Tom's Best of 2007

Well 2007 has been a great year. Indie mp3 merged with Lost Music in August and if the past four months are anything to go by you should be in for a great 2008. We have put on some great gigs as well as releasing two cracking singles. Unlike Trev I am not voting for them below! Indie MP3 now has contributors from Iceland, USA, Germany, Sweden not forgetting London and Oxford. Thanks to all of them and their contributions.

Highlights of 2007? The indie pop revival in the UK from Derby to Sheffield, London to Nottingham and from Stoke to a railway museum in the Derbyshire countryside for indie tracks. It's all go y'know! Head over to Anorak which now seems to be the premier indie pop forum of choice for chat and debate.

Is not all in the UK though. Cloudberry Records has been the label of 2007 with over 70 releases this year alone all issued on delightful 3" CD's featuring indie pop from around the globe. There will be some 7" releases in 2008 so keep them peeled. Also watch out for a Cloudberry special on this blog soon and we hope to put on a Cloudberry Records gig early next year.

Other labels of note include Atomic Beat, Yay Records, Wee Pop! and of course our very own Lost Music label.

Enough yacking - here are my lists or more accurately what my brain allows me to remember!
Singles:

1 Maia Hirasawa - And I Found This Boy
2 Fanfarlo - You Are One Of The Few Outsiders Who Really Understands Us
3 The Bridge Gang - London Sky Tonight
4 Sofia Talvik - Blaa Linjen Hem
5 Fanfarlo - Fire Escape
6 Those Dancing Days - Hitten
7 Liechtenstein - Stalking Skills
8 Horowitz - Tracyanne
9 Felt Tips - Boyfriend Devoted
10 BMX Bandits - Take Me To Heaven

Special mentions for Pocketbooks Cross The Line, The Soundcarriers I Had A Girl, Kid Canaveral Smash Hits, Sarandon Joes Record, both Slow Club releases and I am sure I have missed a few out somewhere!

Worst Single Heard: Hello Wembley with Up Great Britain closely followed with anything by Lorraine and Mumm Ra.

Best Cover Version:

1 Camera Obscura - Souper Trooper

Albums:

I must admit to be getting a bit bored by albums these days and if they are not under 30 minutes long my interest starts to wane. I guess I am a singles man at heart. These are the albums I have played the most this year and are not in any particuliar order.

Love Dance - Result
Celestial - Dream On
Afternoon Naps - Sunbeamed
A Smile And A Ribbon - The Boy I Wish I Never Met
Cats On Fire - The Province Complains
Orbital - Live At Glastonbury 1994-2004
Irene - Long Gone Since Last Summer
BMX Bandits - Bee Stings
Gigs:

Some excellent gigs this year including Cats On Fire & A Smile And A Ribbon in a very hot and eventually short lived Horse and Groom in Shoreditch. I enjoyed Liechtenstein because they sounded like so many other bands on each of their songs and Manhattan Love Suicides who encapsulate a certain era. Fanfarlo did it for me live though - indie pop with trumpets. It's the way to go.

1 Fanfarlo
2 Cats On Fire
3 Electric Pop Group
4 Radio Dept
5 Bridge Gang/Olympians
6 Manhattan Love Suicides
7 Strawberry Story
8 Horowitz
9 A Smile and A Ribbon
10 Liechtenstein

Honourable mentions to Navvy, The School, Darren Hayman, Sarandon and all those I have enjoyed but forgotten about. It's been a long year okay!

Worst Gig - The Orchids at indie tracks. By far!

Well that's my round up for 2007. I am sure that if I read this tomorrow I will change my mind. Feel free to post your top 10's, 5's or even 1's in the comments if you think I have missed something out or that you think I need to hear it!

Thanks for reading indie mp3 and I hope we can grab your attention in 2008 which promises to be an exciting year in more ways than one!