Not that my musical vocabulary is satisfactory enough to wax poetic about my favorite albums of 2007, but here’s a listing all the same. No attempt is made to rank these or even pretend that it means anything.
Air - Pocket Symphony
What to say… an awesomely relaxing yet exciting album from Air.
Amon Tobin - Foley Room
This is a kinetic little gem heavily utilizing sampling, except in this case the samples are from original real world recordings and not music of yesteryear.
Björk - Volta
In my mind this is a direct follow-up to her score for Drawing Restraint 9, with lots of seaport noises and some remaining avante-garde sound design, just with beats and vocals. Alternately beautiful and militant.
Burial - Untrue
Taken individually, a lot of the tracks seems repetitive, but listened straight through, this is a wonderfully haunting journey.
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Post-rock goodness.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen
The combo of Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse’s production will be familiar to anyone who listened to the second Gorillaz album, Demon Days, but here it’s used to treat a chill rock record. Really fun easy listening.
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Er… it’s Radiohead. If you haven’t heard more than enough about this record, it’s time to get out from under that rock.
Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
Awesome, awesome poetry over industrial/hip-hop soundscapes as produced by Trent Reznor. It doesn’t hurt that it was released online for free or $5. Plus, a Bowie homage!
UNKLE - War Stories
UNKLE returns using a whole lot of guitar but with a similar electronic sensibility to previous albums.
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Still the best straight rock outfit currently making music.
Brilliant!