'I got my diploma from a school called Rickards/Full of teenage mothers and drug dealin' niggas'

Top 5 Records of the '06 First Quarter

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

Mogwai - Mr. Beast -- You know its funny... If I had to name a number one, it'd be this. That's why I list it first. Funny huh? ANYWAY, overall, critics aren't really feeling this quite like I am, but I honestly think this is some of Mogwai's best work to date. It's cohesive, it's loud, sometimes for loud's sake (which one can only expect from Mogwai) and intimidating, it's warm, soft and inviting and its everything a Mogwai fan wants, really. Only flaw: "I Chose Horses" should be a tad longer as a final outro and "We're No Here" seems superfluous as an extra track. Making it a hidden track would've been way, way cooler. Plus it would've been a nice surprise for true Mogwai fans who listen to the CD in full. Where Sigur Ros kind of got less awesome last year with "Takk..."-- Mogwai pleasantly surprised me with "Mr. Beast." Great. Just great.

Boris - Pink -- Yeah, so it's been a while. I was wondering when the ADD gaze of metal-curious hipsters would stumble upon Boris. Fuck The Sword, whom are probably just indie kids in jean jackets AND tight jeans WITH metal patches sewn on, amps turned to 11. High on Fire aren't even that good, even if Steve Albini did produce them. Boris is the shit. "Pink" is some of the best stoner/doom/sludge shit I have ever heard.

Ahleuchatistas - What You Will -- What a find. A former Tallahasseean guitarist, Shane Perlowin (ex-Velvet Pelvis), goes to TCC, gets sick of the town's football obsession (I can't blame him) a decides to do music in a little North Carolina hippie town called Asheville. He meets two other math-rock/jazz/porg nerds and *poof*, Ahleuchatistas is born. If you're at a loss of how to pronounce that name, just think of the Bird song "Ah-Leu-Cha," an upbeat bop ditty that they noticeably pull from (as well as most fast off-time jazz like Brubeck, Coleman, etc.), combine with the Spanish suffix of "Zapatistas" (meaning, I guess, "dedicated believe and/or soldier of") and there you have it. "What You Will" in another fine, and this time more focused, release for the power trio. V89 is playin' it like it's dat hotness.

Anathallo - Floating World -- This band is amazing like you have no idea. Imagine Sufjan Stevens arranging and singing for a Sigur Ros (prettyness, heavy drums and guitar sound) or Godspeed You! Black Emperor (darkness, lo-fi aesthetic and large amount of sound/musicians) kind of band. That's basically Anathallo in a large nutshell. Last time I saw them live (about three years ago, maybe more) they had at least nine or ten members on one small stage. On record, they sound way cleaner. Their passion is lost a little bit, but its almost completely original, and definitely intense, music. Absolutely unique and wonderful.

The National - Alligator (Expanded) -- Sure, it technically came out last year, but I actually bought it this year because I'm lazy. And it came with an extra CD and all that lovely crap. And a slipcase! I just love slipcases! Seriously, get this record. The National remind me of a Midwestern, American Music Club-type Joy Division band that actually rock... and roll, too!