Monkey Chops’ Best Albums of 2006

Being the unconventional sod that I am, here's my (belated) Top 6 Albums of 2006!

 

6. Lily Allen – Alright Still

Normally, pop music with R'n'B tinges would not qualify this high up in my personal favourites, but Lily Allen's Alright Still is the surprise exception to the rule. I simply could not stop playing this album over the summer. Unlike her numbskull, talentless father, Lily exudes a wit that represents the best British music has to offer. The Streets could never write something like "Smile" because they simply don't have the disarming charm Lily has. It is a remarkably confident debut, much like 'Is This It', and I'd have to say it's quite easily one of the best debuts since 2001.

 

5. Bat For Lashes – Fur And Gold

I've cheated a little bit here. Although I heard 'Fur And Gold' before the end of 2006, I was not entirely impressed. Granted, tracks like 'Prescilla', 'Horse and I' and 'Trophy' were beautiful in that Kate Bush/Björk kind of way. But I didn't feel the album flowed well enough to qualify for my attention. Oh Lord, how wrong I was. I had the pleasure of seeing the band play last Tuesday and now the tracks make perfect sense. This is sensual stuff and Natasha Khan is as much a kitten as Ms Bush was back in the day.

 

4. Thom Yorke – The Eraser

Almost inevitably for a die-hard Radiohead fan, this had to make my top 5. Allow me to defend myself for being so predictable. What we have here is not a collection of songs that Radiohead could have done. It is simply not possible for a band to recreate something so isolated, angry and potent unless they are willing to forfeit any creative input in such a process. Now, some might argue that Kid A is living proof that such a thing is possible, but not I; mainly because I know, for example, that we have Jonny Greenwood to thank for the luscious strings on How To Disappear Completely. But I digress. The work on The Eraser is simply incompatible with anything Radiohead have ever done. Thom's lyrics are still so refreshingly vague, despite the angst he clearly feels at the state of the world, but he also has a lot to say. Things that you imagine had he said with the rest of the band backing him, they'd be forced to apologise for him in the liner notes, nice chaps as they are. No, this is not something that, musically-speaking, Radiohead could work together on. It is therefore not the reason I picked it as a highlight of 2006.

So why is it a highlight? Simple: how many other electronica albums can you name featuring a political edge to their tracks, sung in the most beautiful, heartfelt falsetto known to man? Something new has been brought to the table and I am eternally grateful that Thom Yorke was the one to do it. Are you taking notes, Chris Martin?

 

3. The Knife – Silent Shout

This album got to me very late in the game, mainly due to the fact that I'd been distracted with music from years previous (like the amazing 'Rubber Factory' by Black Keys). Luckily, Fate intervened, and I ended up being subjected to the most refreshing electronica album since Autechre's 'Draft 7.30'. Silent Shout is haunting, occasionally terrifying, but undoubtedly satisfying. I know very little about The Knife, other than they're a brother/sister duo from Sweden, but I don't need to know more. There is an impenetrable mystique surrounding the music, which just adds to the depth. It's unashamedly avant-garde to the degree that it might alienate some listeners – but who cares about them? It allows the rest of us to bask in its digitised glory for many years to come.

 

2. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain

Crazy title, crazy-good band. Again, like Silent Shout, I was too distracted by my love for other albums and got to this one a bit late. But I am so glad I got to it eventually. I absolutely love it when bands marry-up digitised production with bog standard guitar-music. I'm pretty much convinced that this is the way forward for rock music, and has been since OK Computer. TV On The Radio reassert my claim without qualification. Thanks, chaps.

 

1. Liars – Drum's Not Dead

My goodness this is a fantastic work of art. By employing the use of an East German broadcast centre, and utilising a different studio for each track, the Liars have essentially paid homage to previous innovators like Can and, heck, even the Beatles. That experimental edge, that innovative spirit, is entirely commendable in and of itself. Yet they don't stop there. It's unusual for a rock/punk band to push rhythm and structure to the forefront of the music, essentially inverting the use of melody as support to the rhythm – but that is exactly what most of the tracks on Drum's Not Dead does. It's an ethic not entirely alien to electronica and for it to work in a drums/bass/guitar/vocals environment is miraculous. Although such an approach could end up a total failure, it is the quality of song-writing which cements the deal. The whole album is captivating. This is hands down the best music I have heard all year.