Top Albums of 2012: The View From The Music Industry
Frankly, wouldn’t you rather know who your favorite musician thought was making good music, than some schmuck sitting around the TDOA offices? We’ve reached out to our favorite people in the music industry (musicians, writers, record label folks.) and asked them to send us a list of their favorite albums of 2012. Frankly, the lists are frequently reflective of the personalities. Lots of nice gems that slipped our notice (and everyone else’s for that matter!) and some things that only make sense to the person who wrote it. Some of our friends wrote wonderful, lengthy discussions about their picks, some sent them to us in typographically challenged formats. We’ve fashioned it together for you to explore and enjoy.
Gus Unger-Hamilton- alt-J
1. Polica – Give You The Ghost
“This for me is a quintessential “headphones album” – my favourite way to listen to music is while I’m walking around somewhere. Polica’s album, with its beautiful vocals and production, has been a constant companion in 2012.”
2. Django Django – Django Django
“We played at a lot of the same festivals as Django Django this year, so the way I first heard their music was live. However, this took me to the album, which I have learned to love as much as their stage show.”
3. Romare – Meditations on Afrocentrism EP
“This guy is one half of a band we knew in Leeds, The Peppermint Lounge. The band has since split, but both members continue to make music on their own. This was Archie (AKA Romare)’s debut release, a 4-track EP of footwork, dubstep, world and house that I think is truly original.”
4. The Lumineers – The Lumineers
“I discovered this album while touring the states this autumn – I am a folk music lover at heart, and this is a very strong album.”
5. Oberhofer – Time Capsules II
“I know little about this band, but my friend in San Francisco got me into them via the track HEART. It’s a varied and intriguing record that I’ve been listening to more and more.”
6. The Maccabbees – Given To The Wild
“I’ve loved this band since I first heard a demo of theirs on late-night BBC Radio 1 some time in the mid noughties, when I was a teenage. Each subsequent album of theirs has represented a musical maturation for the band, and their third offering is no different. Another headphones record!”
7. Metronomy – LateNightTales compilation
“The first LateNightTales compilation I got was The Cinematic Orchestra’s, a few years ago. Since then, I’ve been addicted to this series. Metronomy [AKA Joseph Mount and co.] are one of my favourite bands (their third album was my “record of 2011″), and this is a great mix by one of the most daring and visionary musicians working in Britain today.”
8. The Cribs – In The Belly of the Brazen Bull
“No Cribs album has ever disappointed me, from their eponymous debut almost 10 years ago, to this, their fifth studio album. I’ll always be interested in what this band is doing.”
9. Cave Painting – Votive Life
“We toured with this band in May around the time of our album release. They’d finished their debut record, but hadn’t released it yet, so I got a chance to get to know it both through their live set, and an advance copy they gave me. Whilst I think they convey more live, this is still a really good collection of songs, thoughtfully written and produced.”
10. Stealing Sheep – Into The Diamond Sun
“Another band which has supported us this year – a female three-piece from Liverpool. Folky harmonies sung over psychedelic instrumentals, and a genuine sense of magic, make this a perfect album for me.”
Josh Tillman of Father John Misty
10. Prez P. A. U. L. – A. C. R. O. N. Y. M. S. 2055
9. Blood Diamond – Vague Geometric Shapes
8. Assorted Bears – Debts
7. Skyler No and Terror Maze – Electric’s Grid
6. Holy Matrimony – Retrograde Flux
5. Lil’ Cleopatra $a$$ – Intro-deucing: Return of The 2nd Queen: Reloaded (Pink Edition)
4. NOVUS – ^^^
3. Girl Camp – Beach Cat
2. Tierro and Dempsey – CEEEiling FrEEEquencies
1. Groupthink – S/T
First Aid Kit
Father John Misty – Fear Fun
“This is our absolute favorite record of the year and definitely the one we’ve listened to the most. It was instant love from the first time we heard “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings.” It reminds us a lot of Gram Parsons’ music. It’s witty, funny and touching all at the same time. Josh Tillman has an effortless way of writing lyrics that is very inspiring. Jonathan Wilson’s production is never demanding, but always beautiful, soulful and fun. And that voice – oh my!”
Dylan LeBlanc – Cast The Same Old Shadow
Jack White – Blunderbuss
The Mynabirds – Generals
Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
Rebecca Zeller- Ra Ra Riot
Hot Chip – In Our Heads
Chairlift – Something
Niki & The Dove – Instinct
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Delicate Steve – Positive Force
Peter Hook- Joy Division/New Order
In Alphabetical And No Particular Order
alt–J – An Awesome Wave
Bobby Womack (with Damon Albarn) – The Bravest Man In The Universe
Django Django – Django Django
Graham Coxon – A + E
Grimes – Visions
Hot Chip – In Our Heads
Tame Impala – Lonerism
The Vaccines – Come Of Age
The XX – Coexist
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Trouble
Guy Maddison’s (of Mudhoney) top ten list
1. Coco Marie Maddison’s first words and steps.
2. Barack Obama’s re-election.
3. Sydney Swans win the Premiership.
4. Mudhoney complete their new album.
5. Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament in Myanmar.
6. Bradley Wiggins becomes the first Englishman to win the Tour de France, and perhaps the first Mod to win any sporting event, ever.
7. Convinced 3 other people to join me in eating fermented, icelandic shark.
8. Mudhoney finally played Mogwai’s ATP curatorship.
9. Stoofvlees or Carbonade Flamande recipe perfected.
10. Seattle Cyclocross season 2012, by the way can Seven Cycles give me a “Mudhoney” frame for next season?
Kyle Thomas- King Tuff
1. Audacity – Mellow Cruisers
2. Gap Dream – s/t
3. Chris Weisman – Beatleboro
4. White Fang – High Expectations
5. Natural Child – For The Love Of The Game
6. The Memories – s/t
7. Tame Impala – Lonerism
8. Hector’s Pets
9. Fletcher C. Johnson – Salutations
10. The Babies – Our House On The Hill
Sera Cahoone
1. Breaking Bad season 5
2. Denver Broncos
3. Thee Satisfaction – Awe Natural
4. Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
5. Toy poodles
6. Music for Marriage Equality
7. Bulliet Rye
8. Father John Misty – Fear Fun
9. Shovels and Ropes – Oh Be Joyful
10. Raquetball resurgence
Benjamin Weikel- The Helio Sequence
1. DIIV – Oshin
2. Menomena – Moms
3. Here We Go Magic – A Different Ship
4. Beach House – Bloom
5. Tame Impala – Lonerism
6. Ultraísta – Ultraísta
7. Lackthereof – Building Personal Strength
8. Pure Bathing Culture – S/T EP
9. Chairlift – Something
10. Opossom – Electric Hawaii
Brandon Summers- The Helio Sequence
Ombre – Believe You Me
Menomena – Moms
Beach House – Bloom
Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
Here We Go Magic – A Different Ship
Tame Impala – Lonerism
Tu Fawning – A Monument
Toy – Self Titled
DIIV – Oshin
The XX – Coexist
2012 Top Twelve in Chronological Order
1. Playing with OFF! and Grinderman in Australia (yes, that was last December, but I’m including this because top 10 lists screw December).
2. El Rancho, an uncrowded long left 20 minutes north of Perfect Rivermouth #27 (featured in the film Siestas & Olas)
3. Packing my house with so many good friends on my 50th.
4. feedtime. I never thought I’d get to see them, much less share a bill with them.
5. Washington & Oregon Coast (There’s no chronology here, because it can be great throughout the year.)
6. Watching Haramafuji win two consecutive tournaments without a single loss and his subsequent promotion to Yokozuna.
7. 1994 Weingut Günther Steinmetz Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese
8. Swans – The Seer (holy shit!)
9. The results of the Washington State and National elections, highlighted by watching Karl Rove deny reality when Ohio was called for Obama. Suck it Karl!
10. Covering Minor Threat’s “Filler” with Bitch Magnet.
11. Johnny Sangster’s recording & mixing and Bob Weston’s mastering
12. The night of Poggio Di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino 97, 98, 99, 01, plus a couple of others whose names were lost in the fog of wine.
Ryan- Ruby Suns
Ten Tubular Tunes of 2012:
Todd Terje – Inspector Norse
Bear in Heaven – The Reflection of You
El Perro Del Mar – Walk On By
Ice Choir – Teletrips
When Saints Go Machine – Church and Law
Opossom – Blue Meanies
Lawrence Arabia – Early Kneecappings
Boycrush – Everybody All The Time
Bjork – Mutual Core
hot chip – don’t deny your heart
Chris Slorach- METZ
in no particular order:
Thee oh Sees – Putrifers II
Moon Duo – Circles
Mrs. Magician – Strange Heaven
Redd Kross – Researching the Blues
Swans – The Seer
Liars – WIXIW
Soupcans – Good Feelings
Teenanger – Frights
- The new song Patrick Flegel sent me he described as “very Butthole surfers”
- Finally putting out our record
Crocodiles- Charles Rowell
10 Best Songs of 2012:
1. Solange – Losing You
2. Mac DeMarco – Rock & Roll Night Club
3. Plateaus – King Of The Beach
4. Viv Albertine – I Want More
5. Hype Williams – Blue Dream
6. Wild Belle – Keep You
7. White Fence – It Will Never Be
8. Bat For Lashes – Laura
9. Kindness – Anyone Can Fall In Love
10. Fresh & Onlys – Wanna Do Right By You
Kjartan Holm- Sigur Ros/ For a Minor Reflection
1. Converge – All We Love We Leave Behing
2. Philip Glass – Rework
3. Swans – The Seer
4. Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
5. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
6. Dan Deacon – America
7. Hot Chip – In Our Heads
8. Grimes – Visions
9. Ojba Rasta – Ojba Rasta
10. Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
The Soft Pack
1. Light Asylum – Light Asylum
2. Go Kart Mozart – On the Hot Dog Streets
3. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
4. Dunes – Noctiluca
5. The Fresh & Onlys – Long Slow Dance
6. Stephanie – One Glove
7. Crocodiles – Endless Flowers
8. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
9. Dum Dum Girls – End of Daze
10. Deep Time – Deep Time
Laura Lloyd- No Joy
1. METZ – METZ
2. Violens – True
3. Terry Malts – Killing Time
Jasamine White-Gluz- No Joy
1. Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action at a Distance
2. DIIV – Oshin
3. (I think this is technically a 2011 release but who’s countin) YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN-YT//ST
Victoria Cecilia- Gliss
Twin Shadow – Confess
Adele – Skyfall
Patti Smith – Banga
Diamond Rings – Free Dimensional
Grizzly Bear – Shields
Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man
Tame Impala – Lonerism
Races – Year of the Witch
Tanlines – Mixed Emotions
School of Seven Bells – Ghostory
Brenna Ehrlich- Senior Writer/Editor O Music Awards at MTV Networks
I really, really like listening to music on repeat — obsessively. It’s probably some kind of mental disability, this compulsion to keep pressing “play” over and over again until each word and chord is imprinted in my brain, rendering me able to listen to said album even when it’s not currently playing, simply by summoning it from the crevices of my brain.
There’s no telling, really, what will elevate an album from a “casual listen” to a “my friends are actively worried about me because my Spotify listening history is replete with that one [insert band name] album” — sometimes it’s the emotional arc of the whole disc, sometimes it’s a single line. Either way, when I like a band I — to put it in middle school terms — “like-like” a band, obsessively doodling their lyrics on the Trapper Keeper of my mind. (And sometimes bathroom stall doors.)
Here are 10 albums that made the OCD cut this year:
1. King Tuff – King Tuff
I believe my first entree to this album was the song “Keep On Movin’” — the perfect “I’m walking down the street, so what? I don’t give a fuck” jam, it contains the line “crazy legs like Daddy Long,” which is quite possibly the ultimate mental image. Creepy, jarring — and a bit (troublingly) sexy, it sets the tone for the entire album, which bubbles with a joyful naivety undercut with a kind of deviant darkness.
2. Matthew Dear – Beams
Matthew Dear is a master songwriter among errant mumblers who claim that their lyrics don’t mean anything. There are some lyrics that just make my face break out all over with glee, and in this album, those lyrics were nestled in the beginning of “Do The Right Thing”: “My heart, it weighs about a ton in snakes/I feel hollow as a grave/I have to dig every day.” Don’t you know exactly what Matthew Dear is talking about? If not, don’t worry, you’ve just never been in love. A lighter and somewhat dancier — although still inherently super dark — follow-up to 2010’s excellent Black City, Beams is worth several listens. If only to catch every expertly crafted word.
3. Islands – A Sleep & Forgetting
Might as well let the lyricsmiths sit together up in here. I’m pretty much a fan of most things that Nick Thorburn pens — from the much-missed tunes of the Unicorns to Mister Heavenly to his solo album I Am An Album. Thorburn has the unique talent of packing an entire story — a novel even — into a song without writing one of those Bob Dylan story song dealies. A Sleep & Forgetting, in my opinion, is a bit quieter — a bit more earnest — than previous Thorburn-penned collections (although it still has a few weird, macabre, fast-paced jams like “Hallways” and “I Can’t Feel My Face”). But the songwriting, the storytelling is still there, lulling the listener into a troubled, waking sleep filled with recollections of fractured love.
4. Ariel Pink – Mature Themes After one particularly fervent week of listening to this album on repeat, a friend scrawled under my Spotify activity on Facebook, “Stop listening to this please. Or I will never hang out with you again.” Granted, we have pretty different musical tastes — he’s into the hashtag-bearing genres — but, yeah, it was getting dire. How many times can you listen to a song called “Schnitzel Boogie” before pitching into the doldrums of madness? But that’s what I like about this album — and all the sundry works of Mister Pink — they’re just flagrantly weird, in a way that makes you all like, “What? How… How did you even come up with that?” Anytime you’re feeling like you’re getting complacent with your own endeavors, just crank “Pink Slime” or “Symphony of the Nymph” and ruminate on your own inner madness. Then dial it back a notch or two, because not many of us can get away with being weird for weirdness’ sake.
5. PUJOL – United States Of Being
Dumb punk rock is extremely fun — accompaniment to thrashing and flailing and making bad decisions. Smart punk rock — when done right — can be even more enjoyable. Why? Well, after thrashing/flailing/bad decision-making to the surface beats and wails, you can go ahead and listen to the lyrics. Smart punk music serves dual purposes — it’s like the Swiss Army knife of the music world. PUJOL is one of my favorite “smart punk” bands. Riddled with weird little samples — phones buzzing, rain etc — United States of Being is a slow-burn onion of an album (mixed metaphors!). Favorite line? “I’m over-the-counter-culture” in the song “DIY2K.” Had to go back and read that twice, didn’t you? See what I mean?
6. The Pharmacy – Stoned & Alone
The title of this album pretty much encapsulates what it feels like to listen to it. Let me explain: It’s all in the order of the words. If “alone” and “stoned” were reversed, it would imply that you are alone — perhaps in your room — and under the influences (as in the King Tuff song by that name). However, when “stoned” comes before “alone,” it implies that you are stoned and therefore feel alone. (I didn’t quite make this up — the band’s Brendhan Bowers broke it down for me when I premiered the album recently [http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/11/13/the-pharmacy-stoned-and-alone-album-stream/]). Got it? Well, that’s what listening to this Pharmacy disc is like — you’re all euphoric and riding high (during jangly, dark jams like “Chinese Fingertrap” and “Dig Your Grave”) and then you start crashing and getting all introspective (see songs like “Lazy Bones” and “Make Me Remember”). It’s all a good trip, yeah, but one that definitely ends with gorging on feelings rather than snacks. OK, maybe a few snacks.
7. FIDLAR – FIDLAR
FIDLAR’s debut LP is basically the ill-fated childhood I never had — the one that will catch up with if me by the time I crack 30 (if I’m not careful). Replete with oddly upbeat jams about rehab, being poor, shitty exes and the inability to surf, this album will make you feel awkward, over-sexed, hyper and paranoid — in the best way possible. Get it ASAP at the only appropriate venue for being introduced to such jams — a live show. That’s the only place it’s available, apparently, until it drops on mom + pop in January.
8. Prince Rama – Top Ten Hits Of The End Of The World
What will you be listening to on December 21 when the Earth crumbles into the gaping maw of the galaxy? I’ll be chilling with the Prince Rama girls, no question. Concept albums can, by their very nature, be gimmicky horrible things that grate on your raw, raw nerves, but that’s not the case with the Larson sisters’ newest album, which features 10 songs written by 10 fictional bands during 10 alleged apocalypses. It’s a golden-gilded, sequin-splattered earth-cracker of an album — the perfect accompaniment to a Mayan-spun culimnation of doom.
9. Liars – WIXIW
You know how I said I really like lyrics? I’ll let my rabid need to hear.every.word slide for Liars, who put such little emphasis on turns of phrase that they decline to include lyrics sheets with their albums. And that’s OK, because discs like WIXIW are cinematic mind stories — listening to Liars’ music is like reading a book in a dream. You can get the sense of a story, but you don’t know exactly what it’s about. The same obfuscation holds true for the title, which is pronounced “Wish You.” Lead singer Angus Andrew told me once in an interview, “In part it was an interesting idea for us, the sort of universal nature of that sentiment, which people can relate to…. But we spelled it in such an awkward way that it kind of reflects on the way you might feel about the idea of wishing for something — where it seems like automatically as soon as you’re putting yourself in a position where you’re wishing for something you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.” [http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/04/13/liars-wixiw-interview/] Think on that while you weave your own narrative from these dark, nightmare jams.
10. Mrs. Magician – Strange Heaven
What better way to end a countdown than with my most recent obsession? I listened to this album on repeat during a recent four-hour bus ride home from Boston whilst staring out the window into darkness — like you (and extremely twee people in mumblecore movies) do. The disc has a beachy vibe (like being on a beach right before a hurricane) and will ring all too extremely true for anyone who has ever, ever been dumped. Which is everyone, unless you are a hateful human being or a nun. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some on-repeat listening to do.
Jonathan Poneman- Label Chief- Sub Pop Records
Some memorable 2012 listens (in no particular order) that weren’t on Sub Pop or Hardly Art.
1. Marzette Watts and Company (reissue)
2. Redd Kross – Researching the Blues
3. Swans – The Seer
4. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m A.A.d city
5. Daughn Gibson – _All Hell
6. Mark Stewart – Exorcism of Envy
7. Tame Impala – Lonerism
8. Angel Olsen – Half Way Home
9. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
10. Scott Walker – Bish Bosch
Bekah Zietz- Publicist- Sub Pop Records
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Angel Olsen – Half Way Home
Daughn Gibson – All Hell
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
Lower Dens – Nootropics
Matthew E White – Big Inner
Deep Time – s/t
Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
Frank Ocean – Channel ORANGE
Nu Sensae Sundowning
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (Best song of 2012)
The Vacant Lots
Moon Duo – Circles
Cheval Sombre – Mad Love
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Aufheben
Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Luna – Bewitched (on vinyl)
UFO Club – UFO Club
Teen – In Limbo
Fuxa – Electric Sound of Summer
Rodriguez – Searching For Sugar Man Soundtrack
The Velvet Underground – Scepter Studios Sessions
Stagnant Pools
(in no particular order)
Liars – WIXIW
Scott Walker – Bisch Bosch
Swans – The Seer
Deerhoof – Breakup Song
Mount Eerie – Clear Moon
Lower Dens – Nootropics
Chris Cohen – Overgrown Path
Disappears – Pre Language
Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action at a Distance
Camera – Radiate!
Psychic Ills
Robust Worlds – Emotional Planet (De Stijl)
The Men – Open Your Heart (Sacred Bones)
Moon Duo – Circles (Sacred Bones)
Royal Trux – Twin Infinitives live at St. Vitus, Brooklyn December 8, 2012
Zebrablood (Nathan Corbin) – Blazer Sound System Mixes 1-4
Drew McDowall – Solo performance at Death By Audio, Brooklyn June 20, 2012
White Fence – Family Perfume Vol 1&2 (Woodist)
Six Organs of Admittance – Ascent (Drag City)
FJ McMahon – Spirit Of The Golden Juice (Reissue)(The Circadian Press)
Arthur Magazine – Back in print!
New York Knicks – Best start to the season in years!
2011 but not discovered until 2012…
Eleven Twenty-Nine – Eleven Twenty-Nine (Northern-Spy)
V/A – Music from Saharan Cellphones – (Sahel Sounds)
Terry Allen – Live At Al’s Grand Hotel May 7th 1971 (Orion Read)
VIETNAM
1. Bob Dylan – Tempest
2. Hector’s Pets – Wet Pet Cassette
3. Black Bananas – Rad Times Xpress IV
4. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill
5. Brian Eno – Lux
6. Beachwood Sparks – The Tarnished Gold
7. K-Holes – Dismania
8. Pop Zeus – Memory Hangs
9. Willie Nelson – Heroes
10. T.V. Baby – Limited 7″
Aimeé Nash- The Black Ryder
Tame Impala – Lonerism
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Aufheben
Patti Smith – Banga
Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
Sigur Ros – Valtari
Grimes – Vision
Dirty Three – Below the Low Sun
Bat For Lashses – The Haunted Man
Tamaryn – Tender New Signs
The Laurels – Plains
Arborea
Mariee Sioux – Gift for the End
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
Ruby Throat – O Doubt O Star’s
Cian Nugent – Grass Above My Head/My War Blues
Marissa Nadler – Sister
Chistopher Paul Stelling – Song of Praise & Scorn
Jeff Zentner – A Season Lost
Cat Power – Sun
Six Organs of Admittance – Ascent
Ben Howard – Every Kingdom
Gary Clark Jr. – Blak and Blu
Robbie Basho – Twilight Peaks
Kemp & Eden – Black Hole Lace
Ryan Coseboom- Stripmall Architecture
Tame Impala – Lonerism
Efterklang – Piramida
Purity Ring – Shrines
DIIV – Oshin
Bear In Heaven – I Love You, It’s Cool
Memory Tapes – Grace/Confusion
Holy Other – Held
Wild Nothing – Nocturne
Frankie Rose – Interstellar
Pinback – Information Retrieved
Mercedes- Las Robertas
1. Ave Negra – Sensaciones Juveniles
2. The Babies – Our House on The Hill
3. Ty Segall – Twins
4. Colleen Green – Milo Goes to Compton
5. Bleached – Francis
6. Royal Headache – Royal Headache
7. King Tuff – King Tuff
8. OFF! – OFF!
9. Melody’s Echo Chamber – Melody’s Echo Chamber
10. Los Blenders – Ah-Oh
Local Natives
1. Tame Impala – Lonerism *favorite of the year
2. Grizzly Bear – Shields
3. Father John Misty – Fear Fun
4. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
5. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
Eric Owen- Black Pistol Fire
Baptiste Fick- The Wendy Darlings
with links!
VANILLA RIDE http://www.bigpinkcake.co.uk/news/vanilla-ride-vanilla-ride/
SPACE PADLOCKS http://thespacepadlocks.bandcamp.com/
THE CHOO CHOO TRAINS http://thechoochootrains1.bandcamp.com/
DOGGY http://www.bigpinkcake.co.uk/news/doggy-leurs-traces-dans-la-neige/
WHITE FENCES: Family Perfume
