i didnt much like those daedelus or chris clark albums. and i like both artists back catalogues. i'll post up a couple here:
amel larrieux - morning
reached #74 stateside billboard chart, but amel is still incredibly underrated. she is an outstanding crossover artist, touching the adult contemporary crowd but moreso the hip, neosoul crowd. she has put out a couple great albums now and am just waiting for her to finally blow and become one of the biggest names in r&b.
fans of: anthony hamilton, alicia keys, jill scott, etc etc
arborea - wayfaring summer
i guess you would file this under the whole weird folk genre, but its not very weird. this is an album by a married couple from maine. the album is short, which makes it a very enjoyable listen and sounds similar to nick drake's first album. the girl has a gorgeous voice, and the guy needs to sing more. for those of you digging that beach house record or are looking for more mellow folksy stuff, this might be one to check out.
fans of: fairport convention, nick drake, weird folk
bitcrush - in distance
it's mike cadoo of gridlock and dryft "fame". in this album, which is a little daunting to listen to due to its length, but it is a very beautiful and epic album. i guess you would file it under post rock, but its also very electronic in feel and also a lot of shoegaze elements. i try to get rid of this album, but then everytime i relisten to it, its just great.
fans of: ulrich schnauss, explosions in the sky
bugz in the attic - back in the doghouse
people have just sort of forgotten about these guys, since this album was so overdue. for the last about 3 years, bugz in the attic have been doing great remixes overseas, and becoming sort of the posterboys of the whole broken beat/giles peterson dance scene over in the uk. in 2004 they had the incredibly single "booty la la" and now finally in 2006 they released their debut album of original material....super fun. super danceable. not entirely stupid. they don't really utilize the broken beat sound in the album, but it is more funky. lots of international vocalists keep it excellent sounding as well.
fans of: basement jaxx, giles peterson's show, dj /rupture
candi staton - his hands
2004 had the release of the candi staton retrospective disc that was incredible, and i know billy g and i talked about it a couple times at least. 2006 had a new album from her, her first non-religious album in decades. 7 of the 11 songs are covers, but its really good i think, despite some mediocre reviews. will oldham penned a track or two and i think produced it as well.
fans of: sharon jones and the dap kings, betty lavette, dirty country soul
chris smither - leave the light on
to be completely honest, this is in the running for album of the year for me. i don't know a whole lot about chris smither, he's been around forever making his own versions of folk and blues hybrid music, i have a couple albums plus this one. i know he has a dedicated following, and i know some of you here probably like him. this album isn't getting a lot of press, but it's fantastic. some of the best written songs of the year i would say. and his voice is great as always. some nice singer/songwriter music that blends a few different styles together. smither knows his place in the music world and its just a good one.
fans of: bob dylan, guy clark, whoever
citay - citay
hyped a lot on hipinion early in the year. i dismissed this record entirely until a couple months ago, in the late summer...around when i started school. its a perfect soundtrack for coming into autumn, being on your own. just hanging out. lots of different sounds in this album. its mostly instrumental and acoustic, but its not necessarily mellow. its pretty great though.
fans of: black sabbath vol. 4, the medieval folk moments of zeppelin albums, comets on fire, ben chasney bands.
i'll do more soon.