Top 25 of 2012 (<== Spotify playlist)

Father John Misty – Fear Fun
Tame Impala – Lonerism
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
Matthew Dear – Beams
John Talabot – Fin
Wild Cub – Youth
Liars – WIXIW
Beach House – Bloom
Jeff The Brotherhood – Hypnotic Nights
Richard Hawley – Standing At the Sky's Edge
Cat Power – Sun
The Men – Open Your Heart
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
Band Of Skulls – Sweet Sour
Windhand – Windhand
Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Black Breath – Sentenced to Life
Conan – Monnos
Merchandise - Children of Desire
Pye Corner Audio – Sleep Games
Hammock – Departure Songs
Bahamas – Barchords
Pond – Beard, Wives, Denim
Dum Dum Girls – End of Daze EP
Swans – The Seer

Honorable Mention/Probably should've spent more time with:
David Byrne & St Vincent
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill
Divine Fits
Grizzly Bear
The Raveonettes
Chromatics
Micachu and the Shapes
Killer Mike
El-P
The Walkmen
Daphni
Peaking Lights
Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Wax Fang – Mirror Mirror EP
Trampled By Turtles
Calexico
Sun Kil Moon

Most disappointing: Animal Collective

Lots of overlap with my list... not sure that's happened so much in previous years. Mathew Dear and Bahamas are underappreciated pleasures.

another FJM #1!

and even more incentive to check out Bahamas.

Are you still working on yours? I'm a little surprised we haven't had much overlap, but then again I don't always retain that kind of info when glancing at lists. I always love learning about new albums that I didn't hear or possibly gaining new perspective on records I've ignored.





For me, Bahamas filled that easy-listening indie folk hole that someone like M. Ward fills for me. Because M. Ward made such a shitty record, this Bahamas gained traction with me earlier in the year. Femdisco was a fan of it as we'll so I found myself throwing it on because it was a record we both could enjoy.

I thought that Bahamas was pretty good. and yes, way better than that M Ward

Nice list.

That's the second list I've seen with Wild Cub on it. What's that?

I think I get Matthew Dear mixed up with some other artists with similar names or styles or something. I'm realizing now that I may never have actually listened to him.

Wild Cub is an electro-pop band from Nashville. Super catchy in the vein of 80s pop with a little melancholy mood to make it stick. Lots of rhythm, melody and memorable guitar lines to boot.

I didn't get into Dear until his "Don and Sherry" single a few years ago. If he were to go a little more pop with his live band, he could be the 2nd coming of LCD Soundsystem for people who are waiting for that kind of thing.

Matthew Herbert? I think I've done the same. But I have heard Dear, but don't have much memory of it. I've been encouraged to revisit that.

i mixed those two up as well. i think i used to like herbert more, or maybe his ideas at least but dear has just done great with his last two albums.

i need to make my list, stu, but plenty of common ground. i need to check out a bunch that i keep seeing repeated in lists that i never heard.

great list dude. quite a few on my favs. great to see Windhand in there!

I couldn't get into Bahamas (and agree that M. Ward wasn't great either).

Love that Dum Dum Girls EP (Especially "I Got Nothing"--great tune)