Top Twenty Albums of 2006: 1-5
- One
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
The bouzoukis and hurdy-gurdys are still here. As are the murder ballads and spooky lullabies. So... your typical Decemberists album, right? Well, not exactly. When the organs take off about halfway through the 12-minute epic "The Island," it's a declaration that Meloy and his crew of rapscallions can have their Lake & Palmer without giving up their Ralph Waldo. It's quite a feat, really, for a band to greatly expand their sound while still holding on to their essence. But these Sultans of Shanty keep raising the bar with each album, each time clearing it with ease. And here's the crazy thing: The Crane Wife is a grand, ambitious, transcendent album, but it leaves you with the feeling that The Decemberists' true masterpiece is still to come.
Featured Track: "The Island: Come and See / The Landlord's Daughter / You'll Not Feel the Drowning"
- Two
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Young and awkward lovers. Blacked out, cracked out addicts. This isn't really my scene, but Craig Finn's a good enough storyteller to make that moot. Well, that and the part where The Hold Steady can flat out rock. While Springsteen's off in Seegerland, he's left his keys in good hands. Raise a glass (or a fist) to the best rock n' roll album of the year.
Featured Track: "Stuck Between Stations"
- Three
Shearwater - Palo Santo
Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff are responsible for two of the most intriguing albums of the past few years. Sheff's visceral prose set the trail in last year's Okkervil River album, but this year it's Meiburg's icy impressionism that's on display. When at full rage, Meiburg is every bit Sheff's equal, but it's the brittle, quiet moments that set Palo Santo apart.
Featured Track: "Hail Mary"
Download "White Waves"
Download "Seventy-four, Seventy-five" - Four
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
The woman responsible for the most exhilarating moments in last year's number nine album is back with an even more compelling set of haunting myths and gothic tales. Set against a dark, windblown backdrop that's more western than country, Neko's reverb-drenched voice has never sounded so luminous. Or fierce. Or smoldering. Yeah, I'm smitten.
Featured Track: "Hold On, Hold On"
- Five
Lambchop - Damaged
"Here's a little story 'bout regret / Doesn't have an ending, it's not finished yet." So sings Kurt Wagner in a broken baritone that would be unsettling if it weren't enveloped by such luxurious accompaniment. You don't so much listen to this album as absorb it. Wagner delivers these enigmatic elegies with such sublime patience, dark wit, and weary humanity that the result is nothing short of riveting.
Featured Track: "Paperback Bible"