Top 10s: Addendum

No doubt you can’t wait till I announce my favourite two albums of the year, but first I’d like to mention the ones that could have made it onto the top ten round ups, if only I remembered them as releases from this year. First, Breaking Up by The Research. Some quick googling has revealed that the album was released in February (I didn’t have the internet when I was compiling the list) and it really should have made it into the top ten. After their wonderful set at Truck in July, hardly a week has gone by without at least one listen to the album. Honourable mentions to The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian and Amber by Clearlake. Both of them suffered from the same problem being released in the first two months of the year.

On the other hand, the top songs list was slightly skewed, with my self imposed rule that I would only write about music I heard for the first time this year. Mainly, this meant that We are your friends by Justice vs. Simian wasn’t allowed in, since I first became aware of it last summer.

Top 10 Songs of 2006: No. 1

1. Guillemots – Trains to Brazil

How often can you find a song that contains the emotions of joy, sadness, yearning and hope all in the space of 4 minutes? For that alone Trains to Brazil would easily be my song of the year. But there is more to the song that this. The first time I heard it, I thought it was a great 4 minute pop song, with just the right amount of jangly bells to make it suitable for a Christmas song. But then on the second and third and fourth listens, I realised that there was more to the song that just joy and hope. As the brass instruments added their big band sounds, I noticed how the song was actually sad, and about longing and learning to stay optimistic. I have not heard a better song in the last year that manages to capture emotions quite as well, and without feeling cheesy at all. And the final line sums up that optimistic outlook ‘Can’t you live and be thankful you’re here, See it could be you tomorrow or next year’.

Watch the video on Youtube 

Top 10 Songs of 2006: No. 2

2. The Keyboard Choir – The Shiver

Every year, there are some songs that just remind me of a particular moment, and this year it is this song. And to be accurate, it was the soundtrack to several moments from this year. From their wake up call at Truck with their robots in July, to listening to them while on a boat going down the river in the dark in September, and in October sitting on a beach in the bright sunshine listening to a mixture of their song and the crashing waves.

In particular, The Shiver was a great accompaniment for sitting out by the sea, as the song competed with the relaxing sounds of the water. It is especially surprising how well it works with nature, from a band whose original aim was to create every sound through a synthesized, electronic mean. But then there is a natural rise and fall in The Shiver, as each keyboard plays it own part, just like how the waves all crash independently, but together they create an irregular pattern of rise and fall.

Top 10 Songs of 2006: No. 3

3. Foals – Two Steps Twice

Next year could very well be the year of Foals. They have taken music that previously has seemed a bit chin strokey (Maths Rock) and added the fun into it (dance). The sneak preview we got of their songs on this year’s Truck CD is probably their best example of it. Taking a simple line and repeating it the song builds up to a moment halfway through when it breaks and ends up in a battle between the band members to see who could play the most danceable line. Together, it is perfect and unstoppable. It’s just a shame they’ve already stopped playing the song.

Listen on their Myspace