#20-11
20. Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror - (Mom & Pop)
The sophomore effort from the Brooklyn-based duo doesn't quite raise the stakes of 2010's Treats as much as it adds focus to their energetic squalls of distorted guitars and power vocals. There's more variety here with songs like "End of the Line" and "You Lost Me" providing nuance between the crush of tracks like "Born to Lose", "Comeback Kid" and "Demons".
The sophomore effort from the Brooklyn-based duo doesn't quite raise the stakes of 2010's Treats as much as it adds focus to their energetic squalls of distorted guitars and power vocals. There's more variety here with songs like "End of the Line" and "You Lost Me" providing nuance between the crush of tracks like "Born to Lose", "Comeback Kid" and "Demons".
19. Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball - (Columbia)
One of the Boss' better records with The E Street Band since The River (1980), you're probably already familiar with a good handful of the music here with Major League Baseball grabbing "Land of Hope and Dreams" as a theme song for the 2012 season, while others came to prominence during the Hurricane Sandy recovery here in the Northeast. Bruce seems to be having fun, reaching into his bag of tricks to visit many of his influences with varying degrees of success throughout the eleven songs contained here. An immediately gratifying album that seems to reveal all of its tricks at once. Not one that I found myself revisiting as often as I thought I'd might throughout 2012. A perfectly good album caught up in the circumstances of 2012.
One of the Boss' better records with The E Street Band since The River (1980), you're probably already familiar with a good handful of the music here with Major League Baseball grabbing "Land of Hope and Dreams" as a theme song for the 2012 season, while others came to prominence during the Hurricane Sandy recovery here in the Northeast. Bruce seems to be having fun, reaching into his bag of tricks to visit many of his influences with varying degrees of success throughout the eleven songs contained here. An immediately gratifying album that seems to reveal all of its tricks at once. Not one that I found myself revisiting as often as I thought I'd might throughout 2012. A perfectly good album caught up in the circumstances of 2012.
18. Soundgarden - King Animal - (Republic / Seven Four)
16 years after the release of Down on the Upside (1996), the Seattle quartet finds themselves at the head of the "reunion pack of 2012". Although Soundgarden activities have been ongoing since their announced reunion in 2010, this is the first new material released by the reformed band. "Been Away Too Long" and "Non-State Actor" jump out of the gate and provide evidence that the band has hardly missed a step in a decade and a half, picking up right where they left off. Kim Thayil's wall of guitar sound is an immediate and welcome reminder of how much this band has been missed. The Thayil collaborations with vocalist/guitarist Chris Cornell have always provided the band's strongest material -- so it's not a surprise that has continued here on King Animal. A trip back to the 90s that you won't regret taking.
17. Islands - A Sleep & a Forgetting - (Anti-)
Never what you expect, releases from Islands over the past decade have ranged from the Carribean-tinged pop of Return to the Sea (2006) to the inexplicable prog-rock misstep of Arm's Way's (2008). Nick Thorburn returned in 2012 with a more straightforward, yet lyrically, highly personal effort. "No Crying" finds Thorburn crooning in an early-60s doo-wop style, while "Can't Feel My Face" finds itself shuffling into a mid-60s Brit-pop. A Sleep & a Forgetting was a sleeper (no pun intended), released early in the year without much fanfare and likely forgotten about by the time "List Season" rolled around -- it deserves a revisit.
16. Swearin' - Swearin' - (Salinas)
Despite their silly name, Swearin's debut album was a rather unexpected treat this year. After hearing their outstanding lead track, "Here to Hear", I took a chance and downloaded it from Amazon (the only place I was able to find it -- it might have been on iTunes, but I don't normally shop there). Running the gamut from jangly guitars to flat out power chords, the 27 minute length of this debut flies by. "Kenosha" finds a Sleater-Kinney sort of groove, "Crashing" and "Kill 'em With Kindness" blister their way through their minute and a half running lengths. "Movie Star" closes out the record in Weezer-esque fashion, but in a good way. Looking forward to see if this band has anything else up their sleeve.
15. Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania - (Caroline / EMI / Martha's)
Like most of you, I sadly left Billy Corgan behind. An integral part of my 1990s, Billy wanted us to entertain his every whim, when all we really ever wanted was for him to keep SP together in its original form and rock our asses off. Unfortunately, the keyboard oriented Adore (1998) led to the dreadful Machina/The Machines of God (2000) and the inevitable break-up. But Billy still had plenty more disappointing to do. Zwan, featuring a reunited Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin released Mary Star of the Sea (2003) to little fanfare, but plenty of sniping with his former Pumpkins mates, James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky. Putting the Smashing Pumpkins name to the test, Billy and Jimmy once again recorded under the SP moniker, releasing the even more dreadful Zeitgeist (2007) and an uninspired solo album mixed somewhere in there. Billy retreated to the studio with plans of recording a 44 song epic entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, releasing it in multiple phases, one of which appears to include the 13 song Oceania. Although Corgan is now working with hired guns as his Pumpkins side-kicks, it has inspired him to write the best music he has released since the mid-90s. Some of it will ring familiar with nods to "Disarm" and "Tonight, Tonight", and there are some missteps along the way ("One Diamond, One Heart"), but songs like opener "Quasar", "The Celestials" and the absolutely gorgeous "Violet Rays" will remind you why you were a fan of Corgan's in the first place. Welcome back, Billy.
14. The xx - Coexist - (Young Turks)
16 years after the release of Down on the Upside (1996), the Seattle quartet finds themselves at the head of the "reunion pack of 2012". Although Soundgarden activities have been ongoing since their announced reunion in 2010, this is the first new material released by the reformed band. "Been Away Too Long" and "Non-State Actor" jump out of the gate and provide evidence that the band has hardly missed a step in a decade and a half, picking up right where they left off. Kim Thayil's wall of guitar sound is an immediate and welcome reminder of how much this band has been missed. The Thayil collaborations with vocalist/guitarist Chris Cornell have always provided the band's strongest material -- so it's not a surprise that has continued here on King Animal. A trip back to the 90s that you won't regret taking.
17. Islands - A Sleep & a Forgetting - (Anti-)
Never what you expect, releases from Islands over the past decade have ranged from the Carribean-tinged pop of Return to the Sea (2006) to the inexplicable prog-rock misstep of Arm's Way's (2008). Nick Thorburn returned in 2012 with a more straightforward, yet lyrically, highly personal effort. "No Crying" finds Thorburn crooning in an early-60s doo-wop style, while "Can't Feel My Face" finds itself shuffling into a mid-60s Brit-pop. A Sleep & a Forgetting was a sleeper (no pun intended), released early in the year without much fanfare and likely forgotten about by the time "List Season" rolled around -- it deserves a revisit.
16. Swearin' - Swearin' - (Salinas)
Despite their silly name, Swearin's debut album was a rather unexpected treat this year. After hearing their outstanding lead track, "Here to Hear", I took a chance and downloaded it from Amazon (the only place I was able to find it -- it might have been on iTunes, but I don't normally shop there). Running the gamut from jangly guitars to flat out power chords, the 27 minute length of this debut flies by. "Kenosha" finds a Sleater-Kinney sort of groove, "Crashing" and "Kill 'em With Kindness" blister their way through their minute and a half running lengths. "Movie Star" closes out the record in Weezer-esque fashion, but in a good way. Looking forward to see if this band has anything else up their sleeve.
15. Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania - (Caroline / EMI / Martha's)
Like most of you, I sadly left Billy Corgan behind. An integral part of my 1990s, Billy wanted us to entertain his every whim, when all we really ever wanted was for him to keep SP together in its original form and rock our asses off. Unfortunately, the keyboard oriented Adore (1998) led to the dreadful Machina/The Machines of God (2000) and the inevitable break-up. But Billy still had plenty more disappointing to do. Zwan, featuring a reunited Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin released Mary Star of the Sea (2003) to little fanfare, but plenty of sniping with his former Pumpkins mates, James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky. Putting the Smashing Pumpkins name to the test, Billy and Jimmy once again recorded under the SP moniker, releasing the even more dreadful Zeitgeist (2007) and an uninspired solo album mixed somewhere in there. Billy retreated to the studio with plans of recording a 44 song epic entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, releasing it in multiple phases, one of which appears to include the 13 song Oceania. Although Corgan is now working with hired guns as his Pumpkins side-kicks, it has inspired him to write the best music he has released since the mid-90s. Some of it will ring familiar with nods to "Disarm" and "Tonight, Tonight", and there are some missteps along the way ("One Diamond, One Heart"), but songs like opener "Quasar", "The Celestials" and the absolutely gorgeous "Violet Rays" will remind you why you were a fan of Corgan's in the first place. Welcome back, Billy.
14. The xx - Coexist - (Young Turks)
One of the better 1-2 punches in music this year is found on Coexist with "Angels" and "Chained", not because they are great songs (they are), but because it immediately reaffirms that co-leaders Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim found the maturity to stick to the sound they so beautifully developed on their self-titled debut (2009) . This is bedroom music. A late night headphone affair with sparse, singular guitar lines, warm bass lines, triad chords on a keyboard and two voices that create a tension that belie the band's years. This is another huge step forward for a band who will likely need to change things up their next time out. Their first two records, however, should find their way into your library. Truly haunting music.
13. Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light - (Fat Possum)
An undertaking as big as their 1997 epic Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space didn't seem to be in the cards for Jason Pierce, but he willed himself through two years of recording, inspired by shows in which the band performed LaGWAFIS in its entirety. It's an album that demands repeated listens in order to begin to hear the multitude of layers, rewarding and revealing itself with each spin. It's poppy, melodic, haunting, noisy, symphonic and occasionally frustrating. It's everything you'd want in an album suited for listening at home.
12. Japandroids - Celebration Rock - (Polyvinyl)
With an eyebrow-raising title like Celebration Rock, you're seemingly opening yourself up to the fury of the hound-like music blogging community. But Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals) dare you to judge them while "yell(ing) like hell to the heavens" on opener "The Nights of Wine and Roses". Eight songs, 35 minutes and you'll be joining the celebration upon first listen. Aggressive and uncompromising, this duo from Vancouver, BC ratchets up the noise and general rock-and-roll fun-time, attacking with amps at eleven, thunderous drums and screaming sing-along choruses like in "Evil's Sway" (Oh year / All right / On the last and lashing out / It's evil's sway tonight). "The House That Heaven Built" gallops forward, starting and stopping along the way as King screams for his life. Skillfully timed out so as not to overstay its welcome -- this is a record that made its way onto many 'Best Of 2012' lists, and rightfully so.
11. Shearwater - Animal Joy - (Sub Pop)
An undertaking as big as their 1997 epic Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space didn't seem to be in the cards for Jason Pierce, but he willed himself through two years of recording, inspired by shows in which the band performed LaGWAFIS in its entirety. It's an album that demands repeated listens in order to begin to hear the multitude of layers, rewarding and revealing itself with each spin. It's poppy, melodic, haunting, noisy, symphonic and occasionally frustrating. It's everything you'd want in an album suited for listening at home.
12. Japandroids - Celebration Rock - (Polyvinyl)
With an eyebrow-raising title like Celebration Rock, you're seemingly opening yourself up to the fury of the hound-like music blogging community. But Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals) dare you to judge them while "yell(ing) like hell to the heavens" on opener "The Nights of Wine and Roses". Eight songs, 35 minutes and you'll be joining the celebration upon first listen. Aggressive and uncompromising, this duo from Vancouver, BC ratchets up the noise and general rock-and-roll fun-time, attacking with amps at eleven, thunderous drums and screaming sing-along choruses like in "Evil's Sway" (Oh year / All right / On the last and lashing out / It's evil's sway tonight). "The House That Heaven Built" gallops forward, starting and stopping along the way as King screams for his life. Skillfully timed out so as not to overstay its welcome -- this is a record that made its way onto many 'Best Of 2012' lists, and rightfully so.
11. Shearwater - Animal Joy - (Sub Pop)
Talk Talk comparisons will likely always follow Shearwater as Jonathan Meiburg's larger-than-life vocals emphasize the dramatic twists and turns of the band's musical canvas. Opener "Animal Life" goes right for the sky, soaring for the heavens with Meiburg as our guide. The six and a half minute "Insolence" creeps along at the beginning, daring you to follow, offering glimpses into the destination as it explodes into the chorus, only to fall back into its steady march. Things change up throughout offering a highly satisfying listen. Highly recommended for fans of some of the more introspective pop/rock of the 80s.
