OTHER MUSIC STAFF PICKS & TOP 30 SELLERS FOR 2006
Last month we published Other Music's Year End Recap, our annual compiled list of favorite releases of 2006. Now you can view our staff and update contributor's personal favorites of the past year. As always, we kept it freestyle and we hope it's a fun read for you. Check it out by going to: othermusic.com/staffpicks/2006.htm

Also, for the rest of the week our website's Charts page will be featuring Other Music's Top 30 Sellers of 2006. Go to othermusic.com/sections-db/charts.html

The Mops spearheaded the Japanese "Group Sound" movement in the 1960s, which was essentially the equivalent of the British beat boom of the same era. They started out as a Ventures-styled instrumental surf band and later morphed into a beat combo, mostly playing the standards that were fashionable at the time. In 1968, the Mops' manager advised the band to take a more psychedelic direction, and they are said to be the first Japanese group to use studio techniques such as flanging and phasing. And there's a great story in the liner notes about how the band used to play blindfolded to simulate the effect of drugs, since scoring LSD was pretty much impossible in Japan at the time. The image is pretty gimmicky (Sgt. Pepper outfits, Native American headdresses, ponchos etc.) but thankfully the tunes on Psychedelic Sounds in Japan are solid, especially the originals. The Mops' theme tune, "I'm Just a Mops", is a great, energetic garage punker and "Blind Bird" is a dark, soaring psych masterpiece that was banned due to its lyrical content (primarily because of the "please kill me" line). The cover versions aren't half bad either, particularly the rocking renditions of the Box Tops' "The Letter" and Eric Burdon & the Animals' "Inside Looking Out", but I could've done without the six-minute take on "Light My Fire". As a bonus, this edition comes with seven extra tracks. [AK]

Nelson Angelo is a great, if somewhat overlooked Brazilian songwriter and arranger mainly known outside of his homeland for his appearance on Milton Nascimento's classic Clube da Esquina (the present record is practically its sister album). By 1972, when this album was cut, Joyce had been gaining renown as a bossa nova interpreter with a couple of albums and some singles under her belt. Just prior to this record the couple were part of a short-lived quartet called A Tribo which experimented with the conventions of bossa nova. After the dissolution of that group, Angelo and Joyce teamed up for the recording of this very, very beautiful album of hushed atmospherics and sweet melodies. The emphasis is on space, with songs constructed around Joyce's delicate acoustic guitar and Angelo's moody string and woodwind arrangements. The songs are given so much room to breathe that even a bit of fuzz guitar seems unobtrusive. A very subtle masterpiece, and one of the finest and most successful explorations into Brazilian song following the initial heyday of the Tropicalia movement. [MK]

The Swedish pop invasion is old news at this point and frankly, I've lost count of how many new Scandinavian groups have been gracing our shelves as of late. That said, Peter, Bjorn and John are at the top of my list, right next to Love Is All, and I'm actually surprised at how much I like their new album. With each of the three members (we already know their first names) contributing songs, Writer's Block is a stylistically diverse record, not necessarily cohesive but all the better for it. I guess the common denominator here would be classic indie pop, and I can hear lots of influences, from the Soft Boys to Galaxie 500, but there are certainly traces of R&B, '60s, power pop and, of course, a little Velvet Underground. Kicking off with the shoegazey strum-fest of "Objects of My Affection," the album quickly shifts into some skeletal pop via "Young Folks," where whistling is used in place of guitar leads, and the Concretes' former singer Victoria Bergsman trades charmingly pensive verses with Peter. The album then takes a bit of a cerebral pop turn with "Amsterdam," which conjures images of OMD collaborating with the Beatles, complete with more whistling, and instruments like whip and footsteps credited to John. It doesn't let up, as Writer's Block constantly morphs from song to song with very few disappointments -- the harmony-filled "Let's Call It Off" isn't bad but feels like filler when compared to most of the track selection -- and then, three-quarters of the way through we reach another highlight, "The Chills," a surprisingly haunting slice of detached synth-pop. The thing about Writer's Block is that each song has a certain I've-heard-it-before familiarity to it, but still remain fresh to the ears. The more I listen, the more it doesn't get old. [GH]

It's interesting to note that in early 2006, Sheffield brought us the Arctic Monkeys' highly-buzzed debut. So it's fitting that as the year draws to a close, the same English town is book-ending '06 with the Long Blondes' anticipated first full-length. Now if you've gone to any indie dance party in this city or elsewhere in the past year, sandwiched somewhere between new rave hits from Klaxons and Shitdisco, you're guaranteed to have heard the group's wiry "Giddy Stratospheres." And if you have any love of the Au Pairs, Raincoats or the Banshees, you danced. Well, here's a whole album's worth of new favorites, and a few re-workings of earlier singles (including the aforementioned "Giddy Stratospheres"). It's really a disservice to even mention the Arctic Monkeys in this review because geographical reference aside, the Long Blondes are on a whole different, much more glamorous trip. Actually, another Sheffield act instantly comes to mind, and fitting enough, former Pulp member Steve Mackey is behind the mixing board adding some gloss to their jagged guitar pop, but not enough shine to dilute the girl/boy quintet's raw, glammy brew of new wave, post-punk, riot grrl and '60s pop. The sultry-voiced Kate Jackson is equal parts Ari Up, Siouxsie Sioux and Deborah Harry, delivering sexy odes about 19-year-old girls breaking boys' hearts and bizarre love triangles, filled with clever pop culture references and a few obscure name drops that'll get kids Googling the likes of photographer Lee Miller (in "Madame Ray") and 'Saint' Scott Walker (in "You Could Have Both"). But there's also an underlying theme of female empowerment running throughout, ensuring that a shout-out chorus of "Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karina, Arlene Dahl! I just want to be your sweetheart!" (in album opener "Lust in the Movies") is actually an intelligent observation on gender roles. Thank god groups like the Long Blondes still exist, reminding us that rock music can still be smart, fun and even a little dangerous. I'll take new wave over new rave any day. [GH]

OTHER MUSIC PRE-ORDERS
Kick off 2007 with new albums from the Shins, Fujiya & Miyagi, Deerhoof, Menomena, Clinic and Of Montreal! These anticipated releases don't hit store shelves until Tuesday, January 23rd, but you can reserve your copy right now for any of these titles. All pre-orders will be shipped to arrive at your door on or near the street date release of January 23rd.

THE SHINS
Wincing the Night Away
(Sub Pop)

"Sea Legs"

With their new album, the Shins solidify their position as one of top pop bands around today. James Mercer has a Smiths-ian knack for songwriting, his razor sharp tunes brimming with sure shot hooks and melodies.

FUJI & MIYAGI
Transparent Things
(Deaf, Dumb and Blind)

"Ankle Injuries"

One of last year's most pleasant surprises, British sensation Fujiya & Miyagi's third full-length finally gets a domestic release. Transparent Things mixes the motorik rhythms of Neu! with new wave (a la Talking Heads) and heady dancefloor vibes.

DEERHOOF
Friend Opportunity
(Kill Rock Stars)

"The Perfect Me"

Deerhoof continues to forge a completely unique path with Friend Opportunity.Their brand of art pop is complex yet sugary, filled with melody while still being intricate. As always, Satomi Matsuzaki's childlike vocals adds a certain strangeness to the proceedings.

MENOMENA
Friend and Foe
(Barsuk)

"Wet and Rusting"

Portland music experimentalists Menomena drop their third album, and it's a darker and more fleshed-out sound. Much of Friend and Foe sounds huge, and more piano-based, but the songs never skimp on irresistible melodies either.

CLINIC
Visitations
(Domino)

"Tusk"

Clinic album number four is a return to form. There's a newfound sense of urgency on Visitations, as the band once again manages to marry Bo Diddley, the Fall, Joe Meek, and Crime. Twelve rushes straight to the head.

OF MONTREAL
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
(Polyvinyl)

"Cato As a Pun"

Blending the whimsical with the painfully personal, Kevin Barnes and posse have created a predictably fascinating, genre-hopping album that mixes catchy psychedelic pop and funk with danceable electronics.