#30

Built to Spill
You In Reverse
(Warner Bros.)

Doug Marsch and friends kind of just disappeared for about 5 years, maybe justifiably, after their overproduced flop, Ancient Melodies of the Future. Rather then reprise their entire back catalogue like every indie critic seemingly wants, we get the Idaho boys coming out of the gate with guns blazing and maybe their best song ever, “Goin’ Against Your Mind”. You In Reverse furthers their gritty, jammed out blues and, of course, Neil Young-indebted sound, bringing back the glassy eyed slackerisms that have unfortunately disappeared from college rock.

#31

Grizzly Bear
Yellow House
(Warp)

Most of us know the story by now – used to be an Animal Collective cover band, recorded in a, uh, yellow house that Grandma or Aunt Henrietta or Christian Bale owned (just like the Band at Big Pink!!!), etc. They’re definitely shaking the AC tag – where the Collective has branched out in more tangled and sometimes difficult areas, Grizzly Bear takes a few cues from the Beach Boys’ sonic canvases. Yet we’re not talking trading in one set of influences for another. Naw, Grizzly Bear tackle beautiful sunshine melodies, without sounding trite or whimsical like so much of the wimpy “freak-folk” floating around. Their sepia-toned pop doesn’t recreate the idealistic ‘60s sound, but blows the stale smoke out of the room while echoing the timelessness (doo-wop, surf, chamber pop) with some much needed updates.

#32

Wolf Eyes
Human Animal
(Sub Pop)

Naturally, most consider music to be melodic, structured, and maybe even vaguely reminiscent of something else. Pop music has been marketed and ingrained in our minds as something consumable and perfected – something that we can easily put our finger on. So what would an “I-like-all-types-of-music-oh-yeah-except-country” fan seriously think of the blood-soaked and brutally punishing Wolf Eyes? There’s no justifying their music, it’s not for Sunday morning, it’s not for rainy afternoons – it’s for deep night, 3 am, maybe lying in a coffin, maybe considering the possibility of a killing spree. It’s music taken to a completely illogical extreme, stripped of melody, and unbelievably terrifying. Metal ducts are banged, saxophones are strangled like innocent victims, electronics malfunction. Put on Human Animal and you can’t hide. You can shut your eyes, clog your ears with tissues, but it’ll creep into your pores, penetrate the ear plugs, and completely obliterate every conception about formalized, sellable music you’ve ever considered.

#33

Man Man
Six Demon Bag
(Ace Fu)

Initially, I didn’t want to, couldn’t like this album. Too rambunctious, too over the top (but not cool like Sly Stallone). I think I was finally reacting to all that ADD-core that was put out the past few years – my brain just kind of doesn’t accept it anymore and shuts down at the sound or inkling of overtly genre-hopping music. Add to that a ridiculous and horrible sounding show at the First Unitarian Church in Philly (one of the worst venues ever) that just left me confounded and totally turned off.

Fast-forward a few months and an open-minded trial run and I can’t stop “FEE, FIE, FOE, FUM, I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISH MANNN!” bouncing off the sides of my brain. Six Demon Bag is tight front to back, with incredible arrangements and choice instrumentation. But the thing I missed, the most important thing, is the songwriting. It succeeds on every level with attention to detail you’d be hard pressed to find in most indie bands’ catalogues (e.g. “Van Helsing Boombox”).

And yeah, it’s over the top, full of weirdly trendy gypsyisms, on and on. But like Stallone’s other character and fellow Philadelphian, it’s full of arm raising glory.

The Top 33 Albums of 2006

And so it begins again. This is something like the fifth time I’ve done this type of thing, first while I was on the radio at Wake Forest, then here, in this space. Must say I miss the radio quite a bit and the opportunity to choose a song and play it for everyone (and by everyone, I mean 3 people in my girl’s dorm), but having a chance to sit down with each album and write something credible and intelligent is good. But usually doesn’t happen. And it reaches the same audience, ‘cept she’s my fiancée now and she just keeps reloading the page. Whatever.

So, yeah, I obviously have a proclivity to independent music. Some, probably consider it obtuse, heavy-handed and pretentious. But, shoot, J-Tim and Timbaland/Gwen and the Neptunes wouldn’t be singing/yodeling over bombed out, grainy and dirty soundscapes if it wasn’t for the torchbearers. Not to mention, the stuff’s necessary for the development of art in general and just plain interesting in how sound is approached. And while 2006 wasn’t a banner year for astounding music, there were many, many gifts from innumerable artists. You’ll probably get a sense of how I listen and what floats my boat best, but like every critic who thinks they’re “well-rounded”, there’ll be a few curveballs that I may not like 13 days after I write about them. In essence, just enjoy the wonderful sounds of the semi-above and underground – there’s a lot waiting for you.

Enjoy and feel free to send naked pictures of yourself (brett.baxter gmail com). The top 33 will fall over the next few weeks, most likely into the New Year.

Caught With My Pants Down

As I mentioned before, I'm attempting to get my list whittled down to something more manageable, both for the writer and the reader. Seems as though I've - once again - been caught behind the eight ball. With 14 days left in the year I've finally sliced the original 70+ albums down to 33 (the speed of a record!). That doesn't mean I've written a single word or decided the order (if at all), but I do promise that I'm working on it.

Unfortunately, some fantastic records that deserve your attention had to be eliminated. If you have a chance, please check out the new ones from Kaki King, Annuals, Charalambides, Espers, M. Ward, Six Organs of Admittance, Band of Horses, Om, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth...

Check back soon!

New Gear

The most recent in internet time-crushers for me the ridiculously absorbing last.fm. I'm transfixed at how simple an idea this is, yet how right-on it is. Essentially, for heads into radical music, pretend you're driving through Williamsburg in Brooklyn. (This is still the coolest zip code in America, no? I digress...) You got a booming sound system, windows are rolled down and your cranking the new Lightning Bolt record. Or John Fahey. Or Eddie Murphy's "Party All The Time". Whatever. You're driving that car straight into a block party, some people are turning their noses, but others (trannies?) are jumping in your car psyched to see what else you might play. They have a chance to view not only your favorite stuff that week, but in the past few weeks, months, years? Pretty fun stuff, especially if you're fascinated at how people listen to music like I am.

My only gripe at this point is that it seems to favor listening to single songs rather than whole albums. It actually goes as far as not really even showing an album's name on the chart, solely focusing in on the song title.

All in all, a fun time and pretty nifty if you want to share your listening habits with the world and prove once and for all that Panic! At The Disco or Dream Street is your favorite!

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Also: still getting through a whole backlog of records...really hoping to get the list done by year's end, but it's hard to cross lots of great records (Band of Horses, Om, Roger O'Donnell) off my list. I'll get there soon -- please stay tuned!