My Best of 2007 (11-15)

15. Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of...
Consistency, thine name is Josh Ritter. Four albums in seven years, each one better than the last. Of all of the people that the media has dubbed "the new Dylan" over the past few years, Ritter may the most deserving, both for the quality of his songwriting, his musicianship, and the adventurousness of his albums. I'm still kicking myself for missing his show at the 9:30 Club a few months ago.

14. The National Lights, The Dead Will Walk, Dear
I discovered this one on eMusic a few months back, and it was probably my best accidental discovery of the year. The album is an amazing contradiction -- its songs are as beautiful as anything I've heard this year, yet its lyrics are unbelievably dark, covering topics such as murder and statutory rape. As the band describes on its website, the album "roughly documents the passions, trials, and regrets of a Midwestern murder." Don't let the subject matter scare you off though -- it's a fantastic album, and I can't wait for the band's followup (due next year).

13. Babyshambles, Shotter's Nation
Finally, Pete Doherty gives us reason to believe that he really is the "fallen genius" that the British press like to portray him as. While Shotter's Nation isn't as consistent as his former bandmates' (Dirty Pretty Things) debut CD last year, the best songs on this album are as good (if not better) than anything that DPT or even the Libertines ever did. Now if Pete can only keep his shit together and keep making music of this quality, he may finally start truly living up to his billing.

12. Apples in Stereo, New Magnetic Wonder
Pretty damn close to a perfect pop album. Song after song of head-bopping, singalong fun. And they even created a whole new musical scale for the album (although that effort, as well as several other songs at the end of the disc, probably should have been jettisoned before release). It's great to have these guys back in business, although given the strength of her contributions to the album, Hilary will definitely be missed.

11. Vandaveer, Grace and Speed
If you haven't heard of Mark Charles Heidinger yet, it's a pretty safe bet that you will before long. Between his quasi-solo work as Vandaveer and his work as frontman of The Apparitions, Mark has been responsible for some of my favorite music over the last year or so. (Many, many thanks to WOXY.com for introducing me to both bands.) That said, though, Vandaveer's debut album showcased a depth to Mark's songwriting that I had no idea existed. If I were doing a "top songs" list this year, "However Many Takes It Takes" would certainly be near the top.


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