It's June, 2007... what are you listening to?!

Now that we're nearly halfway through 2007, I thought I'd review some of the records I've purchased this year that I can't get enough of (in no particular order):

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Hipster James Murphy balances trademark snarkery with some rather poignant tracks ("Someone Great", "All My Friends"). This album's got it all: great dance grooves, humor, emotion, and more. "North American Scum" video below:



If you're not familiar with LCD, I also highly recommend checking out their old single, "Losing My Edge" (video below) which is one of the funniest songs ever as it encapsulates the irony of rampant one-upmanship in the hipster music world.



Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

The ultimate breakup record. Self-loathing to the point of hilarity. The songs are great though!



Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Many have already described Panda Bear (the solo effort of one member in the band Animal Collective) as Brian Wilson on one of his many acid trips. Coming home from a really stressful day in the lab this semester, the ultimate therapy was putting the unshakable melody of "Take Pills" on at full blast, and then just lying on the couch and letting my mind drift away.



Battles - Mirrored

Can't say enough about their live show. Any Florida friends reading this are obligated to see them this weekend as they tour the sunshine state. This quote from the Pitchfork review sums it up nicely:
"Mirrored is a breathtaking aesthetic left-turn that sounds less like rock circa 2007 than rock circa 2097, a world where Marshall stacks and micro-processing go hand in hand."



Menomena - Friend & Foe

Great live show at Terrace. The trio successfully manages a variety of instruments, for a very fluid sound with a wonderful sense of dynamics. Can't wait to hear more stuff from these guys from Portland.




Also, some great older releases I recently discovered:
Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
Go-betweens - Bellavista Terrace (compilation)
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

And there are still a bunch of new albums I want to check out if I get a chance including ones from:
Andrew Bird, Deerhunter, Elliot Smith (compilation), Trans Am, The National, Boris (2006), Jesu, Lindstrom (2006), Opeth, Ghostface Killa (2006)

And the best part is that we're only half way! Still looking forward to new stuff coming up from:
The White Stripes, T.I., Justice, Smashing Pumpkins, Spoon, New Pornographers, Kanye West, The Go! Team