Getintothis reveals the top ten records of 2007.
10. Minus The Bear: Planet Of Ice
Review.
9. Stars of the Lid: And Their Refinement of the Decline
Review
8. Yeasayer: All Hour Cymbals
Review
7. Okkervil River: The Stage Names
Review.
6. !!!: Myth Takes
They owned Glastonbury, and they finally fulfilled their potential with this beat explosion. If you listen to Myth Takes and don’t dance you must be dead.
5. Fujiya & Miyagi: Transparent Things
Review
4. Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog
Review.
3. Battles: Mirrored
Review.
2. Besnard Lakes:
Getintothis feature.
Live at Liverpool Barfly
1. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
There’s so many reasons why James Murphy‘s second longplayer has topped my listening list this year.
For longevity alone it has proved to have incredible staying power. In an industry where the product is not only given away by the makers for free, but eaten up by the consumers faster than ever before, LCD has been at the forefront of my listening pleasures since March, and I’m convinced will continue to be so for years to come. But this isn’t the basis for it’s success alone.
The reason could be, that in a year when festivals were largely homogenised as dance and rock became almost inseparable and electronic music spawned greater end products, that Murphy’s lot managed the perfect synthesis of all that was great about this musical fusion.
But, in my mind, the biggest reason behind Sound of Silver’s undeniable greatness is that Murphy has created something which few electronic pioneers have done before him – create a record to dance to which has a huge human heartbeat at its soul. This is a record which sounds equally, if not more, powerful at home as it does down the indie-disco or in the clubs.
There’s superb characteristic LCD flourishes – see Get Innocuous‘ funk, North American Scum‘s dirty, tongue-firmly-in-cheek pop precison and New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down‘s hopeless romanticism. But Sound of Silver builds on his excellent, yet flawed, debut creating something which feels complete as whole.
Integral to its beauty are the two most discussed tracks of 2007, Someone Great and All Of My Friends; the former an understated groove, the latter a whitehot rush of building momentous euphoria.
What they share is a reflective, yearning for time, moments and people that you’ve left behind – a past that’s forever lost – while seeking solace in the good things you’ve got and celebrating your future. That’s reason enough alone for listening.
There is a reason why Sound of Silver has topped virtually every end of year poll – that’s because it is a truly special record. I doubt James Murphy will ever top this, but lets hope he’ll give it a try.
