I'm not saying there were no good albums in 2012, Im just saying for me, it was harder to find them, and there werent many that were consistently great. If I found a new band I liked, they tended to have 1-2 great tracks and then it tailed off. On albums from established artists I adored there would be a few good tracks and the rest didnt hold my attention (Hello Bloc Party and Maccabees).
Before you all say, "Oh you're getting old", "You obviously havent listened to enough.." etc etc. Firstly, I dont believe age plays any bearing on music taste, I think with age some people open up to more genres, some people close their doors to anything past their hey day. With me its neither at the moment, Im only 31 for fucks sake, I dont believe Im opening up to classical nor am I pining for a Britpop revolution (Although if Northern Uproar were to tour in NYC I would be first in line). I like what I've always liked, a relatively broad range of indie, rock, electro, soul, hip hop, funk and good dance music.
One thing I will concede is in this digital age my listening and purchasing habits have changed. I firmly believe I have developed mild ADD and find it really hard to stick on an album 2-3 times in the space of a week. I get bored very easily and Im constantly looking for new stuff. So that maybe a reason why I havent gotten into a lot of albums this year. Also, with the ability to listen to albums before I buy on streaming services like Spotify Ive found myself picking singular tracks out to save cash if the majority of the album doesnt hit me. Ive done that more with new artists, I still buy whole albums from acts I have a bond with like Jack White, Richard Hawley, Maccabees, Bloc Party etc. However, with the exception of Jack White of those I wish I had listened to beforehand as I couldve saved some cash by just picking out 2 tracks from each of them. The Richard Hawley album was particularly bad, like early Verve (and those that know me, know of my Ashcroft disdain).
Saying ALL that, I do have a lot of great music from 2012, and here are my favourite tracks:
Jennifer - Little Comets
Little Comets are savagely unknown. Their second album came out towards the back end of the year and has some great tracks on it and is very consistent. Its called Life is Elsewhere and is one of my faves of the year.
The Suits, The Law and The Uniforms - Graveyard
Graveyard have a few albums out now and I heard this for the first time on an NPR podcast this year off their Lights Out album and just love the Led Zep / ACDC vibe. Great fun, but couldnt get into the album.
Til I Met Thee - Cody ChesnuTT
Cody ChesnuTTs first album in a decade after he released the much lauded The Headphone Masterpiece. Landing on a Hundred is the new LP and its really great. Obvious comparisons to soul greats such as Marvin Gaye, this album is far more concise than his previous effort and has some brilliant tracks on it. Thoroughly recommend checking it out.
Losing You - Solange
To be honest I havent followed Solange Knowles (yes that Knowles) career that closely, I have however followed Dev Hynes pretty closely and love his Blood Orange stuff. Solange seems to be his muse and this has Dev Hynes sound all over it. I recommend checking out Blood Orange if you like this. Start with Dinner below which was also released this year and listen out for more Solange / Blood Orange stuff in 2013.
Dinner - Blood Orange
Blood Orange / Dev Hynes has a knack of releasing awesome sounding tracks that dont necessarily have that killer chorus, which drives my wife insane, they always seem to be leading somewhere but never quite make it. But its that subtlety in his tracks that make me love him. No album in 2012 from Blood Orange, just this track paired with Bad Girls on the flip side, which is also on the Solange Knowles record, I think he wrote it and gave it her though.
Rashida - Rufus Wainwright
I was trying to put lesser known artists as videos and then just mention the more popular stuff I liked at the bottom in a list, but I cant resist putting this up as I think if you were like me and loved old Rufus like Want and Poses but got a bit disillusioned by the last couple of albums and the ridiculous cost of going to see him live you may have not bothered with his latest album - Out of the Game. So if you were like me, please go and buy this album now, Its probably my most listened to album of 2012. Mark Ronson does a terrific job of wringing out the best of Rufus and backed by Ronsons band the sound is fantastic. I would go as far as saying its my favourite Rufus album.
Like Ice Cream - Divine Fits
Everyone loves an indie supergroup right? Divine Fits are made up of Spoons Britt Daniels, Wolf Parades / Handsome Furs Dan Boeckner and Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks (No, me neither). The album has some signature Spoon catchy riffs spliced with some neat electro hooks. I think this track may have been my most played this year and the album is very good too.
Man on Fire - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's
What is it with bands using normal people dancing in there music videos? Professional dancers are out on the street giving hand jobs for crack while these supermarket workers, fork lift truck drivers and AmDram nutjobs are all strutting, kicking and jerking their way to infamy! I blame Fatboy Slim, but Black Keys did it in 2011 too with unbelievable success on Lonely Boy. There's been loads more but my fave is the Geordie Dancer from Soccer Am. Oh yeah, Edward Sharpe, its great, the albums great, go buy it, then buy the album before that, then go see them live (I still havent).
The House that Heaven Built - Japandroids
I didnt like this song at first, it felt really dated and cheesy. But it was on Sirius XM U a lot and very slowly its sheer balls-out-unashamedly-fists-in-the-air-sing-yer-heart-out-rock-n-roll won me over. Now I cant stop playing it.
Laura - Bat for Lashes
Words cant describe how much I love this song, probably too much. Its beautiful, heartbreaking and it gives me goosebumps.
AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It
I honestly have no idea if AlunaGeorge is well known or not, I cant remember where I first heard it and I havent heard it mentioned or played on the radio over here, for all I know this could've hit no.1. Its got over a million views on youtube. As Eddie Argos once said, popular culture no-longer applies to me. All I know is that I know I like it (see what I did there?). Its a fantastically catchy 2-step / R&B track with a cutesy vocal, whats not to like?
Watch the Corners - Dinosaur Jr
Ive always been aware of Dinosaur Jr but Ive never really invested a lot of time in them, then this song came on the radio and I immediately loved it. It sounds like an instant classic. Its just simple catchy indie rock really. Just great songwriting which Im sure Dinosaur Jr fans have known for a very long time but something I discovered this year, slap me for being slow.
Man I could go on, Im really enjoying listening to these again! If you want to listen to a lot more check out my spotify playlist here. So many more awesome tracks. So little time.
I'll finish off with a quick list of my top albums, I might write more about these another time, but history dictates I probably wont:
1. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game
3. Hot Chip - In Our Heads
4. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's - Here
5. Jack White - Blunderbuss
6. Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere
7. Divine Fits - This is Divine Fits
8. Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred
9. Hospitality - Hospitality
10. Passion Pit - Gossamer
Hope you enjoyed the read - comments / abuse welcome!
