a slight return

Cripes - 2006 is nearly up and I've barely participated in this blog that whole time. Maybe next year when things may become slightly calmer or maybe never again. It's not that I don't have the time, it's simply that I don't have the energy: my brain has plummeted into a thing reserved solely for work and worry.

In any case, listed below are the tracklists from the end of year mixes I've compiled to be played at parties and so on. Lots of great tracks this year once again but it never extends to the whole release. A most explicit example - Britta Persson's Winter Tour was easily my favourite song in 2006 but the rest of her album was just the same old tired indie songstress dirging.

Soap Ballads - Slightly Weird Stuff 2006
01. Jan Jelinek - The Ballad of Soap (04:57) "loops and distinctive synths tweeked to perfection"
02. Bird Show - Beautiful Spring (03:58) "distortion survives as does a melody"
03. A Slow Rip - Devil In The Well (08:31) "sorry for the inclusion of tracks from my band but i think we're great"
04. Belbury Poly - Owls And Flowers (04:06) "retro 70s electronics but i still have no idea what hauntology actually is"
05. Brightblack Morning Light - Everybody Daylight (04:07) "retro 70s laid back stoner groove made by people who live in a teepee - what more could you want?"
06. Benoit Pioulard - La Guerre de Sept Ans (02:57) "electronicaly enhanced guitar - #1"
07. Keith Fullerton Whitman - Lisbon (edit) (05:00) "electronically enhanced guitar - #2 - most wonderfull - note the similar arrangements"
08. Mordant Music - Plant Room (04:19) "more 70s electro but slightly less twee"
09. Pierre Bastien - Eye (04:41) "the meccano maestro returns"
10. Matmos - Solo Buttons For Joe Meek (03:32) "the most rollicking track they've done"
11. Fujiya & Miyagi - Ankle Injuries (04:58) "kraut + post rock again but it has it's charms"
12. Tunng - Mother's Daughter (03:17) "weird folk, apparently"
13. Clogs - Canon (04:14) "more understated charm"
14. A Slow Rip - The Court On The Left (05:16) "rob weaves his magic upon us again"
15. Tom Ze - Cara-Cuá (04:56) "possibly the most amazing excentric in music for the past 30 years"

Softer Slinky - Mainly Songs 2006
01. Britta Persson - Winter Tour (02:59) "the most affecting song of 2006"
02. Cat Power - Living Proof (03:00) "her southern soul backing group do great things for her"
03. Hanne Hukkelberg - Cheaters Armoury (03:30) "dissapointing album but this hits the tune"
04. Casey Dienel - Doctor Monroe (04:26) "humous cabaret at it's best"
05. Euros Childs - Costa Rita (04:06) "lo-fi suits him far better than psych overdrive"
06. Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass is Always Greener (04:37) "piano driven weird pop"
07. Juana Molina - Rio Seco (03:27) "sticks to her known pattern but still enticing"
08. Mi and L'Au - They Marry (03:31) "cute and twee never sounded better"
09. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche (03:11) "excessive arranging can't hold it back"
10. Belle And Sebastian - Song For Sunshine (04:06) "another 70's pastiche but still lovely"
11. Caetano Veloso - Deusa Urbana (03:41) "sensitive tropicalia king returns"
12. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Beauty Mark (02:59) "hits the spot - i do cry most times i hear this"
13. EST - Dolores in a Shoestand (08:39) "gorgeous chords and playful to boot if over-long"
14. Scritti Politti - Cooking (02:40) "as marvellous as anything he's ever written"
15. Herbert - Those Feelings (04:09) "marries electronics and soul perfectly"
16. Thom Yorke - Black Swan (04:40) "marries electronics and depression perfectly"
17. Tunng - Woodcat (03:48) "surprising twists in another offbeat classic"
18. Aimee Mann - Calling On Mary (03:58) "at the end of her xmas album lies this excellent typical aimee tune"

Solid Gold - Indie Rock 2006
01. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Jamais (04:28) "yes, it drags out serge's corpse but turn the fucker up and it sounds magnificent"
02. Eagles of Death Metal - I Like To Move In The Night (03:56) "the best glam rock of 06"
03. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (02:51) "people who don't like this track don't actually like rock music"
04. Buffalo Daughter - Beautiful You (04:17) "all motoric to start with then reveals splinters of sound"
05. Emile Simon - Fleur de Saison (04:01) "takes a while to work up a sweat but does it well"
06. Joan As Police Woman - Eternal Flame (03:17) "marvellous cabaret style"
07. Karine Polwart - Where The Smoke Blows (03:09) "nothing extraordinairy but still lovely"
08. The M's - Trucker Speed (04:01) "1st song i heard this year"
09. Radio Birdman - Locked Up (03:43) "still writing like it's 1975 but still packs a punch"
10. Cat Power - Love & Communication (04:29) "more sultry stuff"
11. Regina Spektor - That Time (02:35) "confessional time with Breeders-like attitude"
12. Kasabian - Empire (03:38) "overblown UK rock at it's best"
13. Stereolab - Vodiak (03:13) "how they still manage to create great tracks is beyond my understanding"
14. Tom Ze - O Amor e Um Rock (04:04) "more weirdness but with singing this time"
15. Scritti Politti - Robin Hood (03:07) "flag of blood lipstick indeed"
16. Tunng - People Folk (04:04) "yes, they do"
17. TV On The Radio - Province (04:25) "still not as great as i want them to be but it'll do"
18. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (03:00) "more punk next time please"
19. Eagles of Death Metal - Solid Gold (04:16) "hmmm"