2006: The Year in Alternative and Indie Rock

Well, yes, a strong, though perhaps not great, year for alternative and indie bands and songwriters. Instead of ten cds I’ve listed six. Below are the cds that most delighted me in 2006.

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#1 Cat Power The Greatest. What a rich, evocative and unique voice. Chan Marshall has produced some breathtaking music over the last decade. She may have the one-of-a-kind voice and talent to transcend the genre of rock/soul/folk and simply become one of our most treasured singers. And The Greatest may just be her most consistent effort. Download: The Greatest

#2 M. Ward Post-War Another one-of-a-kind voice, one that summons the ghostly presence of some deep-voiced sixties singer you can’t quite name. His last three cds have been terrific, but in Post-War he got himself a first-class backing band and even manages to rock out on a few numbers. Download: Poison Cup.

#3 Destroyer Destroyer’s Rubies With a name like Destroyer you expect a heavy metal pummeling. What you get instead is a voice and sensibility that feels like a cross between David Bowie and early seventies Van Morrison. Lyrically Destroyer feels like he’s writing from some bygone hippie commune, but then, unexpectedly, these folksy songs build into the most transcendent musical moments of the year. Download: Your Blood

#4 Califone Roots & Crowns Califone works in the same rootsy, semi-experimental vein of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Yet they never feel derivative. The music is gorgeous and old-fashioned and the lyrics are impressionistic rather than linear. It shouldn’t be nearly as captivating as it is. Roots & Crowns may sound odd at first, but once it starts making sense you can’t stop listening. Download: Spiders House

#5 Pernice Brother Live A Little These are beautiful pop songs underscored by some deceptively bleak lyrics. Over the past decade, with each new release, fans and critics insist that the new Pernice Brother’s music equals the heights of their splendid mid 90’s debut cd Overcome By Happiness. This time it’s true. Download: Grudge Fuck

#6 The Decemberists The Crane Wife This may be a more subdued and folksier album than we expected (after the big pop arrangements of Picturesque). But half of the songs on The Crane Wife grow richer and deeper with repeated listening, and Sons and Daughters is the feel-good anti-war song we’ve been yearning for. Download: Sons and Daughters

Honorable Mentions

Gomez – How We Operate

Margot and The Nuclear So and Sos – The Dust of Retreat

The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America

Two cds from recent years that were rediscovered in 2006 and deserve join the pantheon of great Pop albums.

Augie March – Strange Bird The best band from Australia that you never heard of. One half Beatles. One half Radiohead. A start to finish brilliant pop record.

The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site Usually, smart, poppy, nerd rock (Weezer, Alien Ant Farm etc) wears thin after a few listens, but the Weakerthans are very smart and the songs have real pathos and therefore real staying power.

--John Dalton