All The Pretty Albums '07

1. A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea
Reason: Alison Sudol takes the listener through well-crafted songs about love, be it gained or lost, platonic or romantic. It’s rare for me to come across an album that has a deep, emotional impact on me, but this debut is heartbreakingly beautiful. She’s definitely the artist to watch.
Hightlights: Almost Lover, You Picked Me, The Minnow & The Trout, Lifesize and Think Of You


2. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Reason: Fueled by antidepressants (prescribed, of course), Kevin Barnes wrote, performed and recorded this concept album while in Norway. Filled with obscure references and dark undertones, the set still manages to be the groups most accessible album.
Highlights: The Past Is A Grotesque Animal, Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse, Gronlandic Edit, Suffer For Fashion and We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafing


3. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Reason: Lavish and over-the-top arrangements on this French chanson style collection sounds both antique and modern. In other words, timeless. It may not be number one on my list this year, but it’ll hold its own for years to come.
Highlights: Nantes, The Penalty, In The Mausoleum, Forks And Knives (La Fete) and Cliquot


4. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Reason: Indie rock pop at it’s finest.
Highlights: Rhthm & Soul, You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb, The Underdog and Black Like Me








5. Kim Richey - Chinese Boxes
Reason: She made country cool again. With one foot in Nashville and another in London, Kim has combined elements from both worlds for a truly beautiful album.
Highlights: Not A Love Like This, The Absence Of Your Company, Chinese Boxes, Turn Me and Pretty Picture


6. King Creosote - Bombshell
Reason: He approaches music unlike most mainstream artists these days – he puts the performance before the production. His folk-infused rock songs are perfect for getting lost in while spending a day relaxing at home.
Hightlights: Nooks, You’ve No Clue Do You, There’s None Of That, Spystick and Home In A Sentence


7. Feist - The Reminder
Reason: The little indie queen that could. She busted out into the mainstream thanks to that iPod Nano commercial and, as a result, has scored four Grammy nominations. The success of this album goes beyond ‘1234,’ though, as there are fourteen other mesmerizing songs.
Highlights: My Moon My Man, Past In Present, I Feel It All, So Sorry, How My Heart Behaves and 1234


8. Robyn - Robyn
Reason: Two years after she self released the album, the set received a proper release in the UK (it is due for a stateside release in the near future) this year. She reigned over the singles chart with the smash With Every Heartbeat (w/ a little help from Kleerup) earlier this year.
Hightlights: Be Mine, Handle Me, Robot Boy, Bum Like You, Cobrastyle and With Every Heartbeat


9. Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks
Reason: I initially wrote her off as a total Lily Allen knock-off destined for one-hit wonderdom. She shut me up when she released her album, though. It may be still sound like Lily, but she proved Foundations wasn’t a fluke.
Highlights: Foundations, Shit Song, Skeleton Song, We Get On, Mouthwash, Merry Happy


10. MIKA - Life In Cartoon Motion
Reason: Is it just me or does this feel Broadway-esque? Regardless, this is an exciting debut that Americans quickly rejected. And his vocals are eerily similar to those of Freddie Mercury.
Highlights: Relax, Take It Easy, Lollipop, Ring Ring, Happy Ending and Grace Kelly


11. Margaret Berger - Pretty Scary Silver Fairy
Hightlights: Samantha, Will You Remember Me Tomorrow, Have You Never Ever, Robot Song and Get Physical


12. Siobhan Donaghy - Ghosts
Highlights: So You Say, Coming Up For Air, Don’t Give It Up and Bar Acid Blues


13. Vanessa Paradis - Divine Idylle
Hightlights: Dès Que J'te Vois, Divine Idylle, La Bataille and La Mélodie


14. Brandi Carlile - The Story
Highlights: The Story, Wasted, Late Morning Lullaby and Turpentine


15. Jamie Scott & The Town - Park Bench Theories
Highlights: When Will I See Your Face Again, Rise Up, Lady West and Hey You


16. Tegan And Sara - The Con
Highlights: Call It Off, Relief Next To Me, Back In Your Head and The Con


17. Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted
Highlights: My Brittle Heart, Ain’t Never Been Cool, It’s Yours and Lips Are Unhappy


18. VHS Or Beta - Bring On The Comets
Highlights: Burn It All Down, Time Stands Still and The Stars Where We Came From


19. Joshua James - The Sun Is Always Brighter
Highlights: Today, You’re The Cocaine and The New Love Song


20. Kelly Clarkson - My December
Highlights: How I Feel, Don’t Waste Your Time, Never Again and Irvine