My Top 10 Albums of 2006: #6-10

6. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
Finally they hit the big time! Eyes Open has all the elements of their brilliant third album Final Straw and merely elaborates them a bit more, as bands do when they grow in stature. Gary Lightbody's lyrics and vocals are as clever and as relevant as ever and the band supports him well. It's got a few of those wank/epic tracks, Open Your Eyes and Shut Your Eyes (was that deliberate?), which push my buttons in a good way, but I could listen to the less heralded tracks Headlights On Dark Roads and It's Beginning To Get To Me all day too.

7. The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love
By about September, I was looking for an album with a good blend of rock elements with a dancefloor/electro feel, something in the vein of Jamiroquai or Datarock, and was wondering where I'd find it. Both of the albums' main tracks, Get Myself Into It and the title track, had been on my rotation for a month, so I took a stab at the album and was greatly rewarded. It's a good one for Summer, as some might say. Mind you, it's not for everyone, especially if you can't stand the high pitch of the singing.

8. Kasabian - Empire
I'd heard about these guys a few years back as one of the next wave of UK bands to try and take on the world. I understand why. Empire got me from the first listen, just before Christmas! That means I can't give a longevity guarantee, but it might a few spots lower on the list to counter-balance that. If you like indie rock, spin Shoot The Runner, Empire, Stuntman and The Doberman and that should cover the spectrum of it...and all brilliantly.

9. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
While Muse took this album in a less familiar direction, their songwriting skills haven't gone far. Supermassive Black Hole, Starlight, Knights Of Cydonia and Exo-Politics all strike the listener. In their softer moments, they tread water at times (Invincible sounds like a soppy Olympic theme) but end up regaining your interest. Black Holes And Revelations is by no means up there with their last album Absolution, but it's a great album and it sounds even better live, I assure you!

10. The Matches - Decomposer
#10 was a tough position to fill. So many decent albums, but ultimately disappointing compared to their predecessors. Instead I filled this final slot with a record that pleasantly surprised me. I've only recently got on board this album, but it truly sounds unique and I'm happy to call it the punk release of 2006. The Matches have their own musical style that makes it tough to listen to (more on this in a future Top 5) but once you appreciate the subtleties, like the witty one-liner lyrics, Decomposer emerges as a top-10 worthy record. They brought in 9 producers for these 13 tracks (with no more than one producer per track), but it doesn't sound like a mish mash, as each song manifests an energy of its own. A band willing to push some boundaries deserves some props.