Good day to you, dearest of dear readers, and welcome to what we’re calling an ‘interactive activity’. Because we’re busy – bloody busy – at the DiSopolis, we’re asking you to decide our album/s of the year.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the rash of end-of-year lists spreading throughout the music press right now – it’s that time of year, after all – and the expected names are making their presence felt. Arctic Monkeys’ excellent debut album is attracting much of the year’s-end hyperbole, with the likes of Muse, Joanna Newsom and the mighty Mastodon also rightly recognized for their amazing albums of 2006.
But DiS is doing things a little differently this year: below, you’ll find a list of 25 albums, each of which a) came out during the last twelve months and b) is fuggin’ brilliant. From these 25, we want you to pick JUST ONE, and e-mail it to us. Next week, we’ll run the top ten albums of 2006, as voted for by you, our readers.
Here’s what you’ve got to choose a favourite from; remember, you can only pick one!
Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
(review, Domino)
Bat For Lashes
Fur & Gold
(review, Chrysalis)
Beirut
Gulag Orkestar
(review, Ba Da Bing/4AD)
Belle & Sebastian
The Life Pursuit
(review, Rough Trade)
Blood Brothers
Young Machetes
(review, Wichita)
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
(review, City Slang/Arts & Crafts)
Cat Power
The Greatest
(review, Matador)
Deftones
Saturday Night Wrist
(review, Maverick)
Final Fantasy
He Poos Clouds
(review, Tomlab)
Gallows
Orchestra Of Wolves
(review, In At The Deep End)
Guillemots
Through the Windowpane
(review, Polydor)
Howling Bells
Howling Bells
(review, Bella Union)
Islands
Return To The Sea
(user review, Rough Trade)
James Holden
The Idiots Are Winning
(review, Border Community)
Joanna Newsom
Ys
(review, Drag City)
The Knife
Silent Shout
(review, Brille)
Liars
Drum's Not Dead
(review, Mute)
The Long Blondes
Someone To Drive You Home
(review, Rough Trade)
Mastodon
Blood Mountain
(review, Reprise)
Muse
Black Holes And Revelations
(review, Atlantic)
Panic! At The Disco
A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out
(review, Fueled By Ramen)
Subtle
For Hero: For Fool
(review, Lex)
TV On The Radio
Return To Cookie Mountain
(review, 4AD)
volcano!
Beautiful Seizure
(review, Leaf)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Show Your Bones
(user review, Polydor)
Wanna vote, then? Of course you do! Simply e-mail the ARTIST NAME, in the subject line, to 2006@drownedinsound.com right now (click on address). Just the ARTIST NAME in the subject line, as it appears in the above list. Include your address in the e-mail body text, as we’ve a PRIZE to send to one lucky voter.
A prize you say? Hell yes! We’ve collected a massive stack of CDs, all of which are taken from Our 66 which ran earlier this year – click here to read it! The prize pile includes albums by The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg, M Ward, Saul Williams, Bloc Party, Our 66 ‘winner’ Björk, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Cat Power, The Cribs, Mastodon, Four Tet, volcano!, Muse, Lightning Bolt, This Aint Vegas AND MORE. What a freebie! And it could be yours, just by voting. Some of the best albums of the last six years, for nowt! Hooray!
SO GET VOTING! BUT ONLY ONCE PER PERSON, PLEASE!