Top 40 Albums of 2006

It's that time of year folks when you start to look back on those top tunes that have been spinning in your CD player or sitting on your PC, I-pod or mp3 player. Which album has left its mark on your musical landscape and which has made you reach for your earplugs? Whilst I wont be listing any from the latter category, I will be posting the top 40 albums of 2006 over the next fortnight.
So without further ado, let's start from the end and work backwards.
*Click on the [Pitchfork/AmpCamp] links for full review

40. Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light

Minimilist ambient psychadelic folk. "Brightblack Morning Light offers a clear-cut differentiation between run-of-the-mill indie-rock bar bands hiding out in folksy wardrobes and those doing something nuanced and complex." [Pitchfork]

Official site







39. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth In the Mouth of a Beast

Futurist machinations to swingy, piano-based saloon ramble, and psyched-out hand-drummed raga jazz. "Matmos smartly mix high-culture icons, underground heroes, and cult legends, consuming objects and texts that transform everyday items into something beautiful and strange." [Pitchfork]

Official site






38. Tunng - Comments Of The Inner Chorus

A well-crafted blend of grainy electronics, organic percussion, snatches of sampled dialogue, and traditional British folk. "Every microscopic detail has been carefully spaced and cultivated for maximum dramatic effect." [Pitchfork]

Official site








37. David Pajo - 1968

Midwestern indie rock. "Pajo delivers a set of songs that are austere and intimate...through such a varying degree of genres and styles that it avoids clichés".
[AmpCamp]

Official site







36. Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra Of Bubbles

Experimental post-electro littered with gravelly transients. "This isn't merely an impressive record: It's a remarkable feat of engineering. Allien and Apparat have burrowed one of the most magical rabbit-holes you'll explore this year."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







35. Danielson - Ships

Blustering noise-pop. "Uninhibitedly gleeful, celebratory, and rallying - the kind of inspired communal rejoicing that's highly contagious. It's the kind of album he may spend the rest of his career trying to top."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







34. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Multi-hued glam pop. "Jam-packed, unbridled sound...mixing nonsense with sharp observations and sadness with puns."
[Pitchfork]

Myspace site








33. Grandaddy - Just Like The Fambly Cat

Space-pop. "Tracks fold and refold onto themselves, sprouting unexpected codas [over] sweetened, beatific falsetto...as if Lytle is singing out of nostalgia for a future that never came true."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







32. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time

Soaring guitars and extroverted chords. "Quietly innovative and genuinely refreshing...heart-on-sleeve anthems. An album that's easy to get lost in and even easier to love."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







31. M Ward - Post-War

Acoustic/electric blues. "Beautifully realized songs and great musicianship [with songs that] hit home like hammers."
[Pitchfork]

Official site








Coming soon: Top 40 Albums #21-30.