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Bill's Best of 2007!

Article posted on Jan 7, 2008 by Ian Lashbrook

By: William Jones 

Top Ten Albums of 2007:

1. Big D & The Kids Table - Strictly Rude

 

The boys from Allston decided to focus on the ska side of their repertoire this year and produced the best album of their career and one of the all-time great ska albums in Strictly Rude. With just enough of their own flavor to make it totally fresh and plenty of traditional sounds to make it completely rude. Brilliant songwriting and great pacing make this, unquestionably, in this reviewer's mind, the year's best.

 

 

 

2. A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide

 

What Big D did for ska, A Wilhelm Scream did for skate-punk this year. The band managed to accelerate its already lightening-fast pace and aggression while also stepping up the songwriting. It's another fresh Wilhelm Scream take on a seemingly waning genre.

 

 

 

 

3. Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell

 

One of punk's veteran bands shows they've lost nothing over the years (except for Mr. Brett as a touring member of the band) by writing an album that I'd argue with old fans for hours may be the best of the band's career. It proves that old, quasi-intellectual punk can still kick a lot of ass.

 

 

 

 

4. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Addicted to Bad Ideas

 

What can be said? This band has constantly proved to be one of the most interesting sounds in the music scene for more than a decade now and they don't appear to be slowing. This tribute to Peter Lorre is another testament to the band's brilliance and damn do these songs sound great live, as well.

 

 

 

 

5. Fake Problems - How Far Our Bodies Go

 

Fake Problems are the latest great thing to come from the Naples/Gainesville music scene and they do the area's reputation justice by putting a fun spin on the folk/indie/punk sound.

 

 

 

 

 

6. MXPX - Secret Weapon

 

Feel free to see the five star review I gave to this one for more explanation, but, in short, a great band has reinvented itself in Secret Weapon.

 

 

 

 

7. Sage Francis - Human the Death Dance

Yes...a rapper, and not the first or last that has made my year-end lists. Sage Francis embodies an intellectual version of the independent music scene. The originality in his repertoire is bursting at the seams and this is the most solid effort of his career. Just give it a shot.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Chuck Ragan - Los Feliz

 

Can a live album be one of the year's best? When it's Chuck Ragan screaming his heart out in every song, when the live recording can give you goosebumps it's so damn powerful, and when it collects a series of well-written songs only previously available on 7" vinyl or not at all, then yes, it deserves that honor.

 

 

 

 

9. Big D/Brain Failure - Beijing to Boston

 

Big D & The Kids Table was on a roll this year, this time with a little help from China's Brain Failure. After putting together a full album of ska tunes, Big D put it's solid punk efforts on this split. Toss Dicky Barrett into the Brain Failure mix and you've got two great bands, twelve great songs, and a few fun surprises.

 

 

 

 

10. The Swellers - My Everest

 

And it's impossible not to mention Fenton, Michigan's The Swellers. These young punkers are picking up in the tradition of A Wilhelm Scream and Much the Same but doing something with it that is entirely their own. The band followed their solid seven-track EP with an equally tight full-length this year. Check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

Worst Five Albums of 2007:

1. Various - Punk Goes Acoustic 2

This blows, this blows, this blows, this blows...

2. Alesana - On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax

Look at the name again. Seriously. Read it. In this case, the proverbial book is well-judged by its cover.

3. The Esoteric - Subverter

I forget why this sucked cause I likely blew up this CD in rage long ago, but yeah...don't buy it...

4. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold

Actually, probably doesn't deserve the honor of fourth worst album of the year, but I'm short on ideas, and in comparison to the band's earlier work, this was a major dip in the discography.

5. Probably something on Fearless or Drive-Thru that I missed. Zing!

You know it sucks. I know it sucks. Whatever happened to Gatsby's American Dream and Bigwig, Fearless? Oh, and Finch is apparently back together for a reunion. Anyone care?

 

Five Biggest Revelations of 2007:

1. The Frantic

Right under my nose in Chicago the whole time, this band reminds a lot of Riverboat Gamblers with a great blend of street punk, pop punk, and some other stuff. Lots of energy, fun songs.

2. Desoto Jones

Amazing blend of indie, alternative, pop, and other stuff.

3. Counterpunch

Finally, the album is out. These guys are awesome. Boosh!

4. The Swellers

Don't seem to sell their original full length at shows anymore, and then there was an EP. So this year marks the first full-length that seems to be garnering major attention for the band. So, they aren't exactly new, but I would call this a break-through year for the The Swellers. Yay!

5. Blaqk Audio

I'm personally not sure what I'm thinking here, but for something I expected to hate, Blaqk Audio proved to be an interesting little project.

 

Five Biggest Disappointments of 2007:

1. The Flatliners - The Great Awake

Don't get me wrong. This is a decent album, but I expected much more from this band I love so much. Oh well.

2. New Found Glory - From the Screen To Your Stereo Part 2

A move back to Drive-Thru and a nostalgic trip back to movie-song covers couldn't save my declining interest in this band.

3. Missing Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival for a friends wedding...but the wedding was fun and did have a mosh pit

Seriously, there was a fucking mosh pit at the wedding--kind of softened the blow of learning Bill Murray was MC for the event and Willie Nelson and...come to think of it, I'm still upset.

4. Reel Big Fish - Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free

Reel Big Fish lost their sarcastic edge on this album and apparently some of their songwriting skills as well. For a ska band I've loved for so long, this year marked a low point in the catalog.

5. Mad Caddies - Keep It Going

Another album that's not "bad" but not nearly as much as I'd hoped for.

 

A 2007 DVD Worth Noting:

Appetite for Deconstruction

A really cool live show/documentary about Europe's awesome Deconstruction Tour.

 

Five Best Live Shows of 2007:

1. Against Me! (Acoustic), Sage Francis, The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Cobra Skulls - Metro, Chicago

At the electric show the night before, I was underwhelmed by Against Me!'s New Wave-heavy set. But the night after, a Thanksgiving benefit show at a smaller venue, absolutely rocked. Focusing on older material, Against Me! was brilliant acoustic. Sage Francis was expectedly strange but entertaining with an extended set. World/Inferno had Franz in the house for this special one-night event, and Cobra Skulls are cool.

2. MC Frontalot, MC Lars, Optimus Rhyme - House of Bricks, Des Moines

Three amazing nerd-rappers on one bill, doing separate sets as well as songs together. Simply awesome.

3. Matt Skiba, Chuck Ragan, Sundowner (all acoustic) - Metro, Chicago

Three great songwriters performing their own tunes as well as those of their respective bands, Alkaline Trio, Hot Water Music and The Lawrence Arms, and even a few together. Chuck Ragan stole the show from his Chicago-based counterparts.

4. The Bouncing Souls, Pegboy, Beer Nuts - Double Door, Chicago

This was release show for a new rum called Kilo Kai. Drinks were free for a long time, then cheap, so being really drunk helped even out the fact that The Bouncing Souls didn't seem to want to be there. Oh, and Pegboy was absolutely phenomenal.

5. A Wilhelm Scream, Only Crime, The Swellers, Counterpunch - Reggie's Live, Chicago

The sound at this venue blows, though the aesthetics are cool. First show in awhile for A Wilhelm Scream since their touring disappearance to record a great new album. The band seemed tighter than ever, and with a great new arsenal of aggressive tunes, they rocked, even when security did try to stop the pit.

 

Five Most Anticipated Albums of 2008:

1 .The Gaslight Anthem

Can't wait.

2. The Loved Ones

I'm excited.

3. Goldfinger

Can Charlie's return save the band?

4. Dillinger Four

Will it ever actually come out?

5. Bomb the Music Industry

I'm tired of writing.