Well, I have kind of sworn off lists just because I think ranking things, especially from disparate genres and all that is just silly and completely inaccurate. And with something like music, I hate the whole notion there is some sort of objective “best” anything out there. But, I do wanna jump in and mention the stuff I’ve listened to and enjoyed most this year. So, I’m just gonna randomly highlight a few of the first things that come to me head and then give a list of the rest of the things that floated my boar in 2012. I will say there was just a ton of stuff from the past year I really liked and even with that I realize there was a ton released that I wanted to hear but didn’t. Disclaimers made…here’s my list of stuff from 2012 in random groupings:
Old Stalwarts who still made records I really enjoyed
Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas I’m not one of the hardcore Cohen fans, but I always give a listen to his stuff and for me this is one of my favorite things he’s ever done. That would probably be bigger praise if I were a true Cohen freak, but since I am only a casual fan it just means I listened to this one enough that it sunk in more than most of his other stuff as much as it means anything.
The Residents: Coochie Brake Another new release that easily stands with anything these guys have ever done, dark and swampy in contrast to some of their more hooky absurdest takes.
Swans: The Seer Yeah, best thing of their career and here’s another one that fights for being called my favorite release of the year some days. Alternately dark and brooding and explosive. There’s just a ton going on here. If you care about these guys at all, get this.
Chuck Prophet: Temple Beautiful Some of his old Green on Red stuff I still listen to decades later and rank up there with anything while others are just too hum drum for me to get excited about; his solo career has been the same, but this is one of those I expect to still be listening to years from now. Good mix of rustic rootsy rock with a great catchy pop sensibility.
Laid back synthy stuff I’ve been digging
Discoverer: Tunnels I really liked their Build a Base tape last year and was looking forward to hearing their first vinyl release. Luckily, I was not disappointed. I like Discoverer because while a lot of the synth stuff can be meandering, which really is fine with me when I’m in the mood, Discover seems to care a lot more about actual songs and albums. Synthy for sure, but also rhythmic and while it is instrumental it is still catchy with recognizable beats and hooks.
Ian Martin: Mechanical Rain Fantastic album, unique minimal synth sounds here. Clattering noise backdrops for sparking sheets of sound. This is one of those albums I can see myself coming back to fir decades to come as it sounds like nothing else.
Panabrite: SubAquatic Melodies & Soft Terminal Both of these releases were great this year, from another of my favorite current artists in this genre. Less rhythmic for sure, more of an old school Tangerine Dream feel.
Shackleton: The Drawback Organ & Music for the Quiet Hours Another double release. And this is one of those things that I think of and cringe when people talk about how crap dubstep is. I’m not really into the genre enough to talk knowledgeably about it, I just know I hear a lot that is crap and I hear a lot of people talk shit about it, but then I hear great cavernous bass monsters like that that I really dig and it gets lumped in too.
Ricardo Donoso: Assimilating the Shadow This one is really amazingly good especially if you like something a bit more propulsive and dance oriented that still creeps along slow and steady; some days this is my favorite release of the year.
Motion Sickness of Time Travel Fantastic double album of ambient bliss. Fans of barely there things like Stars of the Lid and such will probably dig this. My favorite ambient release this year.
Some label comps I really got into this year
Digitalis: Born Again for the First Time Digitalis for me has been a label I really have enjoyed a lot over the last few years. They have a good handle on quality control on the whole experimental synth thing, releasing several of my most listened to records and tapes in 2012. To celebrate their new website this year, they posted a free label sampler that contains 2 hours of great music, including otherwise unavailable stuff and previously released tracks by many of the label’s most popular acts, Paco Sala, FRAK, Discoverer, SEEKRSINTERNATIONAL, Hobo Cubes, etc…
Tranquility Tapes: Tabs Out Sampler Another freebie distributed online. Gives you a great taste of what is on the label. If you are at all curious about what is up in there world, give this a listen. Even if you’re not sure, give this a listen and by the time it’s over you will be.
Pacific Drift DRAFT records released this cassette sampler featuring a selection of some of the better known underground electronic artists. Features Keith Fullerton Whitman, Rene Hell, Panabrite, Pulse Emitter, Matt Carlson, and more. Buying it will make you feel good. The cassettes were donated by NAC and the artists all contributed for free to keep costs down while the profits all went to help Red Cross relief efforts in Japan for tsunami victims.
Shit that rocked out in 2012
OFF!: S/T Yeah, no surprise here. Loved the singles, loved this record, had a great time at the show. Maybe a bit of reliving my youth going on, especially with the absurd idea that jumping in front of the stage when seeing them live to get beat up on by a bunch of kids less than half my age. But, if ya like that old hardcore blast, they’re doing it better than anyone these days.
Mind Spiders: Meltdown Guy from Marked Men striking out as Mind Spiders. A bit poppier, but still guitar-driven punk inflected catchy garage rock. I liked the self-titled album last year and this one’s great fun as well.
Terry Malts: Killing Time They sound like later era Ramones. That’s plenty good enough for me.
Kadavar: S/T They Sound like Black Sabbath. That’s good enough for me. All my metal friends dig this.
Stuff that I would half expect to hear on the radio if I listened to the radio
Sleigh Bells: Reign of Terror Seems a lot of people considered this a big step down from the debut, but I don’t get that at all. It’s pretty much more of the same with a tad bit more polish. So, if you liked that one, you’ll like this one I would think unless you’ve got some weird expectation thing or you expect a band who busts out of the gate with a great original sound to rewrite the entire playbook less than a year later for the next release. Only issue I have is the opener with all the recorded crowd noises is pretty lame. I actually tend to skip track one listening to this. Makes it a much better album. I’m kind of sentimental about this band anyway.
Chromatics: Kill for Love Romantic pop/rock songs filtered through a dark haze of distortion. Great driving music, especially at night.
Santigold: Master of My Make Believe I always kind of link Santigold with MIA since they both jumped out around the same time and both have that female global hip/hop vibe. And, actually, I tend to prefer Santigold myself. And this album is no exception. I don’t see it mentioned, but for me there’s a big Grace Jones vibe/influence going on here, from the album cover to the mashing together of American R&B with Jamaican rhythms.
Death Grips: Money Store OK, maybe this would be a stretch to get on the radio, but it’s got hip hop beats and distorted vocals, not that much of a stretch to make this commercial. The last tape they released was more fun for the old hardcore samples strewn throughout, but this holds up pretty good with it I think. Definitely a step up in production values, whether you consider that a good or bad thing.
A couple things I wanna mention but didn't put anyplace else.
Dakota Bones: Ø Cassette only release from Pretty All Right records that defies easy categorization. It’s not that any one song on the album is particularly bizarre. It’s more that there is so much going on from different points of view. You have mellow acoustic guitars layered with spacious electronics on one song, another that wouldn’t be out of place in a dance club, another with a big world music influence, etc… And it all actually works together really well and sounds utterly cohesive.
Lavas Magmas: Dark Mantle Another cassette only release from Dumpstercore Home Recordings. And this one is harder to say much about. I think it’s just one of those things that I’ve listened to and it just stuck in my head in just the right way at just the right time and now I crave hearing it. It’s a dark, rambling thing, I believe I have seen such stuff labeled as ambient industrial. Occasional guitars, hypnotic tape loops and plenty of junk metal clatter. None of it really in your face though. There’s a nice removed quality to it all. I don’t really think this has gotten much attention or praise from people who are closer to this scene than me an, so not like I am considering it some sort of shining example of its genre. But for me, I really connected with it and I think it’s pretty great. If it sounds interesting to you, worth a listen.
Anyway, great year. Ton of stuff I loved and left out.
Villages: Theories of Aging,
Lilacs & Champagne,
Traxman,
Dum Dum Girls,
Co La: Soft Power Moments,
Mind Over Mirrors: Small Portion,
The XX,
Machinefabriek: Color Tones, etc… I could go on, but I’m not gonna.
