Drinky Wrote:
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04. Dirty Projectors –
Swing Lo MagellanThis is the best thing that Dirty Projectors have done to date, and it's also the simplest and most direct. The melodies are free to shine and sink in unencumbered by overly complex arrangements and showy vocal acrobats. There's still some of that on this record, just enough to make it sound like Dirty Projectors but not enough to ever detract from the essence of the songs.
I think I wish Dave Longstreth and Brian Oblivion would can the girls from their bands and work together on something. I absolutely love both of those dude's arrangements and think they are two of the best "songwriters" out there, but just really don't like the female voices in their respective bands.
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03. Keiji Haino/Jim O’Rourke/Oren Ambarchi –
ImikuzushiEvery year there's a heavy, noisy, instrumental (or mostly instrumental, in this case) album near or at the top of my favorites list. This time it's a collaboration featuring Japanese guitar mangler Keiji Haino shredding and wailing over the top of Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi holding down a steady, almost motorik rhythm section. These three have collaborated before on far more "experimental" and "challenging" records, but here it's an all-out psyche-rock assault. It's a total blast from start to finish.
I completely forgot this when you recc'd it to me a while back and wish I wouldn't have. This is a monster all the way through. Excellent recommendation man!!!
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02. Chris Cohen –
Overgrown PathIt's neck and neck between my two favorite albums of 2012. This one is maybe the more modest of the two. A singer-songwriter album by a guy who was in Deerhoof during their best period and has also played with Ariel Pink as well as his own bands Curtains and Cryptacize with Nedelle Torrisi. Cohen has become one of my favorite guitarists, and this record and his last couple with Cryptacize have shown that he really knows his way around writing and arranging a song, too. The sound of this record is warm and familiar, and yet there's no mistaking Cohen's unique guitar as well as his sense of melody and dynamics. Even at this moment I'm tempted to swap this out as my #1 for 2012.
I didn't even know this existed. Will check this out soonest. I love what he did with Cryptacize but have never listened to any "solo" stuff.
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01. Grizzly Bear –
ShieldsI didn’t expect anything much from Grizzly Bear going into 2012, but Daniel Rossen’s excellent
Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP changed that. He’s Grizzly Bear’s greatest asset, and his guitar work is a big part of why Shields works so well. Even though the style of music Grizzly Bear plays isn’t something I’d say I’m generally into (I’d put Bon Iver in the same ballpark, but I don’t really like him/them at all), I find they win me over yet again on this album by just doing every single thing right. The harmonies, the guitar, the arrangements, the flow of the album. It’s wall-to-wall ear candy. It’s music I want to immerse myself in. It fits pretty much any mood or situation I find myself in these days. It's the best thing they've ever done, and the closest thing to a perfect record to come out in 2012.
This surprises me as your number one, but I couldn't agree with you more (I also had no expectations for this record). The arrangements here are so good. I think this is what I was talking about with that Dirty Projectors album...I think if Longstreth would can those chicks his arrangements would hit more on the low end of the scale like these do with all male voices and I would be completely behind it.
