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Best Albums of 2012
Adventures in Your Own Backyard by Patrick Watson
The Antlersian soar of Watson’s vocals entrance and amaze as his ethereal backing band draws listeners into a fairy tale-like garden of sound. Alive with a wistful range of instrumentation, Patrick Watson’s transcendental music arises from the same Montreal environment as Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade. Its unearthly vibe, however, seems the stuff of timeless myth, belonging to all decades and none.
Blunderbuss by Jack White
A varied solo effort as strong as anything the king of cool released with the White Stripes and much more impressive than any of his side-project collaborations, Blunderbuss is an encouraging indicator of White’s future as a musician. It rocks like it’s a big fat classic because it is one.
Break It Yourself by Andrew Bird
Though the invigorating “Eyeoneye” might have been a misleading single, Break It Yourself still stands as one of Bird’s most gorgeous and well orchestrated records. The lulling strings, drifting whistles, and heartfelt insights into memory’s manipulations and time’s driving sweep are as challenging as they are assuring. Naptime music though it may be, what a beautiful dream of an album Break It Yourself proved.
Celebration Rock by Japandroids
The two-piece maximalist rockers are finally getting the radio play they deserve on a driving release well worth celebrating. Balancing self-destructive tendencies with a willingness to accept the universe as it is, Japandroids have put forward a fierce sophomore album that exceeds the crackling promise of its predecessor.
Channel Orange by Frank Ocean
Channel Orange is a landmark album that doesn’t always sound like it’s out to shake up anything, featuring relatively tame post-Motown R&B melodies and lovely though very much commercial-friendly vocals by Mr. Ocean. Structurally, lyrically, and tonally, however, the record rises above tasteful accomplishment, culminating with “Forrest Gump,” a song that seems ridiculous on paper but proves endearing when enthused by Ocean’s unforgettable delivery and Orange’s impeccable production.
good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s Christmas List: the end of pollution, an Eiffel-tower sized member, poetically justified fornication, a month’s worth of Xanax, a liquor-filled swimming pool, you singing about him, a legitimate mirror, money, power, weed, women, weather, none of the above, and a divine pardon for his m.A.A.d deeds.
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do by Fiona Apple
Though her music has always straddled the line between cute and cruel, on her latest album Apple drips with poison. Rarely have soul singers shot such harsh laser beam zingers. Nakedly willing to expose the oft-ignored dark side of the sexual revolution, seven years’ absence from the recorded music scene has only provided more time for Fiona Apple’s storm to collect rain. Thunderous results indeed.
The Lion’s Roar by First Aid Kit
If Gillian Welch and Neko Case in all their wisdom and experience joined together for a record, even they would struggle competing with the melancholy folk magic of the young Söderberg sisters. Closing out their Mike Mogis-produced record with a guest appearance by Conor Oberst, First Aid Kit have placed themselves alongside the right company as they do their genre proud.
Maraqopa by Damien Jurado
Introducing psychedelic touches to his elegiac songwriting, Jurado has created his most densely produced, spiritually explorative record to date. At times echoing the Flaming Lips, the folk record ultimately exists within its own sonic solar system, each song spinning assuredly onward, carried through the void by Jurado’s haunted voice.
Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
“Make up magic spells / We wear them like protective shells,” shivers out John Darnielle on the Amy Winehouse referencing opening to his “Satan Album,” Transcendental Youth. More consistently musically upbeat than he has been in years, Darnielle unspools compelling portraits of the broken and deranged, championing “spent gladiators” desperately clinging to their shadow lives. Transcendental Youth, a sequel of sorts to 2002’s All Hail West Texas, proves nearly as defiant and memorable, refusing to succumb to all forces of control.
Best Tracks of 2012 Not Appearing On Any of the Above Albums:
“Broken Crown” by Mumford & Sons
“Breathing Underwater” by Metric
“Change the Sheets” by Kathleen Edwards
“Hallways" by Islands
“Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” by Father John Misty
“Let’s Fall in Love” by Mother Mother
“Life’s a Beach” by Django Django
“Serpents” by Sharon Van Etten
“Some Nights” by fun.
“Stay Useless” by Cloud Nothings
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