2006 was better for music than 2005 for one reason and one reason alone: Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell III." At The Scene, we asked our writers to weigh in on the best albums of the year; sadly, Meatloaf didn't make the cut.
5. Wolf Eyes - "Human Animal"
Wolf Eyes have done it again releasing another alarmingly distressing album that is slightly more disturbing than their 2004 release, "Burned Mind." Wolf Eyes is just too relentless and terrifying.
4. Comets On Fire - "Avatar"
Comets On Fire deliver an hour of great psychedelica that is less acid-induced than their previous effort, and is more musically sound. With awesome guitar-trippy tracks like "Dogwood Rust" and "Holy Teeth", this album will have your father reminiscing about his golden days while you're pounding your fist in the air.
3. Young Widows - "Settle Down City"
This band's debut release "Settle Down City" is an impressive mix of post-hardcore and distorted rhythms. Born out of the ashes of former hardcore heavyweights Breather Resist, this band has crafted an album that is dark yet catchy and reminiscent of the early '90s sound that came out of Seattle. Aside from this, any album with a track called "Glad He Ate Her" is worth listening to.
2. Russian Circles - "Enter"
While other post-rock acts were busy taking time off, the Chicago trio Russian Circles were busy touring incessantly and releasing quite possibly the best post-rock/post-hardcore/math rock/anything-else album in the past decade. While hard to classify, the band is a perfect example of what would happen if Isis and Explosions in the Sky had a totally awesome baby.
1. Wizzardz - "Hidden City of Taurmond"
Last year Lightning Bolt released one of the best albums of 2005 in "Hypermagic Mountain." This year the streak of greatness continues. This time it is with Lightning Bolt bassist Brian Jones' prog/space/noise project Wizzardz. Simply put, this is the best prog record to come out since the '70s. "Taurmond" reaches its prog-peak with the track "Chasing Our Shadows," an infectious dance groove that takes you into space and across the galaxy.
-CHRIS MORENO
5. The Fiery Furnaces - "Bitter Tea"
America's most ambitious pair of siblings covered the tracks of their recent missteps and promptly churned out one of the best records of their career. Obviously it's not everybody's cup of tea, but if you like your indie rock linear and predictable, she'll tell you over a dreamy soundscape of backwards tape loops and organs, "you've got the wrong Eleanor Friedberger."
4. M. Ward - "Post-War"
Songwriter Matt Ward serves up an album's worth of backwoods campfire sing-a-longs and fleshes out a Daniel Johnston song ("To Go Home") into one of the best singles of the year.
3. CSS - "Cansei de Sur Sexy"
A bunch of Brazilians jumping around in neon spandex, playing synthesizers and singing songs like "Meeting Paris Hilton" and "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex?" Yeah, I didn't want to like it either. Good thing that CSS don't care what we think and went ahead without our consent and made one of the best dance party records in years.
2. Neko Case - "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"
There are far too few vocalists out there today who, with a deep breath and one long note, can basically knock you flat on your face. Ms. Case is one of the few. If you can make it through "Star Witness" without your knees buckling, then you are probably not alive.
1. The Thermals - "The Body, The Blood, The Machine"
Portland's most delightfully scruffy punk band makes a record's worth of charming anti-fascism anthems. Hutch Harris sings every line with more conviction than anything you've heard in a long time. It's like "American Idiot" for people who won't admit that they still like Green Day.
-LINDSAY ZOLADZ
5. J Dilla - "Donuts"
It's easy to give into sentimentality and overrate an album because of tragic events, and "Donuts" could easily fit the bill, as hip-hop producer Jay Dee a.k.a. J Dilla passed away three days after this album was released at the age of 32. However, this collection of instrumentals that rarely exceed two minutes is not only one hell of a fun ride, it's also a reflection of the exuberance for life and music Dilla had.
4. Mountains - "Sewn"
With "Sewn," Mountains have established themselves as one of the premier acts in ambient music. Mixing acoustic guitar strumming with laptop processed sound and natural ambient sounds, this gently crafted album is filled to the brim with life, even in its most meditative and transcendent moments. The music is absolutely beautiful.
3. Joanna Newsom - "Ys"
When Newsom said her album was going to be composed of 15-minute-plus harp suites, it was hard to be excited. But it clicked with a late night listening, culminating with tears in my eyes while listening to album centerpiece "Sawdust and Diamonds." With astounding production work from living legend producers and endearingly poetic lyrics, "Ys" continues to amaze after repeated listens.
2. Guillemots - "Through The Windowpane"
No album from this year has the one-two punch of "Made-up Love Song #43" and "Trains to Brazil," and no album even comes close to being as grandiose and yet so intimate at the same time. The band paints so many diverse pictures with their songs, ranging from nihilistic to hopeful, but it never fails to impress.
1. Clipse - "Hell Hath No Fury"
One can talk about the many delays, the record label drama, the coke raps- it's all for naught though, because the only thing that matters is that there's just not a better album this year. Credit must be given to the Neptunes for their best production work in years, but the stars are emcees Malice and Pusha T, whose surprising honesty and endless punch lines make this an instant classic. Although one gets the feeling that no matter the acclaim, Clipse will keep on pushing, figuratively and literally, and with efforts like this, who could want anything more?
-DREW ROSENSWEIG
5. Fiery Furnaces - "Bitter Tea"
This barely beat out the even-more-prolific Wooden Wand's "Gipsy Freedom." The Friedbergers took one more step away from conventional songwriting with this dizzying collection of backwards vocals, distorted prom songs, and brilliant soundscapes.
4. OOIOO - "Taiga"
OOIOO is more than a side project for the greatest band in the world: Boredoms. OOIOO's Yoshimi P-We leads this all female troupe through mesmerizing psychedelic workouts that recall the calmer moments of Boredoms' "Vision Creation Newsun" and "Super Ae."
3. Clipse - "Hell Hath No Fury"
Lupe was more important, Ghostface was sillier, The Game was crazier, and T.I. was smoother but the Clipse were easily the best rappers of 2006. "Hell Hath No Fury" is simply the tightest rap album since "The Blueprint," in more ways than one.
2. Liars - "Drum's Not Dead"
The drum may be considered to be the most primal instrument and the Liars sought to explore its potential on Drum's Not Dead, a sort-of concept album. They succeeded tremendously by seeking a place where chaos turns into epiphany (see "Drum Gets A Glimpse") and sound is the ultimate emotion.
1. Joanna Newsom - "Ys"
"Ys" is easily the most rewarding album of the year. Rather than being a difficult album that is eventually rewarding the process of wading through this is the greatest pleasure. Lyrically and sonically Joanna Newsom and her dream team (Albini, O'Rourke, Parks) created a truly idiosyncratic folk album.
-JOSH LEVITZ
