Music That Matters - Colourbook

This act hailing from Victoria Canada is sure to win over some of your hearts. It's a steadiness you get only from crossing a cheetah and a platypus. Enter something similar to lucid dreaming in paradise while sprinting a 5K. Colourbook my friends, is fine wine.

Music That Matters : Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

I have ignored this album for too long, and it's a near sin. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam; one of 2007's top 50. Listen to it.

Music That Matters: Midlake- The Trials of Van Occupanther

With almost every current artist creating albums with some sort of yelp, scream, grunt, cry, whimper, growl, or moan, it’s refreshing to hear a group that can actually sing; very well in fact. Midlake’s second release Trials of Van Occupanther is a stunning work which harkens back to the vocal styles of Crosby Stills Nash and other select artists who put forth just as much effort in constructing their vocal arrangements as with instruments. Midlake’s pronounced vocalist Tim Smith has some of this generations most mature and stunning lyrics; a refreshing afternoon breeze under your favorite trees in a period swarming like bees around a hive of often yammering introspective lyrical content. Welcome Midlake, to one of ‘00’s most grown up, thought provoking (in a buoyant way), and lyrically and instrumentally rich artists.

Music That Matters: Dntel - Dumb Luck

If there ever was an album that could encapsulate an emotion this album would be sad. I realize that this is a very cocky thing to claim, as their might be sadder albums that I might not have heard. But through the electronic bleep and bloops of Jimmy Tamborello one feels that this is the antithesis of his side project the Postal Service. Wherein the previous set to inspire hope with pop, nonsencial lyrics, Dumb Luck sets out to depress with poppy nonsensical lyrics. This could not be accomplished though without Ben Gibbard vocalists to accompany his dreary beats. To set the mood on this album Dntel brings in vocalists: Grizzly Bear, Jenny Lewis (who worked on the Postal Service project), and Conor Oberst among others. Each vocalist chosen seems to fit in with their song, and the album as a whole was put together wonderfully.

Music That Matters: Podington Bear

Podington Bear. I'm not even sure where to start on him(her?) really. Well. According to his website he is just a bear that makes music. A bear that plans on releaseing three songs a week (on Monday, Wednesday, Friday) every week for the whole the whole year. Not only this, but he is giving it away for free. Completely. What made me write a post on him is that he had an interesting article on his site, about a new (but in reality a quite old) way of artists to make music. This is actually showcased by the the Nike commissioned workout tracks made by Aesop Rock and LCD Soundsystem. You can take a read, its quite interesting. Regardless, take a listen to his music. Sometimes dark, other times extraordinarily lighthearted. The songs are all mostly twee pop-esque, but have an innocence and an ambient air to them which.
His website is here and you can download the songs using iTunes, or any Podcasting client such as Doppler.

Music That Matters: Menomena - Friend And Foe

How do most people hear music currently? Certainly, its not buy buying the actual CD anymore. Most likely its on your iPod (or other assorted DAP), and most likely the owner of said DAP will not have the album art in the file's tags. Album art has lost its significance in association with the music. This is mostly to do with the fact that most artists just leave it to the record label's art department (one could also argue about the disposability of modern pop music, but that is neither here nor there). With Menomena's Friend And Foe, the album art is truly part of the experience. It describes the flow and feel of the album perfectly. Friend and Foe is a whirling experimental indie rock album that takes the listener through the images of the album art. Thoughts, love, things yet to be born, fear, hate, panic all words which describe the album perfectly. Stand out track Wet And Rusting out does any music video released in 2007 as well. The whole album shines as one of the best albums of 2007.

Music That Matters: Panda Bear - Person Pitch

The long version
Its really really really rare, when I just want to listen to an album over and over and over again. The most recent example of this was J Dilla - Donuts, a psychedelic hip-hop classic. On first listen the album seemed weak, shallow and non necessary. But something kept drawing me back. And with each listen I grew more and more in love until it became my favorite album of 2006, and even now Jay Dee (aka J Dilla) is STILL my top artist on my last.fm.
So. I took a listen to this album. Again at first It was tedious, and reminded me alot of Brian Wilson's Beach Boys work (in the singing). But then I started hearing the myriad found sound samples and layers of instrumentation and reverb working into whole collage of sound layers. When I was on the bus listening and as I stared into the gray skies and traffic ahead, it hit me then that this was a great album. This usually never happens, but its like the light bulb in cartoons, where all of a sudden, it just clicks. With every listen more sound and layers and little gifts are unlocked in a Neo-Psychedelic/Pop landscape of sound. This is an album where being an audiophile is worth it. Of course people will wonder abotu any recommended tracks. Its hard because each song blends in with the other so smoothly, and each song has its own movements that can't be taken out of context. This is a whole album listen, otherwise the effect will not be noticed.

The Short Version
I extremely recommend getting this album, because frankly its fucking amazing.