2012 was a transitional year for me. I moved from Chicago to upstate South
Carolina to pursue my dream of farm ownership and complete independence from
the poisoned, processed mess that is the corporate food system…Anyway, thanks
to the magic of the interwebs I was able to keep myself abreast of what was
going on this year even though I live in a musical desert now. So, without further adieu I give you my
favorite albums from 2012, plus a couple of other things too.
1) Chromatics
– Kill For Love.
Without a doubt my most listened to
album of the year. Chromatics’ vision of
a disco filled future in decay is sure to remain a constant in my headphones.
2) John Talabot – ƒIN.
This Barcelona producer has a serious knack for melody. His deep house meets pop beats were simply
one of the best things I heard all year long.
3) Wild Nothing – Nocturne. Jack Tatum & Co. ramped up the
production value on their second LP and the result was a tight, focused bunch
of dream pop that is simply beautiful.
4) Big K.R.I.T. – Live From the Underground. Delivering on the promise of a slew
of free mixtapes, the major label debut from this Mississippi native is a
collection of raw Southern hip-hop. It
featured an impressive list of guest stars and most importantly K.R.I.T.’s immense
talent behind the production.
5) Swans – The Seer. I still haven’t fully recovered from
listening to this album. It’s a
tremendously awesome mind fuck.
6) Zammuto – Zammuto. The Books may
be no more, but Nick Zammuto’s new band, the aptly named Zammuto, quickly made
me forget about that.
7) CFCF – Exercises. Michael Silver’s latest album as CFCF further
cemented his reputation as a talented electronic musician. The classical influence heard throughout the
record makes it sound like he is the composer of the future.
8) Main Attrakionz – Bossalinis & Fooliyones. Is this what a cloud of weed smoke sounds
like? I think so.
9) Ariel Pink’s Haunted
Graffiti – Mature Themes. One of the most eclectic minds in all of
indiedom got even weirder on this album.
‘Baby’ was probably my favorite song of the whole year.
10) Windy & Carl – We Will Always Be. The gentle ambient compositions of this
husband and wife are the stuff of dreams.
Simple, elegant, and above all else, gorgeous.
Favorite song from an
album not on this list: Alex Winston – ‘Velvet Elvis’
Favorite reissue: Donnie
& Joe Emerson – Dreamin’ Wild
Favorite live show of
2012: The Weeknd, 05/03/2012.
Lincoln Hall, Chicago.
ooo I'm pissed I forgot about that Talabot album. So good