so here it is, the much awaited top 10 albums of 2006 (so far) :p
naturally, they’re in no particular order.
Mono – You Are There
okay, i might’ve been lying when i said they’re in no particular, atleast not for this release and the one after it. This is definitely one of the best post-rock albums ever, and in my humble opinion the best Mono release aswell. I read somewhere that one of the guitarists was a huge fan of classical and wanted to somehow incorporate that into Mono’s elegant noise-fare. And holy hell hasn’t he achieved just that, throughout the album and especially in the last song, Moonlight.
Moonlight.
Simply, simply, one of the best songs ever. The build up to the climax is stunning, and the climax itself is like the world falling apart at the seams and you’re left standing in the centre alone, watching all this monstrous destruction and you can’t help but be swayed by the godlike beauty of it all. and you’re at the centre of it. always. brilliant, brilliant, brilliant song.
i absolutely adore this band. now i just have to catch their legendary live show.
Jesu – Silver EP
so what do i say about justin broadrick that hasn’t been already said? the last two jesu albums were amazing, but this little fiesty EP blows the self titled and heartache right out of the water. As so many people have said, this is Jesu gone pop while still retaining the noise and drone of earlier Jesu. So he’s tuned his guitar down to B, and actually straining some really nice melody out of it. Silver is a stunning opener, with the drenched legatos adding the aforementioned melody to the song, followed by a thumping Star (which is the fastest Jesu song to date, which frankly compared to something like thrash is drone) and my two favourites, Wolves and Dead Eyes. Wolves ends brilliant, with droning chords that sound very melancholic and Dead Eyes starting of with synthetic noise (ala Broadrick’s other project, Final).
This is something completely different mind-you. neo-shoegazer-drone/doom-metal-avantgarde something. And inexplicably beautiful.
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
neko case also plays in the canadian indie power pop band new pornographers and from this album i can safely say she’s one hell of a singer-songwriter. Just listen to Hold on, Hold on for an idea of the lovely lyrics and her great singing. The melodies are immediately catchy yet unorthodox in a way. Great stuff. Almost all the songs are superbly written and showcase that voice of hers, including some religion themed material. Not that its “christian rock” or anything, i just think she’s telling some bibilical stories in song because perhaps she found them intriguing?
Shearwater – Palo Santo
okay, i’m going to have to confess some ignorance here, or rather a lack of memory. i do believe that shearwater was a side project for okkervil river’s keyboardist and vocalist/guitarist/mainsongwriter will sheff. Anyway, for this album, sheff took a backseat and let the keyboardist do everything, including all the vocals (i think, if not all then definitely 85%).
Anyway, this is a gem. Chock full of a sort of non-disheartening sadness that sounds quite distant from anything emo, and the guy’s falsetto is to be admiring, especially the sincerity he manages to derive from it. There are a lot of great songs on this album, but my favourite has to be Nobody. The lyrics are a form of abstract personal poetry (to seemingly conjure up a ridiculous sounding term), but that personally matters little. they lyrics read very well and the imagery conjured up is dreamy. the start of nobody:
His little hook,
Your little eyelid.
The iris dilates while the heart implodes.
And when he comes, and he’s raging,
his mouth still denies what his heart just knows.
definitely struck something inside me.
Gregor Samsa – 55:12
yes. a nice attempt at pretentiousness. the album title is the length of the album. yay.
now that that’s out of the way, the band name’s from a kafka short story, the metamorphasis (which turns out to be one of my literary fav’s) and the band can lay hold to something similiarly dream-like. except not really.
they’re like sigur ros, without jonsi’s falsetto, without the pianos, and without well…the icelandic influence. they treat the same paths so to speak, mostly upbeat-ish music, with interesting male-vocal interplay and some heart-rendering melodies. Especially the song Young and Old with its marvellous climax and the last song, Lessening. They don’t seem special upon the first listen, and i dont’ believe they’re stretching any musical boundaries, but this is definitely a strong album based on the fact that the songwriting is very strong. really good stuff.
Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
i dunno if this can really be called an “album”. its more of a release, seeing as it consists of outtakes that didn’t make the cut for last years Illinoise and some varied versions of songs from that album (especially chicago with 3/4 versions!). Anyway, says a lot about an artist when even the outtakes album is so wonderful. His usual array of vocal tricks and tonnes of instruments make their appearance on the songs here, along with the usual crackpot song title. Springfield of bobby caught a shadfly in his hair is one of my favourites here, the quirkly lyrics with sufjan’s sublime vocals make another tremendous song and indeed tremendous album. or release.
The Album Leaf – Into The Blue Again
i cannot really fathom why i really enjoy this album. the lyrics are more of less standard fodder, it isn’t inherently different from older album leaf material in terms of sound, infact i think its barely progressed from the last album. I guess the only reason i can somewhat find logical for my liking this album so much is the fact that its so fucking catchy. which isn’t something you’re reminded of when TAL is mentioned :S songs like always for you, writings on the wall and wherever i go.
Kayo Dot – Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue
i have no clue what to call this. avantgarde doom meets jazz meets space rock meets drone-y post rock? wtf? it doesn’t really matter, cause these guys are off the hook. Experimental and surreal without getting into the david lynch realm of surrealism. There are few bands who can truly manipulate sound and create an atmosphere that totally fucks with your mind. Kayo Dot is one of them. very hard to listen to, very hard to follow, but once you let go, the experience is something to behold. This isn’t a band you listen to, this is a band you experience. Imagine King Crimson on drugs and in a david lynch movie. or any japanese movie. or even a murakami novel without the romanticism.
Clogs – Lantern
classical influenced post-rock. brilliantly done, exceptional musicianship. they aren’t playing around with building up songs and letting through with cathartic climaxes ala GYBE! or Mogwai – they don’t play around with the loud-noise dynamics those bands do. This is just good classically inclined and influenced instrumental music.
Tenhi – Maaaet
finnish folk. complete with acoustic guitars and violins and subtle drumming. not something one can pick up and delve right into, but this band has churned out some of the best folk material this side of death in june and of the wand and the moon. infact, i think they’re better than both of those neo-folk acts. maybe only rivalled by countrymen Nest who play more traditional instruments. With each passing album, the production has improved significantly, allowing the natural quietness that seems to permeate from the compositions to come more to the fore. very good stuff, i’d probably have to say this is as good as Vare which was the quintessential neo-folk classic.
Wow. this was fairly tough. anyway, the close-rans:
Ane Brun – A Temporary Dive (scandinavian songwriter. album has some good songs, but at times reminds me too much of ani difranco :S)
Saturnus – Veronika Decides to die (a coelho book title as the album title? : the music is solid as always, but for some reason it just didn’t stay in my head for too long. maybe i needed to listen to it more, maybe i’m past liking this stuff. still a solid album tho)
Place Of Skulls – The Black Is Never Far - Anything with Wino’s got to be great. shame just got left out
Destroyer – Rubies - probably one of the best lyricists alive. writes paintings. good album, but only had 2-3 standout tracks, the rest bar the lyrics seemed good at best.
Daylight Dies – Dismantling Devotion - same problem suffered with saturnus.
The Appleseed Cast – Perregrine - this album’s just unlucky. if it were top 11 albums so far, this would be the 11th.
anyway, this is it. yay! at times i think i sounded like a pretentious wanker! score for me!
