06.

Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Every year I have a cut off point in writing the list. There are the albums that define the year, and then there are ‘the rest’. The elite 2006 definitional club takes the form of a top six. The first member might come as a shock to some of you, I don’t know. For me, this album has been the ‘grower’ par excellence. I was dubious of the hype, of course. I eventually got a copy foisted upon me by a mate. I played it a bit, and then softened my view. It was ok. Overrated by far, but ok. That was April. I’ve not stopped playing it since. I have to now admit that the Monkeys have made a classic (like every band in the top six this year). The hype is wholly justified. I eventually bought it because I had to have a CD copy. The detail and realism and wit of the lyrics, the simple hooks of the riffs, the rousing nature of the choruses all chipped away at my mind, and, despite not really liking it at first, I kept coming back for more. Far better than Oasis ever managed. Far better. The fact that I fell in love with an album I had decided to hate on principle long before I got it attests to its quality. It really does do what it says on the tin. It’s been often argued that the manner of their rise has changed the way music will be distributed. Hardly. And, so far as that is true, it was going that way anyway.

They make great music. Everything else is irrelevant.