Sunday, December 30, 2007

best of 2007

After some very enjoyable lazying around Think Tank has finally put together the annual best of list which consists of our my favorite releases of the year, it was created a little more than 3 weeks ago but I wanted to marinate on my selections. The two weeks after that I was just busy.


Andrew Bird - armchair apocrypha
Mr. Birds Armchair Apocrypha straight on in is a winner but after a number of listens I realized this was going to be an album that I would come back to often.

Andrew Bird - Heretics


Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Winner of best church organ moments of the year.

Arcade Fire - Black Mirror


Kevin Drew - Spirit If
Its weird, I'm a BSS fan and have clocked in hours with all their albums but this solo release by one of their key songwriters has gotten more listens than all the BSS albums combined.



The National - Boxer
I think the National should release all their album in the Fall because it just seems to suit the weather best.

The National - Mistaken For Strangers (youtube video)


Okkervil River - the Stage Names
Follow ups to great albums always get heavily scrutinized by Think Tank, I had to get over this album not being Black Sheep Boy 2. But after I listened past that I heard a wonderful album with very moving lyrics.

Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe


Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Person Pitch has this mysterious vibe that just tells me that no matter how many times I listen to this I will never completely get it and that makes me want to listen to it again.

Panda Bear - Comfy Nautica


Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa
These guys rarely let me down. Should I expect a Britt Daniel solo album in 2008 because I expected it this year based on what he said.
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Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Beirut - the flying club cup

Born Ruffians - Born Ruffians
One very promising debut and this release contains one of my favorite instrumental interludes.

Busdriver - Roadkillovercoat
Favorite hip hop album of the year, there are a few other notable hip hop releases this year but this is the only one that I still listen to. Plus Sun shower is one my favorite tracks of the year.

Clear Tigers - ep
Not a bad song on this EP.

Deer Tick - War Elephant

Gruff Rhys - candylion
I never really listened to Super Furry Animals but I do like what I hear on this solo release. This reminds me of something but I just can't put my finger on it.

Gruff Rhys - Cycle Of Violence

Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Leaked on the internet very early and because of that the momentum of this album wasn't as strong as it should of been. Some of Iron and Wines most interesting moments can be heard on this album.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver

MGMT - MGMT
Lot more people need to listen to this album, there are a lot of good things going on here. Officially this album doesn't physically release until next year but its available as a download purchase. If thats not enough Kevin Barnes ranked it on his top 10 of the year.

Mobius Band - Heaven
A nice handful of good singles.

Mobius Band - Friends Like These

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer

St. Vincent - Marry Me

St. Vincent - Now, Now

Two Gallants - Two Gallants
Their best album so far, the sound fits perfectly in Texas, especially in the summer.

Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told

Vampire Weekend (Blue CD-R)
Those hooks just glue themselves onto my brain.

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This year Think Tank was not as active as the previous years mostly because my lack of free time. I have few plans for the blog for next year, mostly appearance and a set schedule for posts nothing too big. I don't really have many people who visit TT anymore but its a fun hobby and thats why I do it and continue to do so in 2008. Its gonna be lots more fun because it an election year.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

or Maybe

A new Okkervil River album is floating towards us and I'm pretty excited after hearing the first single, Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe, which premiered on pitchfork.



I like the artwork from the other albums better than this one but maybe it will be more relevant when I hear the entire album.

Okkervil River - Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe


The new album, their 4th, is called The Stage Names and is out on August 07 on Jagjaguwar.

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Also yesterday Adult Swim released another album of free downloads titled Warm & Scratchy. It features mainly indie rock bands and I definitely worth checking out. It features tracks from TV On The Radio, Les Savy Fav, The Raveonettes, Broken Social Scene and few others.

Download Warm & Scratchy


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