Crumbs’s Top 5 Albums of 2007 – #1

#1 – “In Rainbows” – Radiohead

While you could have paid any amount of money you liked for In Rainbows, what you definitely need to pay in full is attention. The album demands it and then rewards you for it. It’s a delectable treat. Dark yet beautiful. Heavy yet ethereal. Real yet dreamy. Lie down and listen to Nude with your eyes closed and you’ll imagine that you’re floating.

You won’t find any choruses to latch on to here among the song structures. Instead the songs just flow naturally along, often leading to a crescendo. I must be on or around my 150th listen of the album and it just seems to get better every time. It’s as good as anything the band has produced before. To pick highlights from it is almost unfair but that’s never stopped me before. Along with the aforementioned Nude, other standouts are Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, All I Need, Videotape and Jigsaw Falling Into Place, which is in the following video. Best band ever.

Edit: I had to add to this post by putting in a couple of live performances which blew my mind. The first is Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (which I now think is their best ever song) and the second is Nude.

The final list:

#1 – “In Rainbows” – Radiohead
#2 – “Boxer” – The National
#3 – “Neon Bible” – The Arcade Fire
#4 – “Sound Of Silver” – LCD Soundsystem
#5 – “Marry Me” – St. Vincent

Other albums that came close to this list include: “In Our Bedroom After The War” by Stars, “The Reminder” by Feist, “Cassadaga” by Bright Eyes, “White Chalk” by PJ Harvey, “Strawberry Jam” by Animal Collective, “23” by Blonde Redhead, “Under The Blacklight” by Rilo Kiley and a host of others that I’ve probably forgotten at the moment. Also, “Carnavas” by Silversun Pickups would have made my top 5, only it’s really a 2006 album (although not released in Europe until 2007).

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