December 12th, 2007
As voted by The A.V. Club's music writers
For this year's best-of music poll, we asked the 19 writers who regularly contribute to our music coverage to spread 100 points across their favorite discs. No disc could receive more than 15 points per writer, and each writer's main list could be no longer than 15 items. Below you'll find the top 25 vote-getters of 2007, which should serve as a handy guide to the year's most notable music. (In a separate piece, you'll find each writer's individual ballot, along with commentary on their favorite albums and runners-up, and plenty more songs to listen to.]
25. Iron And Wine, The Shepherd's Dog (20 points]
"Boy With A Coin" by Iron & Wine
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Sam Beam's third album as Iron And Wine continues his impressive evolution from lo-fi folker to refined popsmith. Clearly inspired by his stellar 2005 collaboration with Calexico, In The Reins, The Shepherd's Dog embraces a lushly gorgeous sound that wraps itself like a blanket around Beam's understated singing. It subtly shifts styles, too, mixing indie-folk with funk rhythm ("Wolves (Song Of The Shepherd's Dog]"] one minute and sitar ("White Tooth Man"] the next.
24. James Murphy & Pat Mahoney, FabricLive 36 (20 points]
"Beginning Of The Heartbreak" by Peter Gordon And Love Of Life Orchestra
It might seem odd to rank a DJ mix so high on a year-end list, especially when only nine of its 24 selections post-date 1993. (The other 15 were released between 1978 and 1983.] But in the hands of LCD Soundsystem leader James Murphy and drummer Pat Mahoney, this stuff sounds absolutely up-to-the-minute, even for those already familiar with it. Outside club-cult gems by Instant Funk, Chic, Was (Not Was], and an LCD B-side, chances are that most people aren't.
23. Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High (22 points]
"The Take Over, The Break's Over" by Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy's Infinity On High sounds like a record made in a factory—and proves all the better for it. Choruses soar, verses versify, bridges bow down and think out loud: Such songwriting doesn't come from dudes who don't know what they're doing. Whatever one thinks of his taste in hoodies and eyeliner, Pete Wentz wrote a body of lyrics that prove smartly earnest and self-aware, and the music masterminded by Patrick Stump does a lot to prop up all the withering ambivalence and outsized regret. It's misleadingly slotted as "pop-punk," especially in light of Stump's remarkable vocal delivery: Some of his better moments invoke the full-bodied passion and grace of old soul-music stars as much as the rage of mall-rats.
22. Bat For Lashes, Fur And Gold (22 points]
"Horse And I" by Bat For Lashes
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Born to a family of famous squash players (how very Wes Anderson], and gifted with exotic beauty and an amazing voice, Natasha Khan was destined for stardom. Fortunately, she eschewed the Norah Jones/Starbucks route and chose to follow her own freakish muse as Bat For Lashes, an eclectic chamber-pop project steeped in baroque instrumentation and dark-forest mysticism. And then she turned out a spellbinding debut that never loses its mystique.
21. Grinderman, Grinderman (23 points]
"No Pussy Blues" by Grinderman
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The raw, lecherous energy spewing from Nick Cave's new splinter group had nostalgists popping wood over the prospect that the taskmaster behind The Bad Seeds' oeuvre might've at last rediscovered the abandon he pioneered with The Birthday Party. And for the first few tracks, at least, that's just the payoff Grinderman promises. (The brutally funny midlife-crisis seizure "No Pussy Blues" is worth the admission fee.] But Cave has come too far as an arranger to lapse into chaos and noise for their own sake, and those who stick around for Grinderman's latter portion—a blend of blues, ballads, and bristling atmospherics—will witness the far scarier power of the man's restraint.
20. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight (25 points]
"The Moneymaker" by Rilo Kiley
After a three-year break spent tending to side projects, Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett returned to Rilo Kiley with a bold statement, one that removed them from the indie-rock ghetto and left some fans behind. But those who stuck around know that Under The Blacklight is the most exciting, eclectic pop album of the year, effortlessly jumping from sultry rock to disco to an LL Cool J-like slow jam while touching on everything from sex to post-relationship freedom. Rilo Kiley has actually gotten more adventurous here, unafraid to blow out a chorus with gospel singers, release an anomalous Heart-like rocker as the first single, or get all Fleetwood Mac when the mood strikes. Even when things get serious, there's a playfulness that makes the twists and turns fun to follow, and the whole band (especially Lewis] exudes the confidence necessary to pull it off.
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