Best Albums of 2006 (So Far)
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| What? A Best of 2006 already…? That's right we, like everyone else, like to finish first once in a while. So here it is, we've put together a list of what we would like to think are the 25 best albums of 2006 so far. Take a look and let us know what you think of our list, but don't take too long the month of May is sure to change everything. |
 | 1.Witch - Witch Bringing together the stylistic efforts of Feathers' Kyle Thomas and Asa Irons with the rock genius that is J Mascis, Witch brews a searing, heavy, throwback salute to the pioneers of metal. Classic hard rock progressions and acerbic guitar solos, with a seamless functionality as an album that is so alive and raucous it just might jump off the turntable and bite you. |
| 2.Psychic Ills - Dins A profusion of dynamic sounds, Dins flows without pause, leading you on a psychedelic fun parade of guitar illusion and rolling drum laughter and applause. Stoner jams and shoegaze anthems unite under falling drops of electrofuzz and hushed clatterracket (I made that word up, but I like it). |  |
 | 3.Tapes 'N Tapes - ST Why is this album topping all the indie charts? Where did all the success and hype come from? Well, what I can say is that this is simply a great indie rock album. Influences abound, from The Feelies to Sonic Youth to The Flaming Lips, but only listening to it will you hear Tapes ‘N Tapes come into their own. This is not just an ephemeral hipster favorite, it has worth well beyond its market and I guess that’s reason enough. |
| 4.Peter & The Wolf - ST Hushed folk seeping with melancholy from Austin singer/ songwriter Red Hunter. The album is virtually seamless, each song flows into the next with perfect precision creating an true listening experience. Red's an artisan using tension, harmony and ennui like brushes. |  |
 | 5.Feathers - ST Pastoral psych-folk masterpiece from this 8 piece collective finally made readily available from the crew over at Gnomonsong. The songs alternate between sweetly sung harmonies and sinister minor key affairs. Both are laced over intricately fingerpicked guitar, washes of flute, propulsive drumming and a myriad of other instruments. Perfect late night music. |
| 6.Built To Spill - You In Reverse If only we all age so gracefully. Martsch gets back on track with this one and records an album on par (sorry sports reference) with 'Perfect From Now On.' Calvin Johnston eat your heart out. [The last sentence of this review does not represent the viewpoint of RSTB merely the uneducated viewpoint of this naïve reviewer.] |  |
 | 7.Liars - Drum's Not Dead The Liars return with a bolt from the blue. Their innovation and dedication create an album packed with some of the most beautiful, callous and thoughtfully crafted sounds and rhythms I’ve heard in awhile. This album will not be for everyone but it will be a challenge and a triumph for those who are willing to open up their ears and sleep inside a song. |
| 8.Work Clothes - These Are The Shoes We Wear This album is lush and honest in so many ways. Chamber pop melodies and sweet lullaby sing-a-longs are what comprise this husband and wife duo's first album. There are hints of country-psych and a few spaced out instrumentals, but everything weaves right back into its warm home in the heart of the woods where the rain only falls when you want it to and the sun shines brightly through the trees. |  |
 | 9.Nobody & The Mystic Chords of Memory - Tree Colored See On paper this sounds ludicrous. It shouldn't work; but it does, and incredibly well. Dusty hip-hop beats furnished by Nobody parlay perfectly into sunshine sweet harmonies laid down by Chis Gunst and Jen Cohen from Mystic Chords. I can't stop listening to this album. Its perfectly suited to bright sunny moments and rain drizzled Sunday's, not an easy feat to pull off. |
| 10.Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo Every once in a while an album comes by that you can't ignore. You don't really relate to it stylistically, but you simply can't dismiss it on that account. Spank Rock's 'YoYoYoYoYo' is definitely that album. Its irresistible hooks and hip hop grooves are infectious. Even after hearing its dirty talk, you'll be back for more. |  |
 | 11.Miguel Mendez - My Girlfriend Is Melting Spaced out, drunk, heartbroken, and sun drenched. This album has the laidback and disquieting feel of Skip Spense and the hard earned rock nature of Neil Young. Plus he wrote one of the best songs on the Self titled Dios album, and you can hear the orignal here. Not to be missed. |
| 12.Essex Green - The Cannibal Sea The trio tone down the the whimsy and overt longing for the 60's present on their previous releases and allow themselves to completely rely on their incredible ability to write perfect pop songs. Catchy, but not cloying or sugary. Cannibal Sea evokes a feeling of driving aimlessly around a small town on a sunny day with your feet out the window. Instantly familiar and comfortable. |  |
 | 13.Kahoots - Fouteen Ghosts You’ll hear comparisons to The Clean, The Bats, The Feelies, so on and so on, but these guys have been around for awhile crafting their own brand of addictive, hook laden pop tunes. After a few listens I myself hear a huge similarity to Elevator to Hell, one of my all time favorite bands, and perhaps one of the best jangle-psych bands of our time. There are so many highlights to the album that it truly stands on it's own, and that seems rare of a record put out these days. |
| 14.El Perro Del Mar - ST Sometimes an album is so subtle and catchy that it slips under your skin and makes a home in your bones. El Perro Del Mar’s first official stateside release is a collection of songs from EPs and 7”s gathered together for our daydreaming pleasure. |  |
 | 15.Loose Fur - Born Again In The USA The follow up to the threesome's debut outing is a much less off-the-cuff sounding record. The band that began as a Wilco side project comes into its own with a full album of winning country rock songs. The album sways a bit to the lighter ballad-oriented fair but definitely has its share of catchy as hell pop songs mixed in. As always Tweedy and O'Rourke prove an amiable combination. |
| 16.Elf Power - Back to the Web The band's strongest record since Creature splits their influences nicely. An even temper between their harder fuzzed out rockers and their earlier folk obsessions. Back to the Web is fraught with tension and a looming sense of darkness on the horizon. |  |
 | 17.Those Transatlantics - Knocked Out Full of catchy hooks and jangly pop songs, Knocked Out proves it was worth its year in the making. Those Transatlantics combine an incredible ability to craft pop melodies with the naturally sweet croon of singer Kate Bracken. Songs bounce from touches of country to the harder edges of rock and back without ever losing step. |
| 18.Eagles of Deathmetal - Death By Sexy Dare I say that Queens of the Stone Age's little step-sister is out shinning the Queen. Do I smell a Disney moment coming on? Apparently whenever Homme is around big catchy riffs spread like the flu and 'Death by Sexy' is no exception. |  |
 | 19.Mogwai - Mr. Beast 'Mr. Beast' is anything but beastly. It's more like the sensitive younger brother in a family filled with linebackers (sorry sports reference). In many ways 'Mr. Beast' has more depth than many of its predecessors and that's saying a lot. |
| 20.Citay - ST Usually when bands mention having Zeppelin as an influence this translates into hedonistic rockers soaked in bravado. Citay draw on a different side of Zeppelin, the quiet acoustic moments of Black Mountainside or What Is And What Should Never Be. Marrying the laid back strums to flashes of electric guitar straight out of the Brian May songbook. Derivations aside the combination is well worth checking out and comes across as something completely deserving of the ideas it incorporates. |  |
 | 21.AFX - Chosen Lords Easy "Best of the 2006 so far…", Richard D James has whittled down the original 41 track, vinyl-only Analord series into one amazing AFX mixtape. 'Chosen Lords' is loaded with hyper dance beats…dance music for those who don't dance. |
| 22.Goldfrapp - Supernature Another solid album from Allison Goldfrapp and company. Having long since made peace with the fact that Goldfrapp would never make another 'Felt Mountain' embracing her second exploration into her imaginative disco dance world was easy. Superb from start to finish. |  |
 | 23.Violins - Pink Water A great pop album for those of us that think pop may be dying. Leonard Cohen’s lyrical whimsy matched with an optimism and croon that could make a home in the most blackened of hearts. Great melodies and unique instrumentation without being suffocated by overproduction. Already one of the best pop albums of the year! |
| 24.The Appleseed Cast - Peregrine What else do these guys have to prove? They've single-handedly pioneered their own emo-rock-instrumental genre and pushed it to perfection. But wait, just when it seems they had achieved this perfection with 'Two Conversations,' now comes 'Peregrine'. Nobody is making music like this; I don't care what you say. |  |
 | 25.Young People - All At Once Sparse and darkly dramatic, All At Once is a very deliberate record. Katie Eastburn’s haunting vocals ring in your ears over bare bones vignettes of loss. Hints of noir jazz bubble underneath some of the more upbeat tracks but always with a heavy sense of searching for something just out of reach; a unique voice among today’s overcrowded indie scene. |
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