Top Thirsty Albums of 2007: 10-6

10. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living With The Living
There's nothing really separating Living from the rest of Ted Leo's catalog, dating all the way back to his Chisel days. It's still loud, fast, catchy, and politically-charged, the way it always has been and most likely always will be. However, it'll never get old, so long as Leo always has enough energy and power to carry his punk monster into the hearts of us all. Really, he's got everything you could possibly want in a rock god: he's a guitar hero, writes awesome lyrics, kicks out the jams, and has terrible teeth. Those jams he kicks out on Living are the best and most consistent he's put out to date. Lead single "The Sons of Cain" starts off the album so fast that you have to assume that Leo's forearm is about to fall off after every take. From there it's a roller coaster ride through Irish drinking anthems ("Bottle of Buckie"), reggae groovers ("The Unwanted Things"), and even a 6+ minute power ballad ("The Toro and the Toreador"). At fifteen tracks, Living is almost completely without filler, making it the strongest and best punk album of the year.

Key Tracks: "La Costa Brava," "Who Do You Love," "Colleen"


9. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
While it lacks to the cohesive brilliance and ultraviolent imagery of Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names shows Okkervil River to be a more mature, more focused band. The Austin collective show here that, while most of their songs are about jilted or failed rock stars, they have the heart and idealism of the common rock and roll fan. Will Sheff appears wiser on this release, partially because of his lyrics, but mostly because he - for the most part - eschews the Oberstesque whine which held back previous, otherwise great work. That maturity is present from the very start of the album, which opens with the skin-crawling "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe," where Sheff proclaims, "It's just a house burning/But it's not haunted," showing a surprising optimism in the face of depression. "A Girl in Port" shows a romantic side of Sheff, where he matches his whimsy with pity on a troubled female. In spite of this maturity, Sheff occasionally can't help playing fun games with his songs, such as the rock history exercise, "Plus Ones," in which Sheff adds one to a series of famous rock numbers -- "Nobody wants a tune about your 100th luftballoon." Perhaps the most impressive moment on the album comes at the end on "John Allyn Smith Sails," where the band interrupts its tale at sea by seamlessly seguing into "Sloop John B;" I honestly didn't even notice it until the second time through.

Key Tracks: "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe," "A Girl in Port," "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene," "John Allyn Smith Sails."


8. Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated
Upon first listen, Complicated seems to be a bit of a regression for Art Brut. While Bang Bang Rock and Roll was an exercise in complete punk-rock hilarity, the sophomore album is a band growing into its own, sacrificing ironic one-liners with devoloping songcraft, partially attributed by the addition of rhythm guitarist and consummate showman Jasper Future. However, further listens show that lyric-man Eddie Argos has added poignancy to his bag of tricks, making Complicated a more mature, and in the end, better accomplishment than the critically lauded Rock and Roll. The one-liners are still there, as shown by the so-awkward-it's-true opener, "Pump up the Volume," an ode to the never-ending battle between the lovely lady and the background music for lovemaking. Argos also tops his rock-history love affair of "My Little Brother" with "St. Pauli," where he displays his respect for obscure Eastern European music by saying, "I'm sorry if my accent's flawed/I learned my German from seven inch records." The aforementioned poignancy, however, comes in the second half of the album, most notably on the excellent anthem, "Post Soothing Out." Argos shows his uncanny ability to find the noteworthy out of the mundane in this story of "the saddest text message ever," as Argos turns in his greatest indictment of rock cliches in the quip: "River deep and mountain high/Are lyrics that I'll never write/Because I never lie awake at night/Thinking of river depth and mountain height." In the end, an album which was at first underwhelming proves itself to be the British Boys and Girls in America.

Key Tacks: "Pump Up the Volume," "Post Soothing Out," "People in Love," "Blame it on the Trains"

7. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
If !!!'s Myth Takes is the year's best sleaze party, then Sound of Silver is the best music history lesson. With a shocking lack of pretentiousness, LCD genius James Murphy does more for the Talking Heads career than anything in David Byrne's solo catalog. From top to bottom, this is Murphy's love song to the groove-based idols which came before him. While the eponymous debut was a series of bass-based rave-ups suited for only the hippest of dancefloors, Sound of Silver finds Murphy exploring the more introspective and soulful sides of dance music. The first single, "North American Scum," proves to everyone exactly what everyone at Pitchfork was saying in declaring LCD a punk band. Amid cultured drumwork and funky bass, Murphy throws in clever lines about the American experience such as, "And for those of you who still think we're England/We're like...no." This cleverness stems from the fact that, while Murphy improvised in the vocal booth for almost all of the debut, he went into this album with meticulated lyrics. Nowhere on the album is that more apparent than on the instant classic, "All My Friends," which builds upon from a single keyboard line into a vibrant and complex soundscape. While I would disagree with him on this issue, Murphy sounds so damn sincere when he says, "I wouldn't trade one stupid decision/For another five years of life." The album ends with Murphy turning in his most emotional track to date, with the the crushing, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," which reveals the feelings of an NYC lifer who feels uncomfortable in a post-9/11 environment. The line in the opening verse, "New York you're safer/But you're wasting my time/The records all show/you were filthy but fine." This Woody Allen-esque quip shows that Murphy has more to him than access to a sampler machine, but the rest of the album proves that that sampler machine is pretty damn cool.

Key Tracks: "New York, I Love You..." "All My Friends," "North American Scum," "Watch the Tapes"


6. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
This has been quite a year for Noah Lennox. He starts it out releasing Person Pitch, then follows it up with the even better Strawberry Jam (hint, hint). Lennox transcends the hipster image of "I'm too cool for everything" by presenting a completely optimistic viewpoint on life. He opens his solo epic with the fantastic "Comfy in Nautica," which in its title alone shows that he is happy to enjoy all of life's pleasures, even if they might tread on his indie-cred. The chorus of the song, "Try to remember always/Just to have a good time," is the kind of sage-like advice which we've been looking for in a stoner since the heyday of Timothy Leary. The rest of the album is a demonstration of Beach Boys love mixed with modern technology. The second track, "Take Pills," shows that he has an enlightened viewpoint on his druggy lifestyle, as he proclaims (in perfect harmony), "I don't want for us to take pills anymore." However, it's on the 12+-minute epic, "Bros," that Lennox shows his absolute mastery of auditory bliss. Building around a simple acoustic refrain, he shows that repeating a simple chord progression and adding the occasional perfect vocal accompaniment can prove to be the definition of "music therapy." Though I don't use drugs other than alcohol, I feel like this music is a drug, as it provides an immediate escape into a much better, less judging world. Noah Lennox is a gentle, fragile artist who acts upon his impulses, which is something that more musicians these days should strive to become. It also doesn't hurt that the title, Person Pitch, demonstrates the extent of his musical gifts.

Key Tracks: "Comfy in Nautica," "Take Pills," "Bros," "Good Girls/Carrots"