The Sigla Blog

20. Hannu . Worms in My Piano (Osaka)
Hannu Karjalainen, when he’s not making gorgeous instrumental scores, is also a filmmaker and like Sigur Ros, there’s a real sense of place and landscape in his electronic soundtracks. A small release, with a big payoff.
Highlight: ‘Junassa’
Irish Times Review
Hannu on myspace

19. David Karsten Daniels - Sharp Teeth (Fat Cat)
Karsten Daniels was one of the year’s understated and undersupported releases. It undeservedly fell below the radar even though it’s his fourth album, his first for Fat Cat. Tales of morality and weirdness that recalls Will Oldham. A quiet epic.
Irish Times Review
Highlight: ‘Minnows’
David Karsten Daniels on myspace

18. Menomena - Friend and Foe (Barsuk)
Free-wheeling walls of sound are one way of describing this Brooklyn quartet, but for all the chaos and asymmetric arrangements, this album has something of a gentle soul and reveals something new every time you listen to it.
Highlight: ‘Wet and Rusting’
Menomena on myspace

17. Electrelane .No Shouts No Calls (Too Pure)
Sadly, this all girl Brighton four-piece have called it a day, but not before making a fine swansong of a album. Their brand of Gallic guitar pop has won comparisons to Stereolab and Monade, but Electrelane have a sharper post-rock edge that’s softened by glorious harmonies. Roll on the much-anticipated solo projects.
Highlight: ‘To The East’
Electrelane on myspace

16. Cadence Weapon . Breaking Kayfabe (Upper Class)
Not content with pitching reviews for Pitchfork, Rollie Pemberton is on a one-man mission to reinvent hip hop, something he does very well while rapping, writing and twiddling all the knobs on Breaking Kayfabe. An album that gives hip hop the kick up the ass it deserves.
Highlight: ‘Black Hand’
Cadence Weapon on myspace

15. Grinderman . Grinderman (Mute)
Proving that he’s kicking and screaming all the way to 50, Nick Cave’s side project has a Viagra-like energy that would shame bands half his age. Noisy swamp rock with a touch of punk and blues.
Irish Times Review
Highlight: ‘No Pussy Blues’
Grinderman on myspace

14. Panda Bear . Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
I was going to try and not mention Brian Wilson when talking about Noah Lennox’s alter ego, but it’s hard to get away from the pristine melodies and sugared vocals. A lovely record that keeps the warm, fuzzy vibes going long after summer (not that we had one, mind).
Highlight: ‘Bros’
Panda Bear on myspace

13. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Jeff Tweedy and co gave us one of the year’s rewarding slow-burn albums. While it’s not as perfect as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, its countrified soul with the odd pop detour makes Sky Blue Sky a grower and a keeper.
Highlight: ‘Impossible Germany’
Wilco on myspace

12.MIA - Kala - (XL)
After her explosive debut Arular, many weren’t sure if Maya Arulpragasam was a flash in the pan. Kala, with its myriad styles and two-fingered approach to making music put paid to that.
Highlight: ‘Paper Planes’
MIA on myspace

11. Gruff Rhys - Candylion (Rough Trade)
Yes this seems like a 2006 release, but this gem snuck out way back in January. Extricating himself from his Super Furries role, Gruff Rhys dabbles in playful soundtracks, carnivalesque detours and the odd hint of Ennio Morricone.
.Highlight: ‘Cycle of Violence’
Irish Times Review
Gruff Rhys on myspace

10. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino Records)
Sometimes crazy and fractious, but always exploiting melody to the full, Animal Collective’s chaotic arrangements aren’t for everyone. Strawberry Jam has many highlights, although you might have to be buckled in for the ride.
Highlight: ‘For Reverend Green’
Irish Times Review
Animal Collective myspace

9. Bjork - Volta (One Little Indian)
Always inventive and rarely off the mark, Bjork has always been ahead of her time, laying down musical patterns that others follow and imitate. ‘Declare Independence’ was one of the most frantic pieces of music of the year, and the album is all crests and troughs of mood and pace.
Highlight: ‘Earth Intruders’
Bjork on myspace

8. Battles . Mirrored (Warp Records)
A triumph of rhythm and repetition, Battles blur the lines between the experimentalism of Steve Reich, the automaton beats of Kraftwerk and the melodic arcs of Tortoise.
Highlight: ‘Atlas’
Battles on myspace

7. Adrian Crowley . Long Distance Swimmer (Tin Angel)
A late runner in terms of release (mid-December), thankfully Crowley’s fourth album is getting the critical success it deserves. Easily the best Irish album of the year, and a contender for the Choice Music Prize.
Highlight: ‘Bless Our Tiny Hearts’
Adrian Crowley on myspace

6. Feist - The Reminder (Universal)
One of the many fantastic albums from on-form women this year, Lesley Feist has a voice you don’t forget and does a very fine line in skewed pop (’My Moon My Man’), fantastic covers (’Sea Lion Woman’) and catchy sing-a-long (’1234′) tunes.
Highlight: ‘My Moon My Man’
Feist on myspace

5. LCD Soundsystem . Sound of Silver (DFA Records)
James Murphy is a chameleon who is equally at home with Kraftwerk-inspired stompers like ‘Get Innocuous’ and post 9/11 ballads like ‘New York I Love You’. Easily one of my most listened to records of 2007.
Highlight: ‘Get Innocuous’
LCD Soundsystem on myspace

4. St. Vincent . Marry Me (Beggar’s Banquet)
25-year-old Annie Clark has a big future ahead of her. She has gone from Polyphonic Spree membership and occasional stints in Sufjan Stevens’ band to crafting an unpindownable debut. It’s unpredictable, playful, eerie and hugely original. Her vocals tinkle and soar, and she can do the arpeggiated sweeps of Kate Bush just as well as Billie Holiday’s soulful tics on quieter songs. Having seen her live, she’s a one-woman orchestra of immense talent.
Highlight: ‘Jesus Saves I Spend’
St. Vincent on myspace

3. Amiina - Kurr (Ever Records)
‘Kurr’ is the Icelandic word for ‘cooing’ and it’s no surprise that this all female quartet make the most beautiful narcoleptic lullabies. There are a crazy amount of instruments on here (which are swapped and played by all four) from saws, kalimbas and singing wine glasses to cellos and desk bells. Haunting instrumentals that evoke sleepy landscapes - and puts babies to sleep. Guaranteed.
Highlight: ‘Seoul’
Irish Times Review
Amiina on myspace

2. The National - Boxer (Beggar’s Banquet)
If ever there was an album that grabbed an instant hold of me this year, it was this one. The National are all about the arrangements that pivot around one of the best drummers you’ll ever hear - Bryan Devendorf. They favour blistering elegiac pop rock and even their piano-led ballads upturn the idea of how twee that sounds. More people should be listening to these guys than Arcade “Yeah, we listen to way too much Bruce Springsteen” Fire. It’s taken Boxer to elevate The National to the kind of acclaim level they deserve.
Highlight: ‘Fake Empire’
Irish Times Review
The National on myspace

1. PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)
As the Victorian death photo cover shows, this is PJ Harvey reinvented. Gone is guttural ire of past albums only to be replaced by a falsetto whisper and barely a hint of a guitar. There’s a childlike sweetness to proceedings, but this is as dark and gothic as it gets and anyone expecting splintering feedback and sharp edges was suprised. A complex, beautiful album that lingers and haunts.
Irish Times Review
Highlight: ‘When Under Ether’
PJ Harvey on myspace

Honorable Mentions:
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Kristen Hersh - Learn to Sing Like A Star
Burial - Untrue
Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
John Hegarty - Guiding Light
Caribou - Andorra
Kevin Drew - Spirit If
Sigur Ros - Hvarf Heim
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup

Footnotes:

Best Soundtrack: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Nick Cave and Warren Ellis)
Best EP: Fight Like Apes - David Carradine Is A Bounty Hunter Whose Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch
Best Compilation: A Kind of Awe and Reverence and Wonder
Best gigs: - Joanna Newsome at The Olympia, St Vincent supporting The National at The Olympia, Amiina at The Button Factory and Feist at Tripod.

Update: I have just realised that I overwrite an older draft and completely left out Mice Parade’s self-titled album - arrgh - which would have probably made the Top 10.