Stuff Pve Been Listening To:

The Best of 2006

  
  

   

Listened To:

Wolfmother - Wolfmother
Ghost House - Departures

MSTRRKRFT - The Looks
The Roots - Game Theory

Liars - Drum’ Not Dead

  
  
  
   
    
  
     
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
    
     
   
   
   
   

    

aeditor@gmail.com

The Thermals - The Body, the Blood, the Machine
, TV on the Radio - Retyrn to Cookie Mountain

The Meligrove Band - Planets Conspire

Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
Thunderbirds Are Now! - Make History

Luke Simcoe, OP Contributor

Wolfmother - Wolfmother

This year, Wolfmother got the Led out and filled our
prescription for more cowbell. The Aussie trio sound
like the bastard sons of Queens of the Stone Age and
The Mars Volta, and their passion for cribbing from
the likes of Hendrix, Plant, Clapton, and Townshend
was enough to cause a psychedelic hard-rock revival.
Just ask any of the numerous tweenage kids I saw
running around Sasquatch sporting Wolfmother tees
and afros.

The Meligrove Band - Planets Conspire

The Meligrove’s third LP is their best to date, and it
sounds like what would happen if you locked B/ye-era
Weezer, Ben Folds, and Sloan together in a room for a
weekend. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I’m still kicking
myself for missing their show at The Pit.

Ghost House - Departures

Departures is my favourite local record this year (yeah,
that’s right... Ladyhawk can eat their own beards
while they feign work at American Apparel). I’ve been
a Jesse Gander fan since his days with Vancouver's
punk-proteges d.b.s., and his latest effort is a jangly,
piano-driven slice of indie-punk with a Brian Wilson-
like grasp of pop sensibility.

MSTRKRFT - The Looks
Al-P and his lovable sidekick Jesse F Keeler spent the
year donning Jason masks and putting out lewd music -
videos. Apparently this was enough to finagle them
into the setlist of every living room dance party held
north of the 49th parallel... or at least every solitary
dance patty that occurred in my living room in 2006.

‘

The Roots - Game Theory

The Roots’ Def Jam debut succeeds because it’s every-
thing The Tipping Point wasn’t. Whereas The Tipping Point,
with its big hooks and familiar song structures, was like
that just-a-little-too-young girlfriend whom you found
initially very attractive, but got tired of quickly, Game
Theory is like that cougar sitting alone at the bar on a
Wednesday night. It’s dark, inaccessible, and sometimes
intimidating, but once you get into it, you realize that it
gets better with age. Plus, in a year when hip-hop
turned itself into a wankster version of Days of Our
Lives, it’s nice to see an album that’s relevant and chock
full of substance.

 

 

 

 

Vd like to point out that although I hate writing them, I think that ‘year-end lists’ are vital to music journalism. In the words of Lester Bangs, they force writers to be “honest and
unmerciful,” and prevent us from descending into a sea of relativistic reviews. So, without further ado, here are my top ten albums of 2006 in no particular order.

 

TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
In the words of David Letterman: “TV On the Radio,
that’s all you’re lookin’ for.” With their daring and
expansive take on popular music, and their transcendent
live shows, TVO'TR really is the band of the year. They
came, they saw, they kicked our ass, and they left us
with Return to Cookie Mountain as a souvenit.

The Thermals - The Body, the Blood, the Machine

Every year, a band comes along and reminds us that
despite the fact that it’s all been done before, rock 1”
roll still matters. This year, that mantle belongs to
Portland’s The Thermals, who reminded us that you can
still craft a damin good album full of substance and
affirmation with just a few distorted chords, The Body,
the Blood, the Machine is a punk-rock A Handmaids Tale,
and Hutch Harris’ speculative lyrics take aim at the reli-
gious right with a fervor that would make Ann Coulter
wet her chastity belt.

Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth

Hey! You got your ambient electronica all over my
grindcore! And you got your metallic grindcore all over
my electronica! You stupid fackin’... whoa, wait a
minute... this is the most original thing I’ve heard all
year!

 

Thunderbirds Are Now! - Make History

I’m willing to stand there and let the shit be thrown at
me for how much I like this record and this band. I got
stuck with Make History as the only CD in my car for
almost a month this year, and not once did I get bored
with the album. There’s a reason these guys are on

French Kiss Records, and it’s because they write some
of the best poppy dance-punk around and back it up
with an uber-energetic live show.

Liars - Dram’s Not Dead

I’m still not even sure I like this album, but it was the
most challenging and dichotomous record of the year
for me. Drwm’s Not Dead is a journey. Conceptually, it
chronicles the story of two characters, Drum and Mt.
Heart Attack (who may or may not be a mountain), and
musically, the album is an experience steeped in layers
of minimalist atmosphere, incoherent vocal harmonies
and tribal percussion. Love it or hate it, it’s interesting.

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