VARIOUS ARTISTS - Brazil 70

If Soul Jazz's Tropicalia comp uncovered little for those familiar with the genre, they acquit themselves with this fine follow-up. Avoiding a Rio samba soul barrel-scrape or the dull wallpaper of Nascimento's Clube da Esquina gang, focusing on the Northeast explosion: a hotbed for young long-hairs bent on bringing folk forms like forro, baiao, and frevo into the new decade, absorbing and at times surpassing the prevailing sounds of the time. Along with the usual suspects we find Alceu Valenca, Jards Macale, Raul Seixas and, the criminally overlooked Novos Baianos, merely hinting at their greatness and influence.

BASIA BULAT - Oh, My Darling

This London, Ontario native has gone about releasing her Canadian debut in a somewhat backward way; Oh, My Darling was first issued by venerable UK indie Rough Trade in the spring, meaning that curious locals had to either sit on their hands or fork out big ducats to satisfy their ears. Somehow, it all makes sense though. Recorded at Godspeed studio Hotel 2 Tango, Darling is wonderfully out-of-step with not only that scene, but virtually any other in Canada. These folk/pop songs sound wonderfully ancient and weathered; a kind of pre-loved texture that makes them feel both new and familiar all at once.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE presents KEVIN DREW - Spirit If...

As the moniker suggests, the cornerstones of the BSS experience are all here—cooed pop ballads, oddly skewed mood pieces, affecting collages of calamity, and even a few big choruses. But with Drew's hands firmly on the wheel, his assured absurdity takes centre stage. Spirit If... is awash with profane metaphor, tenderly bruised vocals, and of course, a huge guestlist. Perhaps most telling is his inclusion of Canuck radio-rocker Tom Cochrane on the killer anthem "Lucky Ones". Anyone who thinks he's poking fun at T.C., sorry to say, but the joke's on you. That's real love, baby.

CULTURE - Two Sevens Clash (30th Anniversary Edition)

One of the year's most important reissues, this album was a milestone for roots reggae. Though about the impending apocalypse (expected by Rastafarians in 1977, or when "two sevens clashed"), the spirit of the music is never weighed down by brooding introspection. Instead, the album is a devout celebration of faith so impassioned that it found a home in the most unexpected of places: punk rock England. Aside for being the inspiration for the name "The Clash", Culture's music helped cross oceans, religions and colour barriers to initiate a love affair with reggae that shook popular music in profound ways. A welcome edition of a timeless work.

JOE ZAWINUL - Zawinul

With keyboards, drums and bass doubled on most tracks, as well in the way in which it foretells so much music to follow it, this album can be seen as the Free Jazz of Fusion, recorded ten years later. Moody and lyrical, with shorter tone poems and longer suites in near-equal measure, this newly-reissued album is a solid summation of a man about to humbly change the course of jazz with his then newly-formed group Weather Report, and who will be truly missed.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Strawberry Jam

When a band member has already made one of the year's defining releases (Panda Bear's breakout Person Pitch), you know the bar is set high. So it's with great pleasure/relief that we can confirm that Strawberry Jam is a great record: wildly accessible, yet fiercely loyal to the group's spirit of noise and chaos. New fans of Panda Bear's soaring Beach Boy-isms may take a spell to appreciate Avey Tare's coo-to-a-scream vocal style, but this juxtaposition is only one of the things that makes Jam so thrilling. Bookended by two exceptional albums, 2007 is Animal's Collective's year.

DIRTY PROJECTORS - Rise Above

If the measure of a cover is the ability of the artist to reinvent the source material, then they don't come much better than Rise Above. A song-by-song cover of Black Flag's seminal Damaged, Rise is unrecognizable as a punk album. Dave Longstreth takes his daring, magnificent voice and fearlessly recasts the album as a defiant collision of harmony, dissonance and rhythms. These ambitious recompositions are dizzying and not for the faint-of-heart, but, however the sounds have been restructured, the punk spirit of these songs remains strong as ever.

OAKLEY HALL - I'll Follow You

Oakley Hall's first album for indie powerhouse Merge is one that fully warrants their signing. Long a good group full of great potential, I'll Follow You fulfills the promise by displaying confidence in the basic tools of rock n' roll--strong singing, solid writing, and relaxed band communication. What once felt like an adopted country-rock pose has grown into the kind of quiet assuredness for which many bands would kill. Given the chance, this album could secretly become one of your faves of the year.

BLACK LIPS - Good Bad Not Evil

Black Lips already released a killer live album this year, Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo, which caught the group direct from Tijuana. Good Bad Not Evil keeps their momentum moving at a snarling clip. The album is vintage garage, nailing every detail. What makes the band more convincing (and fun) than the average ripoff is their commitment to an aesthetic. And only Black Lips could get away with "O Katrina", a song in tribute to the New Orleans catastrophe that is irreverent without being offensive, sympathetic without being corny, and just the right side of dumb.

VIC CHESNUTT - North Star Deserter

As they did last year with Carla Bozulich, the crew at Montreal's Hotel 2 Tango studio help a revered, underappreciated talent release their best work in years. This time around, songwriter Vic Chesnutt makes the trek to Monty and finds sympathetic accompaniment in locals the Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra. Producing is filmmaker Jem Cohen, best known for his documentary work with Fugazi. It seems an odd choice until you hear the album, one draped in baroque, cinematic granduer. Powerful and spare, it is the type of noir record for which Montreal is rightly famous.

PINBACK - Autumn of the Seraphs

The history of Pinback goes deeper than you'd suspect. Thingy, Heavy Vegetable, Rob Crow's solo discs, and metal side-project Goblincock are all branches of a family tree to which Pinback has proven to be the solid trunk. Like many cult acts, there are a host of people who would love the band if given the chance, and the solid Autumn of the Seraphs is as good a starting point as any. Gently creative, intrinsically tuneful, and sounding wholly singular, there is a reason this band is so well-loved in secret circles: they're quintessential indie-rock.

OAKLEY HALL - I'll Follow You

This is the fourth release by Oakley Hall and is by far their best yet. Like all great albums it gets better with every listen and is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the year. Like the previous albums, I'll Follow You mixes up the vocal duties between Pat Sullivan and Leah Blessoff with great success whether it be on one of the more psychedelic tracks or the quieter ballads. Although strong from start to finish, some standouts include "Marine Life", "Rue the Blues" and "Take My Hands, We're Free". Definitely worth checking out for new and old fans.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Brazil 70

Following on the heels of their exceptional Tropicalia compilation, Britain's Soul Jazz records has given us Brazil 70, a document whose merits go deeper than just the music. Brazil 70 pulls tracks from a time when the country's dictatorship was at its peak and even the most popular artists lived with the constant threat of censure and far worse. In the face of this adversity, Tropicalian stars Gal Costa, Rita Lee and Gilberto Gil, although with new voices Joyce, Novos Baianos and more produced music full of radical fusions and intelligently disguised themes of sexuality and identity. Dynamite.

BARBARA MANNING - Super Scissors

Deluxe reissue of Barbara Manning's first two long out-of-print records, Lately I Keep Scissors named one of SPIN's Top 100 Alternative Records and One Perfect Green Blanket .  Fans of the Dunedin Sound of Flying Nun Records, jangly guitars and the minimalist aesthetic of the Young Marble Giants (who also enjoyed a recent deluxe reissue of their classic Colossal Youth) will find alot to enjoy here.  Act fast though, we are told these will not be re-released again "in our lifetime". 

MICK TURNER/TREN BROTHERS - Blue Trees

I could go on and on about the vitality, peerlessness and plain beauty of the music of The Dirty Three, but above all else, their greatest contribution to music is their inversion of the traditional roles of their instruments. In particular, Mick Turner's ability to take the most obnoxious and familiar instrument in modern music (the electric guitar) and turn it into something so amorphous and secretive is nothing short of brilliant. This collection of rare solo material (along with duo collaborations with D3's drummer Jim White) is instrumental daydreaming of the highest order.

MANU CHAO - La Radiolina

He may be Parisian born, but Manu Chao is clearly a son of the world. Whether it's his five language dialect or relentless style hop scotching, Chao is a testament to those who advocate the irrelevance of genres in music. On his first album in six years, the man retains all of the traits that have won him big cult status: Latin rhythms, unexpected tempo shifts, and a kaleidoscopic range from frenetic to tender. A riveting live performer, Chao keeps the energy up on record by never lingering too long on any one tune; of the 21 tracks, a great majority are just under or just over two minutes.

NO AGE - Weirdo Rippers

Offering up a killer, just-under-the-radar platter of non-sequitor indie rock, No Age are an L.A. duo (plus friends) making exactly the kind of record you'd expect (and hope for) in 2007. This means Weirdo Rippers covers walls of white noise, floating clouds of ethereal drift, geeky Sebadoh-esque trash-pop, and all points in between. These musical wanderings stay connected by the home-baked, tossed off charm of it all. To be sure, these recordings were well-considered, thoughtfully planned, and executed to an exacting standard. It just doesn't really sound like it.

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS - Hey Venus!

After seven albums and numerous singles pushing the frontiers of sonic density as far as they could go, Hey Venus! finds SFA in a reductive mood. Gone for the most part are the techno flair and odd left turns that made their discography such an unpredictable listen. What remains, happily, is the band's unfailing way with melody and harmony. With Broken Social Scene producer David Newfeld at the helm, the Furries finally leave the songs relatively unadorned. The result? A 36-minute sunny stroll on a beach crawling with the occasional rainbow crab or talking seagull to keep you on your toes.

ANGELS OF LIGHT - We Are Him

Michael Gira's transformation from avenging noise punk in the Swans to elder neo-folk statesman has been an enthralling one. Now over 50, Gira is making some of the best music of his career, a streak that We Are Him continues. Full of cues taken from gothic Americana, Him lurches with playing that is dry, precise, yet full of sinewy feeling. At the heart of this music is Gira's voice. Like Waits or latter-day Dylan, Gira has long understood that his matter-of-fact baritone gives him a presence that conventional voices cannot attain: a voice that leaks authority, experience and wisdom.

LIARS - Liars

It wasn't long ago that many folks had written Liars off as a trendy funk-punk New York band that lost the plot and wasted their potential on fruitless self-indulgence. Oops. This trio has since had the last laugh when their brilliantly warped 2006 release Drum's Not Dead broadsided our ears with its undeniably raw power. And the chuckling can go on because this eponymous effort is every bit as unexpected, kinetic, and wonderfully mad as its predecessor. Less centered exclusively around percussion and voice, this album is dark, primal and quotes generously from the past of 60s/70s garage-punk.