Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2007: Part 2

“Four Winds” by Bright Eyes
The best song yet from this frantic alt-country dynamo. Conor Oberst’s voice is still something to be desired but he made it work with this one.


Going Way Out With Heavy Trash by Heavy Trash

One of the best albums of the year. More bluesy than Blues Explosion ever is (was?), Jon Spencer’s collaboration with Matt Verde-Ray not only dodged the sophmore slump, it kicked its sorry ass to the curb and back again. “Outside Chance” and “Crazy Pretty Baby” are the two most shining examples of this little dollop of near perfection. Tom Waits gone rockabilly is one way to describe this whole thing and that’s a very good.
"Outside Chance"


Gogol Bordello

• Live Show
  
• Record: Super Taranta
• Song: “Wanderlust King”
  

Eugene Hutz’s Gogol Bordello would be the best band in the world if they weren’t so exhausting. The good stuff is so intense, so ferocious, so skilled, and so much, that after just a few short bursts, it’s enough already. Super Taranta was far from perfect, like their previous material, but the lead single got the job done. More important, the live show was historic. 3,000 intense maniacs from all walks of life turned Terminal 5 into a giant Eastern European wedding. All that was missing was the marinated herring. And it's going to happen again on New Year's Eve.


Grinderman

• Live Show
  
• Record: Grinderman
  

Nick Cave took the rump of the Bad Seeds, slapped some mustaches on them and himself, and churned out the top tier candidate for Best Album of 2007 (if the old system was still in place). If that wasn’t enough, Cave and the band went to Madison Square Garden, opened for the White Stripes, and stole the damn show. The raw, pounding concussion of the sound is matched bizarrely well by Cave’s rich lyrics, a poetic mess of Alvy Singer-like laments sung humorously in a confident, cocky manner. Being an aging hipster doofus never sounded so cool.
On Later, "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)":

No Pussy Blues
Depth Charge Ethel

The Hard Lessons

• Live Show
  
• Songs: “Hey Hey My My”; “See and Be Scene”
  

Those incorrigible Hard Lessons were at it again in 2007, sporting not one but two stellar singles that showcased on record what the band has been doing live. New York got tore up a bunch of times this year, including three times in the Autumn. It was a very good year for this very good band.
"Wicked Man" at Union Hall:

SPTV at CMJ


“Hate It Here” by Wilco
Well look at that. Wilco. After years of being found rather dull, this recalling of 70’s singer-songwriter pop finally made ol’ Pennypacker take notice for the first time since “Casino Queen”. Sky Blue Sky as a whole allowed for a new look at Jeff Tweedy and it’s looking good from here on out.

Wilco – Hate It Here