Happy

Heartbeats - José González
Comfort - Carbon Leaf
Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie
Re: Stacks - Bon Iver
Heart Made of Sound - Softlights
Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch
Much Further To Go - Rosie Thomas

Hype - Buy

Carry You Away's Best Songs of 2007

It was difficult to narrow down just ten songs out of everything that I've heard this year. But, here are the songs that I feel are the best that I've heard or enjoyed.

10 - Rangers, A Fine Frenzy

From A Fine Fenzy's debut album One Cell in the Sea, this song has a really good sound to it, with a pace and energy that really matches her tone. The chorus is a really good one, followed up with some fantastic lyrics. Everything really comes together nicely here for this tune. This song really turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, and will keep me listening for years to come.

9 - Heart Made of Sound, The Softlightes

The video for this song really got me hooked here, and brought me back time and time again for listen after listen. This song gives me the same feeling that I had on my best summers here in Vermont - sounds weird, but for some reason, I connect this song to walking around Burlington Vermont on a sunny summer afternoon. The sound here is bright, energetic and just fantastic. Even when I'm in a horrible mood, I'll listen to this and it'll bring me right back up.

8 - Seed of Wonder, Jesca Hoop

This song sounds really different, with some absolutely fantastic guitar work and vocals from Hoop. It's unconventional, with influences from Hip-Hop and alternative rock. It's got a lazy beat that's incredibly catchy.

7 - Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder and Everybody Knows, Ryan Adams (Tie)

This is a tie for me, because both songs remind me of the other. Hard Sun is a good, solid rock song, one that reminds me of driving on a highway, while Everybody Knows brings out the same feeling - both have a good beat behind it backed by lyrics and a sound that just works, really well.

6 - Vermont Avenue, Ferraby Lionheart

I didn't take to this song at first, but it grew on me quite a bit as time went on. Lionheart's voice is like gold here, lazy and seductive, with lyrics that match that. The guitar and drum work is wonderful, and I like this song more and more as time goes on.

5 - In the Mausoleum, Beirut

Beruit's back with more of a fantastic Balkan sound. This song starts off with a fantastic beat and sinks in with some fantastic vocals and lyrics. What's really catchy is the use of other instruments, such as their distinctive use of a trumpet and stringed instruments. This song floats along wonderfully through the entire three minutes.

4 - Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes and Who You Are, Cary Brothers (Tie)

This was another tie for me, between Time is a Runaway and Who You Are. Neither song really stands out on a technical level, but both songs really grabbed me for their sound and lyrics. Who You Are has a wonderful LA sound to it with a fantastic beat and energy, while Time is a Runaway has some fantastic lyrics coupled with their vocals and background instrumentation. Both are songs to relax to.

3 - Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!, Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albanians come forth with this fantastic ballad-like song that exhols the wonders of mounted cavelry, looking at their use through history. As a history person, this is just a wonderful song to pull apart line by line, and it's got such a fantastic song to go along with it.

2 - Ah, Mary, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

I knew that my #2 song would be a Grace Potter song, but it took me a little while to figure out which one. I went with the first one that I heard, Ah Mary, a sort of protest song that pulls you in nicely with Grace's fantastic voice before cranking it up a notch exactly a minute in as it turns to something you'd expect from some of their idols, like Neil Young. Their studio version seems to be a little subdued - go see this live for the full effect.

1 - Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine

And my number one song of the year - Iron & Wine's Boy With A Coin. Like Grace Potter's album, there were a bunch here that could take the #1 spot, but there's something here. Maybe because this song stands out so much from Sam Beam's other songs and typical sound, or maybe because it falls into a fantastic beat and rhythm, this song just completely blew me away when I first heard it.

There you have it, the top 10... er... 12 songs of the year. Here are the ones that didn't quite make it:

Dreamworld, Rilo Kiley
Sea Legs, The Shins
Down The Line, Jose Gonzalez
Rumors, Josh Ritter
The Pretender, Foo Fighters
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Keep The Car Running, Arcade Fire
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Pressure Suit, Aqualung
Sci-Fi Kid, Blitzen Trapper
Eh Hee, Dave Matthews

There were others, but overall, fantastic year for music. Let's see what's next.

Hype - Buy

The Best New Discoveries of 2007

Now that the new year is upon us, I'm going to spend the week looking back on what I liked from 2007. First up, the best new artists that I came across.

Last year was particularly rich in music for me over the entire year, but even more since I've started this site. I've come across a number of really good artists. Many thanks to everyone who's gone out and shared a little of what they've liked with everyone. I've gone out and purchased more music than I ever have before, through iTunes and hard copy and even vinyl. Here's some of my favorite new discoveries this year:

Adam Ezra Group
These guys I just discovered a couple of weeks ago, and are a smaller indie band out of Connecticut who've just started out and are playing smaller gigs around New England. If you like Dispatch or Blues Traveler, you'll likely like these guys. They've got a ton of songs up for grabs on their website, and they've got a pretty energetic live show.

Small Town City - Adam Ezra Group

The Alternate Routes
The Alternate Routes really released their first CD back in 2005, but they re-released Good and Reckless and True to fairly good radio coverage - You've probably heard Time Is A Runaway on the radio. I got to see them twice this summer, and their first album is a fantastic first effort on their part, there's a bunch of really good sounds. A good one for any Ryan Adams fans out there.

Time Is A Runaway - The Alternate Routes

Blitzen Trapper

These guys were highlighted on NPR, which led me to check them out. They've got a bunch of really good songs and a new album out this year that I really enjoyed, especially Sci-Fi Kid and Wild Mountain Nation.

Sci-Fi Kid - Blitzen Trapper

Ferraby Lionheart

I loved this guy - Ferraby Lionheart's got a wonderful sound along the lines of Rufus Wainwright. He's been busy this year, with his first album, called Catch the Brass Ring and a self-titled EP. Catch the Brass Ring was in my time five albums of the year, and comes highly recommended from me.

Vermont Avenue - Ferraby Lionheart

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova
These two guys starred in the movie Once, which I've heard a lot about. Neither are actors, but singers, and covered a Dylan song for the soundtrack I'm Not There, which I also want to see (I think I have to wait until DVD). They also contributed to Once's Sountrack.

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova

Gregory Douglass

Douglass was recommended to me earlier this summer. He's another Vermont musician, and has been doing gigs in the area. Hopefully I'll be catching him next February when he comes to the Higher Ground. He's got a really easy sound, somewhere along Rock and Soul. He just released his latest album Up & Away, which is quite good.

Hang Around - Gregory Douglass

Jesca Hoop

I think Jesca Hoop is one of my favorite new artists of the year. A breakout hit from Myspace and KCRW in California, she's really gotten big in the blog world with her really unique sound and songwriting. Kismet is her debut album this year.

Money - Jesca Hoop

Jess Clemons & The Cooperative

Jess Clemons is another musician who I'd gone to high school with (the other being Grace Potter from the Nocturnals). She's about to release a self titled album that sounds really good, and is someone to check out if you like Grace Potter.

Make-Out Song - Jess Clemons & The Coopertive

Kate Nash

Kate Nash, out of England, has her first album, Made of Bricks, coming out soon. She's got a really cool sound. She's got spunk and energy, and her entire first album is a fun one to listen to.

Foundations - Kate Nash

Priscilla Ahn

I saw Ahn open for Cary Brothers earlier this year, and she did fantastically on her own. She's done a bit of work with other artists before, with Cary Brothers and Amos Lee, providing backup vocals, and now She's released her first self-titled EP earlier this year and should have her first album out shortly, which I'm looking forwards to.

Lullaby - Priscilla Ahn

Sara Bareilles

Bareilles became a big internet hit with myspace and iTunes earlier this summer with her song Love Song. She has an incredibly strong voice and is probably one of the best female singers to come out this year. Love Song's getting a lot of radio play, but there are a bunch of good songs on her album.

Love Song - Sara Bareilles

Skye

Skye came to my attention with a fantastic cover of Gorillaz's song Feel Good Inc. She was a singer with another band, but is now solo, having released her first album Mind How You Go recently. She's got a soft, easy sound that's good for chilling out.

What's Wrong With Me? - Skye

The Softlightes

I found these guys with their video for their first single, Heart Made of Sound, which is probably one of my favorite songs of the year, and probably one of the best videos that I've seen. Very creative. These guys have a wonderful sound with their first album, which came out earlier this spring, Say No To Being Cool, Yes to Being Happy. If you like Death Cab for Cutie, these guys sound similar, and very upbeat.

Heart Made of Sound - The Softlightes

Vampire Weekend

I suspect that these guys will make their big splash next year when their first album is released. They've already been huge this year on the internet, and it's easy to see why - these guys are fun and interesting and really out there. They've got a weird afro-indie sound that's pretty cool. I suspect that they'll be one of the bigger indie bands to come out this/next year.

Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

Some other groups that've been around for a long time that I just came across:

Josh Ritter
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albanians
Brandi Carlile
British Sea Power
Cary Brothers
Arcade Fire

Coming Up, the best Albums and Songs of the year.

Hype - Buy

One Hit Wonders

I was going through my music library for a couple of albums, and noticed that there's a couple of bands that I really, really like. The only problem with them is that thus far, they've only released one album. Either they're a newer band and haven't written anything else yet, they just seem to have vanished from the face of the Earth, or they've broken up after only one album. Here's my favorites with only a single album:

Existing Bands Dragging Their Heels

Ex-Girlfriends - Low Millions



Low Millions came out with a hit single in 2004, called Eleanor, closely followed by a couple of other singles, Statue and Low Millions. The band has a very cool and relaxed sound, and the theme of the album is pretty overt - breaking up and ex-girl friends. I've been listening to it a lot more than I usually do. There's nothing especially different about this band - they've got a fairly mainstream sound, but they maintain a solid beat and some pretty good vocal work here. I really liked this album, save for a couple of tracks, and I had hoped that they would get going on a followup sometime in the near future. I believe that the band is made up of a bunch of members from other bands, which might be part of the reason for no activity on their part. According to a myspace blog entry, they were starting on some new material in 2006. Hopefully, we'll see some more from them.

Mockingbird - Low Millions


Give Up - The Postal Service


This is one of the Indie super groups, made up of members of Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley and a couple of others, under the indie favorite Subpop records. They're the ones responsible for the fantastic song Such Great Heights, as well as We Will Be Sillouettes and a couple of others. Give Up has a fantastic sound and a nice blend of electronic and rock there. Unfortunently, they have also not come up with a followup album, although it seems that one has been in the works for a little while now, with most, if not all of the original members coming back for the album. This'll be a good one to wait for.

Natural Anthem - The Postal Service



A Girl Called Eddy - A Girl Called Eddy

I came across A Girl Called Eddy through Amazon.com when they had a list of free MP3 songs - I downloaded and fell completely in love with Under The Warm Sun, Golden and The Long Goodbye, and went out to get more of her music. She's got a great voice and sound, smokey with some really good guitarwork. Her debut, self titled album followed her first EP, Tears All Over Town. Unfortunently, that seems to be it for now - her webpage has vanished, in place of a myspace account, and while I think that I've read that she's coming up with a followup, I haven't seen or heard anything recently. I hope that she'll be recording again, because her music is fantastic.

The Long Goodbye - A Girl Called Eddy

Bands Gone the Way of the Dinosaur

Buring in the Sun - Blue Merle

Blue Merle is another band that released a single that had some radio play - the title track, Burning In The Sun. The band has a pretty unique sound, with some very good guitar work, as well as employing some cool insturments on various tracks. I just saw one of the former members of the band, Luke, when he played with Brett Dennen's band and with Guster the other night. (I didn't realise that until after the concert). The band sounds something like a mix between Carbon Leaf, Dave Matthew's Band and Coldplay, with some good lyrics and what I thought was a nice, rich sound. Unfortunently, the band didn't really like the direction and sound, and split up a couple of years ago. The band members are now all doing their own thing.

Bittersweet Memory - Blue Merle

New and Upcoming Bands

Good and Reckless and True - The Alternate Routes

I found these guys this summer, and they're a pretty new band, out of Connecticut. I've seen them twice, and they've really good a good sound, a solid rock album, with a good amount of media exposure thus far. Their live shows were a lot of fun to watch, and their first album, Good and Reckless and True was a really good one to listen to. I talked with one of the band members, and he said that after their current tour, they'll be back in the studio.

Ordinary - The Alternate Routes


One Cell in the Sea - A Fine Frenzy

One Cell in the Sea is the first album by A Fine Frenzy, which was released earlier this summer. This is a fantastic first effort from a very promising musician. This has a number of fantastic songs on it, and because it's a first album that's recently been released, I'm confident that we'll see her soon again.

Rangers - A Fine Frenzy

Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy - The Softlightes

This is another first album from a cool sounding band, the Softlightes. Fans of Death Cab for Cutie will like these guys, as they've got a similar sound. Heart Made of Sound is the best track on the album, and it's got a really cool video as well. I'm relatively certain that we will be seeing more of these guys in the near future, and I'm sure that it will be worth waiting for.

Heart Made of Sound - Softlightes


Time Without Consequence - Alexi Murdoch

Alexi Murdoch came out last year with his first full length album, Time Without Consquence. Murdoch has a sound akin to that of Nick Drake, abit a little more modern and a little more experimental. This is a fantastic first effort from Murdoch, one that has brought out a number of fantastic songs. This is a guy that I desperately want to hear more from, and soon.

Blue Mind - Alexi Murdoch

Hype - Look

New Headphones

Completely random note - I now have new headphones. After a couple years with the cheaper behind-the-head wraparounds and iPod headphones, I finally decided that I had enough of the crackling at high volumes and discomfort and get something a little better. Not top of the line by any means, but my god, I can actually hear the music and various parts, like the bass, guitar and drums in so much better quality than before. And man, it sounds amazing.

Heart Made of Sound - The SoftLightes

Hype - Buy