FunFunFun's Favourite Albums of 2006 (10-6)

10. Cursive - Happy Hollow
Although this was a tiny disappointment for me after the quite outstanding The Ugly Organ, it is still jaunty, dischorant, angry art-rock music at its best. The absense of Gretta's cello is replaced by a brass section, which creates a whole new, boombastic spin on their music while still keeping that classic Cursive sound.

Cursive - Bad Sects

9. Rachael Dadd & The Missing Scissors - Songs From The Crypt
This album is fucking beautiful. A multi-instrumental melee of haunting sounds and gorgeous songs from Miss Dadd and friends, that sends a tingle down your spine everytime Rachael opens her mouth. Its such a breathy and soft vocal that it makes my head swim and i relax instantaneously.

Rachael Dadd & The Missing Scissors - What We Wait For

8. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
It may just be a selection of Radiohead's rejections and funny bleeps and bloops but somehow The Eraser is a stunning record. With as much underlining tension and agression as any of the Radiohead albums, it just seems like another, electronic way, for Thom to let off some steam. I just hope he'll stay pissed off for a while longer, so the next Radiohead album has some of this pent-up emotion.

Thom Yorke - Black Swan

7. The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes
This is just one of the most fun albums of 2006. A perfect pop record from three polka dot dress wearing young lasses and an all-boy backing band, The Casettes, that no one knows much about. It just keeps popping back onto my computer's playlist and making me dance round my room. Can't wait to see them at their Xmas party at The Roundhouse next week.

The Pipettes - It Hurts To See You Dance so Well

6. Joanna Newsom - Ys
Maybe one of the most important records of the year, but for me just pure escapism. I can drift off for the full 55 minutes of this album, into the mystical world of whales, cornfields and meteors that Joanna creates around me. Only containing 5 tracks, each over 7 minutes long, sounds like a bit of an effort but she even makes them catchy. I've found myself even humming some of the harp bits. Pure genius.

Joanna Newsom - Sawdust & Diamonds