Dave’s Faves 2006
I will post something completely unrelated to sports every once in a while. This is one of those posts. I have a couple friends I exchange best-of music lists with and I gave them my Top 11 list of favorite records from the past year when we met up to watch the Pistons take on the Bulls. So without further ado here is my list for my favorite 11 albums from 2006.
Band of Horses – Band of Horses has been considered a paint-by-numbers group. One part Shins, two parts My Morning Jacket. While the influences cannot be denied this group rocks harder than the Shins and has much better hooks than My Morning Jacket. The best groups aren’t always the innovators (so much as either the Shins or MMJ can be considered innovators) but instead are the most adept at combining their influences into a really great sound. That is exactly what this group has done on their debut album Everything All the Time. BoH is another deft find by the folks over at Sub Pop.
Be Your Own Pet - Leave it to a band made up of kids in their late teens to remind us what Rock is really all about: just f*%@ing around and killing boredom by amusing and entertaining yourself. This self-titled record is easily my favorite Alternative record this year. If 18 year old kids are into this band and System of a Down then our culture really isn’t in that bad shape all things considered. BYOP is signed to Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore’s label which is an imprint of Warner Brothers.
The Thermals – This Portland group is one of my favorite bands right now. The trajectory has been pointing directly skyward with each record they have released. More Parts Per Million was a great Punk/low-fi record with one killer track “No Future Icons”. F*%@in’ A was all killer, a hook-laden record full of low-fi fuzz and feedback. The band makes a big statement with this latest album The Body, the Blood, the Machine. A concept album like the Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday, the album hits hard through both the lyrical content and riffage. This album is not very PC and takes a swipe at the political machinery that has guided the United States over the past six years. So if that is not your thing then this probably isn’t an album you will like. The Thermals are up there with Ted Leo leading the way towards the future of Punk.
Wilco – This is the best live record I heard this year, and that includes the release of Killdozer’s Last Waltz which received the re-release treatment this year. Yeah, I was always more a Jesus Lizard fan than Killdozer. At any rate the music website Pitchfork had the best take in their review of this album in relation to the last proper release from the band, 2004’s A Ghost is Born: “So this is what A Ghost Is Born is supposed to sound like.” Just listen to “Hell is Chrome” on both albums and you will understand exactly what that quote is all about.
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – There isn’t a song on Rabbit Fur Coat as giddily catchy as “Portions for Foxes” from Lewis’ previous band Rilo Kiley. But this is still a very solid album that has lots of great material. Lewis has a voice that rivals Neko Case’s, and a penchant for telling tales much like those from Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose album. The band also performs a great cover of the Traveling Wilburys song “Handle With Care.”
Peter, Bjorn and John – Consider this album the import of the year. Sweden’s version of PB&J is pretty tasty too. There are two Pop gems on this album, “Young Folks” and “Let’s Call it Off”. Writer’s Block follows up Peter, Bjorn and John’s excellent album Fallling Out. Thankfully not quite as Twee as Belle & Sebastian, Peter, Bjorn and John have an excellent Pop sensibility that makes them one of the most interesting new groups in the Indie-Pop genre.
M. Ward – I was never much of an M. Ward fan so the fact this album makes my top10 tells you how impressed I am with Post-War. This album has all of the melancholy Pop shine that made the Arcade Fire’s Funeral such a great album. The album covers many of the same themes but M. Ward’s arrangements have an Americana-Blues/Folk sound.
The Marked Men – The band will never live up to this description, but if members of the Ramones, the Hives and Guided by Voices got together and melded their sounds they might sound fairly similar to the Marked Men. Singer Mark Ryan bears a somewhat similar delivery to Joey Ramone, while the low-fi production is reminiscent of GBV’s early output. While Marked Men’s hooks aren’t as barbed as the Hives’ are, they are pretty close. Fix My Brain shows this band has the raw materials to put out an incredible Rock/Power Pop/Punk album.
Art Brut – Bangers and Mash is a good description for this release from this English band. The sound is quite familiar but the band does a great job on their debut Bang Bang Rock & Roll mixing in the current popularity of Gang of Four dance Punk riffs while adding a sardonic wit. Recalling a teenage crush he longs for, lead singer Eddie Argos croons hopefully ‘if memory serves we’re still on a break’ on the song “Emily Kane”. When he sings with tongue in cheek on the song “Formed a Band” that ‘We’re gonna be the band that writes the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along’ you have to appreciate that this band will never take themselves as seriously as U2. Art Brut has put out a good, solid, fun album.
Deadboy & the Elephantmen – My brother told me about this band and was shocked I hadn’t heard of them. They are the latest band from the Fat Possum roster, following in the footsteps of the Black Keys and the Heartless Bastards. The influences are impeccable, with bits of David Bowie and Tom Waits thrown into the mix. We Are Night Sky has three very strong songs and the rest of the material is pretty good although not quite up to par with “Stop, I’m Already Dead”, “How Long the Night Was” and “Blood Music”.
The Hold Steady - Let me say this up front – Boys and Girls in America is a letdown from the band’s previous album. Separation Sunday was probably my favorite album of 2005. This group is appearing on lots of top 10 lists for 2k6, but I suspect much of it is due to their previous release. While not quite as enjoyable Boys and Girls in America is still a solid album and rounds out the list. Best Albums 2006 Uncategorized
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