Albums of 06 in no particular order:
The Goslings - Grandeur of Hair
I discovered The Goslings with their beautiful self released full length Between the Dead. Between the Dead"had a strange feeling about it, one that gently placated the soft, almost dream pop sensibilities, and also satisfied the heavy, doom metal fan in me. Grandeur of Hair went in a somewhat different, yet similar direction. Unlike the Between the Dead, Grandeur is not as easy a listen. While not a drastic departure, Grandeur further dives below the hiss of analog feedback. Where as Between the Dead seemed more of a lo-fi metal tribute to Sonic Youth at times, Grandeur embraces the inherited qualities of the Goslings and incorporates the aforementioned ambience and buries beneath it haunting melodies and harmonies, guitar crunch, and a decidedly punk rock aesthetic. Where as the first half of the album is the very essence of the Goslings, the latter tracks are a new sound for the band, from a dirge that can rival Sunn's best output, to a fairly quick paced, more rocking tune set to a haunting chant of "No more ribbon, no more kite". The Gosling's use of tape, fuzzed out guitars, and female vocals layered under sheets of noise isnt something to miss, and I hope that their next release is just as good.
WOLFMANGLER - Dwelling in a Dead Raven for the Glory of Crucified Wolves
The doomiest, dirgiest, nastiest, and blackest music to never use traditional instruments. WOLFMANGLER is truely an (de)evolutionary step for those that want black metal to return to its roots. Droning, unforgiving, awesome, heavy, and fucking metal no matter how you spin it.
Harvey Milk - Special Wishes
I dont really know what to say about Harvey Milk. Sadly, they were criminally over looked during their most active period, and actually broke up due to the nature of their output and their inability to catch on with fans of experimental rock. Of course, anyone who enjoys their first two releases wont find this surprising, but what they will be surprised by is how streamlined Harvey Milk is on Special Wishes. While the 10+ minute sonic bombardments of Melvins-esque coupled with Leonard Cohen covers are gone, the feeling is still there. And, dammit, I dont think any other band, especially one as slow and tortured as Harvey Milk, could have such great lyrics. In fact, I think that is the quality I appreciate most about them. Down tuned riffage accompanied by howls of "I got a love, eight miles high. Chrome plated stars on a black leather sky... ...longer than time and higher than sound." Of course, one of the reasons that I loved Harvey Milk in the first place was their ability to shift between genres and still maintain their ability, and Special Wishes is the same. After the punch-in-the-gut sludge of "Ive Got a Love", nestled in the middle of the album is "Once in a While", a throw back to early 90's indie rock, followed by the prog rock influenced "Paul's Hardcore/Instrumental". My favorite track on the disc? Two, actually. One (The End) an almost "wolf in sheeps clothing" that hides an almost classic rock chorus behind chugging riffs, and then Love Swing, an unabashedly full force attack that demands attention and has a fucking amazing solo. The album ends with the faux patriotic half accoustic ballad "Old Glory" and the appropriately titled mother's day tribute. While Special Wishes is a different beast compared to the experimentation of Courtesy and Good will (and definitely a whole other slice of meat than the blues rock of The Pleaser) Special Wishes wont disappoint you, whether youre a Harvey Milk fan, or whether you just wanna hear something good.
Boris - Vein
Okay. So, Melvins worship on Absolutego. Psyched out metal on Amplifier Worship, Heavy Rocks, and Akuma no Uta. Frippian tendancies of Flood, and Maggot Brain on Feedbacker. Pink, the best album of 2005, and probably their most original piece of work, and now Vein... a grindcore album? Im not exactly sure how to explain it, and I dont think I can offer a valid comparision (most people seem to cite GAI, but really. How?) Fast, ear piercing, and a completely different direction for Boris, and is also the album that seemed to divide fans.
Boris with Michio Kurihara - Rainbow
Surprise number three. I left Pink off this list mainly for the sake of redundancy (the superior localized version was released this year). However, that didnt stop them from releasing the much anticipated Rainbow, a collaborative effort with part time prog rocker Michio Kurihara, noteable as the guitarist for Ghost, White Heaven, Stars, and at one point in time Damon and Naomi. Unlike Altar, Rainbow DOES seem like a collaborative effort. Where as Altar featured two bands that often sound alike doing so on the same record, Rainbow was a definite step in a new direction (similar to both Pink and Vein). As a matter of fact, I couldnt see Boris making this record WITHOUT Kurihara's work. I also appreciate Wata finally getting in on the vocals (second track FTW). The Boris sound is largely absent from this record. No walls of sound, very little doomery, less epic feel (save for the first track). The album is definitely a more textured and more deliberate take. Definitely the rub off of sharing the studio with Kurihara. Boris nuts should get it, but stay away if you think their last good record was Heavy Rocks. You probably wont enjoy this record.
Liars - The Drums not Dead
The Liars made a big splash (in, what? Indie terms?) with their "dance punkwhuteverthatmeans" debut. And they promptly surprised me and the masses with increasingly difficult albums, culminating with the vivid and percussion heavy The Drums not Dead.
Honorable Mentions: Boris - Pink, Sunn and Boris - Altar, AEthenor - Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light, Nadja - Trembled,
Top albums that I bought this year, but wernt released this year:
Acid Mothers Temple - Univers Zen ou de Zéro à Zéro, Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (probably third time I bought this'un), Corrupted - El Dios Queja, Les Rallizes DeNudes - 77 Live, Black Mayonnaise - TTSSATTSR, godheadSILO - Scientific Supercake
Heres to 2007