2006 Year in Review

Here are my picks for the ten best records of the year:

1. Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies

In the past I’ve damned Destroyer’s Dan Bejar with faint praise, pigeonholing him as the “Odd One” in the New Pornographers. His albums with Destroyer were interesting, but their strangeness kept listeners at a distance. That distance has been erased with 2006’s best record, a near-masterpiece of cryptic lyrics, gorgeous melodies, exciting rock dynamics, and, most surprisingly, hooks. Beautifully arranged and produced, the record is both deep and wide, with the varied instrumentation (is that baritone sax I hear?) allowing Bejar to exploit the full musical palette. The frequent use of both piano and organ begs comparison with the Band and Procol Harum, especially apt touchstones since the casual feel of the production (intrusion of background sounds into the mix, guitar solos that leak over the edges of the track) makes this record feel like a prog-rock Basement Tapes.

2. Cursive – Happy Hollow

The aging and battered body of punk rock has life in it yet, in part because of the defibrillator jolt delivered by Tim Kasher and Cursive. Kasher’s projects (including side project The Good Life) share a punk sound married to non-punk instrumentation (strings on prior albums, horns on this one) and literate and heartfelt lyrics. This record is something of a concept album, exploring modern America through the prism of religion (“Big Bang”; “Bad Sects”), war (“Flag and Family”), sex, and politics. Kasher may well be the most earnest punk rocker in history, showing a deep concern for human emotions and evincing an admirable even-handedness in examining characters, such as religious fundamentalists, who might not be all that sympathetic. As with Kasher’s other projects, clues to his intent can be found in the wordplay of his titles – the title of the album refers to the vast expanse of “mainstream” America, which chooses to project an image of God-inspired contentment, but which masks a frightening emptiness. Intro track “Opening the Hymnal/Babies” has some blazing hooks, as does “Flag and Family,” about a young man whose wife’s arch-conservative family wants him to join the military (“Are you down on your knees, are you praying for holy war?”). The lyrics are easily heard, making this a good record to sing along to as well as contemplate.


3. Howe Gelb – ‘Sno Angel Like You

Giant Sand-man Gelb hooked up with a Canadian gospel choir called Voices of Praise for this startling album of newly-written Gelb songs, new versions of Giant Sand songs, and three songs from the late blues artist Rainer Ptacek. Gelb’s spare and creaky vocal and guitar arrangements (reminiscent of Neil Young) mesh sublimely with the vocal choir. The session sounds like it was recorded in someone’s living room, an impression enhanced by some great raw slide guitar by Fred Guignon, although apparently some of the choir tracks were recorded separately. The understatedness of the choir allows the recordings to avoid “I Want to Know What Love Is” bombast. Of the Gelb-penned tracks, the best are “Get to Leave,” which uses the dynamics potential of the choir to great advantage, and the dramatic “But I Did Not.”


4. Mission of Burma – The Obliterati

Any newbies who heard 2004’s comeback ONoffON and wondered what the fuss was about need to pick up 2006’s entry, the REAL comeback. Burma’s charm has always been to meld quality songwriting with post-punk excitement. This record displays the band’s trademark bludgeoning attack and the startling rock sensibility that somehow allows the band to pump out hooky melodies that teeter on the edge of chaos. The band’s trademark anarchy owes much to the band’s inimitable drummer Peter Prescott. The album is so remarkably consistent that I had genuine difficulty picking out a single track for my year-end compilation, but opener “2wice” sets the stage admirably. The live-sounding “Donna Sumeria” is also particularly satisfying.


5. Sunset Rubdown- Shut Up I Am Dreaming

This side-project by Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade has the same stunning emotionally resonant sound as that band, but doesn’t quite reach the same lyrical heights. There is a danger that Krug is spreading himself too thin, what with his participation in Wolf Parade and Swan Lake as well, the latter a supergroup with Dan Bejar of both Destroyer and the New Pornographers. There’s got to be a name for this type of sound, typified by a number of bands around today, including Modest Mouse, the Arcade Fire, Danielson and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. A dynamic and dramatic sound, yelping and heartfelt lead vocals, a circus-like sound incorporating organ, accordion and xylophone. An image of the midway at a medium-sized amusement park comes to mind, but these guys aren’t out in the brightly-lit rides and games of chance. They’re back in the shadows, lurking with the fortunetellers, the bearded lady and the wolf-boy.


6. Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America

Close your eyes. Let your memory drift back. Travel with me now to the days of yesteryear. A simpler time. A time before websites and iTunes, when a handful of mighty rock bands strode the earth like titans. Boston. Foreigner. Journey. Loverboy. But no! It can’t be! I never left the ‘00s! I’ve been here the whole time! It’s not a bloated seventies FM hard rock band. It’s been the Hold Steady . . . all along. My . . . God… But seriously, even though I don’t particularly like ‘70s hard rock, these guys do it extremely well. Plus, along with their giant slabs of aural Wonder Bread slathered with power chords, they’ve managed to ingest the populism of Bruce Springsteen, the verbal inventiveness of Dylan, the punk integrity of the Minutemen and the pop savvy of Billy Joel. The Hold Steady manage to have it both (all?) ways, melding the macho big guitar sound with a heavy does of irony that makes them appealing to the Lester Bangs crowd.


7. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Let’s get the usual mention of Neko Case’s voice out of the way (she has a lovely, charismatic and supple voice) and get right to the music. For a more or less traditional artist, this is a remarkably ambitious and creative album. Were she an older and more well-established artist, such as Emmylou Harris, I would have said that she had undergone the Daniel Lanois treatment in an effort to become relevant. The songs are written mostly by Case herself, and are of such high quality that her songwriting may in future be mentioned before her voice. “Margaret vs. Pauline” movingly contrasts two women from very different backgrounds and socioeconomic classes (“one left her sweater sitting on the train and the other lost three fingers at the cannery”). That song is bookended with album closer, the wonderful “The Needle Has Landed.”


8. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

One of the best-reviewed and most aurally inventive records of the year. The fact that the band is biracial didn’t hurt either when it came to positive critical reception. TV on the Radio may well represent the future of popular music – effortlessly incorporating all that’s come before, stretching the limits of production as well as lyrical convention, defying the imposition of boundaries. The band’s appeal is best exemplified by “Wolf Like Me,” a relentlessly catchy piece of techno-punk with the forward momentum of Cream’s “Crossroads.” In my view there is only one (big) thing holding this band back, which is the lack of dynamics (or, put another way, song structure). The songs have no beginning, middle or end, and therefore no tension, no release and very little payoff. However, if you live entirely in the moment this is a great album.


9. Jon Auer – Songs from the Year of Our Demise

The first proper solo album (after several EP’s) from the former member of the beloved Posies is a magnificent display of songcraft and the use of hooks in the service of mature and emotionally satisfying adult pop music. Auer’s sweet tenor and gorgeous melodies promises candy-coated fun, but as with the Posies this record is a confection with a chewy center. Auer is a master of song structure, with indelible verses, convincing bridges and unforgettable choruses. Lyrics are evocative although lacking in specificity. The saminess of Auer’s recordings will prevent him from ever making a classic album, but adult consumers of music with hooks cannot do worse than this record.


10. Danielson - Ships

After recording six records under the name Danielson Famile, Daniel Smith chose the abbreviated Danielson moniker for this record, for no apparent reason since the Danielson empire has had a shifting roster anyway. This record evidences none (that I can tell) of the Christian lyrics that Smith is generally known for, in favor of a more generalized surreal lyrical approach. The slightly cluttered production, Byzantine melodies and high-pitched vocals remind me strongly of the lost classic album Boulders from former Move and Electric Light Orchestra member Roy Wood. Under the layers of instrumentation are some fine songs and compelling hooks.