Scott Heisel is an alumni news editor, reviews editor and reviewer here at Punknews.org -ed
While I haven't seen any of the other 'Org lists yet, I have a feeling many of them will make a remark along the lines of "2006 wasn't a very good year for music."
Wasn't a very good year for music?!? When I came up with my shortlist for albums to include in my Top 20 this year, I had a shortlist of over 100 albums I was considering -- more than I had ever had for any previous year. There was a huge treasure chest of really good albums this year; the only problem being that so few of them were actually groundbreaking, incredible or even just great. But is having 100 really good albums better than having, say, five perfect ones? I don't know; that's for you to decide.
2006 also saw a lot of bands practicing the idea of quick turnaround between albums: Nine bands who were bestowed with some honor or another on last year's list put out albums this year as well, yet only three of them earned positive accolades from me this time around (and one of them even ended up on my disappointments list). I personally think this is going to become the new trend -- bands turning around albums much quicker instead of playing out the now-traditional "two years between albums" cycle consisting of touring, press, etc. After all, if you can keep writing good songs, you might as well record and release them whenever you can, too. (And if you can't, then the least you can do is officially release Songs from the Black Hole, Rivers.)
All in all, 2006 had its ups and downs, but we're all still here together, and we're not going anywhere, either. So without further adieu: The Top 20 Albums of 2006
Runners-up: The Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again (Sub Pop), Greg Graffin - Cold as the Clay (Anti-), the Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta! (Fat Wreck Chords), Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (Grunion), the Strays - Le Futur Noir (TVT), TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (Interscope), Thom Yorke - The Eraser (XL)
20. The Hope
Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name
Deathwish Inc.
I had somehow avoided the Hope Conspiracy up
until this release, and I'm kicking myself for it: Death Knows Your Name
is a face-ripper in every sense of the word. While it's heavy on the "Holy shit,
that ripped my face off" and light on the "I would really love to listen to that
specific track again because of its individual nuances," I still wouldn't change
anything on this record -- especially the unbridled energy.
19. Head
Automatica - Popaganda
Warner Bros.
This album actually didn't make my first draft
of my list; it was only added after I checked my last.fm charts for the year
and realized I had listened to it more than any other album released in 2006
this year. Sure, it's not going to change the world, but who said every
power-pop record had to? It's a half-hour of fun, and that's what counts.
18. Set Your
Goals - Mutiny!
Eulogy
It took me about three months to finally check
out the rest of this album after playing the title track virtually nonstop. And
while none of the other songs can even hold a candle to that massive
pop-hardcore gem, SYG give it their all regardless, and the result is a quick,
uplifting romp through what hardcore should be all about, and not what
it's devolved to.
17. As Tall as
Lions - As Tall as Lions
Triple Crown
A definite dark horse on my list; I really only
started listening to this album about eight weeks ago based on glowing
recommendations from friends and co-workers. And while I had liked the band's
first go 'round, Lafcadio, for its emo-punk meets alt-rock stance, I've
simply fallen in love with As Tall as Lions v2.0 -- these atmospheric, heavenly
rock songs are better than acts in the same genre twice their age.
16. The Draft -
In a Million Pieces
Epitaph
In between the official dissolution of Hot
Water Music this past May and the release of the Draft's debut full-length in
September, I lost my faith in beard-rock, even shaving my beard off shortly
before In a Million Pieces hit shelves. After a few spins, though, my
outlook dramatically shifted, and my beard is back, better than ever -- just
like three-fourths of Hot Water Music. These songs are tight, focused and a bit
more experimental than HWM ever were, and I'm quite excited to see the next
chapter in the musical lives of these men.
15. Armalite -
Armalite
No Idea
Punk rock, even when tackling (relatively)
serious subject manner, should be fun, and Armalite get that better than anyone
else. I originally didn't pay much attention to the lyrics on Armalite
until seeing the band at the Fest V and hearing Atom Goren explain, "This song
is about my diabetes," before launching into "I Am a Pancreas (I Seek to
Understand Me)." As soon as I got home, I pulled out the album's liner notes
and read the lyrics and explanations to every song while the record played on
my turntable -- that was the first time I'd done that in a good decade or so. Thanks, Armalite, for making punk rock fun and thought-provoking again. Now just start touring, damnit!
14. Fear Before the March of Flames -
The Always Open Mouth
Equal Vision
Where in the hell did this record come from?
Fear Before the March of Flames went from being a shitty Blood Brothers rip-off
to a slightly less shitty Botch rip-off to completely knocking the door off the
whole metalcore genre with a wholly original prog-hardcore release. While you
can pick up hints of Muse, Cursive and Minus the Bear on a few songs, this
Denver sextet are pushing the boundaries largely by themselves, and making some
pretty goddamn interesting music while doing it. And I don't think anyone --
detractors or fans -- saw it coming.
13. The Loved
Ones - Keep Your Heart
Fat Wreck Chords
This record would've ranked a little higher had
this Philadelphia trio deviated from their pop-punk formula at least once;
however, it's still track after track of gritty, catchy, energetic stuff that
is endlessly fun to finger-point to.
12. Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and
Summer
Vagrant
Does anyone else think "Don't Wait" sounds like
the emo version of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up?" True story. Killer record, too (even
the duet with that douche from Counting Crows).
11. The
Forecast - In the Shadow of Two Gunmen
Victory
Despite the constant stream of aural shit
pouring out of their offices, Victory Records inexplicably manages to put out a
handful of good-to-great albums every year, and In the Shadow of Two
Gunmen is definitely one of those great discs. This Illinois-based band is
channeling the best of what the Midwest had to offer from over the past 10
years (think Braid, Rainer Maria, Get Up Kids) with a y'all-ternative twang
making it even more memorable. Their bassist wears braces, their drummer is fat
and none of the guys wear makeup -- in other words, they're everything Midwestern
emo should be.
10. Saves the
Day - Sound the Alarm
Vagrant
There are days where I think this is the best
album of 2006. Today is not one of those days, but it's still a pretty fucking
great pop record.
9. The
Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Capitol
If Death Cab for Cutie can get a gold record in
this day and age, then the Decemberists should be going platinum soon. The
Crane Wife isn't too complex or wordy, and retains an inherent -- dare I
say -- funkiness absent in most indie rock.
8. The Dresden
Dolls - Yes, Virginia...
Roadrunner
I never thought I'd like this, let alone fall
madly in love with this, but Yes, Virginia... has some of my favorite
musical moments of 2006 on it. This duo are writing musically catchy and
lyrically morose songs, the kind of stuff Robert Smith might've churned out if
he would've hooked up with Ben Folds Five. Goddamn, this record is a
blast.
7. Maritime - We,
The Vehicles
Flameshovel
After Maritime's freshman flop (2003's Glass
Floor), I don't think many of us even thought they'd get out a sophomore
record, and even if they did, we all expected it to be of the "slump" variety. Luckily, Davey von Bohlen proved all of us wrong, and proved that he was still
able to write another classic indie rock record at the same time. Adulthood has
never sounded so promising.
6. Blackpool
Lights - This Town's Disaster
Curb Appeal
And speaking of ex-members from enormously
popular and influential bands, Jim Suptic showed the world that he still knew
how to rock (and thus proving Matt Pryor ruined the Get Up Kids with his
nancy-boy New Amsterdams bullshit), and rock he did, with This Town's
Disaster being one of the most consistently, er, rockin' rock albums
of 2006. Couple that with an incredibly tight rhythm section that easily matches
the Pope brothers and you have yourself one hell of a band.
5. Andrew W.K -
Close Calls with Brick Walls
Universal International
So Andrew W.K. went crazy, and recorded it for
all (in Asia, at least) to enjoy. Thank God for illegal filesharing, otherwise
I would've missed out on all of AWK's pure, cracked genius.
4. Scarlet - This
Was Always Meant to Fall Apart.
Ferret
Picture this: Circa Survive frontman Anthony
Green fronting Muse with a metalcore fetish. Bet they'd make an awesome record,
right? Well this record already exists, and it's called This Was Always Meant
to Fall Apart.. Criminally overlooked due to its January release date and
Ferret's complete lack of promotion, this album is one of the freshest, most
inventive takes on the heavy-music genre this decade, and deserves your fullest
attention.
3. Brand New -
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
Tiny Evil / Interscope
I wonder if Isaac Brock hates Jesse Lacey as
much as Jesse Lacey adores Isaac Brock? It certainly would be fitting for one
of the most complicated, quietly egotistical frontmen in rock, who loathes his
fans as much as they worship him, to be reviled by one of his idols. The only
reason I bring this up is because it's one of the few traumatic experiences
Lacey's yet to go through to inspire his songwriting, and it's probably the
only one strong enough to help make their next album even more complex,
detailed and all-around depressing than this one, topping it in the process. In
short: This is Brand New at their creative peak, at least until the next album
comes along.
2. The Hold
Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Vagrant
I don't drink, but if I did, I would get
shitfaced to this band. It's pure Midwestern bar-rock for the blue-collar
crowd, with enough of a wink-and-a-nudge attitude to capture the hipsters and
intelligent enough for NPR fans. It's deceptively simple rock'n'roll played
by guys who take being fun as seriously as a heart attack, and I love them for
it.
1. Moneen - The Red
Tree
Vagrant
Very rarely does a record hit me so hard in the
heart that I get moved just by listening to it. The Red Tree is one of
those elusive few that tugs on heartstrings as often as it makes you throw your
fist in the air. Massively underappreciated in North America's largely
trend-driven musical culture (they're slightly bigger in their homeland of
Canada but still don't come close to the popularity of inferior acts like
Alexisonfire or Silverstein up north), Moneen are emo's perpetual underdogs --
and if that sort of drive lets them make challenging, moody, explosive rock
records like this, then here's to never getting your just due.
5. David Bazan
- Fewer Moving Parts
Undertow
Pedro the Lion-tamer officially launches his
solo career with this double EP, featuring five songs each performed both
acoustic and electric. And while it probably won't win over any new converts to
Bazan's stable, those who worshiped Pedro's mope-rock will continue to eat this
stuff up. And I'm definitely in the latter.
4. Ambulette -
The Lottery
Astralwerks
To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me
what Ambulette sounds like; I'm just happy to see former Denali frontwoman
Maura Davis belting out sultry melodies once more. Luckily for me, the music is
a logical extension of where Denali was going, with more of an upbeat flavor.
Can't wait for the LP.
3. Four Star
Alarm - Four Star Alarm
Thick
Featuring a member of the Bomb, Four Star Alarm
play punk rock like they've been around the block more than once before -- these
songs are well-sculpted pop-punk songs maintaining their post-hardcore edge and
lyrical maturity. Think mid-`90s Revelation (Gameface, Texas Is the Reason)
mixed with timeless alt-rock á la Sugar and you're right on track.
2. Envy on the
Coast - Envy on the Coast
Photo Finish
This Long Island quintet aren't even of legal
drinking age, yet they've already mastered their style and are outplaying all
of their post-hardcore pop peers with this self-titled EP. It's Glassjaw with a
piano, and I think that's just great.
1. The Stickup
- Please, Disease
Verona
For a band who only formed in fall 2005, the
Stickup are well ahead of the game, creativity-wise. Think if Comeback Kid went
post-hardcore, if Modern Life Is War had smoother passages or if Moneen were
just plain evil, and you'd have the Stickup. The promise this debut EP
displays is out of this world; the bar has officially been raised for all new
bands.
5. The Killers
- Sam's Town
Island
A bombastic, bloated mess. Had their egos
stayed in check and they had decided to just churn out some more delightfully
empty synth-pop, there wouldn't have been any problems. But this is what
happens when entertainers try to be artists.
4. The Strokes
- First Impressions of Earth
RCA
NYC's slack-rock kings phone in album No. 3,
and while some of the tracks are the best in their catalog, the album as a
whole suffered from a ridiculously long running time and too many rehashed
half-ideas.
3. The Mars
Volta - Amputechture
Universal
And speaking of ridiculously long running
times... I've never flip-flopped on a band harder between records than I have
with the Mars Volta. Frances Mute cracked my Top 10 last year; this
disc, on the other hand, wouldn't even crack my Top 100 this year (and trust
me, I actually wrote out a Top 100). Omar, Cedric, listen up: Just because a CD
can hold 80 minutes of music doesn't mean it has to.
2. Less Than
Jake - In with the Out Crowd
Warner Bros.
So this is what it sounds like to lose your
spark.
1. NOFX - Wolves in
Wolves' Clothing
Fat Wreck
Disclaimer: Just because this is my biggest
disappointment of the year doesn't mean it's an unlistenable record. On the
contrary, there are quite a few of NOFX's best post-millennium work on here
("Seeing Double at the Triple Rock," "The Man I Killed," "Leaving Jesusland"); just so many of the other songs fall on their faces incredibly incredibly hard.
So this is what a punk rock midlife crisis sounds like.
They return with a great (if completely
schizophrenic) new album, and then what do I do the first (and only) time they
play Cleveland in support of it? I stay home to watch Grey's Anatomy or
some shit. Goddamn, I miss this band already.
This Canadian duo delivered so strongly on
2004's You're a Woman, I'm a Machine that I had no idea how they could
even follow it up. Apparently neither did they.
3. Vendetta
Red
So you put out one of the best rock albums of
2005, followed by your record label completely and utterly dropping the fucking
ball; you're probably in debt up to your ears, so what better to do than quit
and start all over? Zach Davison's new band, Sirens Sister, is good in a Jets to
Brazil sorta way, but I'm still moping that I'll never get to hear songs off
Sisters of the Red Death live.
Yes, we all saw this coming, but that doesn't
mean it hurt any less when the Band-Aid was ripped off.
I don't think anyone saw this coming;
with their string of strong efforts for SideOneDummy, I thought the Suicide
Machines would have a strong third act for years to come, becoming one of
punk's elder statesmen in a decade or so. I guess they were just too volatile
to keep it together for any longer; but really, isn't that kind of punk, when
you think about it? Anyway, one last show, guys; that's all I'm asking.
The Early
November - The Mother, The Mechanic and the Path
Drive-Thru
In 2003, I wrote off the Early November's first
album, The Room's Too Cold, as a derivative, generic emo rock disc that
was trying to be Jimmy Eat World. Four years later, given the state of
underground music now, that doesn't sound all too bad. But surprisingly, their
new record went above and beyond anything I could've expected, and really
proved that you can be creative and talented on Drive-Thru Records (and
your name doesn't have to be Matt Embree). Congratulations on this band
upping their game tenfold.
Ryan's Hope -
Apocalypse in Increments
This record made me believe in punk rock again. If you haven't checked it out yet, I urge you to at least head to their band
page on the 'Org where you can stream this record in its entirety.
Paul Baribeau
- Paul Baribeau
Plan-It-X
Paul Baribeau is, hands down, my favorite
singer-songwriter active right now. His quick, chorus-less tales of growing up
in Michigan, getting dumped by his girlfriend and coping with loss are
absolutely gorgeous in their originality. And who knew you could be on
Plan-It-X and not sing about smashing the state?
The Fall of
Troy - Doppelgänger
Equal Vision
Holy goddamn, does this record blow me away.
And these kids can't even sit down at a bar yet! Ridiculous playing. I can't
wait to see what they come up with in 2007.
husband&wife -- When I got husband&wife's self-released album, operation:surgery, in the mail about six months ago, I didn't know what to expect. Hell, I probably wouldn't have ever even listened to it had it not been for the intriguing cover art. Luckily I cracked open the plastic, because this album is a lush, melodic entry in the indie pop series, with influences ranging from Pedro the Lion to Mineral to Death Cab for cutie to Owen. This Bloomington, Indiana-based band self-recorded this disc, but you couldn't tell: The sound quality is as pristine as the songs themselves. You owe it to yourself to check this band out, because I can't imagine them staying signed for much longer. My Punknews.org Mixtape, 2006 edition
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The Most Anticipated Albums of 2007
In no specific order outside of alphabetical, here's the new noise I'm looking forward to in '07: Against Me!, Alkaline Trio, Ambulette, Andrew W.K., Arcade Fire, Audio Karate, Bad Religion, David Bazan, Big D and the Kids Table, Boys Night Out, Circa Survive, Colossal, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Dillinger Four, Envy on the Coast, the Faint, the Fall of Troy, Ben Folds, Four Star Alarm, Glassjaw, Goldfinger, Guns N' Roses, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Lifetime, Maritime, Minus the Bear, the One AM Radio, Pelican, the Postal Service, Radiohead, the Rentals, Say Anything, Smoke or Fire, Smoking Popes, the Stickup, Three Mile Pilot, Thrice, the Weakerthans and Wilco. In Closing
Thanks for reading, and I'll hopefully see many of you in 2007. And if you're heading to Cleveland for the Clash/Warped Tour exhibits at the Rock Hall, look me up -- we'll get pizza.