This year I wanted to do something different with list season, I wanted ENS to have more than one voice. As much as I love doing lists, I wanted to share the wealth a bit this time. So I asked several artists in Cincinnati and beyond for their favorite albums of the year. The response has been great, and this is the first installment of those lists, enjoy!

For Part 1 Of Cincy Artists Choosing their favorites, go here.

***Isaac Karns*** – (Isaac is a member of the excellent indie pop band Pomegranates.)

My favorite albums this year if they were the citizens of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, a program that celebrates its’ 40th anniversary this year.

French Kicks – Swimming as Mr. McFeely.

McFeely runs the Speedy Delivery Messenger Service in the neighborhood, often bringing Mr. Rogers a video to watch about how things are made. With this album French Kicks give the world a reverb soaked tape on how to write songs that will be around for a while.

Dennis Wilson -Pacific Ocean Blue as Daniel Striped Tiger.

Daniel and Dennis both have names that start with “D” and are both lovable precisely because they’re timid, quiet and coming apart a little at the seams.

Enlou -Passing Islands EP as Prince Tuesday.

Both are young and heirs to different thrones; Prince Tuesday to the throne of the land of Make-Believe, Enlou to the throne of songs that are psychedelic, danceable and have lyrics that are cryptic-yet-straight-to-the-heart.

Javelins- Heavy Meadows as Sergio Pinto.

Sergio runs the bakery in town and this album is certainly full of little sweet treats to take home for late night snacking.

Scarlett Johansson- Anywhere I Lay My Head as Cornflake S. Pecially.

Corny makes rocking chairs in the land of Make-Believe and that is precisely how I would recommend listening to this record, a rocking chair, a sunset and a comfy set of headphones. Forget what you’ve heard, it’s good.

***Joey Cook*** – (Joey is also a member of Pomegranates, and sometimes uses his talents in side project FIRS.)
(in no particular order)

Headlights – Some Racing, Some Stopping

This is a really good album full of driving, up-lifting, and beautiful pop songs written by some of the nicest people I think to have ever graced a stage.

Black Mountain – In the Future

I felt as though they perfected their sound on this album. It’s a great blend of well-done psychedelic rock and some really pretty, more mellow songs. They used mellotron (I think?) pretty effectively in some songs as well (a twist that caught me delightfully off-guard on first listen.)

M83 – Saturdays=Youth

I only listened once… but it seemed like the 80s dream pop I hear in dreams was being projected into my ears, with the van cd player as the medium. So good.

No Kids – Come into My House

So, this maybe cheating, because I haven’t actually heard this album.. However, their performance on Halloween in Louisville was the only forty minutes they needed to make me a huge fan.

LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

Cheating again… I think this is 2007… I just think it’s such a great album. ehh

***Sebastian Schultz*** – (Seb is the drummer in the Cincinnati indie rock duo Bad Veins.)

M83 – Saturdays=Youth

A perfect blend of ambiance with 80s synth-pop…what more could you want?
Listen to: “Skin of the Night”

Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight

Some of the most honest and emotional songwriting I’ve heard in quite some time.
Listen to: “Poke”

Radiohead – In Rainbows

The more I hear it, the more I love it…it’s so well recorded and the songs speak for themselves.
Listen to: “Videotape”

***Ann Yu*** – (Ann is the lead singer from LoveLikeFire, who despite not being from Cincinnati, is awesome and provided her choices.)

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

This album is so different from song to song that seems like it may turn some people off who like them for a specific song, but it’s the reason I think they are so great. My favorites on the album are changing and almost every track keeps me engaged throughout. The production is amazing and I love the themes captured and the vulnerable and rich quality of Andrew van Wyngarden’s voice is pretty
awesome.

The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement

My cousin turned me onto this band, they capture something of an old western movie and James Bond films for me. I love the cinematic quality of the music, and it’s good walking music too on a semi-foggy day. There’s a sinister quality to it that I like that seems to be in the arrangements which is appealing to me too.

The Walkmen – You and Me

I just started listening to this album recently and at first I wasn’t sure about it, but I loved the general quality of it and so I kept listening and fell in love. It’s an album that requires a little patience I think but so perfect once you wrap your head around the meandering and soothing vocals and sparse yet compelling arrangements. It makes me feel nostalgia and longing, which is why I love this album so much.

***J. Tom Hnatow*** – (Another non Cincinnatian, multi-instrumentalist for These United States.)

Shearwater – Rook

My favorite record of the year. Opener “On the Death of the Waters” literally startled me out of my seat, and the record only gets better from there. So fragile and devastating – it constantly teeters on the edge of precociousness but always gracefully stays balanced. And the attention to detail is stunning from instrumentation to the packaging to the “hidden” track on the LP version, the whole thing is as lovely and perfect a piece of Art as was released this year.

Sun Kil Moon – April

The devil is always in the details when it comes to Mark Kozelek. And in a long career filled with subtlety, April might be the most subtle of the bunch – which says a lot. Still, like a dreary, rainy day of the title month, the music has a way of quietly seeping into your consciousness until you’re not sure if you’re hearing his heart breaking or yours.

The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me

Rather than the giant stylistic leaps made between previous records, The Devil, You + Me finds the Notwist exploring the niche they discovered on their breakthrough Neon Golden. Despite their pop inclinations, I don’t know of any band who arranges noises so beautifully – from burbling synths to glockenspiel to the 21 piece orchestra that accompanies them on some tracks, this is a band primarily interested in SOUND. Vocalist Markus Acher’s voice, much like Bernard Sumners of New Order, adds a distinctly human element over the sometimes alienating proceedings whirling around him.

Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs

There’s not much else that can be said about Bob Dylan. What makes this set stand out are the musicians backing him up throughout – their willingness to follow Dylan’s every whim makes the songs especially essential and revelatory.

Calexico - Carried to Dust

Shrugging off the playing-it-too-safe misstep of Garden Ruin, Calexico return to doing what they do best – and create yet another cinematic, genre-blending masterpiece. Despite their top-notch songwriting and impeccable musicianship, Calexico are always one of those bands that somehow slip under the radar, which I find consistently baffling.