Here are a handful of tracks from this year and beyond to discover or re-discover.

Stars The Night Starts Here

Tokyo Police Club Your English is Good

The Deers You and I are a Gang of Losers

Give us your handful of tracks to play.

Happy New Year.

Toronto Unplugged

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Musicians, bands and management started realizing the full potential of the digital and Internet soundscape. They started realizing that the current model just doesn’t make sense anymore and began exploring options.

Stars, Prince and Radiohead wielded the biggest digital axe, but rising bands also took a toll by releasing, promoting and selling music on their own through a very simple formula – lots of hard work. Is there a valuable lesson amidst all this?

The Music Industry was divided into halves – those that had the ability, insight and freedom to pursue the new alternatives and those that were tied to their multi-billion dollar structure. One side was (and is) thriving on excitement and opportunity, while the other was (and is) trying to re-group in desperation.
The manufactured artists and bands that were once the pillar of the industry, began crumbling in the public eye and fast. However, in the wake were real bands spreading their music virally. Good music getting to you in a more legit and credible way. Very cool.

There was also the harsh wake up call for bands of old who could no longer rely on simply re-producing and re-jigging old material for a new album. They discovered that a strategically planned reunion performance/tour could be very lucrative – not to mention a great ego stroke. Welcome back: The Police, Led Zeppelin and…The Spice Girls.

The change in the industry, the breakdown of traditional structure, and the digital album releases would be insignificant if the music wasn’t there to support this revolution. Fortunately, 2007 was a solid, solid year for music. Dropping the microscope closer to the scene, it was a solid year for Music in Toronto. We have a world-class, thriving music scene in our city right now and it is intimate and familiar enough to feel unique to those who know it.

There were too many great and impacting releases this year to keep this list of Top Albums of the Year to just Toronto, but there were a few that were more than deserving to be on any list and some that just missed out, but will never leave my car CD player and IPOD.

7. The Assistants – The Assistants

Superficial similarities aside, this record is full of the jangley energy and warm vocal hooks that very much in the vein of The Byrds’ 60s psych-inflected pop. There’s good guitar work on tracks like “Free to Believe” and one of the record’s standout songs “Handful of Heaven.” The Assistants definitely have potential.

Essential Tracks: “Free to Believe” and “Planet News“

6. Kevin Drew – Spirit If

Simply put: This is an album for the ages, an album that you will covet, listen to, and live by. here comes Kevin Drew.

Essential Tracks: “Lucky Ones” and “Backed out on the…”

5. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

The second album from Montreal’s Arcade Fire exceeds all expectations. With string and orchestral arrangements by two of the band members, “Neon Bible” is full of both half-assed punk rock mistakes and meticulously orchestrated woodwinds. Processed strings and mandolin. Quiet rumbles and loud rumbles. But mostly just eleven songs that the band thinks are really good.

Essential Tracks: “Intervention”, “No Cars Go”

4. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times

U2, Radiohead and the Strokes have all praised them. Now it’s time for the rest of the world to catch on.

ESSENTIAL TRACKS: “On Call,” “The Bucket”

3. Feist – The Reminder

You should own this album. It can be played any day anytime. We were really happy to see Feist and other BSS’er break out this year. They are leading our scene.

Essential Tracks: “Sea Lion” and “My Moon My Man” and “1234″

2. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

My man Rhys at Underground Garage (a top notch bar in Toronto) got me on to this band. This is one of my favorite releases of the year. Band of Horses have such a great sound. Head to their Myspace page, close your door, crank the volume and light a…candle.

Essential Tracks: “No One’s Going to Love You” and “Is There a Ghost”

1. RADIOHEAD – In Rainbows

Sure, the band got loads of attention by being the first band to offer up their disc digitally via their website and letting fans pay whatever they want — but by no means are these bargain basement tracks.

Is it one of their best albums? Hmm….maybe not, but it is a very, very solid album. Plus, you cannot ignore the impact this album has had and will have on the big bad wolf.

Essential Tracks: “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” “15 Step,” “Bodysnatchers.”

Post from: Toronto Unplugged