411 Music Presents....The 2007 Midyear Review Roundup

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 07.13.2007

The 411 Music review crew counts down their required listening for the first half of 2007. From metal to alternative to indie to pop to rock, we've got you covered...


Summer is upon us again folks. That means vacations, road trips, cook-outs and all other manner of fun in the sun. But July also means we've reached the half way point in 2007. With half of the year in the bag, the 411 Music review crew would like to look back at some our favorite (and not-so-favorite) albums of the past six months. To this end, we've rounded up a few dozen records that, one way or another, just may rock those bikinis off this summer. So study this list, print it off and take it to your local CD store. Whether you're a metal head, indie snob, pop fan or just like to rock the fuck out, these are 411 Music's best buys of the year thus far:

Note: Just click on any album for their full, original review!



Let me see those devil horns! You know what I'm talking about. Pinky and index finger in the air. Start jumping around, kicking and screaming, just like your favorite metal frontman. I want to see you dancing in that mosh pit, ripping out posers' eyebrow rings and taking a punch like it's your day job. If you can listen to these CDs and not want to get up and knock around your little brother, then you're not listening to them loud enough. The hard rock/metal genre requires so little of you: you just have to like violence, driving bass and pulsing drums, angry, dark lyrics, and love a vocalist that you cannot understand unless he's harmonizing. Listening to these top five albums is guaranteed to leave you black and blue or your money back. – Ben Czajkowski

	#1 Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero The 411: Many [are calling] Year Zero the best Nine Inch Nails album to date. It's an opinion you can respect…a very good album…the best I've heard in a long time…[it] brings Nine Inch Nails back to the frontlines of innovative music…not quite like anything [Trent] Reznor has made before, Year Zero works as the most confident, sonically rich collective statement he's released in years. ..not a particularly friendly record, but then again, in a musical climate saturated by Fergie and Nickelback, it's hard not to give him credit for creating a daring, aggressive album.
	#2 Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos The 411: …a stellar release from one of the few bands that never fail to deliver. It has a little more of a modern feel than past efforts, but this is still the Dream Theater you know and love. If Octavarium was a balance with the scales leaning towards their progressive side, Chaos tips them back right to the center…from start to finish, this is truly a great progressive metal album...Another great [one] in a long line from Dream Theater…one of the best modern albums they've done.
Systematic Chaos is Dream Theater's best album of the 21st century. [There's] a newfound energy in the music and the band has never sounded better…future classics [here], including "The Dark Eternal Night" and the epic "In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1 and 2"…Dream Theater really put a lot of effort into this album and it shows throughout. - Dan Marsicano …easily the band's strongest album in a long time…strikes a perfect balance between the progressive and metal elements that the band has seemed to search for since Awake…not only the best Dream Theater album in a long time, but one of the best albums period. - Brandon Ratliff	#3 Machine Head - The Blackening The 411: …their best since Burn My Eyes. With strong songwriting, great guitar work, and a meaty production by Robert Flynn, Machine Head has proven that they are one of the best American heavy metal bands out there today.
	#4 Symphony X - Paradise Lost The 411: Another stellar album for Symphony X…The songwriting is excellent with some interesting ideas and some great ballads…[The band has honed] their skills and made songs that are not only technical in nature, but memorable as well…one of the top ten albums of 2007 so far.
	#5 Chimaira – Resurrection The 411: …their career defining album…in place of sheer brutality is a renewed respect for hook-laden melodies over blistering music…[they've honed the sound of their self titled album] to a fine (albeit ironically softer) point edge.

Alternative music gets harder and harder to define every year. You can't even go by our top 5 list, which contains indie rockers with a penchant for Americana, the UK's favorite garage rockers, a Canadian pop singer/songwriter, and an industrial shock rocker. I guess the real truth actually lies within our diverse list. Alternative is whatever doesn't sound like everything else. It's the music that dares to stand in stark contrast to whatever else is on the radio. It's the music for the music's sake. Some may say that the real alternative genre died back in the early 90's, but these five artists prove that its spirit is alive and doing very well - Mitch Michaels

#1 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank The 411: …a challenging, fantastic record…This band is light years away from losing steam and I believe they will only continue to surprise everyone with what they have yet to accomplish…artful and tight…nothing extraneous…no throw-away tracks…catchy singles to lure you in and madcap, lush album cuts to luxuriate in…Captivating.
#2 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare The 411: …an even better album than their debut…quite possibly the best new band of the current decade…an urgent, restless album filled with great songs and tons of stylized rock ‘n' roll…[will] please their already sizable fanbase and make new fans at the same time.
#3 Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars The 411: …a capable songwriter and incredible vocalist on top of his game… sporadically grandiose, playfully seductive, overly self-conscious and introspective in places, wistful and honest…shows Wainwright to be very close to creating that flawless masterpiece he's so clearly capable of making.
#4 Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me The 411: ...a raw, stripped down sound that allows the lead singer plenty of room to croon and emote. The pace is slow, but there are enough guitar hooks to keep things interesting, and the lyrical content is Manson's most relatable ever…could easily be remembered as a gothic rock standard bearer…a breath of fresh air…[Manon's] new post-punk inspired sound fits him really well.	Who knew that anything good could come out of Limp Bizkit? Wes Borland has redeemed his career with this great slap of alt-metal…some great melodies and guitar solos [and] surprisingly good [singing]. - Dan Marsicano
#5 Black Light Burns – Cruel Melody The 411: ... starts off with a bang [and] picks up in the end for a satisfying and beautiful ending. Wes Borland has shown that Limp Bizkit needed him a lot more than he needed them…goes from heavy to calm to peaceful to frightful at times…a solid album that shows off [Borland's] talent and his future potential in the music industry.

With major labels gobbling up indie heroes like Tic Tacs and indie labels garnering the type of distribution that used to only be reserved for majors, the division between the independent and the mainstream is as blurred as it ever was. The indie acts on our list tend to fall within two categories: the quiet singer/songwriter and the post-punk rock band. But don't look upon this as some sort of stagnation on the indie scene. Look no further than Bright Eyes, who have taken the singer/songwriter style of Elliott Smith, combined it with country and made it something completely their (his) own. If indie music of today has proven anything, it's that they have some great abilities and some great influences. - Mitch Michaels

	#1 The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible The 411: This band is making important music and you should hear it…their new sound has retained the artistry, innovation, and mindfulness that helped win the immense and well-deserved respect that this band enjoys. Huzzah!... An essential listen from beginning to end...the kind of second album you would expect from a band whose popularity is sky-rocketing, yet still remains unknown to the average music fan.
	#2 Elliott Smith - New Moon The 411: …[feels] like much more [than] just a demos and rarities album... The songs are just as good as Smith's landmark mid-90's output…New Moon captures Elliott Smith in a hopeful place, when the drug problem hadn't gotten too bad and before the major labels had made him doubt his own talent. There's an air of assuredness and forward-thinking here that makes for a lovely listen, and it's the way Smith should be remembered.
	#3 Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City The 411: …finds Block Party moving away from quirky UK art rock band to full on rock stars…There's a sense of oneness, not only in the band's skillful, rocked up playing, but also in Kele Okeleke's heady songwriting and that singularity makes this album a true contender for one of the top of the year. If you're ready to be challenged, excited and wowed, as well as prepared to see your favorite "little" indie band grow into full-fledged rock stars, this CD is for you.
This album has been out for a couple months now and I still haven't gotten tired of spinning it. At 24 tracks, I'm still finding new treasures. If you love quiet indie music, you must own this record. - Mitch Michaels	#4 Bright Eyes - Cassadega The 411: …bound to please fans of Bright Eyes and make new fans as well. …the fullest sounding [songs] the band has ever produced, with nice arrangements, tons of instrumental fills and an alt-country tinge that has been missing on the indie-rock scene…barely a dull moment on the album…better production than other Bright Eyes [releases]…superb instrumentation…a fine LP.
	#5 Andrew Bird– Armchair Apocrypha The 411: …an expansive and surprising [album]…an eclectic mix of indie pop and downcast blues. Bird's vocals are easy on the ear and blend perfectly with his wide range of instrumentation…Armchair Apocrypha is just aching to be loved.

Time to celebrate the midyear successes in the rock music world. 2007 has been a great year so far for rock ‘n roll. We have finally overtaken the darkness that is rap, selling WAY more albums according to a report in late June. The albums that follow are just small examples of what we here at 411 Music feel to be the best displays of rock for the year thus far. This list is in no way a reflection of the entire rock population, but rather a small sample to get you started, if by chance you've been in a coma since New Year's Eve. So throw up your rock-fist and leave these albums on repeat, because what you have here, folks, is quality. The crème de la crème of this genre. - Ben Czajkowski

#1 The White Stripes - Icky Thump The 411: …The White Stripes' confident return to blazing rock…Jack and Meg jam to some burning rock and searing blues, all the while keeping that lo fi, quirky sensibility that has made them indie and critical darlings…[there's an] assuredness with which [the album is] delivered [because] they know you're gonna like it... Another masterpiece…[some of] the best songs the White Stripes have ever written. An outstanding release that is one of the top 5 releases of 2007.
#2 Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet The 411: …another brillant release. Progressive rock fans who have been eagerly awaiting the new album will love Fear of a Blank Planet…worth the time and effort to listen to the album repeatedly to really appreciate the effort that Steve Wilson and company put into this concept album..
#3 The Cat Empire - Two Shoes The 411: Great album!
#4 Finger Eleven - Them Vs. Me Vs. You The 411: …their seminal album…you really can't find much of anything to complain about…open-minded fans will find plenty to appreciate and enjoy here.	The White Stripes have released another masterpiece. Icky Thump shows the Whites going back to their Elephant roots, while adding a bit of Get Behind Me Satan for good measure…Great songs like "Conquest"… a ten minute epic jammed into a three minute song. - Dan Marsicano
#5 Skinny Puppy – Mythmaker The 411: The band moves forward with all their best elements in place…this is no rehash job…This Skinny Puppy has been revitalized.

Sometime over the past couple of decades, pop became a very dirty word. It came to represent all of the commercial, soulless music pumping out of Clear Channel-owned radio stations and permeating MTV's daily TRL countdown. But beyond dance and bubblegum (which have their own artistic purveyors), the pop of the 60's and 70's that gave us acts from Billy Joel to The Beatles is very much alive and well today. Any time you hear a hook or a good bass line, a catchy chorus or just a bouncy song, you're hearing pop. These five artists not only create the music I'm describing, they excel at making you feel good – the true essence of pop. - Mitch Michaels

	#1 Lily Allen - Alright, Still The 411: …catchy, funky, and full of pep. Allen seems to take pride in not taking herself too seriously…an enjoyable listen that doesn't fade with repeated [spins]…perhaps the most enjoyable bubblegum record in some time.
	#2 Scott Fisher & The 1 a.m. Approach - Step Into The Future The 411: Scott Fisher & 1 a.m. Approach are so far out of the box that it's already obvious that no one knows what to do with them. They fuse elements of pop, indie rock, jazz, ska, reggae and a few other errant genres so deftly that they've created a sound that's impossible to put your finger on. Usually this is damning praise, but for Fisher, it's his band's greatest asset. If you like any kind of laid back, piano-driven music, you will love this CD. Period. One of the best written, mood-setting indie albums of the year.
	#3 Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long The 411: …worth the wait…the perfect pop record…takes the soul of the 70's and brings it into the present…It couldn't be more current….unlike most of the over-hyped #1s of recent months, It Won't Be Soon absolutely deserves [the hype]…built to be huge, but also built with plenty of skill.
It seems strange to vote an under the radar indie record as one of the best pop albums of the year, but Scott Fisher draws on all of the greatness from piano-driven pop of the past (from Billy Joel to Ben Folds) and spins it with his own unique, half-jazz/half-reggae inspired sound. An album of great tracks and great songwriting, you'll be hearing more about this one before 2007 is over. - Mitch Michaels	#4 Michael Bublé - Call Me Irresponsible The 411: Call Me Irresponsible will only reaffirm your [Bublé] fandom…some songs are quite simply blowaways if you enjoy this style of pop crooning, [others] are just plain, danceable fun…you can't accuse this record of lacking passion or good arrangements.
	#5 Martin Sexton – Seeds The 411: …a solid record harkening back to old school rhythm and blues with pieces of Americana laid all over it…a shining example of the treasures that are Sexton's voice, soul and musicianship.

Every year you have that one album that you really anticipate. It's been hyped up or its predecessor was amazingly solid. You know that the artist's new one is going to be just as good, if not better. You've listened to the single obsessively on the radio or on MySpace. You get the CD in the mail or from the store (never from a torrent site). You spend your time ripping off the nine layers of protective coverings. Finally, you plop that CD into your 9-disc changer and you're ready to jam! You're wearing the same t-shirt as the artist to which you're about to listen and your room is completely decked out in candles to set the mood. At last, those first few notes play and you're jamming. Good opening tracks give you hope for the rest of the album. Second track, eh, it's okay, not as good as the opener. Third track…skip over it after two minutes. Now, it's the single, and you're back to rocking out. But after track six, you give up. Your spirit is broken and you go in search of your Hanson t-shirt for comfort. This album you just bought…it's going to flop. You blame the record label, the frontman getting clean, or, you lie to yourself and say, "It's okay to have one bad record". However, deep down you know…all successive albums will never be like the one you fell in love with. - Ben Czajkowski

#1 Korn - Unplugged The 411: …very little good in this record…difficult to listen to…some fans will denounce [Unplugged] as sacrilege…a huge mistake…steer clear of this one…I have no idea who would subject themselves to this performance…nothing more than a small footnote on their lengthy, bland career.
#2 Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High The 411: [look] elsewhere for quality music…[say] goodbye to your hardcore fans. Fall Out Boy, we hardly knew ye. Pete Wentz, I hope you enjoy sleeping on your mattress full of money.
#3 Mezzanine Owls - Slingshot Echoes The 411: If you are a fan of meek guitars and muddled, inaudible lyrics, this is the band for you…a really bad album…
#4 Poison - Poison'd The 411: …there is no reason to own this record…decent moments are few and far between…"Suffragette City" is especially offensive…[Poison'd shows] how lame Poison's cover songs have always been…	…a good idea that just turned out so poorly…Jonathan Davis and co. have desperately been trying to find their niche since the death of nu-metal. Why not do an acoustic set of songs that were never meant to be acoustic? While I applaud the band for trying to add a new spice to their music, when you have to rely on vocalists like…Amy Lee….to help sell this album, I can't help but cringe a little. - Ben Czajkowski
#5 Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight The 411: …Weak. Easily their worst album…I really can't recommend this to anyone…this is not Linkin Park….Avoid…

And now, from the home office in Sioux City, Iowa, we bring…aw, fuck it. Here's 411 Music's top 10 sure bets of the first half of 2007. Buy these albums, listen to them, worship them. We'll be busy keeping our eye out for the next big thing. - Mitch Michaels

	#1 Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero …This disc has variety. Other artists should take note…Probably the best metal album so far this year. - Ben Czajkowski
	#2 The White Stripes - Icky Thump This is your album of the summer, if not the year. - Mitch
	#3 Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos …definitely one of their best albums in years…[it] shows the band renewed and full of energy - Dan M.
…clearly one of Trent Reznor's best albums, though it's seemingly fell under the radar…The more I listen to this album, the more reason I find to call it my favorite in 2007. - Mikey MiGo	#4 Machine Head - The Blackening Even after three months, I continue to find new and interesting things about The Blackening…a great metal album, a great mix and some of the best guitar work of any album this year…definitely in my top five of the year so far - Dan M.
	#5 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank Modest Mouse has not only managed to keep their sound fresh, they've continued to make interesting, challenging records. - James Munson
	#6 The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible This album is dripping with genius, taking us to darker, deeper places with social commentary - Danielle Ricci
	#7 The Cat Empire - Two Shoes …a phenomenal album...If I'm wrong on this one, feel free to petition for an extended lockup period for yours truely... - Jesse Coy
	#8 Symphony X - Paradise Lost ..Symphony X's heaviest album and a refreshing change of pace… - Dan M.
Every time some snot nosed kid sings in a fake British accent or some dumbass punk trio think they're being edgy by picking up an acoustic and protesting a war, remember that Elvis Costello not only did it first, but he did it better. - Mitch Michaels	#9 Elvis Costello - The Best Of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years/Rock And Roll Music …timeless and relevant. This is the pinnacle of smart rock ‘n' roll. - Mitch
	#10 Finger Eleven - Them Vs. Me Vs. You In a rock world where everything sounds the same, Finger Eleven emerges from the pack and creates songs for themselves, and for the fans. - John Cullen

And that's all, folks. Stay tuned to 411mania's music section and make sure you never miss out on what the music world has to offer.

Peace.