I have to admit that this past year in music was fairly uninspiring for me. There were a lot of albums I liked, few that I loved. Very few that I liked from start to finish without throw-away tracks. It was definitely more of a mix tape year for me. Nevertheless, here are the best of the bunch and the ones in heaviest rotation for me. I hope for good things in 2013 and I know there are a few promising releases on the horizon.
10. The Heavy - The Glorious Dead
I don't really know what the popular consensus is on these guys and I feel like this is kind of a guilty pleasure sort of pick, but I don't care because I really enjoy listening to this album. With the exception of Big Bad Wolf (which would have been really good as an instrumental), I find myself listening to and singing along with this disc over and over again during my commute home. There's definitely a Black Keys vibe which makes it an obvious pick, but again, I don't care. I like it. It's fun. Screw you, hipsters.
9. Jack White - Blunderbuss
I had high hopes for this one, and in the end, I think they were too high. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great album, well crafted, well produced, appropriately varied. I just feel like it's not very memorable. I don't see myself choosing to put this album on over any of the White Stripes ones. That being said, the guy's still a genius. Trash Tongue Talker, Love Interruption and I'm Shakin' are among the year's best songs. I also love his marketing scheme. He used the same template he used for the White Stripes' ever-present red and white motif and built a new black and blue brand in his own name, complete with the classic "III" logo and alternating all-male and all-female touring bands. This dude is a showman and he knows how to do it right. I really enjoyed seeing him this last summer and I think his live show made the album sparkle a little more. I expect his next solo effort to be mind-blowing.
8. Menomena - Moms
This is another one I was probably too excited about. I like everything these guys have done, but I was always less impressed with the tracks built off Brent Knopf's ideas. Then he quit the band. Perfect, I thought, I love this band and now the only part of it I don't care for is gone. It's like distilling the band down to a potent and extremely satisfying Menomena extract. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite hit the mark as I'd expected. I'm afraid that he took with him not only the blah synth based meanderings, but also some important part of the song creation process. Several of these songs lack the depth and layers I love from Friend and Foe and Mines. I've described their unique songwriting process on this blog previously so I won't go into it again, but it seems they've also ditched that innovative method on this album. Still (by now you've probably picked up on a theme in this post), this album has some really awesome songs. Plumage, Capsule and Skintercourse are outstanding and some of my favorite tracks they've ever recorded. I got to see them play live three times this fall and you can be sure I'll catch them again next time they come back home for a show.
7. Django Django - Django Django
Sir RJD introduced me to these guys when he came to visit in September and I've been hooked ever since. I think he summarized it well on his list so I won't go into great detail, but Default and Love's Dart are particularly noteworthy and this album played a lot in my house over the last few months of the year.
6. Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune
This is probably the only album I loved from the first track to the last, probably because it's concept nature makes it one continuous piece. It's actually a score for the movie of the same name. The movie was from the dawn of filmmaking (it's the one featured in the movie Hugo) and it's silent. These guys decided it needed some music behind it and this is what they came up with. They screened the film here many months back with the soundtrack and I regrettably missed it, but I have a feeling it's pretty impressive. The album stands alone quite well and has a proggy, 2001 A Space Odyssey feel at times. I think it was the first album I bought in 2012 and one of the best.
5. The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now
It's pretty much a given that any time TTMOE or WEW releases an album, it's going to be in my top five of the year. Again, RJD has summarized this album nicely and it's more of the same from a rare folk talent. I hope he keeps making records for a long, long time and, after missing him play free shows in Portland several times in years past, I'm glad that I finally got to see him perform live for the first time.
4. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
It took me a while to get into these guys. They had heaps of praise piled on them after Post Nothing came out a few years ago. I got that album, but I didn't quite see the brilliance, or maybe I didn't give a chance. This one by the Vancouver BC twosome grabbed me rather quickly and grew with each subsequent listen. It's short and sweet and is pure energy from top to bottom. Another great show I saw this year, their set at the Wonder Ballroom was their first back on the west coast and they showed very much love to their brethren to the south by playing the entire album plus most of Post Nothing and many early single and EP tracks.
3. Grizzly Bear - Shields; Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile
I was treated twice this year by Daniel Rossen, so I decided to lump these two albums together at number three. Not only did we get the usual melodic perfection of a new Grizzly Bear album, but DR decided to issue an EP of the songs he wrote that didn't make it onto Shields. A big Department of Eagles fan, I say the more Rossen the better and I'm always moved by his songs. It's pretty incredible that the songs on Silent Hour didn't make the final cut because they're all excellent. There is an unmistakable George Harrison sound on this disc that keeps me coming back. Golden Mile is a great track that I hesitate to call the highlight, because really the album is solid all the way through. Favorite songs on the Grizzly Bear album change every time I listen to it (this happens to me with every GB album) but right now I'd say Sleeping Ute, A Simple Answer and Gun-Shy stand out.
2. The Evens - The Odds
I've found in recent years that some of my favorite albums end up being ones I didn't expect. They're from artists I don't know who make music I don't typically seek out. But there's always something I was craving that I wasn't aware of and these albums reach me at the exact right time. Last year the album was from Tune-Yards. This year it's The Evens. Their slightly produced baritone guitar, drums and tag team vocals set up scratched an itch I didn't know I had. I've never been a big Fugazi fan, but this slowed down, stripped down approach to punk works well. The songs are infectious and I couldn't ever seem to stay away very long. The whole album is really good, but check out King of Kings, Sooner or Later, Broken Finger and Architects Sleep to get started. This is one band whose back catalog I can't wait to dive into.
1. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
This album came out in early summer and I said after the first listen that it was the best of the year to that point. It became the benchmark against which all other albums of 2012 were judged. She writes incredibly catchy songs and pours so much soul into them vocally that they're just plain fun to listen to. And her voice is really what it's about. Accompanied by only her keyboard and percussion you can literally feel the emotion on tracks like Every Single Night and Daredevil. She took her time for this release and its flawlessness shows. I think the reason this one rose so high on my list was again the Tune-Yard effect. I think this album and Whokill share a lot of similarities and if I never get to fulfill my dream of seeing WEW and TTMOE play a double bill together I think seeing Merrill and Fiona would be the next best thing.
Despite my negativity about the year that was in music, this is a solid list. I was lucky enough to see four of the above bands perform live and will plan to see a fifth (Django Django) in March. I don't get to see and hear as much live music as I once did, but I am grateful every day that these heroes of mine (superheroes, really) are still traveling around the world to let their fans experience their brilliance live. The definite highlight of my year musically was attending MFNW with RJD. We packed in three days of live shows, catching some of our all time favorites while also discovering some new surprises (I predict Tango Alpha Tango will officially arrive in 2013). Thanks for sharing a great weekend and I hope we can do it again sooner than later.
Below, in sticking with the format, I've included my best of list for 2012, an album I've titled 2012 in Rearview. Enjoy.
2012 in Rearview
1. Astronomic Club - Air
2. Elephant - Tame Impala
3. Default - Django Django
4. Sooner or Later - The Evens
5. Plumage - Menomena
6. A Simple Answer - Grizzly Bear
7. Black Cloud - Tango Alpha Tango
8. Who - David Byrne & St. Vincent
9. Daredevil - Fiona Apple
10. The Lonesome Road - The Heavy
11. About To Die - Dirty Projectors
12. Little Brother - The Tallest Man On Earth
13. Trash Tongue Talker - Jack White
14. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
15. The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids
16. To Break Into - Tu Fawning
