Top 20: #10 - #6

Time to start getting down to the business end of things.

#10 Love is all – Talk Talk Talk Talk (Stream via Myspace)

The previous installment of the top 20 featured a large amount of music which is quite dense and populated with sound. Subtle nuances and ‘slumbering’ musical add ons are not something Love is All really concern themselves with on “Talk Talk Talk Talk”. The track could be guilty of being a bit too busy at times, but the continuous mayhem seems to work in the favour of these Swedes. The “one more time” chant for me personally went from being annoying to infectious. I like that. - Pix

Chris : 'Busy and ambitious pop music that is as fun as it is clever...rim shots, spastic saxophone and over-delayed guitars make a nice meal'

[Buy] Love is all - Nine times that same song from Amazon

#9 Whitest Boy Alive – Burning (Mp3)

This was my personal favourite of 2006. Whitest Boy Alive didn’t exactly burst into our ear dreams, but more so knocked on the door and politely made sweet white boy love to us… Which we all know is the best kind of love, right? “Burning” sets the benchmark for the album “Dream” and typifies a sense of effortless to music. While the vocals of Oye and the “shuffling drumbeat” (Sandwich Club, 2006) do tend to take a bit of attention away from the brilliance of the guitar, the overall experience is a soft yet completely danceable phenomenon. You wouldn’t be wrong in saying this track is a bit of a white boy anthem of sorts. If 2006 wasn’t the year of the white boy, then 2007 will be! - Pix

Chris : ‘Breezy indie rock that is executed with clinical precision and restraint’

[Buy] Whitest boy alive - Dreams from Amazon

#8 Asobi Seksu – Thursday (Mp3)

A dream pop band who remind me of the bastard child of Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine with a vocalist intoning in both English and Japanese sounds like a good idea doesn’t it? Of course it does, and this good idea sounds exactly like Brooklyn band Asobi Seksu. ‘Thursday’ from their second album Citrus is Asobi Seksu at their ethereal best, an angelic track that reaches for the highest of heights and climbs there in a measured and beautiful manner. It inches vertically in stages, each time heaping on layers of blissful guitar as it progresses until the summit is attained before you even realise you are there. Vocalist Yuki Chikudate floats through the mist as the rhythm section is whipped into an angelic frenzy at its wonderful and satisfying climax. Shoegaze is back, but it’s certainly not looking at the floor. - Chris



Pix Said: “Gentle, something from my secret garden”

[Buy] Asobi Seksu - Citrus from Amazon

#7 Cansei De Ser Sexy – Music is my hot hot sex

Why does everyone rave about “lets make love…” and completely overlook “Music is my hot hot sex”. Without doubt the chorus is far more memorable and the riff leading into the verse is so sexy and crunchy. This is the kind of song I’d want to eat for breakfast after a magical night with Lovefoxxx (throw in Ira for good measure). I won’t go into it like everyone else, but they undoubtedly get the award for best band name of 2006 and “music is my hot hot sex” for best track title. The self titled album is flawless from start to finish and I love that people don’t disagree with CSS’s talent, merely what song is better! BRILLIANT!

Chris : 'CSS are an indie kids wet dream; simple music performed by spunky chicks that you can dance to'

[Buy] CSS - CSS from Amazon

#6 The Valentinos - Rain (Stream via Myspace)

I would call The Valentinos success to some degree underrated. Musically they are setting a very high benchmark for what Australia has to offer in the way of music. While the influences which preceded The Valentinos are very present in the music, there is no denying that the only limits The Valentinos face is the ones they put on themselves. “Rain” is another track that I would describe as soaring high above the clouds of what is good, more residing somewhere in the heavens. The chorus is simple yet addictive and “Rain” transitions between sections with an immortal like ease. Australian music doesn’t come much better.

Chris : ‘There is substance behind the style...one of the most infectious choruses of any track i've heard all year’

[Buy] The Valentinos from their label's website Mosquito Tweeter.