Localized The decade in local music: 2006

It's December, and you know what that means: lists. But this isn't just the end of a year, it's the end of a decade, which means even bigger lists (and an even bigger chance of pissing people off by forgetting something). Over the next two weeks, The A.V. Club will roll out year-specific lists of our favorite local albums. Is it a best-of? Not quite. We thought it would be more interesting to make it a little looser in scope, the better to highlight both some of the most well-known albums and also the ones that we love even though they've gotten a little lost in the mists of time. We've limited each artist to one album for the entire decade, and limited ourselves to no more than six albums for each year.

The Alarmists, A Detail Of Soldiers (Instrument Control)
The band: Even when playing small clubs, these young men deal in large-venue pop rock, in the same vein as Oasis and Coldplay.
The album: The Alarmists made such a huge, immediate impact on the local music scene, but their debut was a six-song EP—people talked about them as if they'd built up a solid, years-in-the-making back catalogue. To their credit, this was one of the catchiest, unabashedly straightforward, capital-R Rock albums to come out of Minneapolis in years. With all that grandiose crowd-pleasing, there's little room left over for filler, and if you hear one of these songs—the driving "Good Advice" in particular—it sticks in your head for days, weeks, years maybe. The subsequent follow-ups didn't catch the ear of the Cities like the band had hoped, and 2009 brought an ugly breakup and quick regrouping with fewer members. But A Detail Of Soldiers remains a reminder of how good it feels to get behind a local band with big plans.

The Awesome Snakes, Venom (Crustacean Records)
The band: This bass, guitar, and drum two-piece is Annie Holoien and Danny Henry, both formerly of The Soviettes.
The album: The 2006 breakup of The Soviettes left a gaping hole in the Twin Cities music scene. Luckily, The Awesome Snakes' debut proved that not only could Holoien and Henry still make awesome music, but—more important—also that people had no reason to be so sad. (After all, that would interfere with enjoying just how awesome The Awesome Snakes are.) Aside from lyrics and amusing samples, Venom also sports fantastic, crunchy, distorted bass riffs and crisp drums. But the music really deserves the most attention, preventing an entertaining concept from becoming dull and played-out. The record is also a welcome return to the less traditional (and far more interesting) punk sound that was found on early Soviettes releases but distinctly lacking on LP III.

Belles of Skin City, You Do the Company Proud (Totally Gross National Product)
The band: Formed out of remains of the short-lived punk group Kentucky Gag Order, art-punk combo Belles Of Skin City was fronted by the boisterous, heavily tattooed David Joe Holiday.
The album: Belles didn't last much longer than its predecessor, releasing just 15 songs between the 2005 EP Ha Ha Boardrooms Think Tank Tantrums and the full-length debut You Do The Company Proud, but the band seemed to have its plan of attack down cold right away. The Belles relentlessly created complicated cascades of rhythm—not just with the multiple percussion they favored, but all the other instruments and Holiday's yelping, staccato vocal delivery were geared toward creating a shifting web of propulsive sound. At their best, Belles careened with deceptively anarchic precision, like a crew of maniacs working a factory filled with steam-powered industrial machinery—each part seemed to be moving at its own pace in its own direction, yet somehow it all fit together. Throw in Holiday's sly, smart, and bitingly funny lyrics, and it's a real shame Belles didn't break big. But as so many potentially great bands seem to do, Belles broke up not long after releasing Company. It's a good sign, though, that Holiday seems to be going for much the same sound in his new band, The Book Of Right On.

Mike Gunther And His Restless Souls, Burn It Down For The Nails (Heart Of A Champion)
The artist: A man born in the wrong time, this Robert Johnson disciple in a vintage suit makes up for that mistake by sharing his love of boxcar blues with jeans-and-T-shirt crowds.
The album: There was a time when Mike Gunther was an eccentric performer who occasionally broke out an anachronistic cover, say Ludacris' "What's Your Fantasy," performed on ukelele. On Burn It Down For The Nails, however, he fully embraced his Southern preacher alter ego, bellowing about hell, damnation, jezebels, and devils. The Restless Souls provide the perfect backdrop for his pulpit: rickety slide guitar, distorted harmonica, and lazy klezmer clarinet, all recorded to sound like they're coming in over the wireless. Gunther steps away from the chapel now and then. Bluesy, organ-rich tunes like "I Don't Wanna Know (What I Don't Wanna Know)" and "The Best Policy" are classic tales of personal woe. You know, the sort of misery that comes as a result of not fearing the hellfire.

Maps Of Norway, Sister Stations (Guilt Ridden Pop)
The band: Between their 2004 debut and their 2009 breakup, Maps Of Norway got countless audiences moving with their post-punk/New Wave hybrid tunes.
The album: The post-punk revival was huge in the '00s, and perhaps the best local evidence is Maps Of Norway's freshman effort. On Sister Stations, Maps display their expertise in quick dance rhythms (a key element of the genre), crafting fast-paced rock equally reminiscent of Blondie, Wire, and The Cure. Album highlights like "Traffic," "Manners," and "The Response" showcase the group's hard-hitting rhythm section, drummer Jeff Ball and bassist Matt Helgeson. And leading the charge is Rebecca Leigh, her power as both songstress and performer cutting through the fog of Eric Hanson's dark guitar melodies. Onstage, she matched the intensity of the band with her impeccable vocals and infectious, nonstop movement.

Previously: The decade in local music: 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000.