Your Album of the Year 2012

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

Yes, it is that time of the year again when you must decide which has been your favourite album released this year.

As I will not get the new Converge and Pig Destroyer albums until Xmas, I have only bought 13 albums that were released this year:

Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel...
Carolian Chocolate Drops - Leaving Eden
The Cinematic Orchestra - In Motion #1
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Patricia Kopatchinskaja - Bartok/Eotvos/Ligeti
Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound - Self-titled
Meshuggah - Koloss
Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orechestra - Theatre is Evil
Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now?
Mindy Smith - Mindy Smith
Regina Spektor - What we saw from the cheap seats
Sara Watkins - Sun Midnight Sun
Jenny Owen Youngs - An Unwavering Band of Light

Out of all of them, Regina Spektor's most recent offering was nearly as disappointing as her previous, Far. Sara Watkin's album was surprisingly good. Deftones and Meshuggah brought the goods once again. But my favourite album was:

http://youhearthat.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/punch-brothers-whos-feeling-young-now-1024x9112.jpeg?w=500&h=444

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[loopydate]

Mumford & Sons - Babel

Also really enjoying Glad All Over, the new Wallflowers album.

[Mooияakeя™]

Beach House - Bloom

[Bad News Gertner]

Deadmau5 "album title goes here"

[Blitz]

The Gaslight Anthem-Handwritten

[RP]

Justin Bieber

[The Condor]

Mumford & Sons - Babel

Agreed.

[FakeLaser]

Will have my official list ready in a week or so

[FakeLaser]

Debating between

Metz - Metz
DIIV - Oshin
Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
Laurel Halo - Quarantine

[Pintint]

Rahu - The Quest for the Vajra of Shadows
Drudkh - Eternal Turn of the Wheel
Kreator - Phantom Antichrist
Lacrimosa - Revolution

Sorry, I couldn't pick just one.

Edit: Last minute addition, Mgla - With Hearts Towards None.

[Shisen Kopf]

My favorite album in 2012 was this

http://www.prefixmag.com/site_media/uploads/images/posts/f/airel-pink-worst-album-covers.jpg

Good music, great wank material!

[Asmo]

Fantastic contributions. Will declare.

[Kris P Lettus]

Man with the Iron Fists Soundtrack

[Schlomey]

Mumford & Sons - Babel
DMB - Away From The World
Avett Brothers - The Carpenter

[Pintint]

:heart: this song from 2012


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[Blue Demon]

Mumford & Sons - Babel
RUSH - Clockwork Angels

[Wehttam]

plenty of good ones stated

tame impala - lonerism
the antlers - undersea
conor oberst and the mystic valley band - one of my kind
jack white - blunderbuss

kinda diggin:
liars - wixiw
big boi - dangerous lies and vicious rumors
minus the bear - infinity overhead


kinda haven't listened to as much as i should.

[Kris P Lettus]

I need to listen to that new Big Boi shit..

[Wehttam]

i lost touch with hip hop. maybe hip hop lost touch with me.

[Kris P Lettus]

Blackstar has a new album out that I haven't listen to either..

I am slipping..

[Schlomey]

I can't imagine sitting and listening to a hip hop album and rating it.

[Kris P Lettus]

Why??

[Pintint]

Why??

Cause it's Hip Hop and it means you gotta jump and start dancing...

[Schlomey]

Hip Hop is totally un-relatable subject material to me. To me, if I can dance to it I can tolerate it but I can't imagine sitting down and trying to write a review since I base most of my opinions of music on LYRICS AND STRUCTURE.. If I cannot identify with anything that they are saying then it's not worth rating. Also, I am, in most but not all cases, against sampling/stealing. As well, I am also against all music (not just rap/hip hop) that simply repeat their chorus over and over and over. I'm actually quite educated on music, music history and song structure so it "grinds my gears" when there is very little to no substance. A song should be a story. Not a loop.

Now I am not saying I am not a fan of hip hop/ Rap. There was a time in my life where that is what I loved. And to this day I still enjoy a great deal of it. My only point is I cannot sit down, AT THIS PLACE IN MY LIFE, and write a subjective review of source material I cannot identify with at all.

I don't want to rustle any feathers and I may have opened Pandoras Box, and I accept that. It's just not for me. Most of what I hear these days angers me for the points I mentioned above. I'm happy to share my rap/hip hop favorites and examples that I love/loved if it gets to that point.

[Kris P Lettus]

You are making pretty broad generalizations there.. There are all types of Hip Hop artists so it's not like people only rap about one thing..

Is every rock song you've ever heard about the same subject??

Ridiculous line of thinking..

[Kris P Lettus]

Mos Def-War

Anti violence, anti war protest against big Government..

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Devin the Dude-Lacville '79

An anthem about having a shitty car and being broke..

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Atmosphere-Sunshine

About a hangover day..

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Just like ANY other genre of music, Hip Hop is a vast art from from all types based on all things..

It's not all "bitches" and guns..

[Schlomey]

Broad as in what I hear in the Billboard 200 which is a pretty accurate grouping of what is current. Obviously I never said there weren't exceptions to the rule.

[Kris P Lettus]

That is pop, not Hip Hop..

Same could be said for top 100 rock..

[Schlomey]

Fun Fact: I don't believe "rock" exists anymore. Back in the day when life was black and white rock existed. Now its genres and sub genres. The term rock, as a stand alone, is dead.

[Schlomey]

Much like "country"

[dronepool]

I still haven't heard Deftones new album, but it's safe to say Marilyn Manson's Born Villain is #1.


http://wp-images.emusic.com/assets/2012/04/marilyn-manson-born-villain.jpg

Don't remember if any band that I like put anything out, Smashing Pumpkins new album is alright, need to listen to it again/seeing them tonight actually..

[mitch_h]

I thought it was a pretty good year for music, listened to a lot of stuff.

1. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
2. Liars - WIXIW
3. Beach House - Bloom
4. Chromatics - Kill For Love
5. Walkmen - Heaven
6. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
7. Fiona Apple - Idler Wheel...blah blah blah
8. Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
9. Grizzly Bear - Shields
10. Tame Impala - Lonerism
11. Kendrick Lamar - Good kid
12. Jessie Ware - Devotion
13. Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dreams
14. Burial - Kindred
15. Mac Demarco - 2
16. Actress - Rip
17. Holy Other - Held
18. Swans - The Seer
19. Ricardo Donoso - Assimilating the Shadow
20. Killer Mike - RAP Music

[The Condor]

Just listened to Frank Ocean. Loved "Crack Rock" or whatever the track title is. My coworker turned me on to it.

[Kris P Lettus]

Frank Ocean ruins the Odd Future channel on Pandora..

:foc:

[Shisen Kopf]

Hip Hop is totally un-relatable subject material to me. To me, if I can dance to it I can tolerate it but I can't imagine sitting down and trying to write a review since I base most of my opinions of music on LYRICS AND STRUCTURE.. If I cannot identify with anything that they are saying then it's not worth rating. Also, I am, in most but not all cases, against sampling/stealing. As well, I am also against all music (not just rap/hip hop) that simply repeat their chorus over and over and over. I'm actually quite educated on music, music history and song structure so it "grinds my gears" when there is very little to no substance. A song should be a story. Not a loop.

Now I am not saying I am not a fan of hip hop/ Rap. There was a time in my life where that is what I loved. And to this day I still enjoy a great deal of it. My only point is I cannot sit down, AT THIS PLACE IN MY LIFE, and write a subjective review of source material I cannot identify with at all.

I don't want to rustle any feathers and I may have opened Pandoras Box, and I accept that. It's just not for me. Most of what I hear these days angers me for the points I mentioned above. I'm happy to share my rap/hip hop favorites and examples that I love/loved if it gets to that point.

Short form version: Rap is crap!

[Bad News Gertner]

That is pop, not Hip Hop..

Same could be said for top 100 rock..

Lol dude he's jewish. If he did like rap i'd be shocked.

[Shisen Kopf]

Hey now, don't stereotype Gertner. Many fine Jews like this outstanding rap group

http://www.henrystonemusic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2livejewspants.jpg

[Asmo]

I'm just gonna start listing down my favorites. Will keep editing this post to include any new stuff / things that i remember.

Dawnbringer - Into The Lair Of The Sun God
Chris Black and his various projects have been a revelation ever since i discovered Nucleus, Dawnbringer's previous release. Into The Lair Of The Sun God lacks a bit of the punch that made Nucleus worthy of album of the decade, but this mix of traditional and NWOBHM slays any other 'classic heavy metal / revival' release this year.

Baroness - Yellow & Green
The sludginess and heaviness shown on previous releases may have given way for more melodies and harmonies, but the dual disc album showcases the band like never before. For example, there's the soft, ethereal Eula. Contrast that to the anthemic and uplifting Take My Bones Away. Just two ends to where Baroness can stretch themselves.

Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light
Mastermind David Gold didn't live to see the release of possibly, his masterpiece. Gold's marvellous voice combines with the simplistic music to create an emotionally intense journey that leaves you spellbound. The lyrical themes of death, loss and suffering touch a chord.

Pig Destroyer - Book Burner
I was never a Pig Destroyer fan till this came out. I loved the Natasha EP, for its sheer vision. But Book Burner finally got me hooked to PD's savage and brutal flavour of grind. Scott Hull is a riff machine, and the drumming here is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Anathema - Weather Systems
This album won me over within the first few seconds itself. Beautiful, lush, warm, calming, emotive, soothing. Perfect for the drive back home when you are looking to unwind.

Indian Releases That You Should Check Out:
Sky Rabbit - Sky Rabbit
Extended review here: http://thetossedsalad.com/2012/01/review-sky-rabbit/

Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos
The classic Djent story: Started as a solo bedroom project gets unusual attention and fanfare on the internet. And balloons. One thing leads to another, and the project, with Dan Tompkins (ex-TesseracT) on vocals gets signed to Basick Records. The instrumental demos we were subject to initially have evolved to become monstrous ambient tunes. Always loved TesseracT with Tompkins, and i daresay, this is the closest we'll get to that sound.

And Shameless Plugs:
The Riot Peddlers - Sarkarsm EP
We released this 6 track EP on August 15, 2012 - India's 65th Independence Day. It's hardcore punk laced and tailored to Indian sensibilities and issues. Fast, vitriolic, no-bullshit.
Stream & Download: http://theriotpeddlers.bandcamp.com

Solar Deity - 2 EPs & 2 Singles
Raw black metal explored in the various styles the genre offers.
Stream & Download: http://solar-deity.bandcamp.com

[Schlomey]

1) damn it feels good to be a gangsta - substance galore. Def a song with a story yet a catchy hook. Un-relatable yet in the case of such strong lyrics it doesn't matter.


Eminem - most everything he did. I think he's a genius


The Friday Soundtrack - for no other reason than I grew p cruising the streets in my Chevy cavalier blaring it. There is a mental image you'll never get out of your head.

[jcmoorehead]

For me the best album this year has been Anathema - Weather Systems.

Some absolutely gorgeous stuff on there.

[The Destroyer]

Struggling to narrow it down just now, left it far too late to listen to a lot of 2012 releases. Give me a few days.

[The Destroyer]

Right, sorted. My top one is definitely Enslaved - RIITIIR. Best of the rest goes to:

Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme
Anathema - Weather Systems
Blut Aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy
Converge - All You Love You Leave Behind
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Dysrhythmia - Test of Submission
Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage
Killing Joke - MMXII
The Faceless - Autotheism

Yeah, bit more "out there" than my normal end of year best albums are, but at least I'm not going soft in my old age, right? :shifty:

[Triple A]

My fav album that I listened to this year by far is:
John Maus - A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material
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I also liked these albums

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes
Dada Trash Collage - Fun Fund
Daniel Johnston - Space Ducks: Soundtrack
Grimes - Visions
La Sera - Sees the Light
Mac DeMarco - Rock and Roll Night Club
The Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the Sea
Matthew Friedberger - Matricidal Sons of Bitches
Miniature Tigers - Truffles II
of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks
The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now
Tame Impala - Lonerism
U.S. Girls - GEM
White Fence - Family Perfume Vol. 1
Woods - Bend Beyond

I didn't hear many albums that I really liked, relative to the last few years.

[RP]

I'd say Frank Ocean Channel Orange

I thought Bad Religion was an amazing song and then when you find out what he's singing about and it's actually more amazing. Just a strong strong song.

Obviously Thinking Bout You is a fantastic song, monster hit.

[PrettyCool]

If i was a musician i would make a parody of all these sissy song. It would be called, thinking bout you...as i kick yr ass. Abd every song will be violent and make fun of sissy music

[Schlomey]

If i was a musician i would make a parody of all these sissy song. It would be called, thinking bout you...as i kick yr ass. Abd every song will be violent and make fun of sissy music

Hey man how's your girlfri......oh wait nevermind...

[FakeLaser]

I tried to be more economical this year; also there were fewer new albums I liked. AS WILL APPEAR TOMORROW ON MY BLOG:

10) DIIV - Oshin
This album basically WAS Brooklyn in 2012; its story an archetype for aughts-era success in the "other" borough, almost bordering on formulaic. In January, the band was nothing more than the bedroom project of Zachary Cole Smith. It was called Dive, and it slowly started to play shows around town. First in basements and lofts as the band became fully fleshed out, then in progressively larger venues under a slightly-altered moniker. A best-new music tag and some high profile slots later and DIIV was suddenly the biggest band in Brooklyn. DIIV accomplished this by embracing an increasingly chic early 90s aesthetic; though the grunge look and vibe is lost on most of the album (save for late album highlight Doused) and instead is replaced with sunny layered pop guitar riffs not too far removed from Smith's other band, Beach Fossils, but more fully-realized, more atmospheric and at times almost even anthemic. It's a simple record on its surface, but a swirl of contradiction under closer examination. Kind of like Brooklyn from afar.

9) Laurel Halo - Quarantine
Long one of my favorite electronic musicians, Halo released her best record this year; largely because she recognized that her voice functions well as the lead on a track as opposed to merely being intermingled with complex pitch-shifting, almost alien electro-grooves. This is best realized on my favorite track, Mk Ultra which is akin to an out-of-body hallucinogenic experience. The beat is the closed-eyed part, a transformative out-of-body high, beautiful in ways the conscious mind simply cannot computer. But Halo's voice is there at the forefront, ready to pull you out of the abyss if you let it, if you just open your eyes.

8) Action Bronson and Party Supplies - Blue Chips
This one admittedly took a little while to grow on me, though I'm sure you know that those sorts of albums can be the most rewarding. Blue Chips was no different. I was immediately drawn in by Bronson's Ghostface Killah-esque delivery, and while this clearly was no Supreme Clientele, it seemed a worthy addition to the now burgeoning New York hip-hop underground. This album is best appreciated if you have some knowledge of sports and late 80s and early 90s WWF as it's dominated by professional wrestling references; so much so that it can become a bit contrived at first, though as time has gone on I find myself returning to it again and again to marvel at Bronson's absurdly clever wordplay and Party Supplies innovative lo-tech production that consists of lifting beats and samples solely from YouTube. Truly a rap album of the times.

7) Kendrick Lamar - good kid m.A.A.d City
What can I possibly say about this album that hasn't been said already? It's an instant classic; perhaps the first of its kind since Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Family, and to those in the know, perhaps the first of its kind since Nas' Illmatic. Deeply confessional, soul-baring and socially aware, Lamar's album exists as the apex of what hip-hop can be here in 2012. And while much of the album, at least thematically, can be something of a downer, it's got made for radio hits like Bitch Dan't Kill My Vibe and Swimming Pools (Drank) that are hooky enough to go top-40.

6) Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
Far less chaotic than its predecessor, Cosmogramma, but nearly its equal in terms of overall quality, Until The Quiet Comes seems to find FlyLo at a fork in the road. One leg remains firmly planted in the intergalactic left field, while another is stretching outward for a more straight-forward, and dare I say mainstream sound? FlyLo has never been shy about his desire to make beats for top-40 rap royalty (Still shocked Drake hasn't hit him back), and his desire to be "one of the guys" came out with his own rap mix-tape a couple months ago, Duality, released under the Captain Murphy moniker. Fortunately, FlyLo remains a perfectionist, and his absurd attention to detail has lead to a distinct hybrid production style, part space-rock, part electro, part crate-digger and part free-jazz, which has ensured that his albums remain his own, no matter what his motives may be.

5) Grimes - Visions
I feel like every blogger in the universe has to include this one on their list, but no record captured the "post-internet" era quite like this one did. This one is music from the internet, by the internet and for the internet. It's a record of Aphex Twin-inspired beats and scathingly high-pitched, unintelligible vocals from a former crust punk who once tried to navigate the length of the Mississippi River on a rag-tag house boat with a bunch of chickens. Somehow, Clare Boucher took that ugly description and crafted one of the catchiest and most revered pop records of the year. If you don't believe me, try listening to Genesis or Oblivion or Nightmusic without getting your goddamn groove on. Boucher deserves to be commended for making her brand of absurdity work so well.

4) The Men - Open Your Heart
While this one pales in comparison to 2011's far more aggressive Leave Home, The Men's 2012 offering Open Your Heart packs quite a punch from the opening western twang of Turn It Around all the way to the pounding drumbeat that concludes the record on Ex-Dreams. It was the first great punk record released this year, and found the four-piece expanding its previously more metal leaning palate to include elements of country, surf rock and bar band music. It opened the flood gates for one of the best years punk has seen in some time. With good reason. It's a pure record; punk to the core. DIY-minded, loud, self-recorded and absolutely devoid of bullshit. The kind of record I've loved for years.

3) Black Marble - A Different Arrangement
Post-punk never really dies, which is quite the feat for a genre that seems inherently teenage. "Coldwave" may more accurately describe the sound that this Brooklyn duo emit from their synth, bass and microphone, but this is a record whose roots are firmly in Closer's camp. Tracks like Cruel Summer and Pretender feel like a slow dance with Ian Curtis at the gates of hell. This may not sound very inviting, but this record is strangely addicting. The lyrics are largely obscured, but the lo-fi ultravox synth and steady baselines create a darkly gorgeous atmosphere that's difficult to leave behind when the tape ends.

2) Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
Well, I sure as hell wasn't expecting Attack on Memory to sound like this, though perhaps I should have with Steve Albini at its helm. Attack on Memory certainly lived up to its name; as few records have so perfectly recaptured the feel of a record I would have enjoyed in my youth while simultaneously shattering the fuck out of aforementioned records by outperforming all of them in every way imaginable. No Future/No Past may be my favorite track of 2012, and the pace it sets; a slow and uneasy build to intense cathartic release holds for the remainder of the record; a trick we all remember but somehow still seems so poignant when so well-executed.

1) Metz - Metz
No album this year grabbed me and beat the living hell out of me quite like this one. In fact, I'm struggling to think of the last album that sonically assaulted me in such a way. This album is all about power. It's unrelenting, uncompromising and absolutely brutal. It evokes images of violence, inspires feelings of dread and shocks the fuck out of your system in three minute or less bursts of death-sludge. The entire album is shorter than an episode of Family Matters, but Sad Pricks is no Carl Winslow. Headache is no Steve Urkel. Hell, it's not even Stephan Urquelle. There's nothing wholesome here and that's what makes this album so goddamn perfect. It's raw emotion with no filter, it's uneasy tension released in violent fury, it's the release you're looking for while you're slaving away in a cubicle. This record is great in the same way that the old hardcore records were; it's an escape. It's my favorite record of the year.

NOT LISTED, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: TEEN - In Limbo, Death Grips - The Money Store, Tame Impala - Lonerism, The Babies - Our House on The Hill, Guardian Alien - See the World Given to a One Love Entity, Wild Nothing - Nocturne, Willis Earl Beal - Acousmatic Sourcery, Captain Murphy - Duality, Cities Aviv - Black Pleasure, Mac Demarco - Rock N Roll Night Club, Naomi Punk - The Feeling, Merchandise - Children of Desire, Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II

[FakeLaser]

Mainly listened to Beat Happening and Future Islands all yr

[Miotch]

FakeLoser

[Bad News Gertner]

Fuck I hate the way Hipsters word their album reviews. And 95% of it sucks. That's why it's Indie, because nobody likes it.

[Bad News Gertner]

Ferry Corsten "WKND"

It's fucking good.


See how I did that Fakelaser? My review goes straight to the point.

[FakeLaser]

yeah but it doesn't sound self-important at all

[blake639raw]

The only new albums I listened to this year are the new Rush and Soundgarden. Between the two, I'd probably say the new Soundgarden.

[Fignuts]

Very little stood out to me this year

Public Enemy- The Evil Empire of Everything, was the only album that I really enjoyed, start to finish.

[CSL]

1. Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
2. Plan B - iLL Manors
3. The Lumineers - The Lumineers

[FakeLaser]

I've reconsidered this and it's Captain Murphy - Duality

[Miotch]

So an album that didn't make your top 10 is now number 1?

[Bad News Gertner]

Hipsters don't conform.

[Blitz]

I've reconsidered this and it's whatever Dracula's Dick released this year.

[Fignuts]

Listened to a lot more stuff from 2012

Current favorites:

Gary Clark Jr. - Blak and Blu
Crystal Castles- III
Amadou and Mariam - Folila

[mike adamle]

Album of the year was obviously either Life is Good by Nas or The OF Tape Vol. 2 by OFWGKTA

[mike adamle]

Or Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don't

[mike adamle]

Maybe Kendrick Lamar- Good Kid, mAAd City