When I review a new release, I also give the album a score based on the quality of each individual track and the cohesiveness of the album as a whole. To be eligible for this list, the album needs to be released in the U.S. between December 1, 2006 and November 30, 2007. The following albums have scored highest this year so far. I update these Standings every time an album or albums break into my Top 20.
Update: This week Arctic Monkeys enter the Top 10 with Favourite Worst Nightmare and Dinosaur Jr. and The Comas enter the Top 20 with Beyond and Spells resepectively. Meanwhile, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Ligion and Peter Bjorn and John get pushed off the list.
1. Menomena Friend and Foe (Barsuk)
2. Bright Eyes Cassadaga (Saddle Creek)
3. Macromantics Moments in Movement (Kill Rock Stars)
4. Youth Group Casino Twilight Dogs (Anti-)
5. The Bird and the Bee The Bird and the Bee (Metro Blue/Blue Note)
6. Tim Fite Over the Counter Culture (Anti-)
7. Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino)
8. The Beauty Shop Crisis Helpline (Believe Music)
9. El-P I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Definitive Jux)
10. The Shins Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop)
11. Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)
12. Elvis Perkins Ash Wednesday (XL)
13. Arcade Fire Neon Bible (Merge)
14. Nine Inch Nails Year Zero (Nothing/Interscope)
15. Dinosaur Jr. Beyond (Fat Possum)
16. Maria Taylor Lynn Teeter Flower (Saddle Creek)
17. The Noisettes What’s the Time Mr. Wolf? (Universal Motown)
18. Kings of Leon Because of the Times (RCA)
19. The Comas Spells (Vagrant)
20. CocoRosie The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Touch and Go)
Check out my top 15
Let me know what yoiu think
www.amberwavesoftwang.blogspot.com
Thanks for the feed back on my list. BTW I agree with you on the Shins and I want to check out Elvis Perkins. I’ve added your blog as a link on my blog. Also, 120 minutes is the best show ever on MTV. I never missed it. So I am obviously a big fan of your work.
Elvis Perkins is definitely worth checking out. I’ve linked to your blog, as well. Glad to hear you were a fan of 120 Minutes. It’s too bad MTV and even MTV2 became far less interested in music-related programming over the years.
Have you heard Ellen Allien’s Fabric mix, Matthew Dear or the new Valdislav Delay? I’m off to the shop for them today.
Haven’t heard those yet. In fact, none of them are out yet…in the US at least, right? Where are you shopping for them?
CD Warehouse @ M and 30 usually has CD imports of most hot stuff in the minimal electronic scene ASAP, especially any major Kompakt release.