Sandburg’s Top 20 of 2007: #2-#5
This post was written by Benjiposted in Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, Jens Lekman, The National, Top 20 |
2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
You may recall me referring to my man-crush on Jens Lekman, and nothing has really changed since then. Lekman’s sage-like wisdom about life and relationships always comes across with the utmost earnestness (and comedy). Lyrically, NFOK is certainly interesting, with the situational “Postcard to Nina” or the comically romantic “Your Arms Around Me”. Discopop tracks (”Sipping on the Sweet Nectar”) combined with funky fresh tunes (”Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig”) make for an album that has only one rival from the entire year. Cheers, Jens. More on Jens Lekman here.
Listen to “Your Arms Around Me” (5/5)
3. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
What an amazing year it has been for His Birdness! While not touring around the country for his incredible Armchair Apocrypha, Bird has been busy taking with his violin. Complete with lush stringed instrumentation, Bird’s lilting vocals, and the addition of Martin Dosh’s stylings, Armchair Apocrypha lends for music that (as some have described) may cure some forms of cancer. Bird also finally tackles the various analogs between himself and the namesake of his last name–he seems to have embraced his birdness in the end. Click here for a really great post on the album.
Listen to “Dark Matter” (5/5) [via Sound of Marching Feet]
4. The National - Boxer
I know everybody and their mother has put this album pretty high on their albums of the year, but the bottom line is that it is justified. Matt Berninger’s vocals conjure up images of an earnest poet who has plenty of worthy things to be said. Berninger throws around such vivid, subtle imagery ( ‘Standing in an empty tuxedo with grapes in my mouth’), that it often takes a keen listener to pick them out over the symphonic, horn-glazed tracks. Boxer is a collection of emotive and dynamic songs that uniquely find a way of coming together as a document of the everyman’s conscience. More on The National here.
Listen to “Ada” (5/5)
5. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog
The Shepherd’s Dog seems to take influences from everywhere, from the dusty trails of ghost towns to the asphalt paths of boisterous cities. It’s an album that celebrates the extroverted and the reserved, one that appeals to the ears but sings to the soul. Each track has a sparseness to it, but yet the multi-layered richness of Beam’s voice and his plethora of instruments add an incredible voluminousness each song. This album simply doesn’t miss. More on Iron & Wine here.
Listen to “The Devil Never Sleeps” (5/5)
