Well, I am sitting here listing to the Charlie Brown Christmas album on repeat, which means one thing...it is the end of the year. And, with it being the end of the year, my overlords at the blog demanded an end of the year post from all of us. And, with me having sold my soul to this blog over the summer, I oblige. So, what can we say about 2012? I mean really? Mac has a gun to my head for this post so I should really say something...help?
2012 offered a lot to be enthused about with great new releases throughout the year. Whether it was already established artists like Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus, Jens Lekman, and Spiritualized or new ones like Grimes, Tanlines, and DIIV, there was no shortage of great music. For me, this year was marked by moments where I genuinely began to feel like I was hearing something new - artists taking earlier genres and styles and recombining them in ways that felt fresher than they had in a long time, without feeling like a simple pastiche. Narrowing down a top 5 was difficult, but here are mine:
[Note: This was also a great year for album art, so somehow my favorite albums musically linked well with some of my favorite albums visually.]
Cult of Youth – Love Will Prevail: This may be one of
the most underrated albums of the year and a reminder that folk music could be
something other than the nostalgia and saccharine fueled mix of recent years. Combining psychedelic elements
with darker, more ambiguous lyrics, Cult of Youth created a diverse and
challenging album that was willing to blend the discordant with the pastoral in
a very satisfying manner.
Grizzly Bear – Shields: Shields feels like the
realization of everything Grizzly Bear has been doing to date. Where Veckatimist felt like somewhat of a step
towards something, a step away from the quieter/sparser Yellow House, Shields feels
like a synthesis of the two. Grizzly Bear creates haunting and atmospheric
music, music that builds until its catharsis seems inevitable. They key may be that they often hold out that catharsis for just a little longer than you expect. This is music built around an emotional core, around anxiety, a sense of being
resigned to fail, of never being able to begin in the first place. Yet, in a
way, and through these moments of release, which hit all the more intensely because they are delayed, it offers an
almost ritualistic offering of all these feelings into something greater. There
are moments here where your hair stands on end. Seeing them live in Toronto was
a definite highlight of the year concert-wise.
Mac DeMarco – 2: While nothing on the new Mac DeMarco
would sound out of place on an early 80’s release from Postcard Records, there
was still something so undeniably great about this album that I had to include
it. It might be how effortless everything sounds; DeMarco comfortably turns out
brief, catchy, pop songs with jangly guitar and a sauntering backbeat. The
whole thing comes together unbelievably well.
Wild Nothing – Nocturne: Dream pop has been everywhere
this year and there were certainly some excellent examples of the microgenre,
but Wild Nothing transcended that label and made one of the year's strongest
albums. In fact, if I had to pick an album I enjoyed the most this year, it
would be this one. There is something so appealing to me about Wild Nothing’s
aesthetic that I found it hard not to react to this on an almost naïve level.
Each song, draped in reverb and a buzzing echo, is tightly composed and deftly
layered. It was one of several examples of acts following up an excellent debut
with an even more accomplished 2nd record. Maybe the sophomore slump
is a myth after all.
Laurel Halo - Quarantine: This had to be one of the most unique and interesting records to come out this year. Spacey and effecting, Halo composes challenging, ethereal songs that seem to take on spatial dimensions as the album progresses. The instrumentation and vocals mix in such a way that Halo's vocals become spectral, literally haunting the cut up compositions. There is definitely something new and exciting about Halo's work and I am excited to see what is next.
Honorable Mention:
Father John Misty - Fear Fun
DIIV - Oshin
Tame Impala - Lonerism
Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
Jens Lekman - I Know What Love Isn't
Sun Araw/M Geddes Gengras/The Congos - Icon Give Thank
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