Treble Album of the Week Mix 2006, Vol. 4
As we crossed over into the second half of the year, so begins our fourth installment of this year’s Album of the Week mix series. As always, we made a conscientious effort to pick the very best songs off the very best albums, which is tough, seeing as all of the albums from which these songs came are pretty amazing. So let’s just say this: these are merely some of the many spectacular songs we were lucky enough to hear in the past few months. Really, it can be quite daunting to pick a favorite. And as we rocket toward the end of 2006, the greatness of the albums being released only seems to be escalating. How climactic!
Happy listening!
free downloads indicated where available
Unfortunately, the S-1 Committee track is not available on iTunes. Sorry! But you can purchase it Here
Treble Album of the Week Mix 2006, Vol. 4
1.TV on the Radio “Wolf Like Me”
From Return to Cookie Mountain
“On the album’s most straightforward and rocking track, Adebimpe croons `My mind has changed my body’s frame/but God I like it,’ Ford harmonizing in the end, `We’re howling forever.‘
2.Thom Yorke “Black Swan”
From The Eraser
“`The Black Swan’ is another one of my favorite tracks, utilizing a very cool, low, bluesy guitar riff looped with a trip-hop beat.”
3.Grant Lee Phillips “Love My Way”
From nineteeneighties
“Richard Butler’s voice is so singular that it might be difficult to not attempt a straight impression, but Phillips keeps his own intonations while adding just the right amount of low register gruffness.”
4.Oneida “History’s Great Navigators”
From Happy New Year
“Pianos and other strangely melodic percussive instruments create a strange, metallic toy factory sound that’s as hypnotic and sublime as it is curious.”
5.Roman Candle “Help Me If You Can”
From Just One Second Ago Broken Eggshell
“`Help Me If You Can’ is reminiscent of more great singer / songwriter material such as tracks by Aimee Mann, and includes the great line, `Some people fall in love and some people go to jail / And some folks sit alone listening to Blood on the Tracks.'”
6.The Sleepy Jackson “I Understand What You Want But I Just Don’t Agree”
From Personality (One Was a Spider One Was a Bird)
“One of the major highlights is a song called `I Understand What You Want But I Just Don’t Agree,’ which features the backup female vocals of Juanita Tippins in a dead ringer for Olivia Newton-John.”
7.Midlake “Roscoe”
From The Trials Of Van Occupanther
“The song is indicative of what you will find on the rest of Van Occupanther, being a mix of ’70s style California rock balladry and progressive, jazz based pop.”
8.Mew “Zookeeper’s Boy”
From And the Glass Handed Kites
“When I finally write a screenplay, this is the song I want playing over the trailer during the tearjerking montage.”
9.Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye”
From Carnavas
“Aubert is a master of the dramatic, knowing exactly when to lead his band down highly mechanical thoroughfares and when to surface for air.”
10.The S-1 Committee “Drive to Heaven”
From Less and Less
“Against a symphonic concoction of early Belle and Sebastian and Hit to Death era Flaming Lips, we find that `heaven is like Branson, but with better shows,’ accessible with `the bible as a book on tape.'”
11.The Pipettes “A Winter’s Sky”
From We Are the Pipettes
“Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, there’s the enchanting “doo-be-doo’s” of `A Winter’s Sky.'”
12.Comets on Fire “Lucifer’s Memory”
From Avatar
“…the slow-burning piano jam of `Lucifer’s Memory,’ written by Kushner, is the real treat on Avatar.”
13.M. Ward “Post War”
From Post-War
“The incredible title track follows, slow and morose, poignant and moving, making it and the title track a magnificent and polar combination.”
14.Headlights “Words Make You Tired”
From Kill Them With Kindness
“The New Order influence truly blooms on this song, which features a stunning synth hook and a heavy, distorted bassline, making it the most single-friendly song on an album with a half dozen potential A-sides.”
15.Eric Bachmann “Genie, Genie”
From To The Races
“`Genie, Genie” is one of the true standouts, a raspy and desperate plea for help at the bottom of a bottle.”
16. My Brightest Diamond “We Were Sparkling”
From Bring Me The Workhorse
“Between the all out rocking of the first two tracks and the gorgeous subtlety of `We Were Sparkling,’ Worden puts on a showcase for guitar enthusiasts.”
17. Grizzly Bear “Knife”
From Yellow House
“`Knife,’ is by far one of the most stunning, mixing doo-wop style rhythms and vocal treatments with an atmospheric otherness, effects turning that soulful delivery into a truly weird experiment worthy of Mercury Rev.”