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Emeritus
Reviews 211
Approval 98%
Soundoffs 34
News Articles 60
Band Edits + Tags 42
Album Edits 73
Album Ratings 451
Objectivity 68%
Last Active 07-26-22 1:15 am
Joined 05-30-05
Review Comments 2,807
| 2006 With Deions
Top 10 of 2006. | | 1 |  | This Will Destroy You
Young Mountain
Young Mountain is proof that post-rock isn?t quite dead yet. The band does not invent any sort of new sound or make any true advancements in the genre, they simply have the most refined and perfected post-rock sound of anyone around. Each member of the band plays with a confidence that very few bands can boast. They contrast beautiful quiet melodies and a huge wall of sound akin to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but they are a much more cohesive unit. | | 2 |  | Muse
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations shows a musical evolution in Muse?s sound. Gone are huge piano epics (Apocalypse Please, Space Dementia) and in are Spanish flamenco guitar, U2 synth melodies, and dance-rock singles. Some see this as a downgrade, but it shows the many possibilities Muse have to go with their sound. Songs like Knights of Cydonia and City of Delusion sound truly epic, and certainly more epic than anything Muse has done up to this point. It truly is amazing what Muse creates with only three members. In their 4 album history, Muse has managed to create dance-rock singles to piano-based powerhouses to huge, chunky guitar-driven rock songs. | | 3 |  | Tor Lundvall
Empty City
Tor Lundvall, primarily a painter, releases Empty City as the most accessible yet still deep and enticing electronica albums of the year. The songs are at a typical pop song length, never stretching over 4 and a half minutes. However, the album flows so well that it doesn?t feel that way. The album envisions just as the title describes, an empty city. When thinking about walking through an empty city at night, Empty City sounds nearly perfect. It is quiet and brooding, yet still intricate enough to hold interest for countless listens. | | 4 |  | BoySetsFire
The Misery Index: Notes from the plague years
BoySetsFire recently broke up, but this album shows no signs of a band ready to end. It is fiery and emotional, with lead singer Nathan Gray writing political lyrics he truly believes; it is conveyed through his voice. Although their previous albums were more punk/post-hardcore oriented, this album?s best songs lie in midtempo hard rock. Requiem and Empire both sound like the best singles the radio could possibly muster, with excellent guitar harmonies and interplay with great, climatic choruses. They still stick to their roots with songs like Final Communiqu? and So Long?and Thanks for the Crutches. | | 5 |  | dredg
Live at the Fillmore
Live albums are usually worthless, either because the recording quality sucks or the band just sucks live. Dredg is a rare exception to that rule. Live at the Fillmore is a great live performance from dredg; they sound almost as tight as they do in the studio but possess even more energy. They composed a great setlist that takes the best of all three of their albums and entertains all of their fans well. Masterfully, the setlist rises and falls in intensity to make a fantastic closing with Yatahaze. Live at the Fillmore, although not showing the full potential of the dredg atmosphere, is a great start for people looking to get into the band because it shows the best of each album, and gives direction as to where to look next. | | 6 |  | Johnny Cash
American V: A Hundred Highways
The final release from Cash, A Hundred Highways is frighteningly morbid, with Cash seeming okay with the fact that his death was approaching fast. Just as the rest of his American albums, Cash does remakes of a number of his originals as well as many covers. Here, he covers the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra, but the standout track is a traditional folk song entitled God?s Gonna Cut You Down. Cash is found in a new setting, a much more industrial setting. He still goes back to where he?s comfortable, simple acoustic country songs and he does it better than anyone, even near death. | | 7 |  | Rise Against
The Sufferer and the Witness
This may be the most consistent album of the year, mainly because Rise Against has one main sound that they rely on, and luckily for them that sound is fantastic. Fast, furious punk songs with excellent guitar work make this album immediately listenable and accessible. Their political messages are just as strong as ever on this album, however, Tim McIlrath writes a few more relationship-based songs as well. There are no bad songs on the album and a few great standouts. While not the best from Rise Against, The Sufferer and the Witness is a fantastic punk rock album. | | 8 |  | Pete Yorn
Nightcrawler
It must be nice being a solo artist. Pete Yorn has no obligations to include anyone, yet he still has no limits as to how many people or instruments he can include. This allows for grand pop songs with tons of melody and also allows for stripped down beauty. Yorn has a perfect voice for his settings, melancholic and slurred, while he turns out some fantastic catchy lyrics. Variety makes this album all the better, from the electronic Georgia Boy to the epic grower Ice Age. He has the potential to break out onto the scene at any moment. | | 9 |  | Damien Rice
9
After the release of O, fans waited eagerly to hear what Damien Rice would release next. Another O? A lackluster singer/songwriter album? Well, what we get from 9 is neither of those. It is much more raw and profane, shown in the lyrics about sex and the much angrier style he conveys them. The lyrics from Rootless Tree scream ?**** you, **** you, **** you and all you didn?t do.? As far as music goes, Rice explores a sloppy electric grungy sound, some uptempo folk, and still finds time to return to what make O so great. 9 isn?t cohesive or as consistent as O, but still has some of his best songs and leaves plenty of paths for Rice to follow. | | 10 |  | The Decemberists
The Crane Wife
Quirky indie and cleverly told stories find their way into The Crane Wife, as the Decemberists only make their sound even more epic and bigger. Including the huge The Island which divides itself into three distinct movements, the sounds on this album vary heavily. There?s the uplifting and happy Yankee Bayonet mixed with the morbid and creepy Shankill Butchers. Memorable melodies and catchy lyrics infect the listeners mind, but the length of the album makes things get long and drawn out before the album?s end. | |
nick962
12.26.06 | Good list. It's nice to see one of these without the top two albums as 10,000 Days and Stadium Arcadium - even if they are 'the best'. 'Empty City' intrigues me, I may have to check it out. | FlawedPerfection
12.26.06 | Deions? Who did that? | AnyColour74
12.26.06 | Nice list. I need 1 and 5 | FlawedPerfection
12.27.06 | Yeah uh
Most Surprising: Tor Lundvall- Empty City
Most Disappointing: Sparta- Threes
Worst Album: Daughtry- Daughtry
Most Anticipated Albums for 2007- Radiohead, Thrice Elements 4xLP, dredg | Wizard
01.01.07 | Wheres the Metal? |
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