Six Keepers from 2006

In a digital age, it's hard to wear down the massive amounts of music ingest in a year to a few albums.

Luckily, this was no ordinary year.

A surprising number of women found their way into my favorites. My guess: Their chords struck better with my state of mind.

The Top Six:

Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins ~ Rabbit Fur Coat: One borrow from my friend Melissa, and this was an instant favorite. Lewis' sweet voice and country-tinged rock reached points where few contemporary musicians tread. Plus, she covered the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care" with an all-star indie rock cast. Seeing her live in October brought out new dimensions to these tunes as they made me ache for a follow-up.

Neko Case ~ Fox Confessor Brings the Flood: Bought during the worst week of my 2006, Case's voice vividly sketched her jagged and gentle songs. If you only know her through the New Pornographers, you don't really know her. And make no mistake, you need to know her. Few ballads punched as hard as "Star Witness" and "The Needle Has Landed."

Calexico ~ Garden Ruin: Finally, the Indie Rock Band with Horns emerges with songwriting to match its musical chops. From "Cruel" to "All Systems Red" this one is relentless. With the Ennio Morricone influence scaled back, the music has more room to breath and fosters a richer experience for the listener. Live they mixed up the songs a little more and their strength shone through the smoky air of the Beachland Ballroom. But this is a solid runner-up.

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan ~ Ballad of the Broken Seas: A delicate-voiced former Belle & Sebastian member paired with a grunge father figure weaned on a tailpipe - who knew their duets would mesh so well? Campbell humanizes the former Screaming Trees frontman, and Lanegan toughens her wispy notes. This was the biggest surprise of the year by 10 lengths.

TV on the Radio ~ Return to Cookie Mountain: Despite all the praise heaped upon them, this is a challenging record that still engages after dozens of listens. Not a day passes when I don't break out "Province," "Playhouses," Wolf Like Me" or "Tonight." In an age when so much music recycles 70s and 80s cliches in 21st century packaging, it's wonderful to see musicians who remember there are still boundaries to be pushed, and genres to be crossed at new bridges.

The Decemberists ~ The Crane Wife: My favorite lit nerds take a major step forward on this ambitious major label debut. Complex, thoughtful rock should always be this good. Several 10-plus minute song cycles might spurn the casual listener, but you'll rarely find cycles so engaging for their full length.

A few stellar long-players that deserve a separate category:


Best Posthumous Album : Johnny Cash ~ American V: A Hundred Highways:
As if I could choose anything else. I received news of a friend's death as I spun it for the first time; the phone rang on "God's Gonna Cut You Down." I had to take a break from this powerful meditation on death after that. It might have made the Top Six if Rick Rubin had not let it sit for nearly three years after Cash's death. Personal File, a set of acoustic recordings Cash put down in the 1970s, is interesting though not essential. American V is.

Best Boxed Set: Tom Waits ~Orphans: I'll spare you more praise on this ultimate collection of unreleased gems (there I go again).

Best Leaked Album due for Release in 2007: The Shins ~ Wincing the Night Away:
With "Phantom Limb" already in heavy rotation on our local indie station, this one stands to become the first big record of 2007. More in line with their debut, Oh, Invested World - the album made huge by Garden State and Zack Braff - than the fine Chutes Too Narrow, you'll be hearing much more about this slab of alt-pop in the new year.