AZLTRON Top 40 Albums of 2007 Part 3 20-11

Well, here we are, at part 3 of my year end blow out. I'm coming into the home stretch here with the albums that I continually came back to over the course of the entire year. Without further ado I'll escort you through yet another list of ten superb albums from 2007.

20. All Teeth and Knuckles - Club Hits to Hit The Clubs With

If there were ever a perfect ironic, post-hipster, club ready album released, All Teeth and Knuckles would already be two steps ahead of it. The beats border on indie, punk, rap, and electro while still retaining the feeling of those crazy guys who lived down the hall from you sophomore year, who've since moved out, but still invite you to their rocking parties off campus. What I'm trying to say is that the music is as much hilarious as it is badass. From the interludes of the squeaky voiced guy from the P-Funk, to a song literally titled "Fuck Your Jacket", "Club Hits to Hit the Clubs With" is a Win.

All Teeth and Knuckles - The Real San Francisco

19. White Williams - Smoke

Another artist that has popped up in the category of almost dance, almost pop this year is White Williams. You can hear influences all throughout his music. Often times his rhythm section takes on a Bowie-like syncopation pattern, or his bass will chug not unlike an LCD Soundsystem bassline. Made from island rhythms, off note guitar melodies, aural soundscapes and an undeniable white boy funk, White Williams has crafted one of the most fascinating albums of the year. From the moment you hear the spacey sounds and driving bassline of New Violence you'll be hooked, and when the sighs hit around 0:41 you'll be as satisfied as Mr. Williams sounds.

White Williams - New Violence

18. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

Several things happened as Bright Eyes progressed as an artist from my perspective. First off, he did the Digital Ash/Digital Urn album that drew me into his songwriting world and I figured out that while overtly emotional there was nothing annoying or whiny about most of his work, and that it was actually smart. Then, I got into Son Volt and Wilco and other Alt. Country bands. Lo' and behold, Cassadaga is Bright Eyes' best realization of alt country aspiration yet. The only thing I'd question is that "Reinvent the Wheel" was left off the LP. Songs like "Four Winds" and my personal favorite "If The Brakeman Turns My Way" buoy the album, but "Reinvent the Wheel" is undeniable.

Bright Eyes - If The Brakeman Turns My Way

17. Digitalism - Idealism

I have to admit it took some warming up to Digitalism for me, I think I wasn't impressed with the singles off the bat and that impression stuck with me. It wasn't until I heard the driving guitars of "I Want I Want", that made me go "Woah, guitars? Who are these guys?" and I dove through the rest of their album finding other gems like, of course, "Idealistic", "Anything New", and the best song to listen to in a convertible while speeding, "Pogo". Of course I'm going to like the songs with vocals better than the instrumental, sample based, and ambient works, but the fact that there is a wide variety gets more respect from me than if they just released 12 pop songs.

Digitalism - Pogo

16. People Noise - Ordinary Ghosts

People Noise is a welcome suprise, composed of Zeke Buck formerly of VHS or Beta and Matt Johnson formerly of Boom Bip, joined together they made one of the best rock albums of the year. Drenched in reverb and washes of keyboards every note is tangible and rewarding to listen to. It kind of cracks me up that when Zeke Buck left VHS or Beta all of the mystique and addictive riffs left too, leaving "Bring on the Comets" sounding like a clunky hybrid of the two Killers albums. That said, the lush soundscapes that were once hidden behind French house riffs are now in the forefront. From the absolutely thrashing rock riots to the beautiful ballads "Ordinary Ghosts" will make you wish Zeke had left VHS or Beta earlier.

People Noise - Harrison Bergeron

15. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release

Taking their album name from the settings on an analogue synthesizer, SMD shows you what a good Moog can do. Several of the year's most banging singles came off of this album as well as one of the most talked about music videos of the year (Hustler). Guest vocalists like Ninja from the Go! Team and Barry Dobbin from the the discontinued Clor make some of the albums highlights really shine. I'm sure half of the reason I listen to "Love" is because I want to hear some new Clor tracks and the other half is that great slap bass sound. The pinnacle though, is the hard hitting electro ballad "I Believe". After listening to this record you will believe too, in Simian Mobile Disco.

Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe

14. Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia

With all of the retrofitting of catchy synthesizers to fit funked up French fried beats, it seems impossible that anyone could pull off anything like that in a truly live performance. Australia's Midnight Juggernauts prove that it is possible. With a sound that's one part David Bowie, one part Justice, and one part Gary Numan's Minimoog synthesizer from 79, the basslines and roaring synth will have you begging for more in 45 seconds flat. If anyone out there was going to make a remake of the Rocky series, except it was a musical on acid, they might want to consult the Midnight Juggernauts because they have a lock on the otherworldly dance sound that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Midnight Juggernauts - So Many Frequencies

13. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

Everybody's favorite Montreal based synthfunk band returned this year and proved to be in better form than ever. There literally was not a better album to have in your car in this summer. The majestic electro soul of the intro captures the greatness of the album yet to come. Once the hits start rolling the just don't stop. The song structures from their last album have been juiced up and the choruses are so insanely catchy that they'll be there until next year's best of lists. From "Tenderoni", to "Fancy Footwork", "To Bonafied Lovin'" Chromeo will make you believe in a place where Jheri Curl never went out of fashion and everyone still wears asymmetrical sunglasses and neon jackets.

Chromeo - Opening Up (Ce Soir On Danse)

12. The Rakes - Ten New Messages

The thing that keeps bringing me back to The Rakes is that their music is so urgent. Vocalist Alan Donohoe perfectly ascribes the feeling of being intelligent and out of control at the same time. It's the idea of the emotional versus the logical and the Rakes' music is dripping with that give and take. The ballads highlight this unique approach to the love song, "Little Superstitions" and even more so "Leave the City and Come Home" lay out a relationship situation perfectly, and the protagonist knows what he should do, the logic, but his emotional side won't let him. For as much as I'm talking about the cerebral, there are definitely brash rock outs on this album, some are even a little angry. The best of them is the unstoppable "Time to Stop Talking", which is a shock to The Rakes' cerebral system to end contemplation and begin fevered action.

The Rakes - Time to Stop Talking

11. The Octopus Project - Hello Avalanche

The smörgåsbord of sounds offered up on this album are more than enough to make it the instrumental album of the year, even though not all tracks are instrumentals. From tremolo vibes to fuzzed out electronic beats to perfect garage rock riffs, this album has something for everyone. There's even a theremin all throughout! A theremin! When was the last time any band, any band, used a theremin? We've probably got to go back to the 60's for that one. The genre bending tendencies of this album soar through ambient, easy listening, indie pop and IDM. If The Octopus Project ever scores a movie, I'll be the first in line to see it. Until then they'll have to remain the soundtrack of my life.

The Octopus Project - Ghost Moves