1. Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
After a string of critically received EPs and incendiary live shows, New York quartet Battles finally released their debut album this year in the shape of Mirrored. With expectations flying high, the four piece, consisting of members of Don Caballero and Helmet, delivered the album that many hoped they would, relentlessly experimental yet with a laser sharp precision and sense of purpose. Even within the avant-rock community Mirrored is a startlingly original work, a roadmap to the future where silicon chips and circuit boards are as much a part of the DNA of rock music as guitars and drums, if George Lucas had gifted Mos Eisley Spaceport with a CBGBs rather than a Cantina, Battles would have been the house band. Easily our album of the year, with Mirrored Battles have raised the game to new heights and left the rest of the world playing catch up.
2. Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Burial's Untrue finally emerged at the end of this year to be met with near universal praise, with everyone from the broadsheets to electronic message boards buzzing with praise for the South Londoner's sophomore effort. A truly original album, Untrue rewires dubsteps origins, filtering the jagged beats of 2 step through an ambient haze till the end result is like stumbling across the ghost frequencies of some long dead pirate radio station in the dead of night.
3. Björk - Volta (One Little Indian)
A new Bjork album is always a special event and her latest effort, Volta, featuring collaborations with the likes of Konono N°1, Antony Hegarty, Lightning Bolt and long time producer Mark Bell (LFO) was no exception. Taking a looser approach than her last few albums, Volta is a microcosm of her entire career taking moments of inspiration from each of her previous 5 albums from the untamed exuberance of Debut to Vespertine's hushed beauty. Another fine album from a relentlessly experimental artist.
4. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly International)
Michigan's Matthew Dear has been keeping dancefloors packed for several years now with his peerless techno productions both under his own name and as Audion. Being one of the world's most respected dancefloor technicians obviously wasn't enough though, as for 'Asa Breed' he delivered his most song based effort yet and made a bold bid for Depeche Mode's electro pop crown. Throughout the albums 12 tracks, Dear's hypnotic bleeps and beats are cut through with his sonorous and melancholy tinged vocals, breathy harmonies and towards the end of the album unexpected moments of acoustic guitar. A wonderful and surprising album from an artist not afraid to expand his range and confound expectations.
5. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky)
A gorgeous ambient album of subtle tones and harmonics from Kranky's Stars of the Lid, 'And Their Refinement of the Decline' bathes the listener in sound, immersing you in its quiet hazy beauty. Amassed from five years of recordings and clocking in at nearly two hours, this is the kind of album you just assume isn't made anymore, slow, luxurious and utterly mesmerising it takes its time to slowly build up each tune and draw the listener into the velvet folds of its melodies.
6. Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino)
It's taken nearly 30 years but it appears that the mercurial Mark E Smith has finally found his match. Having ruled his band The Fall with an iron fist, hiring and firing at will, it was quite a shock to find the post-punk tyrant fronting an unlikely partnership with German electronic duo Mouse on Mars. An even greater shock came when the resulting collaborative effort, under the name Von Sudenfed, turned out to be the best work any of the parties involved had produced for many years, an electronic, disco punk tour de force.
7. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
As the lead singer with Animal Collective, Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear already has several classic albums under his belt but with his third solo effort Person Pitch he possibly topped them all. 7 tracks of psychedelic whimsy and experimentation that however weird and wonderful they get are still firmly rooted in a pop tradition and had everyone from The Observer to Pitchfork to the bloke behind the counter in Rough Trade competing to shower Person Pitch in well deserved praise.
8. Field Music - Tones Of Town (Memphis Industries)
The second album from Sunderland's Field Music saw the bands early promise come to fruition. 12 tracks of bottled sunshine that references bands as diverse as The Beach Boys, ELO, and Supertramp but manages to sound so much more than just the sum of its influences. Short, sharp and to the point, this is how pop music should be made. Although ideally listened to in an open topped cadillac as you sweep through America, 'Tones Of Town' will still bring a little joy into your life when you're crammed on to your train in the morning rush hour.
9. Modeselektor - Happy Birthday! (Bpitch Control)
After putting shame in the game of many other electronica producers with their debut album 'Hello Mom', Modeselektor returned this year with the brilliant 'Happy Birthday'. Once again they easily straddled the divide between the more experimental scene and the full on electro party madness of the Ed Banger/Institubes crews with an album that threw everything from dancehall, grime, hip-hop and electro into the mix and features a stellar rollcall of guests from the unlikely such as Thom Yorke (!) and Maximo Park (!!), to the more familiar likes of TTC, Otto Von Schirach and Puppetmastaz.
10. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33:00 (DFA)
Originally released in 2006 in conjunction with Nike, 45:33:00 is a mostly instrumental piece conceived as a soundtrack to your workout. Don't let the gimmicky concept fool you though, 45.33 is a sublime album and perfect accompaniment to this years 'Sound of Silver' LP which garnered most of the press. From the gorgeously soulful disco opener, through the slow burning electro of Someone Great and onto the album's ambient coda this is one of the best releases to date from James Murphy, and that's high praise indeed.
11. Paul Hillier& Theatre of Voices - Stockhausen : Stimmung (Harmonia Mundi)
Recorded in Copenhagen last year, this is only the third recording in existence of Stockhausen's Stimmung, a 70 minute vocal piece based around a single six-note chord, and acclaimed as the best to date. It's clever stuff, though you don't need a masters degree in music theory to enjoy what has been hailed as a masterpiece of the twentieth century and is a fitting tribute to the recently deceased composer. One of THE classical releases of the year.
12. Black Dice - Load Blown (Paw Tracks)
For this their fourth album, Brooklyn experimentalists, Black Dice, jumped ship from the mighty DFA to Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label, and it seems the change did them the world of good as Load Blown is probably the bands best work to date. A challenging rollercoaster of fractured samples, sheets of processed noise and complex rhythms, it may not be an easy listen but persevere and it is certainly a rewarding one, with the end result something close to what you might get should Autechre choose to remix Byrne and Eno's 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts'.
13. Fairmont - Coloured In Memory (Border Community)
One of the best British techno labels around at the moment, Border Community have got a knack for releasing music with its feet on the dancefloor and its head in the clouds, ploughing a similarly melodic yet club friendly furrow as Cologne's Kompakt. Having scored with excellent albums from Nathan Fake and label boss James Holden, Fairmont's 'Coloured In Memory' had a lot to live up to and delivered in spades, with a combination of almost celestial synthesizers, cloaked nimbus-like in reverb that floated above the intricate beats and rumbling bass and never let you forget that techno always sounds best when pumped through a wall sized soundsystem.
14. Murcof - Cosmos (Leaf)
Fernando Corona's long-awaited third album as Murcof, Cosmos was composed almost entirely from recordings of classical instruments, a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer. The immensity of tracks like the monolithic twins 'Cosmos I' and 'Cosmos II' brings to mind the work of the German electronic pioneers of the '70s or the Hungarian composer György Ligeti as much as the visceral, low-end rumblings of SunnO))) or Coil.
15. Strategy - Future Rock (Kranky)
Like early morning dew catching the first rays of the morning's sun, Future Rock glistens and shimmers and despite its obvious debt to dub, a genre normally noted for its heaviness, this is an effortlessly light album. Its bright shards of sound swaddle you in reverb and raise the listener higher and higher above the clouds before they echo off into infinity.
16. Blonde Redhead - 23 (4AD)
Formed in 1993, Blonde Redhead initially came under the wing of New York art rock noisiness Sonic Youth. Several albums, line-up changes and years on though and their chiming wall of guitars has become ever hazier and ethereal and latest album 23 bore a greater comparison to a peppier version of the sublime 'Loveless' by My Bloody Valentine or label mates the Cocteau Twins. Kazoo Makino's vocals float above the noise held aloft by whispered sighs, whilst the guitars are draped in sheets of echo and reverb and accompanied by the warmest synthesizers and strings.
17. Holy Fuck - LP (Young Turks)
Purveyors of deranged psychedelic disco punk, Canada's Holy Fuck won't be clocking up much daytime radio play with a name like that not that they'll be too concerned. Recorded whilst on tour, LP manages to capture the spirit of their amazing live shows and burns with a level of invention and passion that you'll be hard pressed to find in most other 'rock' albums released this year.
18. Luke Vibert - Chicago, Detroit, Redruth (Planet Mu)
It's been a busy year for Mr Vibert, not only did his collaboration with Jean Jacques Perry finally see the light of day but he also managed to squeeze in 2 solo albums and found time to remaster and re-release an extensive part of his vast back catalogue. Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, his solo album for Planet Mu probably just pips it as our pick of the bunch, no radical departures from his trademark style, but top notch analogue/moog-y/acid loveliness as ever, perfect for dancing, DJing, driving and everything else in between.
19. Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English (XL)
Whilst the grime scene continued to implode in a series of increasingly pointless and petty squabbles it took the return of Bow's Dizzee Rascal to remind us what made this genre so exciting in the first place. Not that Maths & English bares much comparison to the current sounds of the pirates or even the rough, arcade game beats of his debut 'Boy In Da Corner', but Dizzee has managed to raise both his lyrical and production game without sacrificing any of the raw energy that originally made him such an exciting prospect.
20. Alva Noto - Xerrox (Raster Noton)
Alva Noto is the operating alias of Berlin-based musician and composer Carsten Nicolai. Perhaps best known for his collaborative work with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto's music focuses on texture and resonance, ranging from serene, contemplative calm to abrasive abstractions. On this latest work 'Xerrox', real world recordings of muzak, advertising, soundtracks and entertainment programs that we hear randomly in everyday life are manipulated beyond recognition.
21. White Rainbow - Prism of Eternal Now (Kranky)
Simply magisterial album of electro-acoustic noise and ambient textures on Kranky from White Rainbow and in much the same vein as the epic Stars Of The Lid album also released this year. From tracks that throb and hum with an industrial menace to moments of sublime beauty Prism Of Eternal Now is like listening in to the dreams of a vast slumbering power station.
22. Gosub - Watchers From The Black Universe (Citinite)
A new album on the peerless Citinite label is always a good thing. After releasing the excellent John Davis album Flashcan last year, Citinite returned to the present day with the latest effort from Gosub, the operating alias of Shad T Scott, electro producer extraordinaire and head of the Isophlux label. Watchers From The Black Universe not only boasts one of the best titles of the year but is the kind of lovingly crafted electro that makes grown men misty eyed. Fans of acts such as Drexciya and Dopplereffekt would do well to check this out.
23. Neil Landstrumm - Restaurant Of Assassins (Planet Mu)
Once upon a time Neil used to make no-nonsense serious techno records. But in 2007, no doubt fuelled and inspired by the UK's current climate of rave regeneration mixed with dubstep/dancehall-led sonic explorations, Landstrumm has patented a brilliant blend of early Warp/Leeds style warehouse clonk, dubstep, rave, techno and filthy huge low end BASS that puts him alongside the most interesting producers operating in the UK today. This is probably Neil's best record to date - and this man has made a lot of good records.
24. Future Pilot AKA - Secrets From The Clockhouse (Creeping Bent)Featuring collaborations with amongst others Thurston Moore, Belle & Sebastian and Can's Damo Suzuki, 'Secrets Of The Clockhouse' is an eclectic affair from ex-Soup Dragon Sushil Dade that ranges from sunshine fuelled psychedelic whimsy to wide eyed pop, via moments of folk and jazz and eastern chimes. An utterly irresistible record that brims with optimism and has the power to brighten up even the coldest winter day.
25. Oren Ambarchi - In The Pendulum's Embrace (Touch)
Stately, sonorous and full of space Oren Ambarchi's 'In The Pendulum's Embrace' consists of three tracks of slowly unfolding drones and tones, occasionally punctuated by simple plucked guitar notes. 'In The Pendulum's Embrace' goes nowhere fast, but when the scenery is this good what's the rush?
After a string of critically received EPs and incendiary live shows, New York quartet Battles finally released their debut album this year in the shape of Mirrored. With expectations flying high, the four piece, consisting of members of Don Caballero and Helmet, delivered the album that many hoped they would, relentlessly experimental yet with a laser sharp precision and sense of purpose. Even within the avant-rock community Mirrored is a startlingly original work, a roadmap to the future where silicon chips and circuit boards are as much a part of the DNA of rock music as guitars and drums, if George Lucas had gifted Mos Eisley Spaceport with a CBGBs rather than a Cantina, Battles would have been the house band. Easily our album of the year, with Mirrored Battles have raised the game to new heights and left the rest of the world playing catch up.
2. Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Burial's Untrue finally emerged at the end of this year to be met with near universal praise, with everyone from the broadsheets to electronic message boards buzzing with praise for the South Londoner's sophomore effort. A truly original album, Untrue rewires dubsteps origins, filtering the jagged beats of 2 step through an ambient haze till the end result is like stumbling across the ghost frequencies of some long dead pirate radio station in the dead of night.
3. Björk - Volta (One Little Indian)
A new Bjork album is always a special event and her latest effort, Volta, featuring collaborations with the likes of Konono N°1, Antony Hegarty, Lightning Bolt and long time producer Mark Bell (LFO) was no exception. Taking a looser approach than her last few albums, Volta is a microcosm of her entire career taking moments of inspiration from each of her previous 5 albums from the untamed exuberance of Debut to Vespertine's hushed beauty. Another fine album from a relentlessly experimental artist.
4. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly International)
Michigan's Matthew Dear has been keeping dancefloors packed for several years now with his peerless techno productions both under his own name and as Audion. Being one of the world's most respected dancefloor technicians obviously wasn't enough though, as for 'Asa Breed' he delivered his most song based effort yet and made a bold bid for Depeche Mode's electro pop crown. Throughout the albums 12 tracks, Dear's hypnotic bleeps and beats are cut through with his sonorous and melancholy tinged vocals, breathy harmonies and towards the end of the album unexpected moments of acoustic guitar. A wonderful and surprising album from an artist not afraid to expand his range and confound expectations.
5. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky)
A gorgeous ambient album of subtle tones and harmonics from Kranky's Stars of the Lid, 'And Their Refinement of the Decline' bathes the listener in sound, immersing you in its quiet hazy beauty. Amassed from five years of recordings and clocking in at nearly two hours, this is the kind of album you just assume isn't made anymore, slow, luxurious and utterly mesmerising it takes its time to slowly build up each tune and draw the listener into the velvet folds of its melodies.
6. Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino)
It's taken nearly 30 years but it appears that the mercurial Mark E Smith has finally found his match. Having ruled his band The Fall with an iron fist, hiring and firing at will, it was quite a shock to find the post-punk tyrant fronting an unlikely partnership with German electronic duo Mouse on Mars. An even greater shock came when the resulting collaborative effort, under the name Von Sudenfed, turned out to be the best work any of the parties involved had produced for many years, an electronic, disco punk tour de force.
7. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
As the lead singer with Animal Collective, Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear already has several classic albums under his belt but with his third solo effort Person Pitch he possibly topped them all. 7 tracks of psychedelic whimsy and experimentation that however weird and wonderful they get are still firmly rooted in a pop tradition and had everyone from The Observer to Pitchfork to the bloke behind the counter in Rough Trade competing to shower Person Pitch in well deserved praise.
8. Field Music - Tones Of Town (Memphis Industries)
The second album from Sunderland's Field Music saw the bands early promise come to fruition. 12 tracks of bottled sunshine that references bands as diverse as The Beach Boys, ELO, and Supertramp but manages to sound so much more than just the sum of its influences. Short, sharp and to the point, this is how pop music should be made. Although ideally listened to in an open topped cadillac as you sweep through America, 'Tones Of Town' will still bring a little joy into your life when you're crammed on to your train in the morning rush hour.
9. Modeselektor - Happy Birthday! (Bpitch Control)
After putting shame in the game of many other electronica producers with their debut album 'Hello Mom', Modeselektor returned this year with the brilliant 'Happy Birthday'. Once again they easily straddled the divide between the more experimental scene and the full on electro party madness of the Ed Banger/Institubes crews with an album that threw everything from dancehall, grime, hip-hop and electro into the mix and features a stellar rollcall of guests from the unlikely such as Thom Yorke (!) and Maximo Park (!!), to the more familiar likes of TTC, Otto Von Schirach and Puppetmastaz.
10. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33:00 (DFA)
Originally released in 2006 in conjunction with Nike, 45:33:00 is a mostly instrumental piece conceived as a soundtrack to your workout. Don't let the gimmicky concept fool you though, 45.33 is a sublime album and perfect accompaniment to this years 'Sound of Silver' LP which garnered most of the press. From the gorgeously soulful disco opener, through the slow burning electro of Someone Great and onto the album's ambient coda this is one of the best releases to date from James Murphy, and that's high praise indeed.
11. Paul Hillier& Theatre of Voices - Stockhausen : Stimmung (Harmonia Mundi)
Recorded in Copenhagen last year, this is only the third recording in existence of Stockhausen's Stimmung, a 70 minute vocal piece based around a single six-note chord, and acclaimed as the best to date. It's clever stuff, though you don't need a masters degree in music theory to enjoy what has been hailed as a masterpiece of the twentieth century and is a fitting tribute to the recently deceased composer. One of THE classical releases of the year.
12. Black Dice - Load Blown (Paw Tracks)
For this their fourth album, Brooklyn experimentalists, Black Dice, jumped ship from the mighty DFA to Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label, and it seems the change did them the world of good as Load Blown is probably the bands best work to date. A challenging rollercoaster of fractured samples, sheets of processed noise and complex rhythms, it may not be an easy listen but persevere and it is certainly a rewarding one, with the end result something close to what you might get should Autechre choose to remix Byrne and Eno's 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts'.
13. Fairmont - Coloured In Memory (Border Community)
One of the best British techno labels around at the moment, Border Community have got a knack for releasing music with its feet on the dancefloor and its head in the clouds, ploughing a similarly melodic yet club friendly furrow as Cologne's Kompakt. Having scored with excellent albums from Nathan Fake and label boss James Holden, Fairmont's 'Coloured In Memory' had a lot to live up to and delivered in spades, with a combination of almost celestial synthesizers, cloaked nimbus-like in reverb that floated above the intricate beats and rumbling bass and never let you forget that techno always sounds best when pumped through a wall sized soundsystem.
14. Murcof - Cosmos (Leaf)
Fernando Corona's long-awaited third album as Murcof, Cosmos was composed almost entirely from recordings of classical instruments, a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer. The immensity of tracks like the monolithic twins 'Cosmos I' and 'Cosmos II' brings to mind the work of the German electronic pioneers of the '70s or the Hungarian composer György Ligeti as much as the visceral, low-end rumblings of SunnO))) or Coil.
15. Strategy - Future Rock (Kranky)
Like early morning dew catching the first rays of the morning's sun, Future Rock glistens and shimmers and despite its obvious debt to dub, a genre normally noted for its heaviness, this is an effortlessly light album. Its bright shards of sound swaddle you in reverb and raise the listener higher and higher above the clouds before they echo off into infinity.
16. Blonde Redhead - 23 (4AD)
Formed in 1993, Blonde Redhead initially came under the wing of New York art rock noisiness Sonic Youth. Several albums, line-up changes and years on though and their chiming wall of guitars has become ever hazier and ethereal and latest album 23 bore a greater comparison to a peppier version of the sublime 'Loveless' by My Bloody Valentine or label mates the Cocteau Twins. Kazoo Makino's vocals float above the noise held aloft by whispered sighs, whilst the guitars are draped in sheets of echo and reverb and accompanied by the warmest synthesizers and strings.
17. Holy Fuck - LP (Young Turks)
Purveyors of deranged psychedelic disco punk, Canada's Holy Fuck won't be clocking up much daytime radio play with a name like that not that they'll be too concerned. Recorded whilst on tour, LP manages to capture the spirit of their amazing live shows and burns with a level of invention and passion that you'll be hard pressed to find in most other 'rock' albums released this year.
18. Luke Vibert - Chicago, Detroit, Redruth (Planet Mu)
It's been a busy year for Mr Vibert, not only did his collaboration with Jean Jacques Perry finally see the light of day but he also managed to squeeze in 2 solo albums and found time to remaster and re-release an extensive part of his vast back catalogue. Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, his solo album for Planet Mu probably just pips it as our pick of the bunch, no radical departures from his trademark style, but top notch analogue/moog-y/acid loveliness as ever, perfect for dancing, DJing, driving and everything else in between.
19. Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English (XL)
Whilst the grime scene continued to implode in a series of increasingly pointless and petty squabbles it took the return of Bow's Dizzee Rascal to remind us what made this genre so exciting in the first place. Not that Maths & English bares much comparison to the current sounds of the pirates or even the rough, arcade game beats of his debut 'Boy In Da Corner', but Dizzee has managed to raise both his lyrical and production game without sacrificing any of the raw energy that originally made him such an exciting prospect.
20. Alva Noto - Xerrox (Raster Noton)
Alva Noto is the operating alias of Berlin-based musician and composer Carsten Nicolai. Perhaps best known for his collaborative work with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto's music focuses on texture and resonance, ranging from serene, contemplative calm to abrasive abstractions. On this latest work 'Xerrox', real world recordings of muzak, advertising, soundtracks and entertainment programs that we hear randomly in everyday life are manipulated beyond recognition.
21. White Rainbow - Prism of Eternal Now (Kranky)
Simply magisterial album of electro-acoustic noise and ambient textures on Kranky from White Rainbow and in much the same vein as the epic Stars Of The Lid album also released this year. From tracks that throb and hum with an industrial menace to moments of sublime beauty Prism Of Eternal Now is like listening in to the dreams of a vast slumbering power station.
22. Gosub - Watchers From The Black Universe (Citinite)
A new album on the peerless Citinite label is always a good thing. After releasing the excellent John Davis album Flashcan last year, Citinite returned to the present day with the latest effort from Gosub, the operating alias of Shad T Scott, electro producer extraordinaire and head of the Isophlux label. Watchers From The Black Universe not only boasts one of the best titles of the year but is the kind of lovingly crafted electro that makes grown men misty eyed. Fans of acts such as Drexciya and Dopplereffekt would do well to check this out.
23. Neil Landstrumm - Restaurant Of Assassins (Planet Mu)
Once upon a time Neil used to make no-nonsense serious techno records. But in 2007, no doubt fuelled and inspired by the UK's current climate of rave regeneration mixed with dubstep/dancehall-led sonic explorations, Landstrumm has patented a brilliant blend of early Warp/Leeds style warehouse clonk, dubstep, rave, techno and filthy huge low end BASS that puts him alongside the most interesting producers operating in the UK today. This is probably Neil's best record to date - and this man has made a lot of good records.
24. Future Pilot AKA - Secrets From The Clockhouse (Creeping Bent)Featuring collaborations with amongst others Thurston Moore, Belle & Sebastian and Can's Damo Suzuki, 'Secrets Of The Clockhouse' is an eclectic affair from ex-Soup Dragon Sushil Dade that ranges from sunshine fuelled psychedelic whimsy to wide eyed pop, via moments of folk and jazz and eastern chimes. An utterly irresistible record that brims with optimism and has the power to brighten up even the coldest winter day.
25. Oren Ambarchi - In The Pendulum's Embrace (Touch)
Stately, sonorous and full of space Oren Ambarchi's 'In The Pendulum's Embrace' consists of three tracks of slowly unfolding drones and tones, occasionally punctuated by simple plucked guitar notes. 'In The Pendulum's Embrace' goes nowhere fast, but when the scenery is this good what's the rush?
