have been less annoying, if say he was really into Weezer’s Pinkerton or Belle and Sebastian’s If Your Feeling Sinister.  Instead, I had to wake up every morning to sounds of the Cranberries’ “Salvation” and Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta” blaring from his dorm room.  The kid must have musically peaked at the age of 12.  How sad, I thought, be in your very early 20s and already nostalgic.

However, when I was attempting to compile my best of the 00's album list (a task I still haven't finished), I realized a disconcerting trend.  Save for Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) and Neko Case’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006), all of my favorite albums were from 2007.  I wondered if this was my own musical heyday…soon I’d be the annoying neighbor blaring LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” and saying stuff like, “2007, that was when music was music!  Not like the rubbish kids listen to these days.”

Thankfully, my music geekery is insatiable, so it's hard for me to get stuck in one year for too long.  Even if I’m still really obsessed with Person Pitch and Jens Lekman. 

My Top Five of 2007:

5).  Cryptograms- Deerhunter
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It took me a while to discover this album.  Deerhunter had kind of a notorious reputation at the time, thanks in part to front man Bradford Cox's sometimes erratic behavior and provocative blog posting.  The first time I heard most of the songs off of Cryptograms was when I saw the band live in 2008.  The eerie moodiness of the album, as well as the spare psychedelia make Cryptograms a classic.

Stand-Out Tracks: Spring Hall Convert, Strange Lights, Heatherwood

4).  Night Falls Over Kortedala- Jens Lekman
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Though he had garnered some fame for his singles "You are the Light" and "Maple Leaves," I somehow missed Lekman until 2007. I saw him described on a music blog as being a combination of Jonathan Richman and Frank Sinatra.  As a big Jonathan Richman, I immediately checked out his single "Postcard to Nina" and I was hooked.  Night Falls Over Kortedala is a funny, quirky, but sincere effort.

Stand-Out Tracks: Opposite of Hallelujah, A Postcard to Nina, Into Eternity, Kanske Ar Jag Kar i Dig

3).  Sound of Silver- LCD Soundsystem
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Having spent much of 2006 listening to the Talking Heads, New Order, and Gang of Four (thanks Marie Antoinette), meaning I was in the perfect frame of mind to love this album. While all of James Murphy and Co.'s albums are great, Sound of Silver is probably the most consistently awesome.  Best three song stretch of the Aughts?: "North American Scum," "Someone Great" and "All My Friends."

Stand-Out Tracks: The aforementioned three, "Get Innocuous!"  and "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." 

2).  Boxer- The National
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Alligator, the 2005 release by the National, had been in heavy rotation in my stereo for about two years when Boxer came out.  It was one of my most hotly anticipated albums of the year and it exceeded my expectations.  Most National albums have to grow on you, but my love for Boxer was immediate.  They just do melancholy so well.  This is an album full of slowly building tension and brooding.  Lyrically, the album focuses on the theme of reluctantly growing up.  Being 23 at the time, I could definitely relate to the early adulthood ambivalence.

Stand-Out Tracks:  Fake Empire, Mistaken for Strangers, Slow Show, Apartment Story, Start a War

1).  Person Pitch- Panda Bear
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If there was one album that was the zeitgeist of 2007, it was probably the solo album of Animal Collective member Noah Lennox aka. Panda Bear.  Person Pitch was named the best album of the year by Tiny Mix Tapes, Gorilla Vs. Bear, and Pitchfork. It has an upbeat sound and is unabashedly Beach Boys-esque. It definitely is a pick-me up record.  When I listen to it, my mood usually improves and I feel more relaxed.  Person Pitch is like a trip to Portugal for your ears!  This album is definitely recommended for fans of the Animal Collective album Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009). 

Stand-Out Tracks: Comfy in Nautica, Bros, Good Girl/ Carrots, Ponytail. 

What We've Been Listening To: Admiral Fell Promises by Sun Kil Moon

Call No.: CD-ROCK RAP SUN ADMIRAL
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I am a big fan of Sun Kil Moon's previous albums, especially April.  Mastermind Mark Kozelek makes really pretty, melancholy music that is tranquil enough to play as background music for a dinner party, but complex enough to warrant listening to with headphones on.  Admiral Fell Promises is probably the barest and most delicate work by Kozelek yet.  The first few times I listened to the record, I thought the album was beautiful but excessively chill.  Then I turned up the volume about ten notches and was thoroughly impressed by Kozelek's guitar work and the album as a whole.

Admiral Fell Promises is a spare album; it's pretty much an hour of Kozelek's vocals and classical Spanish style guitar work.  Kozelek plays alone (all alone).  This sparsity makes the album perfect cold weather listening; in fact, it stayed in my car stereo pretty much all winter long.  However, Kozelek does manages to incorporate some warmth and brightness into the album, particularly in the almost joyful "You are My Sun."  So the album will probably hold up for some of the more bittersweet days of spring and summer too.

Standout tracks: "Ålsund", the aforementioned  "You are my Sun," "Admiral Fell Promises," and closer "Bay of Skulls."

Recommended for fans of:  Red House Painters, Jose Gonzalez, and the Kings of Convenience.