TOP TEN RECORDS OF 2006 (Compiled by Votes)
1. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant)
2. Joanna Newsom, Ys (Drag City)
3. T.V. On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain
4. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
5. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
6. The Thermals- The Body, The Blood, The Machine
7. Someone Still Love You Boris Yeltsin, Broom (Polyvinyl)
8. Liars, Drum's Not Dead (Mute)
9. Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
10. Cat Power, The Greatest

TOP FIVE LOCAL RECORDS OF 2006 (Compiled by Votes)
1. Haley Bonar, Lure The Fox (Afternoon)
2. The Plastic Constellations (FrenchKiss)
3. Tapes 'n Tapes, The Loon (XL)
4. Mouthful of Bees (Afternoon)
5. Jeremy Messersmith, The Alcatraz Kid (Princess)

STAFF PICKS:

BEST RECORDS OF 2006

David Brusie, Staff Writer
1. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
2. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
4. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
5. Phoenix, It's Never Been Like That
6. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls In America
7. The Roots, Game Theory
8. Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
9. Cat Power, The Greatest
10. Mouthful of Bees, The End

Kyle Frenette, Staff Writer
1. Someone Still Love You Boris Yeltsin, Broom (Polyvinyl)
2. Joanna Newsom, Ys (Drag City)
3. Liars, Drum's Not Dead (Mute)
4. The Velvet Teen, Cum Laude! (Slowdance)
5. Califone, Roots and Crows (Thrill Jockey)
6. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant)
7. Emily Hanes & The Soft Skeleton, Knives Don't Have Your Back (Last Gang)
8. Akron/Family, Meek Warrior (Young God)
9. Owen, At Home With Owen (Polyvinyl)
10. Rocky Votolato, Makers (Barsuk, Second Nature)

Jon Graef, Staff Writer
1. Joanna Newsom, Ys
2. T.V. On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain
3. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
4. The Hold Steady, Boys And Girls In America
5. Liars, Drum's Not Dead
6. Mastodon, Blood Mountain
7. Rhymefest, Blue Collar
8. The Decembrists, The Crane Wife
9. Annuals, Be He Me
10. Dodo Bird, Beware of the Maniacs
11. Clint Mansell, The Fountain: Music from the Motion Picture
12. Cat Power, The Greatest
13. Serena-Maneesh, Serena-Maneesh
14. Be Your Own Pet, Be Your Own Pet
15. Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam
16. Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
17. Destroyer, Rubies
18. Islands, Return to the Sea
19. Yo La Tengo, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
20. Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Stephanie Soucheray, Contributing Writer
1. Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
2. Tapes 'n Tapes- The Loon
3. TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain
4. Lupe Fiasco- Food & Liquor
5. Plastic Constellations- Crusades
6. Peter Bjorn and John- Writer's Block
7. M. Ward- Post-War
8. Prince- 3121 (TRAGICALLY IGNORED)
9. Phoenix- It's Never Been Like Thant
10. Various Artists- Duluth Does Dylan Revisited

April Wright, Staff Writer
10. The Minus Five- The Minus Five
9. TV On the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain
8. Destroyer- Destroyer's Rubies
7. Tom Waits- Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers and Bastards
6. Joanna Newsom- Ys
5. Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3- Ole! Tarantula
4. The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls In America
3. The Mountain Goats- Get Lonely
2. The Thermals- The Body, The Blood, The Machine
1. The Decemberists- The Crane Wife

Ian Anderson, Editor
1) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
2) The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
3) The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
4) Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song
5) Haley Bonar - Lure the Fox
6) The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes
7) Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Broom
8) Crystal Skulls - Outgoing Behavior
9) Mates of State - Bring It Back
10) My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Honorable Mentions:
Akron/Family
Annuals
Archie Bronson Outfit
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Christians & Lions
Cinemechanica
Danielson
Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds
Miho Hatori
My Chemical Romance
Puffy Ami Yumi - Rock
Robert Pollard
So Many Dynamos - Flashlights
TV On the Radio

BEST LOCAL RECORDS OF 2006

Kyle Frenette, Staff Writer
1. Jeremy Messersmith, The Alcatraz Kid (Princess)
2. Haley Bonar, Lure The Fox (Afternoon)
3. Chris Koza, Patterns (Chris Koza)
4. Cowboy Curtis, Thirty-Five Summers (Cowboy Curtis)
5. The Get Up Johns, Trouble In Mind (Mercy)

April Wright, Staff Writer
5. Haley Bonar- Lure the Fox
4. Dosh- The Lost Take
3. Coach Said Not To- Mini Series
2. A Night In the Box - The Hustle, The Prayer, The Thief
1. One for the Team- Good Boys Don't Make Noise

Ian Anderson, Editor
1)Haley Bonar
2)The Plastic Constellations
3)P.O.S.
4)Superhopper
5)Signal to Trust
Honorable Mentions:
Awesome Snakes
Cave Deaths
Chooglin'
Dosh
Kill the Vultures
Jayber Crow
Jeremy Messersmith
Mark Mallman
STNNNG

RANDON MIX

David Brusie, Staff Writer
Best Reissues/Compilations of 2006

1. R.E.M., And I Feel Fine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years, 1982-1987
2. Various Artists, Soul Sides, Vol. 1
3. The Replacements, Don't You Know Who I Think I Was?
4. Pavement, Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition
5. Tom Waits, Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers, and Bastards

Best Songs of 2006:

1. "Colours," Hot Chip
2. "The Greatest," Cat Power
3. "Party Pit," The Hold Steady
4. "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira
5. "Cheated Hearts," Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken," Camera Obscura
7. "To Go Home," M. Ward
8. "Kick, Push," Lupe Fiasco
9. "Smile," Lily Allen
10. "Conventional Wisdom," Built To Spill

Jon Graef, Staff Writer
Top Five Albums That I Acquired Legitimately But Did Not Technically Pay For:

1. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (promo bin at the retail store where I worked)
2. The Decembrists, The Crane Wife (ditto)
3. Tapes N' Tapes, The Loon (E-music Trial Period where you get 50 downloads for free)
4. Destroyer, Rubies (friend burned it for me)
5. Mastodon, Blood Mountain (iTunes gift certificate – paid for, yes, but it wasn't my money being spent)


Best Songs off of the most disappointing albums:

1. The Flaming Lips, "The W.A.N.D" from At War With The Mystics
2. The Dears, "Ticket To Immortality" from Gang of Losers
3. Sonic Youth, "Incinerate" from Rather Ripped
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Cheated Hearts" from Show Your Bones
5. The Strokes, "You Only Live Once" from First Impressions On Earth
6. OutKast, "Morris Brown" from Idlewild

April Wright, Staff Writer
Sexiest Albums of 2006

5. Tom Waits- Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers and Bastards
4. Flaming Lips- At War With the Mystics
3. R.E.M.- …And I Feel Fine
2. Neil Young- Living With War
1. Thermals- The Body, The Blood, The Machine


Ian Anderson, Editor
Top 5 Records Everyone Liked, But I Thought Were "Okay":

1)Band of Horses
2)M. Ward
3)Grizzly Bear
4)Fujiya & Miyagi: Transparent Things
5)Destroyer

Worst Popular Record of the Year:

1)The Editors - The Back Room

Graphic by Julie Boehmer

Now It's Overhead
Dark Light Daybreak (Saddle Creek)
Grade: B+

By Ian Anderson
Editor

Download: Now It's Overhead - "Walls"

Andy LeMaster is extraordinarily talented, in case you didn't know. Dark Light Daybreak is a beautiful and magical album. Masterfully produced and engineered, the album is sonically seductive and LeMaster's vocal work shows a lot of growth and maturity since the band's last release Fall Back Open.

Lyrically, LeMaster has grown as a writer and has begun to take more liberties with his writing - working more with allegory rather than literal context and painting far more vivid pictures than in the past. His vocal lines and lyrical rhythm function as if they were another instrument. They blend well within the context of each song and carry the melody softly over the already delicate songs. Choruses of LeMasters frequently back up the melody with epic "oos" and "ohs," only adding to the already dreamy feel of the record.

At times, LeMaster's slow swagger begins to sound a bit like Thom Yorke, which isn't really a bad thing, but the comparison exists - namely "Nothing In Our Way," which could seamlessly fit into Radiohead's Ok Computer-era catalog.

But other than that single track, LeMaster's reedy vocals are distinctive beyond reproach. If there is one thing to be said about Now It's Overhead, it is that they are doing something that no one else is. With strangely moving beats backing overwhelmingly eerie droning guitars and somewhat ambient synth and vocal production, they stand out amongst the usual Saddle Creek crowd, separated by their approach to writing asymmetric songs and uncommon melodies.

And to be honest, I don't know what Pitchfork is talking about: this record has nothing to do with melodrama, Conor Oberst or U2 and the Edge. Just because something is dramatic and interesting doesn't make it overly dramatic - zing!

Dark Light Daybreak is a uniquely powerful record rich with vast layers and dark, cavernous corners; it has a greater amount of depth than is easily discernable at first listen. This is a record meant for the long haul and only grows in quality as it ages.

Much of this can be attributed to the band's evolution from a mainly studio project to a live act, which took place during the recording process and while finally getting on their feet touring after the release of Fall Back Open.

"I explored a different direction from the beginning with Dark Light Daybreak," LeMaster said. "We became more of a live band during the touring in support of our last album. Playing live brought out a more aggressive side of our sound."

This aggressive side of LeMaster best manifested itself in "Walls," arguably the best track on the record and a high-energy rocker that hasn't been seen from Now It's Overhead before. With the main theme of "You built the walls that block your way / Hey kid you're in over your head," the song takes a surprisingly antagonistic tone. I really dig it when LeMaster Hulks up and shows off that he's got an attitude under those golden locks and that gentle demeanor; it adds a new dimension to the project that I hope he embraces in the future.

Furthermore, the communal creativity really paid off. Clay Leverett's drumming is well placed and mixes well with the artificial drums LeMaster likes to throw in from time to time. Leverett uses his toms not as just auxiliary percussion, but rather as a main focus to keep the songs driving, but not overbearing. Guitar player Brad Register and bass player Curtis Brown don't stand out in the sense that I stop and think about what they are doing, but that isn't necessarily their job. They provide support for LeMaster's ideas and even play kazoos at one point (see "Night Vision"). Azure Ray's Maria Taylor also makes a few appearances to add that extra something.

"I set out to explore that aggressive sound more on this album by writing and arranging more with the entire band in the room together," LeMaster said. "And this led to different choices lyrically as well. I see this album as having it's own distinct personality. It's more confrontational and bristling both sonically and thematically."

This distinct personality is what makes this record so compelling and, well, so damn good. Inspired by life experience, Dark Light Daybreak hits the mark in the progression of band with much to follow.