Just in time for end of year season 2013, here's my long, long, long overdue look back at my 50 favorite albums of 2012.
50. Neurosis -
Honor Found in Decay (Neurot)
49. Spawn of Possession -
Incurso (Relapse)
48. Drudkh -
Eternal Turn of the Wheel (Season of Mist)
47. Horisont -
Second Assault (Metal Blade)
46. Christian Mistress -
Possession (Relapse)
45. Witch Mountain -
Cauldron of the Wild (Profound Lore)
44. Divine Fits -
A Thing Called Divine Fits (Merge)
43. The Men -
Open Your Heart (Sacred Bones)
42. Krallice -
Years Past Matter (Self-released)
41. Siinai -
Olympic Games (Splendour)
40. Moon Duo -
Circles (Sacred Bones)
39. Death Grips -
The Money Store (Epic)
38. Ancestors -
In Dream and Time (Tee Pee)
37. Witchcraft -
Legend (Nuclear Blast)
36. The Sea and Cake -
Runner (Thrill Jockey)
35. Enslaved -
RIITIIR (Nuclear Blast)
34. El-P -
Cancer 4 Cure (Fat Possum)
33. Godspeed You! Black Emperor -
Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (Constellation)
32. Thee Oh Sees -
Putrifiers II (In the Red)
31. Black Breath -
Sentenced to Life (Southern Lord)
30. Neil Young & Crazy Horse -
Psychedelic Pill (Reprise)
29. High On Fire -
De Vermis Mysteriis (E1)
28. Cattle Decapitation -
Monolith of Inhumanity (Metal Blade)
27. Satan's Wrath -
Galloping Blasphemy (Metal Blade)
26. Beak> -
>> (Invada)
25. Six Organs of Admittance -
Ascent (Drag City)
24. White Hills -
Frying On This Rock (Thrill Jockey)
23. Horseback -
Half Blood (Relapse)
22. Colour Haze -
She Said (Elektrohasch)
21. Dawnbringer -
Into the Lair of the Sun God (Profound Lore)
20. Spiritualized -
Sweet Heart, Sweet Light (Fat Possum)
At this point, in 2012, I was well past the time of expecting great things out of Spiritualized. Everything Jason Pierce has released since the turn of the millennium has been varying shades of mediocre and I didn't anticipate this one being any different. But my expectations were fully trashed about halfway through the epic second track, the nine-minute, Velvet Underground aping (in multiple ways) "Hey Jane". It was everything I didn't think Spritiualized was capable of any longer - visceral, intense, engaging, exciting, fierce. Fortunately the rest of the disc isn't too shabby either and I'm back in believing again.
19. Converge -
All We Love We Leave Behind (Epitaph)
With all four albums preceding this one being considered stone cold classics by various corners of the internet (myself included), one might be tempted to wonder how long they could keep it up. And while this isn't quite the game-changer that either
Jane Doe or
Axe To Fall, it still ranks as an excellent Converge record and that is nothing to dismiss. Without sacrificing any of their trademark intensity, Converge spends 38 minutes weaving brand new colors into their tapestry while exploring the tricky faces of aging and death.
18. Killer Mike -
R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
Killer Mike spent far too long toiling in the relative rap underground, never reaching the critical mass he deserved, even after knocking out certified classics in his under-appreciated Grind series. But thankfully the world was ready for him in 2012 and Mike was there ready to spit absolute fire over some thrilling El-P beats. At first I wasn't sure how the two would pair, but all concerns were put at ease within minutes of pushing play. Mike actually sounds perfectly suited to these beats and rises to the challenge, firing off round after round in the direction of the expected political targets ("Reagan") and culture at large ("Ghetto Gospel").
17. Jess and the Ancient Ones -
Jess and the Ancient Ones (Svart)
A lot of noise has been made over the past few years about the whole trend of 70s minded "occult rock" bands with female lead vocalists, deservingly so, since it did feel like a trend that just sort of exploded out of nowhere. But considering how much I like the sound, I'm not one to complain. For my money, however, Jess and the Ancient Ones are right at the head of the pack - their epic sound is a nice combination of 70s psych rock, NWOBHM, and classic rockers like Blue Oyster Cult. Jess is the obvious star with a huge voice perfectly suited to the occult subject matter, but guitarists Thomas Corpse and Thomas Fiend add the real fuel to the fire.
16. Chromatics -
Kill For Love (Italians Do It Better)
This was an unexpected surprise for me in 2012. While I had really enjoyed
Night Drive and their other scattered singles and compilation work, nothing had prepared me for the absolute tour de force this record was to unleash upon the world. The opening track, a thrilling cover of Neil Young's "Into the Black", nicely set the dark and haunting tone, but the band was to explore virtually every neon-tinged shadow in existence over the course of its 90-minute running length. Equally parts haunting and catchy, this was a statement that the band will likely never be able to top. They may release better songs, but I can't imagine they'll ever bless us with a better front-to-back listening experience.
15. Pallbearer -
Sorrow and Extinction (Profound Lore)
I'm certainly far from the only one that fell hard for the debut album from this Little Rock doom crew, as it appeared on a pleasing number of end of the year lists, but allow me to add to the chorus. Doom can be a tough genre to crack. It's one thing to plod and stomp, but another to inject it with life and emotion at the same time. Pallbearer did just that, in spades, making this not only one of the greatest debut doom records of the past few years, but one of the flat out best doom records period. Over the course of these five tracks, Pallbearer carve a melancholy path through the domains of death and, surprisingly, hope. It's a tantalizing listen and I can't imagine where they'll go next.
14. Angel Haze -
Reservation (Self-released)
Angel Haze was one of my favorite hip-hop discoveries of the year. Born in Detroit and now residing in Michigan, she burst out of obscurity with a flurry of mixtapes of which this became her defining moment. At the relatively tender age of 20, Haze has had one hell of a life and has turned it into one hell of a story to tell. A story which wouldn't be as gripping if it weren't for her absolutely fierce flow. Between this tape and the follow-up
Classick, on which she goes full force over some legendary beats (including a crushing take on Eminem's "Cleaning Out My Closet"), Haze was the second biggest break-out rapper of 2012 in my eyes (sorry Angel, Kendrick was the first) and I can't wait to hear her major label debut.
13. Pig Destroyer -
Book Burner (Relapse)
Although it seems like the "true" (whatever that means anymore) Pig Destroyer fans vastly prefer the early material, but I was actually won over thanks to their surprisingly wide-reaching and stellar 2007 album,
Phantom Limb. It was a long five year wait for the follow-up, but the results justified the wait. If possible, this one is even more caustic and intense than
Phantom Limb, though of a much more single-minded nature. In my eyes, Pig Destroyer is the grindcore band most worth watching right now and this was another stellar release.
12. Astra -
The Black Chord (Metal Blade)
I came around to this San Diego prog band's first record,
The Weirding, belatedly but immediately feel for its retro version of modern prog. I appreciated it that it managed to be widescreen and epic, without succumbing to the pointless wankery that plagues far too many other modern prog bands. They play a style directly descended from the 70s titans like Yes, Pink Floyd and King Crimson. And their second full-length was even better. By deploying a phalanx of synths, the band conjured up an even more inspired space rock bent.
11. Cloud Nothings -
Attack On Memory (Carpark)
This was one of 2012's early highlights, a January release that ended up getting lots of airtime throughout the course of the year. I hadn't heard anything previous from Dylan Baldi's Cloud Nothings project, but this one was right up my alley, with a distinctive 90s vibe that encompassed a few different genres without ever being beholden to just one - grunge, emo, and indie rock. But what made it such a captivating listen was its pop heart, there were hooks galore on here in between the guitar workouts and noisier squalls.
10. Author & Punisher -
Ursus Americanus (Seventh Rule)
Hands down, this was one of the most forward looking albums I heard all year. Author & Punisher is the nom de plume of one Tristan Shone, an engineering and robotics graduate that builds some truly wicked homemade instruments to compose his songs. The result is a punishing sound that falls somewhere between extreme metal, industrial and the more intense end of electronic music. It's a mesmerizing combination and impressive to hear how varied Shone's approach is, flitting from hard-hitting electronic to more laid-back ambient dub, all while maintaining a truly unique sound. Truly one of the few musicians out there right now deserving of the "innovator" tag.
9. Fiona Apple -
The Idler Wheel... (Epic)
This was another unexpected surprise, especially coming as it did seven years after her last troubled and divisive record. Thankfully, however, most people noticed right from the get-go the masterpiece that this record was. As difficult to pin down as ever, Fiona's bounced between styles while giving us what may ultimately prove to be her most intensely personal record to date. She plows through hard-won revelations and bitter lessons with intensity and a gallows humor that adds some much needed levity during the album's duration. This is a firm middle finger to Fiona's detractors that wanted to pigeonhole her as "that weird girl" from the 90s.
8. Aluk Todolo -
Occult Rock (Ajna Offensive)
Oh man, this. I've liked krautrock for a long time. I've liked black metal for nearly as long. Never did I think I ever needed an act that combined the two. But now that I've had this monstrosity of a record (90 minutes over two discs) from this French trio, I can't imagine it never existing. Of course, the thing about such a description is that, while it may be apt and point you in the general direction of the music Aluk Todolo makes, it still ends up selling them short. I can't put into words just how immersive this stuff is, nor how powerful. The best I can do is recommend that you put this on, sit back and prepare to be blown away.
7. Swans -
The Seer (Young God)
I'll admit it, I'm a latecomer to the world of Swans. They were just under my radar back in the 90s and while I always heard of them as some sort of "legacy" act I should check out for their influence on bands I loved, I never did just that. I was floored by their 2010 comeback (of sorts) record,
My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, and was eagerly anticipating this follow-up. My appetite was whetted even more by the live album,
We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head, which served as a teaser/fundraiser for the record in question here, anchored by a massive 30-minute behemoth titled, naturally, "The Seer". So I had a bit of an idea of what to expect when this dropped three months later, but only a bit. For everything I loved about
My Father, this upped the ante significantly and found the band wallowing in harrowing misery. An intense, ultimately rewarding journey.
6. Tame Impala -
Lonerism (Modular)
As much as I loved their killer debut record from 2010, Innerspeaker, I think the band's sophomore release improves upon it in just about every way possible - more psychedelic, more rocking, more engaging, crisper production, just an absolute thrill to listen to. It starts off on the right foot, with the tremendous 1-2 opening punch of "Be Above It" and "Enders Toi", and never lets up from there. My personal favorite usually alternates between the psych-mad "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" and the rocking "Elephant", but the entire record is wonderful.
5. Kendrick Lamar -
Good Kid: M.A.A.D. City (Aftermath)
As I mentioned in my Angel Haze blurb, Kendrick Lamar was, hands down, my favorite breakout rapper from 2012. Sure, he wasn't exactly brand new (there was an early mixtape and
Section.80 before this one), but it was surely a definitive coming out moment for the nascent rap superstar. Lamar managed to do something that no rapper has done in some time, an immersive concept record that sucks you in for the story but could also stand completely on its own as just a collection of songs. He tapped into the spiritual history of Compton hip-hop by bringing along guests like Dr. Dre and MC Eiht, but managed to tell an entirely different story about a generation raised on gangster rap, though maybe not always ready to completely buy in. It's a compelling story, tied together with a nifty turn of the overripe narrative cliche of voicemail messages but, more importantly, he's got amazing flow.
4. Baroness -
Yellow & Green (Relapse)
Anybody that has followed my blog for any amount of time won't be surprised to see this band popping up again this high on my list, their excellent sophomore record, Blue Record, was my #2 album of 2009. This one, however, finds the band taking things in an entirely new direction and, surprisingly, foregoing most of the metal and releasing what is really an alternative rock record. Which may sound like damning with faint praise but believe me, that isn't the case at all. This is the kind of superb, melodic rock that has been missing from alt-rock radio for a decade now, intelligent and flexible without ever losing track of the melodic heart. In many ways it's a throwback to the bloated alt-rock excess days of
Mellon Collie or
Superunknown, but I can't think of a band better equipped to do something like this right now.
3. Frank Ocean -
Channel Orange (Def Jam)
This was another huge surprise for me in 2012. I'd already been aware of Frank Ocean thanks to his Odd Future connections and the flashes of inspired genius he showed on
Nostalgia, Ultra, but nothing prepared me for this tour de force. It was doubly surprising since I'd already grown wary of the intersection between cloud rap and hipster'n'b, something that lead single "Pyramids" played up, but that song's epic scope eventually won me over and I realized that Ocean had his own idiosyncratic take on things. And this album is, from start to finish, an absolutely gripping listen. From the heartbroken ache of "Thinkin Bout You" to the conflicted affluence of "Super Rich Kids" to the delicate truthfulness of the spiritual heart of the record, "Bad Religion". Absolutely the most gripping, engaging and ultimately triumphant r'n'b records of 2012.
2. Ufomammut -
Oro [Opus Primum / Opus Alter] (Neurot)
A band tagged as space stoner doom could probably be forgiven for aiming big with a conceptual project, but I think this project takes the cake, even for the long-reaching Italian band Ufomammut. Their latest project was actually one large piece split into two album length units of five moments each. Makes Sleep's Dopesmoker seem quaint, right? But surprisingly enough, Ufomammut is more than up to the task as the entire Oro suite is a thrilling piece of work, but each album and the smaller movements stand just as well on their own. The best way I can describe this to the uninitiated would be to imagine Pink Floyd circa Atom Heart Mother going even more ambitious, only heavily inspired by Hawkwind and Sleep.
1. Goat -
World Music (Rocket Recordings)
Picking my album of the year for 2012 was tougher than most years. In one way, I couldn't picture any one album that stood head and shoulders above everything else I heard over the course of the year. But in another, on any given day I could have argued for any of the top five landing at the number one spot. Ultimately, I decided to go with what felt right and that was what ended up easily my most played record of 2012, the debut record from Swedish weirdos Goat. The band's backstory, while likely nothing more than hooey, makes for an interesting narrative when paired with their music and supposedly killer live shows (I've only been able to witness one show via YouTube at this point). They claim to be a collective hailing from Korpilombolo, Sweden - a mysterious town with a long history of voodoo, witch doctors and curses. They also claim to have been recording for "30 or 40 years", though this seems to be the first actual evidence to make it out to the world at large. Anyway, the type of music they play is difficult to pin down, making the World Music title very apt. They draw influences from all over the world, melding different types and eras of experimental music from jazz fusion to psychedelic rock to space rock and beyond, all capped off with a healthy dose of Afropop influence. It's a heady mixture, but the band pulls it off really well - this is some of the most joyous, life-affirming music I heard all year. The poly-rhythmic percussion makes this very infectious, creating a solid bed for the guitar explorations and chanting that go over the top. It's really something that needs to be heard to be truly understood. A bit of controversy arose after they started playing out live due to the masks and African inspired clothing they wear, but I really don't think they're doing anything worse than, say, Vampire Weekend in terms of cultural appropriation. Regardless, I can't recommend this music enough, Goat is simply one of the most exciting young bands I've encountered in some time and I can't wait to hear where they go next.
