More of 2012’s most impressive ladies in music [part 1 here].
♩Haim – Forever [from Forever EP]
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♩The Mynabirds – Radiator Sister [from Generals]
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♩Norah Jones – Happy Pills [from Little Broken Hearts]
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♩The Raveonettes – Into the Night [from Into the Night EP]
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Here you go, my top 10 albums of 2012. I went back and forth on this up until the last minute. But alas, there’s no going back now. My picks are official and floating around the world wide web for everyone to scrutinize. And speaking of scrutiny, I would love some feedback. Do you agree/disagree with my picks? What were your favorites this year? Heck, what were your least favorites? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going.
[p.s. see how my final top 10 compared to my favorites back in June and July]
10. Sigur Rós//Valtari
Scratched them off my concert bucket list this year and totally lived up to my expectations. I have no idea what Jonsi and company are singing about and I really don’t care. Beautiful music is beautiful music. Period.
♩Sigur Ros – Ekki múkk
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9. Sleigh Bells//Reign of Terror
I can’t get enough of this duo. My favorite driving music. Turn it up, roll down the windows, drive fast. Noise pop at it’s best.
♩Sleigh Bells – Crush
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8. Exitmusic//Passage
An amazing and emotionally charged record that I seem to enjoy more with every listen. If Beach House were to team up with Sigur Rós, I imagine it would sound like this.
♩Exitmusic – White Noise [from Passage]
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7. Blackbird Blackbird//Boracay Planet
If you haven’t already, you need to give Blackbird Blackbird a proper listen. This guy is amazing and he just keeps getting better. Boracay Planet is his best yet.
♩Blackbird Blackbird – It’s A War [from Boracay Planet]
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6. Kishi Bashi//151a
This record makes me happy. Smart lyrics, beautiful vocals, imaginative arrangements, and quite the impressive violin work. Kishi Bashi’s debut album 151a is all of these things and more. Kishi Bashi is my favorite new artist of 2012 and it’s no surprise he’s on so many year end lists.
♩Kishi Bashi – Bright Whites
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5. Crystal Castles//Crystal Castles (III)
My favorite Crystal Castles release to date. With every new track the Canadian experimental/electronic duo dropped, the more and more my excitement and anticipation grew.
♩Crystal Castles – Wrath of God
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4. Lost In The Trees//A Church That Fits Your Needs
One of the most personal, and beautiful, records i’ve fallen in love with (probably since The Antlers’ Hospice in 2009). Lead singer/guitarist based the record largely around his mother’s suicide, stating that — “I wanted to give my mother a space to become all the things I think she deserved to be and wanted to be, and all the beautiful things in her that didn’t quite shine while she was alive.”
♩Lost In The Trees – Golden Eyelids
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3. Porcelain Raft//Strange Weekend
Mauro Remiddi, as Porcelain Raft, has crafted a dreamy and visceral sound unlike no other. One of the most impressive debut albums since The xx’s xx in 2009.
♩Porcelain Raft – Drifting In And Out
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2. Beach House//Bloom
Baltimore’s Beach House continue to set a high standard for dream pop with each and every release. This year’s Bloom might be their best yet. It’s definitely my personal favorite from the duo.
♩Beach House – On the Sea
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1. The xx//Coexist
Easily my favorite album of the year. Totally exceeded my expectations. Like their debut, I can listen to this record, from start to finish, over and over again.
This entire record is great, it’s hard to single out just one track especially with guest appearances ranging from T.I. and Theophilus London to Little Dragon and Phantogram. “Lines” features the Southern influenced Rocky and Phantogram on the hook. This is the second solo record from Big Boi and is a must have for Hip-Hop fans…but can we please get another Outkast record?
♩Big Boi – Lines (feat. A$AP Rocky & Phantogram) [from Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors]
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M.I.A. delivers yet again with a playfulness that only she can pull off. This was one of my favorite tracks, beats, and videos of the year — maybe even the best video of the year, in my opinion. M.I.A. is currently putting the final touches on her upcoming album Matangi (due out March 2013).
♩M.I.A. – Bad Girls [single]
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“Goldie” will have to do for now, because A$AP’s record, Long.Live.A$AP, keeps getting pushed back and is now set to be released Jan 15th, 2013. The Harlem MC has established himself in the rap scene without a major label release. The self proclaimed “pretty motherf**cker” has become one of the most recognizable faces in Hip-Hop with his keen eye for fashion and swagger. More from A$AP to come soon.
♩A$AP Rocky – Goldie (prod. by Hit-Boy) [single]
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Pac Div is one of the most underrated rap groups around. I can’t figure out why they haven’t blown up. They have consistently released mixtapes and albums that critics and Hip-Hop heads seem to love but they have yet to receive the accolades they deserve. “Black Acura” is off of their latest album GMB that features the likes of Mac Miller and Kendrick Lamar.
♩Pac Div – Black Acura (feat. Mac Miller & Raven Sorvino) [from GMB]
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Falling in love with new music is one life’s simple pleasures and 2012 was a fantastic year of discovery for me. I’ve already featured a few of my new favorites this year, including Bright Moments, HAERTS, Porcelain Raft, and Vacationer (just to name a few), and today i’d like to highlight a few more. But first I need to give credit where credit is due. If it weren’t for the following music outlets, my music repertoire would be far less exciting. Big thanks to All Songs Considered, Big Hassle, EARMILK, Girlie Action, Head Underwater, A Heart Is A Spade, The Hype Machine Radio Show, Largehearted Boy, KCRW, Nialler 9, No Fear Of Pop, The Noise Pop Podcast, Oh So Fresh! Music, Paste Magazine, Pigeons & Planes, Planetary Group, PORTALS, Treble in Trouble, Winnie Cooper, yvynyl, and the one and only, Ethel Sale. Now without further ado, please enjoy a small sample of my favorite discoveries of 2012.
CHVRCHES are a Scottish electro pop band based in Glasgow. The trio has been generating quite a bit of buzz on the blogosphere and I expect a big 2013 for them.
♩CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share [single]
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Desert Stars is a 5-piece band from Brooklyn. Built on the creative output, and impressive lead vocals, of Janelle Best, the band dispatches a very dreamy/shoegaze/lo-fi sound. The band just finished recording it’s debut with a Spring release expected.
♩Desert Stars – Boys I Like [from Boys I Like/Farewell Decade]
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Drop Electric is an experimental rock band based in Washington D.C. and NYC. As All Songs Considered puts it, “a ‘Sigur Ros-ian’ band with an epic sound.
♩Drop Electric – Empire Trashed [from Drop Electric Sampler Platter]
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Goldroom is Los Angeles-based producer Josh Legg. “Fifteen” is the perfect Summer song — great production, soothing synths, and dreamy vocals, courtesy of Australian singer Chela.
♩Goldroom – Fifteen (feat. Chela) [single]
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London producer Sam Howard, aka Halls, released his debut album Ark this year. “White Chalk” is quite possibly be the most beautiful song of 2012. Definitely a favorite of mine, easily in my top 10 tracks of the year. I’ve listened to “What Chalk” more than any other track this couple of months. The production, along with the vocals and classical piano chords, are superb. I especially love what Howard writes in the liner notes of Ark — “I hope you find a source of positivity from within the themes of isolation and death found on the album.”
♩Halls – White Chalk [from Ark]
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“The Minneapolis trio Now, Now has mastered the art of magnification: It takes small moments and invests them with larger meaning.” – NPR Music’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2012
♩Now, Now – School Friends [from Threads]
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Pacific Air is an indie pop band, consisting of brothers brothers Ryan and Taylor Lawhon. After changing their name from KO KO, the duo released their debut EP LONG LIVE KOKO this last Fall. Leadoff track “Float” is one of the most infectious and catchy dream pop tracks of 2012.
♩Pacific Air – Float [from LONG LIVE KOKO EP]
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Patrick Watson is a Canadian singer-songwriter who’s been making music for over a decade. This is one of those discoveries I wish would’ve happened years ago.
♩Patrick Watson – Into Giants [from Adventures In Your Own Backyard]
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“Over the last few years, I’ve realized that my experiences are not singular. I’m writing for people, not just me.” – Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) via A Heart Is A Spade
♩Perfume Genius – Hood [from Put Your Back N 2 It]
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“Simple in structure and free of flash, it’s the style that has us craving more. They blend a punkish retro vibe with a head-nodding new energy and a pop sensibility.” – Pigeons & Planes
♩Shadows On Stars – Now You’re Mine [from Shadows On Stars]
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Power-pop garage rock from Passion Pit’s Ayad Al Adhamy. I live 3 miles from the beach and I go maybe once a year, which makes this song fitting.
♩Team Spirit – Fuck The Beach [from Team Spirit EP]
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“‘Mtn Tune’ is the ideal summer anthem. Complimentary vocals, dancy synths and a guitar/drum combination that reminds one of The Neighbourhood — this song has it all. Be it on a beach or in your back yard, let Trails and Ways guide your dance in the sun, and inhale the blissful existence of summer.” – EARMILK
♩Trails and Ways – Mtn Tune [single]
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Like most American’s this holiday season, I want to buy a diamond ring from Zales because of retro-esque pop ballad.
♩Various Cruelties – If It Wasn’t for You [from Various Cruelties]
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Year after year, the ladies in music prove they can hang with the boys, and 2012 was no different. In fact, 2012 was such a big year for the ladies, i’m gonna have to break this into a multiple posts. I tried to narrow it down, but how in the heck am I supposed to decide between the likes of Amanda Palmer, Frankie Rose, Patti Smith, and Sera Cahoone? Exactly. So without further ado, enjoy the first installment of good, from some of the most talented ladies in music.
♩Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra – Smile (Pictures or It Didn’t Happen) [from Theatre Is Evil]
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♩Dana Falconberry – Petoskey Stone [from Though I Didn’t Call It Came]
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♩Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows [from End of Daze EP]
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♩Emily Wells – Passenger [from Mama]
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♩Fiona Apple – Every Single Night [from The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver…]
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♩Frankie Rose – Intersteller [from Intersteller]
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