VIRB

being the pompous, arrogant, elitist indie kid I am, I decided I should make a list of my top 10 favorite albums released this year, that way you can know what music to avoid because it's mine. get your own.

*Note: this list still in progress. i don't feel like typing it all in one day

1. Street To Nowhere - Charmingly Awkward

Genre: Folk/Punk
What can I really say about this cd other than it is seriously addictive. I've been trying to break free from the musically orgasmic grip it has on my ears for weeks now and I'm starting to see that it is useless. Talent is talent and dave smallen certainly has a lot of it. We should send Oakland a thank you note.

Key Tracks: miss rolling eyes, dead cliche, you can't go to sleep, georgia can you hear me?

2. Two Gallants - What the Toll Tells

Genre: Folk
OK. Let's be completely honest - Two Gallants is my favorite band so I had this compelling urge to put all of their cds, radio sessions, unreleased tracks and demos on this list; however, instead I resisted the temptation and figured I'd cover their newest CD and some of their sweeter unreleased tracks in the blurb. First off, I must say that What the Toll Tells is one of the best, if not the VERY BEST sophomore album I have ever heard. Most bands fall incredibly short of fan expectations with their second albums, but Two Gallants is not one of those bands. Every song on this album is epic, from start to finish. One of my favorites is Long Summer Day, a song which spiked controversy with it's chorus which included "the summer day makes a white man lazy" and the n word. Apart from the album, Dappens, Don't Want No Woman Who Stays Out All Night Long, Reflection of the Marionette and Mother's Blues have blown my mind. Not to mention Way Out in West Texas, which is a sister song of What the Toll Tells' The Prodigal Son. All in all, Two Gallants is the best band alive and anyone who says otherwise just doesnt know.

Key Tracks: Las Cruces Jail, Long Summer Day, The Prodigal Son, Steady Rollin, Age of Assassins

3. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards

Genre: Blues/Indie
To describe the unique sound Cold War Kids has managed to develop is to describe the face of God - it cannot be done. As CWK's first full-length CD, Robbers and Cowards brillantly meshes blues themes and sounds with modern intensity and soul. The songs on this album have themes ranging from antiquated deep-southern racial tensions to alcoholism in family life to the hipocrisy, or perhaps the lethargy, behind charitable acts. You have not lived until you've heard this cd.

Key Tracks: We Used To Vaction, Hospital Beds, Saint John, Sermons v. The Gospel, Tell Me In The Morning, Pass The Hat

4. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

Genre: Indie
So, technically this cd was released Sept. of '05 but I feel like that's late enough to count it as an '06 album. I've had all year to let the madness that consumes this album suck me in and I now find myself shamelessly fettered to it. Wolf Parade is one of those bands that writes about everything and nothing at all, leaving the listener in a state of complete confusion and self-awareness. I have no idea what any of their songs are about, but I feel infinitely more potent when I listen to them. If life were to reflect any cd, I would hope it would be this one. All Hail Canadia.

Key Tracks: Grounds for Divorce, Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, I'll Believe in Anything, Modern World, Dinner Bells

5. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Genre: Indie
If I had to describe sunset rubdown I would say that they are like some sort of acid-tripping winged reptilian creature who was born in Beethoven's piano and raised in a mailbox. If you're into cacophony and contraband, this album is for you. I really don't know what else to say. Spencer Krug should be crowned king of either relative obscurity or incohesiveness. In any event, I think he is brillant like a light bulb and this album really shows it.

Key Tracks: They Took A Vote And Said No, Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings, Swimming, Snakes Got A Leg III

6. The Matches - Decomposer

Genre: Pop Punk
Honestly, I've been debating whether or not to include this album on my list. In comparison to their sound on E.Von Dahl Killed the Locals, my first opinion of this album was that the matches had lost part of their original distinctiveness only to trade it in for something that's more publicly palatable; however, after listening to its songs a few hundred more times, I began to see that rather than losing their individuality, they had taken it in a direction I was not expecting. I wouldn't go as far as to say that this is the best or one of the best sophomore albums, but I will say that this cd definitely shouldn't simply be written off. Shawn Harris has stretched his vocal range and varied his lyrics quite considerably. More emotionally charged and more upbeat than E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, the matches have taken quite a few chances with the sound of this album, and that's something you have to respect.

Key Tracks: Salty Eyes, Drive, Clumsy Heart, Sunburn v. The Rhinovirus, You (Don't) Know Me

7. Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures

Genre: Indie
This is another late 2005 album that I'm stretching into a 2006 album because, with a few exceptions, 2006 was a fairly slow year for brillant music. Being a sucker for the bay area sound, rogue wave is one of my special addictions, so this album's release was quite a treat. Although I'm partial to the themes rogue wave presents in "Out of the Shadow," their sound on "Descended Like Vultures" stays true to its perpetual beauty. While "out of the shadow" has the feel of a light and airy spring breeze, "descended like vultures" is more predetermined and constructively floats in and out of love's continuity. If you're feeling a bit lost, you might find some empathy in zach rogue's latest laments.

Key Tracks: California, Bird on a Wire, Catform

8. As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions

9. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager

10. The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun