ROISIN MURPHY
Overpowered (EMI)
The former singer for trip-hop also-rans Moloko bettered her peers with the strongest long-player in what was a very good year for glam-­tastic fembot pop (hear also: Kylie’s X, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Trip the Light Fantastic and, I shit you not, Hilary Duff’s Dignity). On her second solo album, Murphy’s strident vocals find an ideal home amid lush, propulsive and consciously retro-house musical settings (“Let Me Know” cribs the chords from Tracy Weber’s “Sure Shot”). The result is sensuously disco-licious. An NME critic carped that the disc’s target market was “aging clubbers,” but, baby, we need love, too. JASON ANDERSON

1. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
2. Roisin Murphy, Overpowered
3. Robert Wyatt, Comicopera JA

AMON TOBIN
Foley Room (Ninja Tune)
DJs are discovering that live musicians are much more malleable than vinyl samples, and that sense of discovery is what drives Amon Tobin. Patrick Watson and Kronos Quartet all show up next to buzzing bees, churning organs and aquatic percussion. It adds up to an amalgam of musique concrete, Tobin’s typically gigantic jazzy beats, surf guitar and a century-old chamber group. A few pop hooks even slip into the mix, however unnecessary. Tobin is learning that it pays to leave the studio and learn how to play well with others. MICHAEL BARCLAY

1. Amon Tobin, Foley Room
2. Bruce Springsteen, Magic
3. Miracle Fortress, Five Roses MB

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
Sound of Silver (DFA/EMI)
While James Murphy’s ’05 debut is held up as the chief mediator in ongoing indie-rock/dance-­culture diplomatic relations, Sound of Silver ponders a more tenuous disconnect: that of being a 36-year-old guy spending his nights in clubs surrounded by people half his age. But instead of buying a sports car, Murphy has made the first electro-rock mid-life crisis album. Sound of Silver captures both the up-all-night energy of youth (“North American Scum”) and the sobering comedown of the lonely walk home at the crack of dawn (“Someone Great,” “New York I Love You”), while confronting both feelings head-on in the immortal “All My Friends,” a seven-minute surge that’s so exhilarating, Murphy doesn’t realize till the very end (“where are your friends tonight?”) that he’s been dancing with himself. STUART BERMAN

1. Deerhunter, Cryptograms
2. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
3. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga SB

MENOMENA
Friend and Foe (Barsuk)
Friend and Foe became an obsession for me during the first few months of 2007. Every tune was like a weird little sonic journey I wanted to make over and over again. Aside from the album’s clever wordplay, catchy melodies and elaborate orchestration, its strengths lie in the way each song assembles small musical fragments into seemingly impossible constructions. Requiring patience without being tedious, noisy but not obnoxious, Menomena are such super-talented musicians that they seem to know exactly the right moment to hump a bari sax riff, overdrive a mammoth drum groove or break it all down to a glockenspiel-driven hush. Such an impressive progression from their loop-driven debut signals the coming of even more great things from this band. CHRIS BILTON

1. Menomena, Friend and Foe
2. Caribou, Andorra
3. The National, Boxer CB

JUBA DANCE
Orange (Audio 8)
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ben Lamar and producer Polyphonic the Verbose have created a brilliantly kaleidoscopic soul sound. On the one hand, Orange is a very Chicago record. Specifically local lyrics combine with many of the waves of music that have swept through the Windy City: ragtime, soul, a dash of AACM, hip-hop and electrofunk. On the other hand, Brazilian rhythms and instrumentation add more than spice; every time a berimbau pops up, the tune becomes straight-up blues; and it’s all done up in the most dubwise production of a vocal record I’ve heard this year. There’s a lot of juice in this Orange. DAVID DACKS

1. Ticklah, Ticklah Vs. Axelrod
2. Juba Dance, Orange
3. Icarus, Sylt DD

STEVE EARLE
Washington Square Serenade (New West)
Steve Earle recently married fellow singer/songwriter Allison Moorer and moved to New York City; now he’s filled an album with love songs to both. For the former, he’s crafted the most simply eloquent, romantic songs of his career (“Days Aren’t Long Enough”); for the latter, glorious tributes to his newly adopted hometown (“City of Immigrants”). There are a few nasty detours and social comments, but the man who once sang “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” now sounds more satisfied than ever, which actually makes his music better, not worse. And “Come Home to Me” is simply gorgeous — the prettiest thing you’ll hear all year. HOWARD DRUCKMAN

1. Steve Earle, Washington Square Serenade
2. Heartworn Highways OST
3. Corb Lund, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! HD

GHOSTFACE KILLAH
The Big Doe Rehab (Def Jam)
I know it’s a fresh release, but I remain shocked at Ghost’s sheer consistency. Although he’s not introducing too many all-new concepts this go-round, he still has emotion, flow and humour on his side, although he claims on this album that “the rhymes are OK, the voice is extraordinaire.” Not to mention that he brings out the best in Method Man, Beanie Sigel, Trife and his other guests. One of hip-hop’s most prolific MCs pumps out another respect-worthy Wu album. NICK FLANAGAN

1. Scharpling & Wurster, The Art of the Slap
2. Ghostface Killah, The Big Doe Rehab
3. UGK, Underground Kingz NF

SHAD
The Old Prince (Black Box)
London, Ontario’s Shad stormed back into action with a brilliant sophomore record, showcasing his uniquely inclusive contribution to hip-hop. The Old Prince features Shad’s penchant for playfully witty rhymes but it’s all delivered with greater gusto than before, bolstered by tight production and catchy-ass hooks. He can toss off a self-deprecating line comparing his own game to that of ex-Raptor Rafael Araujo with the same conviction he musters for thoughtful lyrics about the plight of young, black youths. The brightest new light on Canada’s hip-hop radar, Shad is bound for glory so you’d best believe the hype. VISH KHANNA

1. Shad, The Old Prince
2. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
3. Vic Chesnutt, North Star Deserter VK

ARCADE FIRE
Neon Bible (Merge)
Stop comparing Arcade Fire’s second album to their first. Just compare it to everything else released this year and you’ll know it belongs in ’07’s top 10. There’s nothing sophomoric about these lushly orchestrated ballads and 21st-century arena rockers that somehow manage to be both austere and exuberant, paranoid and open-hearted. And if all that doesn’t give you everything you were after, maybe you need to re-evaluate what you expect from a rock band. Whether Neon Bible wins that Grammy in February is irrelevant — long after Byrne and Bono are dead, Classic New Rock radio will still be spinning “No Cars Go.” LIISA LADOUCEUR

1. DAFT PUNK, Alive 2007
2. Arcade fire, Neon Bible
3. St. Vincent, Marry Me LL

TWO HOURS TRAFFIC
Little Jabs (Bumstead)
With producer Joel Plaskett at the helm, this PEI band couldn’t have made a catchier album than Little Jabs. I haven’t been able to stop listening to these 11 power pop songs since I got a copy of their second full-length this summer, and the tracks’ simple, addictive rhythms are undoubtedly the reason the record works so well. This disc is all about the virtue of being stripped down to basics, and it delivers. I guarantee you’ll find yourself humming “Nighthawks” in line at the grocery store, and you’ll definitely get caught dancing to “Stuck for the Summer.” I know I did. JILL LANGLOIS

1. Two Hours Traffic, Little Jabs
2. Rich Aucoin, Personal Publication EP
3. Mardeen, Read Less Minds JL

SPOON
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
The Rolling Stones are living proof that you can be influenced by other cultures without either mimicking them or mocking them; Spoon are proof that you can do all that even in a post-PC age. What they share, aside from a love of country and the blues, is balls-out confidence in themselves — they don’t need to smear on sonic blackface or don gigantic cowboy hats to feel authentic. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is the sound of four guys who haven’t given up trying new things (the shuddering, ambient “The Ghost of You Lingers”) but who also know exactly what they like: new songs that instantly sound classic (“Don’t Make Me A Target”). A couple years back, I found myself giving up on plain old rock ’n’ roll. Spoon made me reconsider, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is yet another reason to keep the faith. DAVE MORRIS

1. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2. Andre Ethier, On Blue Fog
3. BASIA BULAT, Oh My Darling DM

SANDRO PERRI
Tiny Mirrors (Constellation)
This album feels like a culmination of the prolific Perri’s own music (Polmo Polpo, Glissandro 70, etc.), but the ridiculously talented community of Toronto improvisers that he belongs to should take a bow as well. From Eric Chenaux’s adventurous guitar to Nick Fraser’s fiendishly complex drumming and Perri’s own vulnerable, melancholy voice, the technical virtuosity and avant-garde conceptualism of their collaboration are both immensely satisfying. The album’s end sees Perri step out of the recording booth entirely, and the intellectual conceit of the reinterpretation holds up alongside his beautiful, soulful songs. It’s really kind of unfair. I predict next year he’ll win the Booker Prize or collaborate with T-Pain. CHRIS RANDLE

1. Sandro Perri, Tiny Mirrors
2. Future of the Left, Curses
3. Battles, Mirrored CR

MONGRELS
Oshawa (Weirdbeard)
Enough with the sulky chamber pop — Montreal’s got something meaner. With his mighty Tricky Woo on hiatus, guitarist Andrew Dickson takes a decidedly more prog-o-delic, blacklight-poster direction. Enter heavy Strat riffage, a generous dash of weirdness and vocals à la Heart care of Amy Torok. And with two drummers hard-panned left and right, it’s a pretty old-school affair. But unlike the more compact Woo, the Mongrels happily celebrate the trippy indulgences of ’70s B-listers Rainbow and Captain Beyond on “All In My Head,” “Set Me Free” and “City Livin.” Wow, if only every album this year ended with something called “Contemplating the Wizard.” CHRIS ROLFE

1. Mongrels, Oshawa
2. Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris
3. Turbonegro, Retox CR

JAY-Z
American Gangster (Def Jam)
Jay-Z’s too old and rich to be Denzeling like he’s still a crack dealer; unfortunately it’s also boring to hear him rap about his financial portfolio. American Gangster momentarily resolves this dilemma: by loosely basing the record on Ridley Scott’s Frank Lucas biopic, Jay distances himself from his on-wax gangster persona, making the album seem more like a character piece and less like a sad attempt at street cred from a guy who plays tennis with Chris Martin. Paradoxically, in the process, Jay crafts his most believable crime narratives in years. He also falls back in love with the English language, leading to his hungriest, leanest lyrics since Reasonable Doubt. JAMES SIMONS
?
1. The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour
2. Jay-Z, American Gangster
3. The National, Boxer JS

THE SHINS
Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop)
No longer likely to actually change anyone’s life, The Shins acted wisely in the face of hyperbole and sneaked out this little gem in the first weeks of ’07. The meandering pace and liquid sonics on Wincing reward repeat listens that let you take in the icy washes of bells and strings and undecipherable sounds still submerged in pools of melody. Their most intricately arranged and breathtakingly lush record to date, eclipsing their thoroughly likeable comparatively dull prior efforts. Helen spitzer

1. The Shins, Wincing the Night Away
2. Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover
3. Alec K. Redfearn AND THE EYESORES, The Blind Spot HS

Email us at: LETTERS@EYEWEEKLY.COM or send your questions to EYEWEEKLY.COM
625 Church St, 6th Floor, Toronto M4Y 2G1