Hey there blog followers, once again it’s time to wade through another monologue on my favorite music from the year. It’s hard to believe I’ve bothered to keep this going but this is in fact the sixth year I’ve formally documented my “Best Music of…” selections for the blog.
Before I get in to my picks – starting with best albums – let me say a few things about my general impression of the new music released this year.
First off, I thought it was a good year for new music. I certainly didn’t have any problem coming up with a list of candidates for my best albums. There was a point in the year when I felt there was a lack of new releases that had me excited. In hindsight though, I think that had more to do with a lack of seeing live shows.
Second, for me this was the year of Spotify. Back in January I started using Spotify pretty heavily and found it was a great resource for filtering new music. Almost any time I heard about an artist or album I could go to Spotify first and listen to the full album (and back catalog) as much as I wanted. This became the “triage” process for picking new music and I guess you could say I’ve adopted a modified Sound Opinions type rating system: if it’s a good album I go ahead and purchase the album (i.e. Buy It); if it’s an okay album or has some good and bad songs then I just continue to stream it off Spotify (i.e. Stream It); and if it’s junk then I can just forget about it (i.e. Trash It).
The third thing I noticed came as I started putting together my end of year music lists. As part of the process I usually review other “Best of…” lists from various sources to see if there’s anything others are recommending that I haven’t heard or maybe that I forgot about. Although my picks don’t typically match anybody elses, they generally share a lot of common choices from this list or that. For some reason there was far less of that overlap this year. Of the twelve albums in my list below, almost all received good critical acclaim, but only three commonly showed up on other “Best of…” lists I saw. On the flip side, although some of my “Almost Best of…” albums might have ended up as top picks by others, many of the albums I saw regularly picked by other critics were ones I thought just okay, marginal or even worse. Prime examples being Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, Miguel’s Kaleidoscope Dream and Tame Impala’s Lonerism. So why the discrepancies? Am I getting old and soft in my music choices? Well I’m certainly getting old. Am I out of touch with what’s hip? Possibly. Are all the professional critics out there full of shit? I sometimes wonder. But in the end I had to just shrug my shoulders and go back to what I like because that’s ultimately what it’s all about.
So, with that preamble done, here’s the first part of my 2012 year in music review.
Top 12 Albums of 2012:
#1. Celebration Rock, Japandroids – Unlike many years, I had no problem picking my #1 album for the list. I started considering Celebration Rock my favorite album of the year when it came out in May and despite all the other albums I’ve heard since then, that never changed. In fact if you gave each album a score based on the derivative of the total time I’ve spent listening to it over the amplitude at which that album was played, Celebration Rock would score higher then all the other albums combined. And the greatest thing about this album is that not only is it my favorite at nearly 40 years of age, but I know the 16-year-old me and the 24 year-old me would say the same thing. (It will be interesting to see what the 50-year-old me thinks of it.)
#2. From the Ground Up, John Fullbright – Take the folky side of Steve Earle’s sound, throw in some Townes Van Zandt, a gospel flare and even a little Tom Waits and you’ve got an album that blew me away. It was also the biggest surprise of the year for me. I hear From the Ground Up has been nominated for a Grammy up against Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers (see #7), The Avett Brothers and Bonnie Raitt. Impressive company and although I’m sure Raitt or Mumford & Sons will win (because it’s the Grammys afterall) this album is unquestionably the best.
#3. Dejenme Llorar, Carla Morrison – This was the other surprise album that caught me off guard. I’d never heard of Carla Morrison and I still don’t know now much about her. She has an amazing voice and the music is perfectly constructed to compliment but not distract from what she delivers. One interesting thing to note is that my favorite version of the title track isn’t actually on the album. Although I love the version on the album, I think this alternate version done in a separate recording session with Nina Diaz is… amazing.
#4. Lonesome Dreams, Lord Huron – I had a slight personal connection to this band before hand. Sarah’s brother has an independent record label in L.A. that released one of Lord Huron’s EP’s last year. I liked the sound I heard then and I immediately fell in love with this album. Yes, there’s not a lot of variety in the sound, but when the sound is that enthralling and the song writing is that good it doesn’t matter. It’s the kind of mood record that doesn’t just complement a mood – it builds a mood that will swallow you whole.
#5. Myth, Geographer – This album is a bit different from a lot of what I listen to. It’s synth-driven pop that’s more dance hall then techno. Something about the sound even reminds me of the Pet Shop Boys. At first I thought it was catchy, but too “soft.” However the hooks were contagious and they drew me back. I started to hear there was an energy, and even a touch of melancholy, adding layers to the sound that make it pop music that won’t go flat.
#6. Piramida, Efterklang – I’ve heard Efterklang described as “art rock” which is usually something that translates for me to “overly complex, trading aesthetics and accessibility for uniqueness and pretentious lyrics” – and this goes double for European “art rock.” Now I can’t speak for their previous releases, but I found myself immediately drawn in to Piramida. I can use it for a beautiful chill-out background vibe or I can put on the headphones and let it pull me in to a wondrous world.
#7. The Lumineers, The Lumineers – This is the album on my list with the most main-stream success. They’ve had tracks used in a couple of commercials, they’ve been on VH1 and the late night talk shows, been nominated for a Grammy (along with John Fullbright) and even had a song hit number 1 on a couple of radio charts. I’ve really enjoyed the album and so many of the songs are hard to deny but this folk-rock sub-genre of “Alternative Country” is becoming really crowded with bands that sound a lot a like: The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters & Men, Kopecky Family Band, Blind Pilot, Fanfarlo… and now The Lumineers. Yes, this sound resonates with me, but I feel like I need to be careful that I don’t get sucked in and loose sight of what’s actually creative and sincere music versus what’s just formulaic. For now I think The Lumineers are still on the creative side (while Mumford & Sons have already fallen in to the formula) but can be a difficult and blurry boundary to follow.
#8. Arrow, The Heartless Bastards – Erika Wennerstrom and her band have put out great record after great record. I’ve heard some critics say this is their best and although I will always love some of the older releases they may be right. Either way, I couldn’t let another year go by without making sure they were well represented in my “Best of…” list. Rootsy blues-rock with one of the most powerful and unique voices in music today.
#9. Cancer 4 Cure, El-P – Most critics are tipping Killer Mike or Kendrick Lamar for the best rap album of the year and although I can see the argument for Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music (which was produced by El-P) I had a several other albums that I ranked higher. What set Cancer 4 Cure above the rest for me was the dedication to musicality, the beats and synth sounds that remind me of 90’s rap without being token retro, and rapping that is aggressive but not gratuitous. I heard one reviewer describe El-P as someone “who could make Pollyanna see poltergeists” and the album is heavy, but with a well-tuned power.
#10. Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes – I immediately heard a strong link between the Alabama Shakes and the Heartless Bastards. Both are led by powerful female voices. Both have a strong blues-rock influence. But where the Heartless Bastards go more towards Midwest Blues and Roots Rock, the Shakes take on more Southern Soul. In either case, I love it and I think the Alabama Shakes really proved themselves with this first full-length album by living up to all the hype that was generated by their SXSW appearances and EP release last year.
#11. Silver Age, Bob Mould – I have to confess that I never really liked Husker Du. I tried. I had a couple tapes (yes, tapes) in my collection because everyone said they were one of the most influential bands of the 80’s and defined real alternative rock. But their sound never grabbed me. I prefered fIREHOSE , Fugazi, Screaming Trees. So, I wasn’t in a rush to hear Bob Mould’s new solo album until I read several good reviews and thought it deserved a try. The odd thing is that for someone who defined “alternative rock” his album has the most straight-up rock and roll sound of anything on my list.
#12. Attack On Memory, Cloud Nothings – I suspect Attack On Memory may not appeal to everyone like it does to me. It’s noisy. The vocals are harsh. The lyrics can be bratty. To paraphrase one reviewer, this album provides a high-energy soundtrack for a slacker lifestyle. However it’s got a melodic drive the carries through the noise on each track. It’s like a 60’s pop album that’s gotten drunk on cheap beer, beat up in bar fight, and just got caught pissing in the street.
Not More Music Crap? 