Terrene's 'The Indifferent Universe' is some nice indiepop

Defin has to be Elvis Perkin's Ash Wednesday so far

Boxer tops it.

I've also really liked Neon Bible (Arcade Fire), Boys And Girls In America (The Hold Steady), Plague Park (Handsome Furs), Mirrored (Battles), Person Pitch (Handsome Furs), New Moon (Eliott Smith), Cryptograms (Deerhunter), Sound of Silver(LCD Soundsystem), The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (The Besnard Lakes), Beyond (Dinsaur Jr.)

So far, this has been a poor year for albums. New efforts from Arcade Fire, Wilco, Ryan Adams, the National, Low have either been more or of the same or just plain underwhelming. I've enjoyed Feist's new album The Reminder, Candylion by Gruff Rhys... Grinderman is a lot of fun. The Black Rebel Motorcycle CLub's Howl 81 has been the guitar album of the year so far (even if it is a move back to their original riffage rather than the rootsy sound of their last album) - it's also the most under-rated album of the year for me. The most over-rated is the virtually unlistenable Favourite Worst Nightmare.

It will be interesting to see what comes out over the next few months.

For the record, I'm currently listening to Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis and it's just glorious...

Neon Bible from Arcade Fire
In Love With Details from Delorentos
A Weekend In The City from Bloc Party
Favourite Worst Nightmare from Arctic Monkeys
have all been good for me.

Sky Blue Sky - Wilco
Puzzle - Biffy Clyro
We Were Dead... - Modest Mouse
A Weekend In The City - Bloc Party
Era Vulgaris - Queens Of The Stone Age

It's been a much stronger year for singles than albums so far for me, but...

The Kissaway Trail - Kissaway Trail
Trentemoller - Last Resort
The Maccabees - Colour it in
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

have been pretty damn good.

I'm beginning to be won over by Arctic Monkeys, but was disappointed by Bloc Party and Arcade Fire.

I have liked:

Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
Menomena - Friend and Foe
CYHSY - Some Loud Thunder
Annuals - Be He Me (Not sure if 2007)
Arcade Fire - Neon Bile
Modest Mouse - We were Dead...

I'm only really getting into Handsome Furs album and the new QOTSA and White Stripes. Really like Battles album but haven't listened to it that much.

Can I add Bat For Lashes to the list? (That came out this year, right? Awesome.)

Explosions In The Sky/All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

(A Masterpiece)

God Is An Astronaut/Far From Refuge

(Best Irish band since Whipping Boy. Staggering.)

The National/Boxer

(Gorgeous, in a word. The lyrics!)

Most overrated: 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'

Biggest Disappointment: 'Neon Bible'

Only one decent song 'No Cars Go' (an old, rerecorded song to boot!) on the whole album, the rest is nondescript and forgettable.
Just doesn't live up to the feverish, over-the-top hype that surrounds the band.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Baby 81 is a great listen.
Also Kings of Leon "Because of the Times" is turning into another great one after a few listens.
"Favourite Worst Nighmare" is really good, maybe people where just expecting too much after the first one????

Good year for music, bad for albums as already said. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver and er.. thats about it. "Tromatic Reflexxions" by Von Sudenfed (a collaboration between Mark E. Smith of the Fall and Mouse on Mars) is another contender, but I'm ashamed to say since buying the CD, I simply haven't had time to sit down and listen to it properly to decide, but I'm pretty sure it'll make my list.

I didn't like that Von Sudenfed record at all.

Oh don't know if it was this year but The Immediate "In Towers and Clouds"
Shame it will be the last from them.

Fairy 'nuff. I've been getting into Mouse on Mars back catalogue thanks to Emusic and had been listening to a lot of their stuff just before it was released so it sort of came at exactly the right time for me.

It's weird, I just can't listen to Mark E Smith's voice recently. Something just clicked in my brain that makes me unable to tolerate it.

Actually - WORST album of the year is Happy Mondays - 'Uncle Dysfunktional'. TORRID.

Malajube 'Trompe L'Oeil'
Plastiscines 'LP1'
...haven't got the Elvis Perkins album yet but what I've heard on the radio sounds great.

my favourite album so far (by a country mile) has been this:

marnie stern - in advance of the broken arm

my next favourite albums have been these:

battles - mirrored
deerhoof - friend opportunity
ali roberts - the amber gatherers

and then some other albums that are up there:

bill callahan - woke on a whaleheart
electrelane - no shouts no calls
boris - rainbow

and one i've yet to listen to which i'm sure is very good:

nina nastasia and jim white - you follow me

oh... how could i forget low... for me, drums and guns is their best album yet... it was exactly what they needed to produce and is a highlight of the year so far...

...i reckons it's been a pretty great year for new music thus far...