MUSIC IN THE YEAR 2006

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

The power of the Internet was truly realised when it made 4 young chaps from Sheffield very wealthy. Thank to word of mouth, file sharing, and a fan made myspace, Arctic Monkeys were soon the UK’s biggest band, and earned themselves the fastest selling debut album in the Britain at that point.

It was near impossible to escape from the many hit singles it spawned. British charts belonged to the Arctic Monkeys in 2006.

Rather Ripped

This is perhaps a rather biased inclusion, but who’s going to argue about including an album to this list by a band as seminal as Sonic Youth? No one, that’s who!

Rather Ripped saw Sonic Youth taking a more traditional rock stance, similar to Dirty. The result was quite simply a stunning record, and perhaps the bands strongest since it’s aforementioned predecessor. The band were noticeably kinder to their instruments this time around, with the cacophony greatly reduced, but this was still undoubtedly a Sonic Youth album; sprawling, adventurous, fun, and unpredictable.

‘Reena’ sets the tone wonderfully for the album; big, bold, and it powers along with the sense of urgency that runs through the veins of much of Sonic Youth’s back catalogue.

‘Pink Steam’ is a stunning atmospheric number, and is more or less confirmed to be an instrumental until the vocals come in past the 5-minute mark.

Rather Ripped is an incendiary record. It perhaps doesn’t sum up 2006 the best, but with song writing that good from a band of unfathomable creativity, as far as I’m concerned, it deserves a place on this list.

Through The Windowpane

Being unfairly overshadowed by the British post punk craze, Guillemots rightly stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of ambition and originality. Through The Windowpane was a bold and daring slice of avant garde pop, and was as equally varied in sound as the multicultural hue of the band members themselves: Lead by music wunderkind Fyfe Dangerfield, the band’s dynamic and ethos is highly peculiar, which makes Through The Windowpane all the more alluring.

There’s so much love and heartache on this album. ‘Little Bear’ is an ode to a lost lover, and will melt the coldest of hearts, with its sorrowful string accompaniment, and Dangerfield singing as if his heart is in tatters. The organ driven waltz of “If The World Ends” is as equally heart felt.

The symphonic masterpiece ‘Sao Paolo’ finished the album is such style and class, complete with an orchestra, banshee-like guitar wailings, piano fireworks, and typewriters…

Scattered with humorous lyrics, unconventional percussive instruments and surprising polyrhythms, this was a downright outstanding debut that should have been bigger.

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse were cast further into the limelight after the apocalyptic Absolution, and a career defining performance at Glastonbury. Needless to say, the public trembled with anticipation over the release of their 4^th album; and they went crazy for it. It shot straight to the top of the chart, shifting thousands of copies.

Muse cut a fine balance between the stark and the stellar on this album. ‘Take A Bow’ served as the nihilistic electro opener, which was counterbalanced by the epic ‘Starlight.’ ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ demonstrated Muse’s pop awareness with a display of R+B and funk sensibilities.

The band embarked on a global world tour with a fit inducing light show that accompanied the music perfectly, and anyone who has managed to catch them on this tour can testify to the eruption of the crowd during ‘Knights of Cydonia’. Black Holes and Revelations made Muse invincible.

Saturday Night Wrist

After the disappointing reception to their previous self titled effort, the Sacramento 5-piece returned in 2006 with Saturday Night Wrist: an album so atmospheric, it sounds like it came from the astral planes. While ultimately a metal album, the guitars and synths often reach dizzying highs, such as ‘Hole in the Earth’, which sounds quite similar to The Cure’s ‘Fascination Street’, and ‘Cherry Waves’, not to mention Chino Moreno’s vocals gliding above like a tortured angel.

Deftones hadn’t forgotten their trademark aggression. ‘Rats!Rats!Rats!’ and ‘Rapture’ are slices of volcanic rage, while the twisted ‘Beware’ slithers like a rattlesnake before unleashed a devastating bite.

‘Saturday Night Wrist’ can only be described as sonic metal, and at times it soars right out of the solar system. A glorious return to form.