Listening Back

THE GOSSIP


Standing in the Way of Control (4 stars)

January 24

You probably haven't heard of The Gossip yet, but you will. The Olympia, Washington, band is made of the same stuff that made the recently demised Sleater-Kinney so freakin' great: A passion for social justice, a punky wall of sound and a singer whose vocals can pierce even the most insulated of listeners. Beth Ditto, recently named "the coolest person in rock" by New Musical Express, breaks every major-label rule of marketing: She's an outspoken lesbian, is full-figured and can actually sing—think Patti Smith, think Tina Turner. Standing in the Way of Control is a blistering invective against government meddling in gay marriage at a time when such an album is badly needed. Plus, it kicks ass.

CENTRO-MATIC


FORT RECOVERY (3 1/2 stars)

March 7

Judging from Centro-Matic's earliest lo-fi basement sketches, you'd have been hard-pressed to predict Will Johnson's indie project would still be functioning a decade later, to say nothing of sounding as fully realized as it does on Fort Recovery. The perennially underappreciated Texas quartet celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a sturdy set of twanged-up, fuzzed-out rock, approximating what The Hold Steady might sound like minus that ever-present '70s-Springsteen homage. Two spins, and you'll be singing along to "Calling Thermatico" and "Patience for the Ride"—just don't tear your throat up imitating Johnson's grizzled delivery.

Rainer Maria


Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (4 stars)

April 4

Rainer Maria are breaking up, and they've left us with a reminder of how they've been one of the most badass, bold and fun threesomes of the last decade. Caithlin de Marrais wails like a gal who's been doing this long enough to know there's no reason to hold back, and guitarist Kyle Fischer and drummer Bill Kuehn have their normal fun blasting through walls. Kids no more, these three know that breaking up is hard to do, and that growing up can be harder. But let's not brood. Let's be optimistic even when everything's blowing up. "I've got a plan," de Marrais sings. "I'm gonna find you at the end of the world." We hope so, Caithlin. We really do.

Yellow Swans


psychic secession (4 stars)

April 18

Enthrallingly evil like the witch in the forest who kicks cherubic children into the oven, Psychic Secession, the latest from Portland duo Yellow Swans, is an earthquake about to happen. Silently raging beneath a diseased crust, a gentle fog of noise sucks you in—next thing you know you're flailing inside an industrial wasteland littered with rusty hinges, discarded pipes, dental drills and rotten cow carcasses. Tracks unfold like taffy slowly being stretched, opening up to neotribal drumming and razor-claw sharpening, eventually mulching puppies whimpering inside a sack.

GRANDADDY


JUST LIKE THE FAMBLY CAT (3 1/2 stars)

May 9

As referenced by the album's title, Modesto, California's Grandaddy knew it was time to cash in their mortal chips, and they did so by disappearing with dignity. The result is a swan-song fifth album that references wasted summer days and rearview mirrors, sad letters and the need to transcend stilted environs. Though the band's arty electro-pop is as textured as ever, it's impossible to ignore the wistful retrospection serving as its foundation.

The TWILIGHT SINGERS


Powder Burns (4 stars)

May 16

Greg Dulli has the voice of a true rock star. Sonorous, gravelly and menacing, his instrument is a woofer in an ever-expanding universe of tweeters. The Twilight Singers—a side project for the Afghan Whigs frontman—finally gets the full benefit of Dulli's gifts with Powder Burns, a kind of go-for-broke record made as the Whigs hung in limbo. Recording in a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, The Twilight Singers crafted a lean, no-bullshit rock record dominated by three classic songs: the druggy "Forty Dollars," the anthemic "There's Been an Accident" and the affecting "Bonnie Brae." The Whigs are due to return next year, but Dulli would be wise to keep this after-hours gig—he seems to be getting the hang of it.

ESPERS


II (3 1/2 stars)

May 16

In an alternate universe, instead of suffering her fateful 1978 staircase fall, Sandy Denny wandered outdoors to find a giant psychedelic mushroom patch and raced off to share the discovery with her ex-Fairport Convention mates. The fruit of such an episode might well have sounded like II, the second album of original material from Philadelphia folk-rock collective Espers. As the fanciful black cover suggests, an ominous, fairy-tale vibe hangs over the seven lengthy tracks, with Meg Baird's transfixing voice providing just enough light to knife through the darkness, holding unseen evil at bay as she guides listeners through some secret medieval forest.

The IOs


In Sunday Songs (3 stars)

May 16

Like The Postal Service and Stars, The iOs create dreamy pop songs about boys and girls who know that love is strange and that singing to each other is one way to make it even more awkward and exquisite. On "Neveright," Chris Punsalan knows where to put the blame: "It's all your fault/You're beautiful." Sufficiently flummoxed, Punsalan declares something about never writing love songs, even though that's what he just did here. Note to Zach Braff: Listen to this song and then to "Come True" and then to the interaction between Punsalan and Autumn Proemm on "Who's the Blonde?" Hear your next movie? Yeah, so do I.

MONKS OF DOOM


WHAT'S LEFT FOR KICKS? (4 stars)

June 6

The semi-reunited Bay Area surrealists (and original Camper Van Beethoven side project) finally delivered their dozen-plus-years-in-the-works covers album, an epic, eclectic and mind-bending ode to the likes of The Kinks, Wire, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Richard Thompson, Pell Mell and Neu! Though Victor Krummenacher and David Immerglück officially share vocal duties, otherworldly ambiance could conceivably stake its claim as a third lead. From moody instrumentals to impassioned barnburners, Kicks is idol worship at its most raucous, and at its most sincere. Bonus points for iTunes categorizing it as "Children's Music."

GOLDEN SMOG


ANOTHER FINE DAY (3 1/2 stars)

July 18

With Wilco and the Jeff Tweedy solo project blowing up, the Smog's first album in eight years spotlights the varied skills of Gary Louris, frontman of the on-hiatus Jayhawks. Fans of the supergroup's alt-country-tinged past might shudder at the fuzz-and-buzz guitars of the title cut, but the fun-loving groove of "5-22-02" and the punky thump of "Corvette" made this a perfect summer cruising companion. Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy contributed the soaring "Hurricane," while ex-Jayhawk Kraig Johnson opens the set with the haunting, keyboard-driven "You Make it Easy." Like the group itself, this effort is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Charlotte Gainsbourg


5:55 (3 1/2 stars)

September 4 (U.K.)

The English-born, Paris-raised daughter of French pop icons Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin releases her second disc in 20 years, employing the likes of Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and Parisian synthesizer duo Air for songs and production chores. Sessions packed with those kinds of credentials are almost inevitably a disappointment, but this is an exquisite-sounding album: quiet, lush, atmospheric, pretty and pretentious in about equal measure. The album is sung in English, but somehow you never forget that she's French, and not just because of the cute accent.

Solomon Burke


Nashville (4 stars)

September 26

Solomon Burke opens his new disc singing, "If you love somebody enough, you will follow them wherever they go." And if Nashville finds the soul legend walking down country roads, that is where you want to follow him. Burke may have been overshadowed in his Atlantic heyday by Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. But Nashville, like Don't Give Up on Me (2002), shows that as a senior Burke has reached the creative peak of his lengthy career, and it is as glorious as the work of any of his peers. Nashville features a group of well-known country session musicians pushing Burke's ability to inhabit a song into new territory that finds him meshing wonderfully with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Burke was smart to take the road less traveled.

Lindsey Buckingham


Under the Skin (4 stars)

October 3

Fleetwood Mac guitarist returns with an overall stronger set of songs than he gave us on the last Mac LP (2003's Say You Will). "I Am Waiting" will go down as one of the worst Stones covers ever, and Buckingham's limitations as a vocalist are at times glaringly obvious. But the ultrasparse acoustic arrangements here are as effective as Springsteen's Nebraska—imagine Suicide chanelling the ghost of Buddy Holly—and Buckingham effectively covers for his vocals with the oldest trick in the book: by simply turning his echo box to 11.

Dierks Bentley


Long Trip Alone (3 stars)

October 17

Killswitch Engage


As Daylight Dies (4 stars)

November 21

Ever more seamlessly blending death-metal brutality, thrash precision and emo heart-on-your-sleeve sensitivity (this is a band who titled an album The End of Heartache), Killswitch Engage make another case for themselves as the best anthemic rock band not currently playing arenas on their fourth album, As Daylight Dies. Though not as catchy or powerful as Heartache (one of the best metal albums of the last decade), Daylight is nevertheless full of meaty riffs, heartfelt lyrics and the alternately melodic and screamed vocals of singer Howard Jones, who handles both modes with intensity and immediacy on monster tunes like "My Curse." It's the pinnacle of heavy metal in 2006.