Favorite Discovery of 2006

[Davey]

Everybody has a list of their favorite albums of 2006, and there were some good ones for sure, but what was your favorite discovery of the year? That one you'd never heard before, but can't imagine being without anymore. The soundtrack to your year. The one you told your friends about. Even the ones who don't care about music, cause you just had to tell people.

Blush Music is that one for me. Probably got the most listens of anything, and is still spinning as my fingers poke at the keyboard. Maybe 2003, no date that I see readily. But from the opening banjo picking on "Cripplegate (Standing On Glass)" ...

in you alone
there is no harm
in you alone

to the beautiful closer, "Story And Pictures", beginning with the sound of a creaky old dock resisting the tide, until it unfolds into a lush piano and guitar ballad, with an ethereal vocal that brings life to the album title through his poignant lyrics ...

your fire burns for me
red as grace
the blush came easily to your face

this album has it all, the emotion, the passion, the color, the grandeur, and maybe most of all, that down-to-earth Appalachian charm I love so much these days. Like a place out of time, mixing old and new, the merging of loops and incidental found sounds with the brooding tales of love lost, and Biblical salvation. Shimmering and cinematic at times, and always leaves you with a lingering taste, just enough to make you want to hear it again .. and again. A "perfect slice of dark and droney, fire and brimstone, forlorn and forgotten, gorgeously damaged, gypsy psych-folk", as described by the good folks at Aquarius Records, also huge fans of that David Eugene Edwards sound, be it in the earlier 16 Horsepower records, or the latest from Woven Hand.

http://www.aquariusrecords.org//bin/...0blush%20music

Favorite lyric? That's a hard one since there are so many lines strewn about that get stuck in my head, but probably have to say the line about the buffalo from "Aeolian Harp", in the middle of the last verse, almost brings a tear ...

do you see the day far on
brothers it is a line
there is no buffalo outside, rifle child
it is more than hunger
that betrays my heart

[Slosh]

Not really a discovery because I've owned and enjoyed Sixteen Horsepower's Folklore since its release but I finally got around to getting another 16 HP album, Sackcloth 'n' Ashes from 1995. I happen to like it more than Blush Music, probably because it's all songs with none of that spacey weirdass crap in between (ie - filler ).

Been giving post-Max Sepultura a chance lately as well. Got the new one: Dante XXI, plus 2003's Roorback + the covers EP, Revolusongs. How can you not dig a thrash metal band that covers Devo, U2, and Jane's Addiction songs? RAWK!!

[nobody]

For me, it may have to be Eagles of Death Metal. I missed their first album, so this year's Death By Sexy was my introduction...and I got to see 'em live which always helps. Just don't hear too many straight ahead rock bands these days. Good songs, good riffs, guitar-based garage rock. nothing fancy, but a really fun band.

Also, really liked my first exposure to B Fleischman, although I know he has lots more out there I need to hear. Electric President was a similar record that is going to keep getting played around here and the sound of those two combined will remind me of 2006...as will ISAN (not a discovery though)...completing the Morr Music trifecta.

[Davey]

I happen to like it more than Blush Music, probably because it's all songs with none of that spacey weirdass crap in between (ie - filler ).

Ah, one man's filler is another man's living document of a particular time and place. I think Joe Strummer said something like that about the sprawling mess of Sandinista! To me, Blush Music reinvents that first Woven Hand record in ways that I could have never imagined it needed reinventing. I mean, over 14 minutes to reprise "Ain't No Sunshine"? Sure, great cover of a great song on the debut, but what do you do for the other 11 minutes? Hehehe, comes out a classic in my mind. If anything, too short! I know, someday I'm gonna wish for all those wasted minutes, and hours, and days back

Just pulled out Chrome by Catherine Wheel, and gave that a listen after a long absense. Almost one for nobody's other thread, except I never lost sight of it's greatness. Still rocks ya like a hurricane ... when it wants to (and I know, cause it felt like a hurricane outside around here yesterday). Ya know, 'cos underneath the steel and rust and oil and shit, there's chrome, just shining chrome ...

[ForeverAutumn]

My favourite discovery of 2006 has to be Justin Rutledge. You'll also find him on my top 10 list for the year (which I haven't officially finalized yet). Very nice alt-country-folky-singer-songwriter stuff. Anyone who liked my 2005 year-end fave Luke Doucet, will probably find a place in their heart for Rutledge. While not as quirky or eclectic as Doucet, Rutledge has that nice laid back sitting in the back of a smokey bar with your feet up kinda feel.

Also, I'm not sure that this will count as a "new" discovery under Davey's definition..."the one that you'd never heard before" . But figuring out that I really did like the Beatles, was another highlight of 2006 for me.

[JDaniel]

Two fit your criteria for me this year:

Guy Clark - Workbench Songs (his best ever IMHO - and that's saying a lot).

Willie Nile - Streets of New York. A flat out amazing album.


JD

[Hyfi]

My new discoveries for this year were

1- Animusic. This is very clever digital animation and music. I have both DVDs as well as both CDs

2- Rediscovering Robert Plant with Strange Sensation. I absolutely love the Soundstage DVD I recently purchased with all the alterane takes on Led Zep numbers. A real entertaining two lead guitar band.

Hyfi

[Davey]

Willie Nile - Streets of New York. A flat out amazing album.

Was just listening to that one some myself. Couple times. It is a good one. Hasn't risen to the amazing class for me, but I can hear what folks like you and tentoze like so much about it, just doesn't have quite the same affect on me. Least not yet. Definitely gets better with each listen, but just seems so out of time now. Are you just discovering him? And liking him because of, or in spite of the inescapable 70s Dylan influence? Think it might be both for me, since Dylan doesn't really go back there anymore.

Anyway, still holding judgement on this one, but do really like it. Not as much as something like the new Califone which mixes it up better for me in my current state of mind, or that colossal Willie Nile debut, but probably just fond memories playing with my mind on that one. Some good times, around that time, in the late 70s.

[JDaniel]

Damn that was wordy.

Yes, I'm just discovering him. And while I do think it is an amazing album, perhaps it is also because there weren't many "great" albums in 2006. Nothing like '04 or '05.

And one album that was a big disappointment for me was Willard Grant Conspiracy - Let It Roll. It just didn't measure up to the previous releases.

JD

[Dusty Chalk]

Pandora -- just an insane source of new music for the MAA in all of us. Make sure you have plenty of post-it notes before you start.

[Mike]

Lots of new sounds for me in 2006 like…
Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther
Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55
Electric President - Electric President
Not to mention Muse, Guillemots, Shack or Grandaddy’s swansong

But I’ll go for Scott Mathews – Passing Stranger
It’s an album that really got under my skin this year. Sounding a little like Buckley/Drake/Smith, yeah yeah I hear you say, but this guy is a leap ahead of all the other soundalikes, he mixes it up a little bit with some rock and blues influences. I should have included a track on that comp I threw out earlier this year, which nobody commented on, I don’t think, was it really that bad! Anyway for some maybe he was one troubadour too many for 2006, but believe me he’s worth a try, great sound on the CD too. The track Elusive will definitely make my year end comp.

Finally, hardly a discovery but well worth a mention is The Beatles – Love album. It got a bit of flack from what I saw but it’s rekindled my interest in them and really shows what they (EMI or whoever) could do with the original tapes if they put their minds to it. Popular belief is you won’t see anything for years until the catalogue starts to run out of copyright, about 2012, then they will squeeze every last drop they can out of them year by year. The album is a wonderful collage of Beatle hits all skilfully blended into one which is the bit that annoys most people, but the bit I especially liked.

Cheers
Mike

[Dusty Chalk]

OMG, are you serious? You liked Love? I finally heard it in the store -- there is absolutely zero creativity in that -- it just sounds like they're playing two Beatles tapes at once -- woo-hoo!

I guess I fall into the "most people" category on that one.

[Mike]

OMG, are you serious? You liked Love? I finally heard it in the store -- there is absolutely zero creativity in that -- it just sounds like they're playing two Beatles tapes at once -- woo-hoo!

I guess I fall into the "most people" category on that one.

Well I suppose what grabs me is it features some of my favourite tracks, the cleaned up sound and the sequencing. I mean come on this is George Martin (albeit with his son) did you really expect him to play around with the sound too much.

In different hands who knows what they could have come up with, but they played safe and straddled a bit of imagination with acceptability. But I stand by what I said I like it.

Cheers
Mike

[salad 419]

Pandora -- just an insane source of new music for the MAA in all of us. Make sure you have plenty of post-it notes before you start.

WOW, that is AWESOME. That's my favorite 2007 discovery. I've been listening to it since I read this thread a few days ago.

2006 would be the artists:
Addison Groove Project
Melvin Sparks

[Dusty Chalk]

Huzzah -- glad you like it.

[icarus]

There were a lot of great discovories this site being one of them... but my favorite album discovery would be Acroma Orbitals Sadly this album has been virtually impossible for me to find (to buy) But I did download it (illegally)

[-Jar-]

I know it was hard *not* to discover them.. (RETURN TO COOKIE MTN is Spin's #1 album of the year). But, I just got it a couple days ago and I really like it. They build soundscapes that can only be described as alien-soulgaze-ambient. Ohhhh yeaaa..

Me likes, I don't care if this album is last year's CHUTES TOO NARROW.

I like it.



I still haven't bought that damn new Mastodon album....

-jar

[Slosh]

I still haven't bought that damn new Mastodon album....

Well, you need to. I also put off buying it 'cause I thought Leviathan was a bit of a let down after the excellent Remission, but IMO Blood Mountain is their best yet. PM me if you want me to hook you up with a preview.

[kexodusc]

Yeah, Blood Mountain was an improvement over Leviathan I think.

I didn't have great luck with new music in 2006 - I finally discovered the Jazz Section of my local music stores though and have been awakened to a whole new world of great music.

Guess the best "new" artist for me was probably "Hurt".

[Troy]

I liked the OSI and Secret Machines releases. Umphrey's McGee's "Safety in Numbers" had some pretty good moments.

[Whooptee]

There's a bunch of 2006 music that I still want to hear, but of the albums I bought this year I really liked TV on the Radio's album Return to Cookie Mountain. I also thought Brand New's "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" was a nice album.

My runaway favorite of the year was Scott Walker's The Drift. Wow! What an album. It's seriously dark and wonderfully strange.

John

[BarryL]

I liked the OSI and Secret Machines releases. Umphrey's McGee's "Safety in Numbers" had some pretty good moments.

FInally picked up OSI - Free over the holidays and have been spinning it this week. I put off buying it because it had quite mixed reviews.

On first listen, I didn't like very much of it. It has a quirkiness about it, like listening to King's X. But after a few listens, it starts to settle in. I think it's a much better album than the first one, although the first one has a lot of great stuff on it. Without Steve Wilson's influence this time around, it seems more focused on the songs and less on the studio accoutriments. Still great use of samples and synths.

I bought the two-disk version, so tomorrow I'm on to disk 2.

Troy, if you're reading this, I need another Echolyn CD to buy soon. What would you recommend. I have As The World.

[Troy]

Troy, if you're reading this, I need another Echolyn CD to buy soon. What would you recommend. I have As The World.

"Cowboy Poems Free" or "The End is Beautiful." TEIB was one of my favorites of 2006 too.

I liked the first OSI better, tho there are a few tracks on "Free" that are as good as anything on the first one.

I felt that way about all the albums I mentioned. None of them were better than earlier releases.

[BarryL]

"Cowboy Poems Free" or "The End is Beautiful." TEIB was one of my favorites of 2006 too.

I liked the first OSI better, tho there are a few tracks on "Free" that are as good as anything on the first one.

The bonus OSI disk on the first release was a great cut and paste job of the instrumental portions of the songs. It's my favorite part of the first album. But the bonus tracks on the bonus disk on the second OSI album suck. I'm glad they had the foresight to keep them off of the official album.

[Grblgrbl]

Decemberists - The Crane Wife