Jim's Favorite Scandi/Nordic Albums of 2006
In no particular order. Click on cover scans for purchasing options.
Honorable Mentions added below!

BEST OF 2006… When's the last time a Swedish import generated this much word-of-mouth, blurb-of-blog hype? TSOOL? Dungen? Jose Gonzalez? It helps that Writer's Block, the latest from Swedish trio Peter Bjorn And John deserves every little bit of it. At the rate they are progressing - from their self-titled debut's rough and tumble charms, to the bouyant power-pop of second album Falling Out - it will be time for every other pop band on the planet to hang up their guitars. What set of ears can refuse charms as charming as the ultra-ubiquitous "Young Folks", the stalwart "Objects Of My Affection", and the totally oldschool newwave smarts of "Amsterdam".

BEST OF 2006… The Odd Church straddles a sound (and an era) between The Pixies' Come On Pilgrim and Trompe Le Monde. With their latest Sweden's Hell On Wheels have created yet another astounding noise-pop album, balancing the guitar-catharsis with balladeering beauty and epic cinematic thrills. As much as all the other titles on the list have provided music joy throughout the year, it was The Odd Church which strummed my heartstrings over and over...and they continue to resonate for songs as wild and beautiful as "Heard You On the Radio", "Stealing Notes from the Devil's Notebook", "Frozen State", and "Alexandr".

BEST OF 2006… Why isn’t a monumental garage-rock Swedish duo Johnossi, whose sound at times references Nirvana and The White Stripes (in the very very best ways), famous yet? Being one of the hardest rocking-n-rolling releases on my list this year perhaps I left some of you stranded without adequate adjectives (bombastic?) and comparisons (The Gun Club?)… I mean, who’s going to believe Nirvana and The White Stripes? Would you believe the early rocking epics by The Soundtrack of Our Lives? Johnossi often channels The Who’s brand of Maximum R&B in the same way TSOOL can, but with just two dudes! Maybe the songs will have to do the walking and talking: “Glory Days To Come”, "The Lottery" and "The Show Tonight" are three brilliant songs and the album's full of them!

BEST OF 2006… Led by Swedish songsmith Gustaf Kjellvander (Christian’s brother) The Fine Arts Showcase’s Radiola arrived early in the year and I promised back then it would be high on my list for 2006. Now it's December and holdingfast! What about Jesus & Mary Chain meets Neutral Milk Hotel meets Silver Jews is not to like? Oozing songwriting smarts beyond his years but dosed with gleaming modernist appeal, this album has graced our CD changer for most of the year. Check out the single "Chemical Girl" and "I Don’t Worry" and you’ll be hooked, lined and sinkered...

BEST OF 2006… Since the early nineties Norwegian prog-rock-pop- juggernaut Motorpsycho had released an album each year (plus loaded EPs), without fail, until a recent three-year span (2003-2005) which saw the band busy with side-projects and other meanderings… Finally, as a duo, minus longtime drummer Hakon Gebhardt, Motorpsycho returns with salvation: Black Hole/Blank Canvas is a double-album of incandescent indie-rock alchemy, a few dozen inside jokes (lyrically and musically) and one of the very best albums of their career…and of the year! Songs like the hello-we're-back "Hyena", the self-referential "Up In Our Tree" and the boisterous, classic rocky "With Trixene Through The Mirror, I Dream With Open Eyes" were worth the wait! We also have a nice limited edition DCD version with a book , as well as the band’s epic available discography.

BEST OF 2006… Dark, metropolitan guitar-rock from Danish newcomer Skywriter encompasses a couple decades worth of serious rock tropes. Where Both Worlds Never Meet is filled with dramatic songs with a dark sultry Nick Cave/Gun Club/Madrugada-esqe demeanor, music for neon cityscapes, seedy underbellies, and dark alleys, as alluded to in songs like “New York” and “Where Both Worlds Never Meet”… But for all their edginess Skywriter's not without a sense of drama and, occasionally, oldschool genre-splicing fun: “For Heaven’s Sake”.

BEST OF 2006… It was a big year for The Soundtrack of Our Lives guitarist Ian Person (aka Diamonds In The Rough), who welcomed into the world a baby girl and his first solo album, both of which are beautiful, blonde (yes, the DITR album is definitely fair-haired, if not bleached!) and blessed with a special luminosity… I reckon Daddy Ian couldn’t be happier. We couldn’t be happier with the Self-Titled debut filled with candle-lit guitar-pop gems like "Miss Elusive", "Heavy Weather" and "Make You Mine", songs any TSOOL fan would find drool-worthy.

BEST OF 2006… When 60s-70s prog-pop trio Elope finished recording sessions in 2005 they had so many songs they weren’t sure how to present them. There were arguments about a double-album versus two albums, and then how exactly to split up the bounty of songs they had created… What emerged (and is still emerging) was a rockin’ throwback pop-rock-prog album entitled 3WD, which resurrected Cream and The Small Faces to fine effect on tracks like "3WD", "Misbehaving In the Summernight" and "Flatliners". Of course the idea was that the second album, one of plush Elope mellowosity, 9 Distilled Dreams, would follow soon after, like now, but alas it’s been delayed until January. Still, it could their best album yet, or I’m getting old. Check out "The Black Eyed Citizen" and reserve a copy today.

BEST OF 2006… Montys Loco has always been an interesting band but it was their recent collaboration with producer Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn And John), entitled Man Overboard that set ML apart from the pack. Truly a sleepy, hyper-sensual sonic otherworld, with plenty of illuminating pop smarts balanced out by a touch of darkness, as displayed on “Give Me More”, “Man Overboard”, and “Accident”.

BEST OF 2006… I’m From Barcelona almost got over-hyped in my book, but truth is spectacular pop albums are a precious commodity and their debut, Let Me Introduce My Friends, truly is one, mostly. I thank my kids (ages 14 and 8) for keeping IFB in heavy rotation throughout the last few months, very youngster-friendly in a heartwarming and righteous way! You can’t go wrong with songs as powerful/luvable as “Oversleeping”, “We’re From Barcelona”, and kid-favorite “Treehouse”.

HM 2006… Finnish krautrockers Shogun Kunitoki's debut Tasankokaiku put them in league with fellow Scandi-instrumentalists Bjorn Olsson and Sagor & Swing, yet SK is a bit more beholden to Neu!, Eno, and that ilk. Lush and organic, with elements of 60s psychdelia and minimalism, 70s communal experimentalism, and 90s revivalism… Triumphant, orgasmic drone-rock! Listen: "Montezuma"

HM 2006… This fell into the I-should-of-listened-to-it-more category, but irregardless, anything David Fridlund puts his name on is special in my book. It's apparent with Stop The Tape! Stop The Tape! that David & The Citizens has made leaps and bounds since their first few albums (and David's solo album Amaterasu), it shows most here in songwriting and arrangements that have never been stronger. Listen: "Are You In My Blood?"

HM 2006… With so much hype behind it did The Knife's latest, Silent Shout, need my stamp of approval? I think not. Obviously one of the year's best/weirdest albums and 6-out-of-10 bloggers' top ten lists will prove that assertion. If you're not among the converts, or still clinging to their previous album, Deep Cuts, perhaps "Neverland" and "We Share Our Mothers' Health" will do the trick...

HM 2006… Sweden's Holy Madre are all about 70s West Coast/Laurel Canyon/Cosmic Americana sunshine pop with a tripsy shimmer...with modern equivalents like The Blessed Light, The Posies, My Morning Jacket, Beachwood Sparks, Outrageous Cherry and The Volebeats. Paul loves this too, one of the most played CDs at Parasol. Listen: "How Does It Make You Feel" and "The Sun".

HM 2006… Came out in 2005, but who cares? Norwegian garagerockers Ricochets have panache and polish and on their third and final album (this act breaks up as often as they release records), Isolation, pull off the depths of despair like nobody's business. Plus they have written one of the very best woman-done-me-wrong songs ever written! Listen: "No Good"

HM 2006… For years, maybe decades Finnish phenoms 22-Pistepirkko have had a side-band that played all their favorite covers. As The Others they showed their appreciation for surf and garage, classics that became their influences... Monochromeset is The Others first-ever studio recordings and adds yet another wonderful cover of... Listen "Love Hurts"

HM 2006… Godhead collection of Swedish 9-member collective Audionom's mind-numbing guitar-mantras propelled by cosmically intense rhythms. Imagine Citizen Bird/Silverbullit prone to punishing krautrock extremes, Neu! bouncing around inside Hawkwind’s Silver Machine, Stereolab on steroids prescribed by Public Image Ltd... Listen: "And You Said I Was The Only One" Also check out side-project 1999 for a more new wave approach.

HM 2006… This one arrived in early December, too late for my list... I've got a soft-spot for epic, bombastic balladeering and Eskju Divine continues to redefine multiple genres on their new album Heights. Then having the band be sans guitar, well, it's a compelling listen. I'll admit I've only had a handful of chances to spin this in it's entirety, but it still ranks right up there. Listen: "Release Me" and "I Haven't Lost Myself"

HM 2006… Another late-arrival... I've been waiting for more songs from Samuraj Cities since they posted their EP of demos on their website back in 2005. I can't even say I love each and every song (some tread too deeply into Bright Eyes territory for my liking) on Cheap Deluxe, but with songs as seriously haunting as "All Along the Shoreline" and "So Sorry, So Sorry, So Sorry" a guy learns cut a new band some slack! You should also track down an mp3 of an unused song entitled "Sleepy Reverie", which is lovely.

HM 2006… Rusty Flores is a band hailing from far Northern Sweden, and like fellow Arctic Circlers The Perishers, Kristoffer Astrom, and Isolation Years they are often the sum of their meteorological and climactic influences. Melancholy, elemental folk-rock rendered with exquisite charm and an undeniable handsomeness. Check out "Waiting Room" and "Bomb The Cabaret" and make room for Rusty Flores around the bonfire.

HM 2006… Norway's Sleepyard trafficks in magical atmopheric retro-pop, akin to French dream-poppers Mellow (but mellower), Sean O'Hagan's High Llamas (but much higher), and The Beach Boys (most far-out) recordings. An album where Summer is always just around the corner, and this time of year that is a valuable commodity. Listen: "Memory of a Moondog"

HM 2006… Gothic dance-rock in the pale skeletal grasp of The Kid gets all passionate and hallucinogenic, two female voices detailing disturbing erotic hauntings with raven-winged musical accompaniment. Check out the incredible first single "Kit Club Hotel" and lead-off track "The Noble Art of Jealousy". Think New Order/Joy Division meets The Knife meets The Cure meets Love Is All.

WHAT ELSE WAS AWESOME: Dexter's Moon, Hellsongs, Mattias Alkberg BD, the umpteenth re-release of Love Is All, The Embassy, news that Franke has reformed to record a new album, finally finding decent prices for all five Madrugada full-length albums, this song by Deltahead, Wired For Mono, The Second Band, Hell On Wheels' back-catalog, the meteoric rise of El Perro Del Mar, tue popsmith Montt Mardie...