!earshot charts - top 200 for 2006

1.
Pink Mountaintops
Axis of Evol
(Jagjaguwar/Scratch)
You might think that with several bands on the go Pink Mountaintops leader Steve McBean might be spreading himself a little thin. Is it not enough that is other band, Black Mountain, is at least as prominent, if not more so, than the Pink Mountaintops. But Axis of Evol, the second Pink Mountaintops release shows he has plenty to go around. A strange brew of sex, drugs and religion, Axis of Evol has cemented McBean as a major force on the Vancouver scene, the centre of a loose collective of musicians moving in an out of the various projects he has on the go. It is still an open question for McBeab whether the next release will be a  Pink Mountaintops or a Black Mountain record, but either way it will be worth waitng for.
Magnus Thyvold

2.
Neko Case
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
(Mint)
Neko Case revered for her haunting vocals and aching twang gave the world her fourth studio release Fox Confessor Brings The Flood release in March 2006. It’s not surprising this album plants itself in the number two year-end chart spot, as Case has deservedly solidified musical presence through the unassuming charm of her past albums. She even got a name drop in the Buck 65 album Secret House Against The World. This latest album marks a perfect development from The Tigers Have Spoken, the lyrics slightly more uncanny and her voice completely unrestrained. Case opens up completely through this album uninhibited by song-writing conventions and unleashing her free-form charm. She makes it work. Case has balanced her unorthodox content and composition with her unstoppable vocals. Resulting in a strange, yet unified, album that clearly that we just can’t stop listening to.
Bridget Arsenault

3.
Islands
Return to the Sea
(Equator)
From the bitter ashes left over from the split of lo-fi indie rockers The Unicorns, Nick “Diamonds” Thorburn (guitarist/vocalist) and Jamie “Tambeur” Thompson (drummer) created Islands.  No one really knew what to expect from this new project, but Diamonds suggested prior to its release that the album would take influence from Paul Simon’s Graceland.   Like Simon’s chef d'oeuvre, Return to the Sea is a beautifully crafted pop album, but is obviously informed by more than simply Simon’s Americanized Afropop.  A quirky pop album at its core, Return to the Sea’sinfluences are sprawling and range from country to calypso.  But the record is surprisingly coherent; given that all those disparate elements are tempered by the pop texture woven by the classical strings and synthesized melodies.  Even Diamonds’ vocals show mature moderation, abating the Coyne-esque vagaries that featured heavily in his past work.  Now, without Tambeur and with a constantly fluctuating lineup, Diamonds has chanted, “Islands are forever!” but in what form and in what direction, we’ll have to wait to see.
Andrew Lee

4.
Chad VanGaalen
Skelliconnection
(Flemish Eye/Sub Pop)
Skelliconnection sees Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen capitalizing on the strength of his previous album, Infiniheart, to move to the forefront of the Canadian music scene. More than anything, Skelliconnection is built on more of the solid songwriting VanGaalen has become known for. Part of his secret may be his prob. The tracks on the album were drawn from hundreds written since Infiniheart and in many cases work-shopped while busking on the streets of his hometown. Across the span of the album, VanGaalen mixes is up between rockers, psyche-electronica and more folk-flavoured tunes. It works both for and against him as sometimes the scattershot song ordering doesn’t allow the varying styles to flow so well together.Less known about VanGaalen is that he is a talented illustrator and among other things has done album covers for the fellow artists Shout Out Out Out Out! and the Cape May and has created videos for others. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Chad VanGaalen in the future.
Magnus Thyvold

5
Cat Power
The Greatest
(Matador)
Ahh, the aching beauty of Cat Power. This album The Greatest breaks my heart, while simultaneously captivating it. The Greatest runs in a similar vein, although arguably slightly more upbeat, compared to past work we’ve seen by Chan Marshall. Her brooding, tumultuous yet incredibly sultry and utterly captivating songs come at you without mercy. According to Marshall, the album was recorded at her Memphis’ Ardent Studio in a mere five days. Although the album’s recording may have been brief, her music is built around layers emotion. It’s the intimate connection we get between Marshall and ourselves that drives the album. These twelve songs are captivating, but her delivery comes off effortless. As expected she comes at us with her raw stripped down glory that has been charming our ears for a lifetime. It comes down to the challenge of being masterful, gripping the listener, yet honest and unassuming, to this Cat Power unquestionable succeeds.
Bridget Arsenault

6.
The Bicycles
The Good the Bad and the Cuddly
(Fuzzy Logic)
The Good the Bad and the Cuddly is widely regarded as a tooth achy sweet, bubblegum pop-rock album akin to the innocence of bands like The Monkees.  However, The Bicycles’ hand-made CD sleeves and raucous live shows with matching T-shirts help project a do-it-yourself aura that sets the band and their album apart from their 60s pop rock forebears.  The songs on The Good the Bad and the Cuddly are cutesy chamber pop tunes about puppy love and homework.  But the references to sunshiny crushes and inexplicably placed ‘yeah!’s are also sprinkled with a light coating of hipster irony, tainting even the most sincere trumpets and tambourines on the album.  With intricate arrangements, vocal harmonies and guest appearances from a host of Toronto indie pop acts, The Bicycles manage to create a delectable modern spin on classic bubblegum pop instead of an anemic clone of Nilsson’s Pandemonium Shadow Show.  
Andrew Lee

7.
The Hidden Cameras
Awoo
(Evil Evil)
Awoo didn’t land with quite the excitement or wonder that greeted the Hidden Cameras first releases. Never-the-less, the Hidden Cameras is still a band that demands attention. Head Camera Joel Gibb writes some of the most seductive and sublime pop songs to be found anywhere. Pop gems such as lead off track “Death of a Tune” or “Lollipop” showed that the magic is still there. This album is both less explicitly gay and sexual the previous efforts yet surrenders little of the orchestral lushness and richness that has been so characteristic of the band and that has been so enticing to listeners. Still some reviewers registered disappointment, expecting more of an artistic advance than a consolidation. With perhaps a wee stumble on this one, their next will determine whether the Hidden Cameras can continue to excite or are perhaps played out. We’re betting on the former.
Magnus Thyvold

8.
Tokyo Police Club
A Lesson in Crime
(Paper Bag)
Fresh-faced and barely in their 20s, Tokyo Police Club’s breakneck rise in notoriety exemplifies the rapid force with which the recently dubbed Web2.0 can propel a band into the center of attention, fuelled by MySpace and blogger buzz.  However, these four Newmarketers’ ascent over the past year has also been enkindled by continuous road time, a growing reputation for a punchy energetic live show, and an almost ubiquitously lauded debut EP.  A Lesson in Crime is a smack-on-the-knee, get-up-and-rollick in the club kind of disc.  But in addition to their dancefloor-ready bass lines that get most of the attention, TPC’s catchy pop hooks and varied song arrangements clinch a listener’s attention and show a lot of promise for their future.  Whimsically absurd lyrics about robot masters and brain-embedded microchips abound in A Lesson in Crime, evoking vague memories of Battlestar Galactica plotlines.  The cheeky seven-song EP shows a youthful irreverence that will hopefully carry these high school pals to continued success when their full-length album is released next year.
Andrew Lee

9.
Yo La Tengo
I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
(Matador)
After more than 20 years and who knows how many records Yo La Tengo still matter. Anticipation greets each new album and dedicated fans turn out for every tour. Part of what keeps fans coming back is the diversity and audacity of their work. They range widely, easily and expertly across disparate styles, even within a single album. I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass delivers again with wide ranging collection that draw upon their many influences while always sounding just like Yo La Tengo. Their live shows are energetic and exciting. Not many bands can, after so long together, can keep turning out the vital, interesting studio work and a touring show that is not to be missed. At 15 tracks and 77 minutes it is not all gold but a few silver-standard tracks do not detract from an overall excellent package.
Magnus Thyvold

10.
Destroyer
Destroyer’s Rubies
(Merge)
For the past decade, Destroyer’s albums have winded in and out of electric folk and more classic rock.  However, Dan Bejar’s sometimes poetic, sometimes nonsensical lyrics are one element that strings these works together.  You can visit the Destroyer lyric dispenser (http://i-rock.wackiness.org/bejaromatic/) and the words will likely be as meaningful there, out of context, as they would in proper progression.  Writing for Destroyer, The New Pornographers, or even now for Swan Lake, Bejar has always made a conscious effort to pen inscrutable lyrics giving his listeners room to move when interpreting his songs.  Destroyer’s Rubies does not stray from this arcing principle.  It maintains Bejar’s self-referentiality and his use of 20th century pop rock vernacular while painting beautifully oblique stories with his fey Bowie-like delivery.  Destroyer’s Rubies sonically returns to classic rock but a noticeable difference for longtime Destroyer fans is the precision and focus in its production.  From the gorgeously grand opener to the bluesy rock closer, Destroyer’s Rubies builds impressive and impermeable imagery we’ve come to expect from Bejar.