Without further ado, my favorite 40 records of 2006:

40.) The Walkmen – A Hundred Miles Off
Record Collection

There was a great deal of expectation for this record after 2004’s excellent Bows and Arrows, and I believe the Walkmen didn’t actually know what they wanted to, or should do, to follow it. The principle songwriter moved from the piano to the bass guitar in the interim to keep things fresh. This change and the tension within the band created what will be remembered as the Walkmen’s “rocker.” It’s fun, but better live.

39.) Malajube – Trompe l'Oeil
Dare To Care

The other day I was lamenting to myself: “Montreal doesn’t have enough good bands, and it makes me feel sad.” Then I cried. Thank god for Malajube, who are the first French-Canadian indy band to make waves in the States in longer than I can remember. Trompe l’Oeil is full of energetic, catchy rock that often gets compared to the Arcade Fire without sounding anything like that band. But if you’re up for quirky, strange rock with lyrics you likely can’t understand, check it out.

38.) Clark – Body Riddle
Warp

Body Riddle is a strong collection of electronic collage and rhythm, with enough interesting textures and delicate manipulations to keep you coming back to for repeated spins.

37.) Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
Downtown

If you don’t already know this album, or at least “Crazy,” you were obviously stuck in a cave this past summer without any new music. St. Elsewhere is a consistent experiment, with more to offer than the ubiquitous single. For my money, I think “Smiley Faces” is every bit as catchy as “Crazy,” and this record will be remembered as the sound of this summer.

36.) White Flight – White Flight
Range Life Records

If you’re one of the folks that complain that they didn’t hear anything that sounded new or different this year, take this record and shove it up your *$$. This record is pure ADD: frenetic juxtapositions reminiscent of early Beck on speed, but using a different palette entirely that creates psychedelic dreamscapes and nightmares, some of which are dance-able.

35.) The Black Keys – Magic Potion
Nonesuch

Stripped down, completely unpretentious blues-rock from a Midwestern duo. Simple, entertaining, and satisfying if you’re a fan of this kind of music.

34.) Trentmøller – The Last Resort
Poker Flat

The Last Resort is a minimal, so-cool-it’s-chilly, electronic record. That doesn’t hide the fact that it’s also pretty and interesting, and if you found yourself in the right hip environs, you could dance to it as well. Score another one for the Danes.

33.) The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier
V2

Jack White decided to see what life would be like with a full band and another songwriter, and the results are some of the pop-iest moments he’s ever put on tape. This record is more accessible and radio friendly than the White Stripes, but lacks the punchiness that makes that band so great. A solid but bland record, that’s worth hearing nonetheless.

32.) Archie Bronson Outfit – Derdang Derdang
Domino

These Brits play the dirty-guitar-blues-stomp, and I enjoy it very much. Derdang Derdang sounds like what a good dive bar feels like: dirty, frustrated, interesting (even surprising) and eventually, drunk.

31.) Booka Shade – Movements
Get Physical

This record is for fans of minimal, catchy techno. The beats are precise and understated, creating a solid base from which competing melodies and themes weave back and forth. The textures and interplay are arty and sophisticated; Movements is both cerebral and danceable.

30.) Asobi Seksu – Citrus
Friendly Fire

At its best, Citrus fuses the pleasant and sublime atmospherics of shoegaze with ethereal melodies and a mid 90’s alt-rock sensibility, creating something new. An easy and pretty listen.

29.) Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards
Downtown

The Cold War Kids debut with a record of literate, piano driven narratives, notable for their emotional intensity. I expected a bit more from this record than I received, as it’s comprised mostly of songs from their previous two EP’s, re-recorded with a new production style that I don’t particularly like. But if you’ve never heard those, this is a good introduction to a band that I expect to only get better.

28.) The Brother Kite – Waiting For The Time To Be Right
Clairerecords

Waiting for the Time to be Right is an excellent blend of Beach Boys harmonies and sublime atmospherics, reminiscent of the washed out echo and reverb of many early-nineties shoegaze bands. An uplifting, beautiful record.

27.) The Oohlas – Best Stop Pop
Stolen Transmission

I was recently called out by an acquaintance for calling this record a guilty pleasure. Upon further reflection, I think he was right and I should learn to stop feeling guilty about digging the Oohlas’ brand of straightforward, alterna guitar rock. It’s catchy, with a mid-late 90’s production quality that makes me nostalgic for when I still believed in modern-rock radio, and brings me right back to being a freshman in high school, dreaming of scoring with that cute, cool girl that I always imagined would be listening to this record in her headphones.

26.) Peter Bjorn and John – Writer's Block
Wichita/V2

These three Scandinavians made one of most singular, strange pop records to come out this year, and possibly in quite some time. Writer’s Block is crammed full of catchy melodies, weird but accessible electronic pastiche, and kitschy harmonizing. The totally casual, almost lazy vocals are really endearing, this record continues to grow on me.

25.) TV on the Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
Interscope

There’s been a great deal of ballyhoo about this record, my current favorite quote being: “This records sounds like America today.” I’ll have to respectfully disagree, though I appreciate the optimism in that statement. TV on the Radio had a world of expectations awaiting them for their sophomore release, and they returned with a refinement of their sound, one that embraces their newfound identity as an established band, no longer just a studio project between neighbors. I found Return To Cookie Mountain to be inconsistent in similar ways to their debut, but the best moments are as good or better than anything they’ve previously released, and more than make this record worth hearing.

24.) Ellen Allien & Apparat – Orchestra Of Bubbles
Bpitch Control

Ellen Allien has had a tremendous couple of years, and this collaboration with Apparat stands strongly with her and her labels excellent output. Orchestra of Bubbles highlights both artists respective strengths, with a wonderful, tasteful minimalism and restraint that stands up to repeated listenings, as well as leaving having enough charm to make you shake your sophisticated, skinny ass.

23.) DeVotchKa – Curse Your Little Heart
Ace Fu

This EP of covers does well to showcase one of the most talented, unique bands that not enough people have heard of: dramatic, rhythmic orchestration and vocals that are both beautiful and haunting. This record falls somewhere in-between gypsy music and indie, with wonderful, singular results.

22.) Herbert – Scale
Studio K7

Scale is an upbeat, catchy mix of beats and vocals that’s kept my head bobbing on many an evening. It’s an immediate and easy listen that’s easy to sink into, whether you’re out and about or stuck somewhere needing music to keep you company.

21.) Benoit Pioulard – Precis
Kranky

This Michiganite with a fake French name created a startling and deep record of organic sound collage. He’s an expert at creating textures that only reveal themselves slowly, and writing complimentary, whispy vocals that wrap around the structures in the same unhurried and mysterious manner. Precis is difficult to describe, but great to spend time with in some headphones.

20.) Land of Talk – Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
Dependent

This was my favorite EP of 2006, and I hope oh-so-much that this band turns out one of my favorite records of 2007. Land of Talk are milking a very simple and familiar setup: a great drummer and bass player, coupled with a guitar player who sings. What makes this band stand out? Their lead singer/songwriter: she plays the guitar so well she’ll hurt your feelings, she’s got both something sweet and something gritty in her voice and in her songs; and when it’s supposed to, it fucking rocks. I’m in love, and this band is real good. Watch out for them next year.

19.) Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
Geffen

Apparently, Sonic Youth are incapable of aging poorly. Hard-core fans of their early-experimental-dissonant records will probably hate this record, as Rather Ripped is almost exactly the opposite: accessible, (relatively) straightforward, and wonderfully melodic. But it still sounds singularly like Sonic Youth; no other band writes songs like this.

18.) Nathan Fake – Drowning In A Sea Of Love
Border Community

I’m a sucker for folks that manipulate sounds to create beautiful songs and textures in ways that sound like they’re from some kind of sci-fi future. Yes, I’m a dork, and to me this record sounds like a gentle, creative, sensitive robot falling in love, sometime late this century or early in the next. Listening to Drowning in a Sea of Love is letting waves of manipulated sounds wash over you while tanning under an electric sun, holding the hand of a beautiful robot that loves you.

17.) CSS – CSS
Sub Pop

A very good friend of mine hates this record. His take on it is this: “Some fat chick wears spandex on jumps around on stage, and everyone decides to pretend that it’s awesome.” I always retort: “But it’s fun, and girls love it.” I’m right, and he’s wrong: this record is tons of fun, easy to dance to, and any girl who sings “lets make love to death from above” in one of her songs can dance around in whatever she wants. Think of them as an indy Brazilian dance-funk band.

16.) Thom Yorke – The Eraser
XL

So, there’s this guy Thom York with a beautiful voice and a great band, maybe you’ve heard of him? The Eraser is full of tasteful, fascinating blips and beats, all of which create full enveloping moods, on top of which an angel will sing. And it will alternate being haunting and beautiful. This is a record that despite being largely electronic, often feels naked. I guess that’s one of the qualities I like about Mr. Yorke and his band, but that doesn’t mean that you should expect this record to sound like one of theirs. It is its own lonely being, one which I’m happy to occasionally spend time with.

15.) Beck – The Information
Interscope

Beck, you had me worried there for a second: after Guero, I was really afraid that you’d used up all of your mojo and soul by putting out Midnight Vultures and Sea Change back to back. True, most people will never make a record as good as either of those, but we expect so much from the man who taught us that white people could still be cool when we were in middle school. I knew you still had some of the old swagger and vibe underneath your oh so stylish jacket and shaggy hair. True, the Information does sound a lot like some of your other records, but honestly, I never got enough the first time around! Keep it up, we need you to at least keep us grooving in that way that only you can do until the time comes when you’re ready to totally blow our minds away again. We know you’ve still got it in you.

14.) Beirut – Gulag Orketstar
Ba Da Bing!

All the good things you probably heard about this band are likely true: an extremely talented 18 year old from New Mexico drops out of high school, travels Europe for a while and makes a sincere, emotional record of Eastern-European gypsy music. Gulag Orketstar is strong through and through, and promises great things in the future.

13.) Silversun Pickups – Carnivas
Dangerbird

I still agree with my thoughts from earlier this year: “I’ve always thought that it was only a matter of time before a generation of bands that grew up listening to early-mid nineties grunge and alt-rock (back when that kind of meant something) would start making music reflective of the fuzzy guitars and catchy hooks that defined that particular moment. Silversun Pickups is the first band I’ve heard that internalizes that sound and refreshes it in a way that makes me nostalgic for the time when I was just discovering guitar bands on the radio and learning how to play Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana tunes on the guitar.” What I’ve learned since is that the songs on Carnivas are sturdy and age very well. Another solid debut from a year full of them.

12.) Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
Bella Union

No one else in the scene made a record that sounded even similar to The Trials of Van Occupanther this year. This album is what would happen if you were to take the good half of my dad’s record collection growing up, put it in a blender, add an extra dose of Fleetwood Mac and one dose of Texas, and then drink the oh-so-smooth results. The opener “Roscoe” is easily one of the best songs this year, and everyone I’ve played this for really, really likes it.

T-10.) Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Broom
Polyvinyl

I remember very clearly the first time I heard this record: it was lo-fi in a “I recorded this in my attic” kind of way (in fact, they did record it in their attic), and very catchy, pussy-pop. “The hooks are great,” I thought, and I found myself throwing the first two tracks on repeat. So I went and saw them and enjoyed it and then thought I wouldn’t really listen to this record much anymore. But then I threw it on the next day, and liked it. About two weeks later I realized that I’d been listening to Broom at least once a day and that I really, really liked it. Do you need a record that can pet you in the same way that the Shins used to before you started hearing them everywhere and all the time and now can’t bear to listen to them? This is the record for you.

T-10.) Christians & Lions – More Songs For Dreamsleepers & The Very Awake
ECA Records

I went through my folk stage in college, and it takes a lot to get me to listen to (let alone enjoy) people singing with acoustic guitars. Doubly, if you have any type of reference to Jesus or god in your name, I’m prone to pretend that you don’t exist. These are simply my biases, and I’m fine with them. Somehow this band managed to get past both lines of defense. Christians & Lions are two very young brothers from Boston with a gentle rhythm section, who write straightforward, simple singer/songwritery folk songs. And they’re fucking great, so well done I can’t help but listen to them and desire to spread the love. The lyrics are sincere, interesting, and not particularly obvious. The structures are simple but don’t feel old or repetitive, and the instrumentation is reserved and tastefully done. More Songs For Dreamsleepers & The Very Awake will push your gentle indy-pop buttons, and I imagine that these lads have a very bright future in front of them.

9.) Boris – Pink
Southern Lord

Boris have their own thing going on, though usually it falls somewhere in between stoner-drone and stoner-thrash. Pink opens up with one of the biggest sounding, loudest, and slowest metal jams I’ve ever heard. It lasts for eight glorious minutes. And as soon as it’s done, their pretty, 4’8” Japanese guitar goddess begins to thrash the life out of your skull. I don’t even know if it’s appropriate to call Boris a metal band, but whatever it is they do on Pink, I’m down with it. Boris, by the way, is the loudest band I have ever seen, as in extremely fucking loud. I recommend listening to this record that way, if you can.

8.) Snowden – Anti-Anti
Jade Tree

I had an intense affair with Anti-Anti late this summer; I randomly downloaded their first single, listened to it and knew that I needed to hear the rest of the record. My immediate impression was that this was the album I wish Interpol had made, and I still think that’s accurate. Snowden play a faster, dance-ier version that speaks to jaded, urban life in similar ways as Interpol, but whereas I find Paul Banks to be an asshole, I find Snowden to be achingly sincere, with music that inspires me to shake my ass. This is possibly the album I listened to the most this year. There aren’t many weak moments on it, and the beautiful closing ballad opens up an entirely new space that I look forward to hearing more of on their next record.

7.) Man Man – Six Demon Bag
Ace Fu

If you’ve never heard (or heard of) Man Man before, the simplest explanation I’ve ever read is “love songs for carnies.” If you don’t know what a “carnie” is, good for you and your sheltered childhood. Honus Honus (Man Man’s fearless leader) writes songs on an old beat up Rhodes organ that sounds very freaky and seventies; he sounds like a more eager Tom Waits, singing about all sorts of weird and dirty stuff. He surrounds himself with four very talented musicians that play everything from pots and pans to saxophones. They all like to sing (err, perhaps grunt is a better way to put it) together. Six Demon Bag is full of sing-along songs so energetic and catchy you’ll be stomping your feet. They remind of sea-chanteys at times. Man Man command respect, and if you get the chance, go see them! If you didn’t get it before, it will all make sense after that.

6.) The Sword – Age Of Winters
Kemodo

The Sword play totally righteous, retro-stoner metal. Age of Winters fucking slays: it’s heavy, triumphant, it even sounds important in a “I’m about to kill a motherfucking dragon” kind of way. The lyrics and artwork reference medieval fantasy, which really, really works. It’s kind of like when Led Zeppelin decided to start making records about Lord of the Rings. Did I mention that you can headbang to it for probably an hour solid? The riffs, by the way, are super smooth and super badass. Fuck yeah.

5.) Joanna Newsom – Ys
Drag City

Ys is remarkably complex, delicate and beautiful. Structured more like a piece of classical music than a traditional album, its “songs” are long, filled with multiple complex movements seamlessly flowing into each other. Joanna Newsom also happens to be smarter than pretty much all of us. Listen to her lyrics: she probably makes Colin Meloy of the Decembrists blush they’re so intelligent and literate, yet personal and sincere in ways that his lyrics are not. Her voice has softened on this record for those of you who thought that she was too shrill on her debut, and I never knew I could be so enamored with a harp, or a harpist, for that matter. And lastly, Van Dyke Parks created wonderful, lush string arrangements for Ys that give it a sense of magic not often found in music.

4.) Annuals – Be He Me
Ace Fu

Annuals were one of the most buzzed about bands this year, and their debut Be He Me does an excellent job explaining why: It’s primarily the work of a teenage prodigy who has a tremendous amount of musical ideas and ambition. All this energy manifests itself in a dense record that speaks to the moods and whimsical nature of youth. Quiet, acoustic melodies seamlessly transition to bombastic celebrations, both between songs and within songs. The record doesn’t stand still; the songs sound and feel noticeably different from each other, with the singer’s urgent voice one of the few uniting elements. Though I immediately liked this record, I’ve found it to be a grower that continues to unfold in different layers and textures over many months of listening. I expect even better things from Annuals in the future; I look forward to hearing where they go and how they get there.

3.) Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
Sub Pop

The very first time I heard the slow, pretty, yet introspective guitar chords that open up Everything All The Time, I knew that I was all in. These Americana-tinged guitar ballads coupled with plaintive, reflective vocals had me humming along all summer. “The Funeral,” in case you haven’t already heard it, is one of the top five songs to come out this year and I still want to sing along every time I hear it, even though I’ve heard it at least a hundred times. I’ve heard Band of Horses compared to My Morning Jacket quite a bit, and while there are some similarities, there’s plenty of room for both bands to exist, so give ‘em a shot.

2.) The Black Angels – Passover
Light in the Attic

Passover was my summer jam: it sounds like late 60’s psych-rock, but fucking heavy. Have you been extremely frustrated by our current misguided war, and further frustrated by our generation’s lack of a suitable protest album to show our extreme displeasure with current events? Look no further; this record is all about vibe, and the vibe is frustration coupled with rebellion. While not explicitly speaking about the Iraq war, the singer spends a great deal of time talking about Vietnam and hard lessons learned. I find this to be more than just a coincidence. Passover’s songs build slowly and succeed on the atmosphere and attitude they engender. Drone doesn’t often sound this good, and when the guitar comes in, it usually feels just right. This record is best heard loud.

1.) Liars – Drum's Not Dead
Mute

Drum’s Not Dead is Liars’ masterpiece. To get here, they had to alienate almost their entire fan base by making a record (2004’s They Were Wrong So We Drowned) that most folks didn’t like. Undaunted by everyone telling them that they now sucked, they moved to Berlin and took the concepts from that record even further. To say that it worked this time would be a terrific understatement. This record is more sonically and aesthetically focused than anything I’ve heard since Kid A, not that it sounds anything like that album. Liars had a very specific vision for this record, and as far as I can tell they executed it to perfection. Drum’s Not Dead is all about the tension between rhythm and drone, movement versus stasis. It goes from being tribal and heavy to contemplative and frustrated in the space of a few minutes, and then back again. There are moments of peace, and moments of beauty that only appear after great tension and darkness. The two-drum attack throughout record is executed purposefully and with great precision, unlike most of the stupid hipster bands I see trying to cop multiple drummers currently. The repetitive crackles and drone have so much subtlety and character that I can listen to them for extended periods of time and not bore. This is Liars’ most accessible record, but that hardly means that it’s an easy listen. This record challenged me, and in the process I found myself listening to it frequently for an entire year, and never tiring of it. I’ve heard this record called important, over-rated, pretentious noise and an artistic statement. To me, it’s simply the best record I’ve heard in a long time.

Labels: 2006 Recap, Album Review