Top Tracks of 2007 - Part 2 of 3

35. Studio

Origin (Shake You Down by the River)

Origin is my favourite track from Studio’s album Yearbook 1. The whole LP is full of long, building pieces of electronic music, mostly constructed by layers and layers of looping beats. The tracks are long and minimalistic, but Origin stands out in particular as it takes a warmer and more upbeat tempo than the others. There is a Wild West sounding feel to the riff that flows throughout the piece and the whole thing just feels like something you could listen to crossing the desert by horse along a railway line.

34. The Hives

You Got It All... Wrong

'You wanna dance you really wanna let it go, You want it bad but this time they told you to go, You want it.' there's nothing complex about The Hives music. A group of Swedish rockers dressed in tuxedos serve up yet another serving of infectious, danceable rock and the catchy riffs and keyboards in this track will have you nodding your head at bare minimum.

33. M.I.A

Paper Planes

I’ve been critical of M.I.A.’s record this year in how it’s been produced and marketed. But while Maya might not be the bona fide hustler she claims to be, this pop song is catchy as hell and with its laidback, reggae beat plus sing-a-long chorus it has to be a summertime hit no matter how you feel about Maya. After all, it’s was going to get a lot more listens than The Clash this year anyway.

32. Alterkicks

Decisions

Alterkicks are part of the new wave of English Indie rock and the scouse accent on this track commands attention. This is an outright rocky number, starting with the strum of an acoustic guitar and then quickly being shadowed by the riff of an electric one before the song devolves into steady, Britrock. Alterkicks seem like a band with a bright future.

31. Arctic Monkeys

505

Favourite Worst Nightmare could have been Whatever People Say I am… Bonus Tracks and B-Sides given how quickly it followed the Arctic Monkey’s debut. But the new album shows signs of strength and maturity throughout and the closer - 505 - is the most appropriate ending. It’s an exhibition of all the progression that’s been shown across the record, and when the vocals escalate and the music follows the emotional delivery of 'But I crumble completely when you cry' it just highlights the potential this band has to offer in the (probably near) future.

30. Klaxons

Totem on the Timeline

Full of sped up keyboards and guitars over frenetic drums, Totem on the Timeline is a rapid example of the Klaxons nu-rave turned indie-dance sound. Complete with completely obscure lyrics no doubt pulled from many literary inspirations like the rest of the album Myths of The Near Future.
Whatever the meaning of Totem on the Timeline is, there’s no doubt that it’s both very rocky and incredibly danceable. Clocking in under three minutes of time, just a fraction of a sign, it’s a song you’ll probably need to hear all the time. Or at least twice. The Klaxons are crazy...

29. Menomena

Weird

My favourite track off Friend and Foe, Weird is a spacey tune populated by low, slow saxophone and an exceptional drumming performance. Within the ambient void there’s the story sung of dysfunctional relationship. And to the tone of every note sung the guitar pings along to the same melody. By the end everything delves into an enjoyable muddle of sound. Menomena don’t make average sounding music, but it does sound good, even though it is a bit... weird.

28. Hopewell

All Angels Road

Hopewell produced a few sleepy ballads on their album Beautiful Targets this year, but they are all balanced out by this crazily upbeat, guitar laden tune. The piano works especially well throughout the verses, pounding out deep notes underneath the chords of the guitar line. Former Mercury Rev guitarist Jason Russo owns the vocals during All Angels Road’s infectious choruses and barks out the verses with pace. In some part pop-punk, some psychedelic sounding rock this song is one of the catchiest of the year.

27. Interpol

Pace Is the Trick

Dark and moody, Pace is the Trick is a standout track from the often overlooked Interpol album released this year. It combines the best, raw elements of Turn on the Bright Lights and the more mainstream sounding rock of Antics. Pace is full of brooding lyrics for the length of the track before bursting out in a final outburst of restrained, calculated passion. The guitar work is exceptional; a Daniel Kessler special.

26. Calvin Harris

Acceptable In The 80s

In 2007 Calvin Harris brought disco back in the same way that Justin Timberlake brought sexy back in 2006. I can remember in 2005 just stumbling around wondering where sexy was and in 2007 the I Created Disco EP made me sit down and seriously consider where Disco had been since the 70s. There’s something magical about a song that can make you want to dance and strut in around in platform shoes simultaneously. Given house… sorry, how infectious this beat is I think you’ll be forced to agree.

25. The White Stripes

Rag & Bone

The White Stripe's latest album is one of recycling, reusing the sound from their first album as well as a number of other sources. So when listening to it you’ll hear unexpected sounds called out, like ragabone. This is an excellent track, full of delightful banter both between Jack and Meg, and guitar and drums.

Half song, half vignette comedy, Rag and Bone is one that puts The Stripes sheer talent on display in all forms of music, melodies and storytelling.

24. Ratatat/Notorious B.I.G.

Party & Bullshit

Ratatat have received many approving analyses in the past years thanks to their finely crafted tunes as well as the pure struggle to categorise them within a genre. But it’s their mixtape albums which assist in pigeon holing them, for 2007 at least, in the realm of hip hop. And if there was to be an example of how fresh the Ratatat sound is, it’s the immaculate dusting off one of the most remixed and re-sampled Notorious B.I.G. tracks ever.

With muddy drums to open the track and evil chords lurking throughout, Party and Bullshit is stalked by a sinister sound that quickly bursts into definition. It’s a beat that stomps; your head nodding is basically from momentum. The timeless lyrics balance themselves well to the tune, neither takes precedence. It would be possible to convince someone that this was the original backing for the track if it weren’t for the familiarity of the lines. Knowing the words only helps highlight the sweetness of the beat. The chorus filled with tambourine being an inspired example, a true instrument of both bullshit and partying.

23. Spoon

The Underdog

A rapidly strummed acoustic guitar introduces The Underdog before the perfect tempo first verse begins. The singing proves Britt Daniels’ master-class, his story telling voice seems designed to be partnered with the chords of his guitar. The tempo increases as the bass guitar joins in the story and as the chorus descends flawlessly timed horns emerge. This song is a summer one, uplifting lyrically and written to be listened to with a batch of sunlight. If none is available the music itself can provide a substitute.

22. Caribou

Sandy

This is the kind of song I would expect to hear as I descended into a chemically altered state. Full of sliding sounds and harmonious melodies sung higher than I could reach. Caribou’s album Andorra is loaded with psychedelic electronic music and these songs are fully layered, far more than the tunes on The Milk of Human Kindness. Sandy is a tune which envelopes the plummeting listener into a blanket of drums, melodies and lullabies.

21. Radiohead

Reckoner

Reckoner is a one of the many beautiful songs off of In Rainbows. It’s coated with Thom Yorke's haunting, falsetto voice. From the start there is a captivating, steady spacing of a tambourine and percussion which phases into slow, simple strings. Underneath this is a piano/guitar combination that's both emotively breathtaking AND catchy, which just illustrates why Radiohead are so revered as masters of contemporary music and why when all the pieces come together and the words "in rainbows" are crooned slowly in the background of Yorke singing, we can't not listen.

20. Bishop Allen

Click, Click, Click, Click

In what is becoming a trademark sound for Bishop Allen, the sounds of guitar, ukulele and xylophone are combined for a quaint tale of life. In this case it's nothing dramatic, just the tale of ducking out of the rain and into an unknown wedding ceremony, and the unbridled joy of appearing in photos smiling with strangers. Well you may not know Bishop Allen, but their simplistic pop melodies should have you smiling too. While the meaning of the song is not as poignant as the singing conveys, it’s a chirpy melody that’s easy to love.

19. Bloc Party

Hunting for Witches

Hunting for Witches has Bloc Party’s new passion for production polishing on full display as they turn a solid rock track with speedy riff into major motion picture soundtrack material. Opening with stuttered radio fragments and telling a tale of international paranoia in the information age the studio work is highly evident. The bassline and drums are both crisp and ear-catching. The guitar work in particular, with the post-recording tweaking, is outstanding.

18. The Cinematics

Human

Scott Rinning has a voice and two people know how to use it. Himself and producer Steven Hague who has produced greats like New Order, Pet Shop Boys and James. On Human the Scottish indie rockers The Cinematics start slow, with two plucked strings forming the heartbeat for the duration of the song. The drums and rhythm section create a building wave for Rinning's emotive voice to rise on. This is a powerful song, a ballad about being trapped in a relationship that can’t be ended without breaking another’s heart, and a little more downbeat than the other tracks on their superb debut album A Strange Education. Rinning’s voice doesn’t reach the peaks it does in other songs, instead remaining dark and stifled. But he sells the track beautifully, disarming any listener with a raw passion that matches the backing instinctively. The guitar work drags like a shadow in the background of each verse before growing louder for each chorus with drum beat escalating into a shattering of restraint before the chorus finally vents the sadness and frustration involved in a poetic cascade.
There's a regretful guitar bridge before the finish, time to cycle the realisation that the trap will never end, there’s nothing he can do and the climax is intense, 'I'm only human.'