Back from the dead(?) Tuesday Rotation Thread

[Slosh]

It's been a while so here goes . . .

Jim Clark's 2006 Year End Comp
This is one of the very best comps I've ever received from this little community, and that's saying something. This is made all the more amazing being the song selection is obviously limited to a single year. I don't know whether my tastes have changed over the last several years or Jim's has, probably a bit of both I suppose, but I find we're on the same page for almost the entire ride. I really only don't care for the last three tracks, and even that Somnabulants track I can listen to without hitting the track skip button, but The Grates are grating and Sparks is just awful. However the remaining seventeen tracks are all good-to-excellent. Many of the bands represented here I have older albums by (Woven Hand, Califone, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Appleseed Cast, Silversun Pickups) but didn't get around to buying their latest. I definitely need to pick up Peregrine at the very least. Funny, I had that album in hand on more than one occasion and for whatever reason always ended up walking out of the store with something else. I'm also gonna be grabbing Dark Light Daybreak and Violence Is Golden while I'm at it. Thanks again, Jim.

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (advance)
Yet another solid effort by Mr. Bird. This is his most rock-centric album yet but still has all the usual elements. You know, interesting subject matter, clever word play, and of course, violin and whistling. I'll be picking this up on release day for sure.

Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City (advance)
A big disappointment if you ask me. The energetic, punky songs that made Silent Alarm such a fun listen are entirely absent here. Replaced by mid-tempo songs that are, well, bland and me-too-ish. A shame since Bloc Party has one the the best rhythm sections to come along in a while and they never get the chance to shine with this material. I'll give it a couple of more chances to see if it's a grower but my gut's telling me to pass on this one.

Rob Crow - Living Well
This could be another Pinback album. That's not criticism from my point of view. Pinback is kind of a one trick pony but I really like their one trick a lot, and if you do as well you'll be happy with this album.

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Stupid title but a pretty decent album all the same. I can't say it's a surprise that this doesn't sound much like their other albums because those two don't sound a whole lot alike themselves. I think this will be a grower but I've been spinning that Andrew Bird album so much I haven't given this its due just yet.

The rest:
Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Sixteen Horsepower - Sackcloth 'n' Ashes and Folklore
Espers - s/t
Doves - Some Cities
Radiohead - Kid A
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes

Plus a bunch of amateur taper shows (Iron & Wine, Calexico, Spoon, Built To Spill, etc.)