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| ‹ ‹ ‹ past FEATURE articles |
:: FEATURE :: |
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Selected by So MucH Critics Team The three of us each selected our top 15 albums of the year. We were each given 50 points to divide between the #2-#15 albums on our list in any way that we chose as long as each album received at least one point. As you will see below, there are three #1 albums. Each of our #1 albums were free entries into this year-end list. |
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#10 Rick Rubin says there will be an American VI album. But if there isn't, I'll be satisfied. American V is a soft-spoken album by a man who was on death's door. You can hear it in Cash's voice that the words are getting harder and harder to come out. Yet that is what makes this album so sincere and from the heart. American V was recorded shortly after Cash's wife, June, passed away. This album was his solace in dark times. Ironically enough, many of the songs on American V were on the subject of death; Cash died only months after it was recorded. |
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#9 Anybody that thinks Daniel Smith (a.k.a. Danielson) got left in the shadows of his apprentice, Sufjan Stevens, is crazy. Daniel Smith deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Stevens, and Ships proves that. This critically acclaimed album showed the world the eccentric brilliance that is Danielson. Why else would somebody make a documentary about him? Ships is an amazing piece of work that really blurs the line between secular and Christian music. |
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#8 To say that a band sounds like a mix of "this band" and "that band" is usually a negative commentary on the artist's originality, but in the case of Band of Horses' album, Everything All the Time, the fact that they sound like a mix of My Morning Jacket and The Shins is not an insult at all. Their sound may reflect a possible influence, but they happened to take the best of both worlds. Their songwriting is much more structured and straitforward than My Morning Jacket and more adventurous than The Shins. They wrote some amazingly catchy and beautiful songs that grow deeper with every listen, which happens to be what all three bands have in common. |
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#7 Neko Case is an amazingly original songwriter in both her lyrics and her music. Her voice is more powerful than most female singers, yet it's incredibly beautiful and feminine. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood could possibly be as close as she has come to surpassing the quality of her classic album, Blacklisted. Though a little more scattered and not as focussed as Blacklisted, each song on Fox Confessor is creative and beautiful. |
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#6 Dark. Emotional. Original. |
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#5 TV on the Radio is the only thing in my life I'll ever be grateful to Carson Daly for. I accidentally stopped on his late night talk show (and I mean accidentally) and saw a killer band with a sound like I had never heard before. All I could do after that is spread the word. Now with Return to Cookie Mountain I must thank Mr. Daly because this is the most creative and brilliant alternative rock album of 2006. |
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#4 One of the greatest songwriters in singer-songwriter history, Bob Dylan does not need to prove anything anymore. Many legends have released albums this past year (i.e. Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash) but Bob Dylan surpasses them all with this delicate and gentle collections of blues/jazz/folk songs. Though nowhere near groundbreaking or inventive, Modern Times is definately heartfelt, and that's what makes Bob Dylan so good. |
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#3 I'm a little biased because P.O.S. is from my hometown of Minneapolis. But Audition is seriously the best hip-hop/rap album of 2006. It is really a shame that mainstream America doesn't see that. Maybe it's because he doesn't rap about killing people and being a thug. He's in the class of other Emo-rappers like Atmosphere and Pigeon John, rappers that rap about living, not dying. This album flows like a Langston Hughes poem; a work of art. |
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#2 Yellow House is a creative and original album that makes me feel extremely comfortable. The naturally creative music of Grizzly Bear floats softly through the entire album while holding my attention on the details from the gentle picking of the acoustic guitar to the unique percussion, all while being rocked to sleep by the gorgeous harmonizing of humming voices. Lyrics are an after thought on this album and that's exactly the way it was meant to be. |
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#1 (Tim's) This self-titled debut from the Norwegian group, Serena Maneesh, led by veteran musician, Emil Nikolaisen, has easily topped my 2006 list and may be the most impressive debut album in years. Produced by Daniel Smith - who also produced the album by Emil's 90's band, Royal - the album contains a wide variety of rock genres, but holds it all together with their own destinct sound. The songs are complex and very original despite the variety of influences - the most obvious influence being My Bloody Valentine's album, Loveless. The thing that sets this album apart from competition is the maturity and confidence that flows from each track. This self-titled debut is a solid album from a band with a lot of promise. |
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#1 (Joel's) Hands down, the best Decemberists album, yet. Still staying true to their roots but able to evolutionize their sound, The Crane Wife was a huge success. I love the fact that they are able to fill songs with a lot of sound, instead of so many lyrics like their previous albums. It seems that they just keep getting better so I really can't wait to see what they come up with next. In the meantime, The Crane Wife will make its rounds in and out of my CD player as I enjoy the simple creativity of the Decemberists. |
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#1 (Kaare's) Why should this be #1? The fact that the buyer of this album gets three albums in one, that's why. Disc one gives us a gritty jazz/blues album that makes you believe you are actually in a club listening to Waits wail. Disc two gives us a toned down album of ballads and sweet songs that show Waits' brilliance as a songwriter. And finally, disc three gives us the enigmatic genius that is Tom Waits as we listen to his industrial songs and spoken word tracks. Each disc is full of B-sides and covers. Orphans is easily my pick for the #1 Album of 2006. |
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TIM's PICKS This unique outfit of Japanese musicians create gorgeous doom metal that is both, at the same time, heavy and gentle. At times, this music reminds me of an orchestra and other times a rock band. Never would I have guessed, though, that this is only a three-piece band. The sound is full and complex and often lush and beautiful. The fact that the band created some of the most heavy, dark music of the past year, yet Pink makes such an enjoyable listen, is quite an amazing accomplishment in itself.... |
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Destroyer's Rubies The three main members of one of my favorite current bands, The New Pornographers, have all released incredible solo projects in the last couple years. One of the albums, which made our top 10, was Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Carl "A.C." Newman, the songwriter for the band, released his debut solo album in 2005, and Destroyer (a.k.a. Dan Bejar) released his latest ablum Destroyer's Rubies earlier last year to critical acclaim, but was, unfortunately, mostly forgotten and overlooked for many year-end lists. The album is a gorgeously poetic and original piece of art that was slightly hard to get used to. But after a few listens, I have come to love his broken voice and the arrangement of instrumentation is much deeper than I originally assumed. |
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JOEL's PICKS I feel like it's been so long since an album was really connected as one. It seems nowadays so many albums are just single after single, with the availability of on-line file sharing and the ability to pick and choose one song at a time. Thank goodness we have the Secret Machines to give us that true album-as-a-whole feel that the Beatles and Pink Floyd revolotionized years ago. Though Ten Silver Drops did not make the top ten, it was my favorite album of the year. Yes, it wasn't the most creative and it didn't equal their last album, Now Here Is Nowhere but every song fits together with the others and it's the first "full" album I've heard in quite some time. It's a must have for every Secret Machines fan! |
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The Eraser This review is probably a little biased but I can't help it, I love Thom Yorke. The Eraser is a solo project by the lead singer of the great band, Radiohead. I got a Hail to the Theif kind of vibe when I listened to it. It's just a little bit more personal and the sound is not as full. The beats and melodies are classic Radiohead and the lyrics are the same as always, simple but hard hitting. My favorite tracks include "And it Rained All Night" and "Harrowdown Hill." The Eraser is a great little side project and I think it really shows how talented Thom Yorke is without his group behind him on every song. The Eraser was nothing new, but nothing close to disappointing. A solid album that I'll keep close to my Radiohead collection forever. |
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KAARE's PICKS Why is it that these guys that were part of the Rebel Country movement seem to write/record their best albums when their time on this earth is almost gone? Like Rick Rubin had done with Johnny Cash's "American Recordings," Don Was has produced a stripped-down-to-the-bone country album by Kris Kristofferson that is so good that Country radio won't touch it. Why? Because This Old Road is what Country Music is supposed to sound like. Track one, "This Old Road," and track two, "Pilgrim’s Progress," are some highlights on an album that is full of highlights. Don't let this one slip away, or become popular after Kristofferson is gone; make it popular now. |
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The Best Worst-Case Scenerio Lead singer Aaron Sprinkle is possibly the best singer-songwriter you've never heard of. After spending a few years behind the scenes producing, Sprinkle returns to form better than ever with his band, Fair. The Best Worst-Case Scenario is an alternative rock album that belongs up there with TV on the Radio as one of the best of 2006 in its genre. Fair's album mixes its vocals and instruments seamlessly. And Sprinkle's lyrics become more alive when his voice projects them in his own unique style. Find this album, recommend it to friends, do what you must to make the world know the band that is Fair. |
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