2007 was an exciting year for local music fans. I'm not quite ready to post my top 10 local releases of 2007 (I'm still wrestling with a couple of things). In the meantime, here's a reflection on 2006's list.
A year ago I posted my top 10 albums for LA artists for 2006. Looking back at the list is a good starting point for reflecting on the LA music scene in 2007. Two of the artists, Silversun Pickups and Cold War Kids, exceeded all expectations and broke huge on an international scale in 2007 (tons of national TV appearances, sold out shows and love from MTV). Both bands recently played headling, sold out shows at the Wiltern. Silversun’s show sold out so fast they probably could have sold out additional nights. Silversun’s currently making the rounds at the big Alt rock radio station holiday shows. Cold War Kids were handpicked by the White Stripes for a supporting slot, but unfortunately that tour got canceled. To my knowledge, neither band has had time to get into the studio for work on their follow up yet. I’m guessing that both will happen in early 2008.
The artist at the top of my list last year was the Little Ones. The band toured their asses off in 2007, opening shows for Voxtrot, Kaiser Chiefs, the Walkmen, the Magic Numbers, Tilly and the Wall, We Are Scientists and the Boy Least Likely To. They spent a large chunk of the year in the UK, but also found time to record their debut full length with Dave Newton. Look for Morning Tide sometime next April (the exact date hasn’t been set yet). They just posted the first single on their Myspace page. While the single didn’t grab me immediately like the EP, I’m anxious to hear the full length.
Two of the other artists on the list, Division Day and Let’s Go Sailing, had their albums re-issued with national distribution. Both artists did their share of touring in 2007 with Let’s Go Sailing sharing the stage with Elvis Perkins and Division Day currently on tour with Voxtrot.
One of the other artists, Jenny Lewis, spent most of the year with her main band, Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley released their major label debut in 2007. She did find time to go see Neil Young at the Nokia (she was sitting a row in front of me). Jenny Lewis’ collaborators, The Watson Twins were also on my list last year. The Watson Twins toured with Magnolia Electric Co. and went into the New Monkey Studio to record their debut full length. Look for that to be released this Spring.
Some of the bands had lineup changes. The Clean Prophets staged their first national tour early in the year, then saw the departure of their bass player and don’t seem to be active anymore. Publicly, The Tyde had a quiet year. They lost a member, added an old friend (Josh Scwhartz) for a few local shows and lately, Darren has been playing some solo shows. Lastly, Languis was on my list too. Shortly after the release of that EP, they lost one of the main members. This year they released some singles this year, but I haven’t heard them.
In my recap last year I also listed three bands to look out for in 2007. I’m happy to say that all three bands (The Broken West, The Parson Red Heads, The Deadly Syndrome) will be in my best of 2007 list tomorrow….
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