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December 26, 2006
BEST ALBUMS OF 2006 - THREE TAKES - PART 1 - JEFF KLINGMAN
The eagle eyed and well read among you will notice that this list is the same as one that ran a week or two ago over at Prefix. I apologize for the sloth, but it seemed Sisyphean to try and re-write justifications for the exact same albums using different words. But, like any good re-release, this one comes with bonus tracks, in the form of some Honorable Mentions.
On with it, already...
My Favorite Albums of 2006
1) Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming
Mothers eating their babies, mobs of persuing snakes, subcomittee votes on eye gouging; with dreams like these you'd think Spencer Krug might welcome an interruption. Looser, weirder, and more art-damaged than Wolf Parade, it's like Spence has always been dreaming of this band. Krug's uncaged songwriting is darker and more beautiful than that of his peers. A flavor of the month can't last for two years can it? I guess that means he's for real.
// Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming - buy
2) Liars - Drum's Not Dead
Reducing Liars' achievement to colonizing already discovered ground isn't being honest. Perhaps old-timey noise terrorists stumbled across these visceral sounds decades ago, but they never found a way to make them really work. Emerging from their Cold War bunker with a cohesive song cycle full of brutal rhythm and surprising melody, Liars acheived what artniks before them couldn't. Getting a bike with wings off the ground briefly before crashing isn't inventing flight, after all.
// Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy
3) the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home
Back in the Nineties while the British music press tore themselves apart trying to solve the great Blur vs Oasis debate, sullen teens knew that neither answer was correct. They sat in dimly lit rooms with their Pulp and Elastica records and plotted revenge. Stylish, supremely catchy revenge, no less.
// the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy
4) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
TV on the Radio's sound can only be described with sketchy made up terms like doo-wopacolypse. This time, instead of coasting on that shock of the new, TVOTR used their sonics to craft sharp songs. Sleepy neo trip hop, buzzing shoegaze, industrial clamor, and blistering dance rock all held together by huge vocal talent. When you bring Bowie in to sing, and completely blow him out of the studio, you've got some to spare.
// TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy
5) the Knife - Silent Shout
Silent Shout is an experiment to see how alien a band can sound and still generate genuine empathy. Karen Dreijer's voice warps and contorts, threatening to completely segregate her from humanity. The dark electro that surrounds her offers no supporting warmth. Yet somehow, these abstracted tales of family ties and mundane living manage to connect. They can wear masks if they like, but the need to share of themselves is thankfully never completely obscured.
// the Knife - Silent Shout - buy
6) Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song
Almost every line sung by Josephine Olausson seems to come with a built in exclamation point. Bouyed by guitar rips, sprinting drums, and irrepressible horn blasts, silly everyday sentiments like "WE LIKE THE SAME KIND OF CHEESE!!!" come across as if she didn't notice the caps lock was stuck on. The enthusiasm is contagious, making this perhaps the most life affirming no-wave pop record ever.
// Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song - buy
7) Danielson - Ships
In which Daniel Smith enlists a legion of contributors to sound more like his brainy, polite self. Whether penning propulsive odes to library books, lovesongs to a suffix, or ingeniously re-naming caskets "body baskets," Dan exudes more casual intelligence than all the cranks who he outranks. While his love of the Lord is always going to get more ink in a heathen scene, it's the love of language that makes this unmissable.
// Danielson - Ships - buy
8) Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit
If his lyrics are to be believed, Stuart Murdoch hung his boots up and retired from the disco floor nearly a decade ago. He apparently never had the heart to throw them out completely, as this release sees him cutting a rug in glam, funk, and sunshine pop styles. For the pale shut in fans of yore, there's also classic twee laments like the gorgeous "Dress Up in You". Something for everyone on this, the band's best offering in ages.
// Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit - buy
9) the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
The dichotomy between sublime and annoying is likely one that will define Matthew Friedberger's career as long as he's writing music. There's helpings of both, but the newfound Motown bounce of the best material makes treasure hunting through the backwards gibberish a necessity. It's Eleanor's haunting deadpan that makes the cryptic come alive though, weaving tongue twisters into heartbreak with ease. As Matt's knotted solo albums confirmed, he needs to be saved by her grace.
//the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea - buy
10) Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
Not content to dominate the world in the areas of perfect cheekbones, standard of living, and smoked fish, Sweden flaunts its overflowing pool of genius pop with another stunning release. The doe eyed whistling single, "Young Folks," garned all the attention, but that stellar duet was by no means the only treat PB & J had to offer. In fact, the consistencicy of the low key hooks throughout makes the album's title a laughable misrepresentation.
//Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block - buy
[Continue reading for honorable mentions.]
Honorable Mention (11-20):
Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye - buy
Mel Torme's dead right? Can we hand the "Velvet Fog" nickname to Jeremy Greenspan?
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette - buy
An album of acutely drawn character studies of floundering post adolescence, sung in male monotone, but mainly from a female perspective. Like the musical equivalent of an Andrew Bujalski movie. Probably the most underrated album of the year.
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of the Country - buy
Traceyanne Campbell's may need to be convinced that she is pretty, but only the hardest hearted bastards could claim that her album is anything less than gorgeous.
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies - buy
A lovely but exhausting record that one can only assume will be holding secrets close to its chest for decades to come.
the Ballet - Mattachine! - buy
Long before Neon Lights was a twinkle in my eye, the Ballet put out the most instantly likable disc of the year. The abundance of wit and grace insure that it's not getting old anytime soon.
the Blow - Paper Television - buy
Khaela Maricich might be best suited to sadly sighing over a minimal beat, but the charm of Paper Television is that the options are never limited. Hip hop beats and dance club sex jams also bend effortlessly to her frail voice. While she may sound vulnerable, she's anything but meek.
Subtle - For Hero: For Fool - buy
I would be susceptible to a charge of rap tokenism here, if I was sure that this was even a rap album. I still don't really know what to call it, and I'm grateful for the enduring confusion.
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar - buy
I really don't want to go to the source for indigenous Balkan music. That might make me a bad person, but it's true. This is just fine.
the Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love - buy
Musical empty calories, but in retrospect it feels a little silly to have bet that a DFA-less Rapture wouldn't look good on the dancefloor.
A Sunny Day in Glasgow- the Sunniest Day Ever EP - (out of print)
Instead of reaching with an album that I liked four or five songs off of, I'll give credit for a super consistent EP, whose swirling mysteries have yet to be fully cracked by, like, a million listens.
...and that's it, one man's take on an unusually scattered and consensus-less year in music. Perhaps, you are too glassy eyed with lists already to handle some more, but my founding compatriots, M. Swankster and Mr. O'Brien will have their views up in the days to come, and we we will forge our own mini-agreement after that. Then, it's on to the new...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at December 26, 2006 03:16 PM
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