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50/ The Horrors - 'Count In Fives'
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49/ The Young Knives - 'Weekends and Bleak Days'
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48/ Guillemots - 'We're Here'
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47/ The Good, The Bad & The Queen - 'Herculean'
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46/ The Fratellis - 'Henrietta'
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45/ The Noisettes - 'Scratch Your Name'
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44/ Kid Harpoon - 'Riverside'
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43/ Kasabian - 'Empire'
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42/ Jose Gonzalez - 'Heartbeats'
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41/ The Early Years - 'All Ones and Zeros'
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40/ Art Brut - 'Nag Nag Nag Nag'
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39/ Dirty Pretty Things - 'Bang, Bang You're Dead'
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38/ Justice vs. Simian - 'We Are Your Friends'
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37/ Howling Bells - 'Setting Sun'
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36/ Lily Allen - 'LDN'
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35/ The Spinto Band - 'Oh Mandy'
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34/ Akira the Don - 'Clones'
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33/ Jarvis Cocker - 'Running The World'
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32/ The Automatic - 'Monster'
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31/ Thom Yorke - 'Harrowdown Hill'
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30/ Guillemots - 'Trains To Brazil'
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29/ Peter Bjorn and John - 'Young Folks'
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28/ Tunng - 'Woodcat'
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27/ The Long Blondes - 'Weekend Without Makeup'
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26/ The Maccabees - 'First Love'
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25/ Nelly Furtado - 'Maneater'
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24/ Muse - 'Starlight'
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23/ Tapes n Tapes - 'Cowbell'
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22/ Good Shoes - 'We Are Not The Same EP'
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21/ Assembly Now - 'It's Magnetic / Out On 24's'
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20/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Turn Into'
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19/ The Kooks - 'Naive'
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18/ I'm From Barcelona - 'We're From Barcelona'
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17/ The View - 'Wasted Little DJs'
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16/ Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - 'The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Part One)'
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15/ The Flaming Lips - ' The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song'
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14/ Amy Winehouse - 'Rehab'
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13/ Wolfmother - 'Woman'
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12/ The Knife - 'Silent Shout'
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11/ Mogwai - 'Friend of the Night'
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10/ CSS - 'Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above'
From Brazil they came and in Britain they conquered. With tunes as damn fine as this, CSS single-handedly put the Sex into 2006. A glutton of it. A glorious mash-up of funk, indie and electronica, yet sounding nothing like these narrow-minded pigeonholes, the sextet really quite possibly the greatest (and certainly most vibrant) new act of 2006. A far cry from some of the middling indie some bands are happy to drudge out.
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9/ The Killers - 'When We Were Young'
Okay ‘Sam’s Town’ as a whole turned out to be a bit of a white elephant, but The Killers’ comeback single was packed with enough gusto and obligatory pomposity that for a moment we thought their second album may herald great things. Like so many great tracks, simply it was a celebration of youth and the theatrical delivery and mock-epic arrangements made it even more likeable. We even forgave Brandon for that dodgy tash for a few fleeting seconds.
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8/ The Raconteurs - 'Steady As She Goes'
Thoughts of The Raconteurs merely being a side-project for Brendan Benson and Jack White were soon dispelled when The Raconteurs released this, their debut single. Retrogressive and bluesy in sound, yet somehow managing to come across fresh, this track proved that the band had some muscle and may be around for a good while yet.
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7/ Jamie T - 'Sheila'
Following a limited edition EP release in spring, our favourite cheeky cockney chap Jamie T really came good with ‘Sheila.’ Plugged to death by national radio and firmly propelled into the nationwide consciousness, it was an uplifting tale full of pertinent observations and Mr T’s now trademark delivery, it got the serotonin levels soaring all summer long.
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6/ Muse - 'Supermassive Black Hole'
In which Matthew Bellamy upped his voice a few octaves and Muse came back revitalised and, more importantly, different. Long gone are the idle Radiohead comparisons, with this single and the whole of Black Holes & Revelations, Muse proved their worth as a colossal stadium filling band. Sounding like Prince plugged in at the mains, and with enough funk and abrasive energy, it’s all enough to get even a Muse cynic roused.
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5/ TV on the Radio - 'Wolf Like Me'
To be the highlight from the masterpiece that is ‘Return To Cookie Mountain’ is a mighty fine achievment. The New York electro post-punkers upped the ante in every possible sense on this throbbing, brooding piece of work. Atmospheric and captivating, Tunde’s vocals are nothing short of hypnotic as the tune writhes and increases in urgency. Classic stuff from a classic band.
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4/ Gnarls Barkley - 'Crazy'
If one song was omnipotent and synonymous with summer 2006, then it’s Gnarls Barkley’s tour-de-force ‘Crazy.’ Okay it may have been criminally overplayed and lingered in the upper echelons of the charts for far too long, but despite this, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse unquestionably created a classic tune. Imbued with soul, passion and a pop chorus of the highest calibre, it’s no wonder the nation went stark-raving mad for it.
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3/ The Gossip - 'Standing In The Way Of Control' It may have been released towards the tail end of the year, but thanks to the unmistakable vivacity of Beth Ditto, The Gossip well and truly stamped their place on the map with ‘Standing In The Way Of Control.’ Attitude imbued vocals, a stomping beat and an almost rhythmic pulsating pace ensured that once this tune entered your lug holes, it was impossible to forget it.
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2/ Hot Chip - 'Over and Over'
Five unassuming blokes from London proved that repetition was the key to creating one of 2006’s defining anthems. Impossibly simple yet insanely catchy, ‘Over and Over’ is an electro-pop classic that from indie kids to pill heads, is loved across the land. Better still, it’s quite possibly to one of the best songs about monkeys with miniature cymbals ever committed to plastic.
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1/ Klaxons - 'Atlantis To Interzone'
They may have been tagged as the supposed figureheads of a phoney new musical movement, but all that gobbledygook aside there was little doubting Klaxons’ pivotal impact on the past year. Easily the best of their string of knockout singles, ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ is roughly-constructed, teetering on the chaotic, but utterly brilliant. Unhinged and unique - a perfect combination.
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