Going through the 2k12 pfork bnm's cuz I can

PART I

Cloud Nothings- Attack on Memory
Textbook angst indie rock. Their influences overshadow any authorial voice they may have. Their more chipper pop songs here feel more lasting.

Schoolboy Q- Habits & Contradictions
Other than sometimes neat choices for production throughout, I can't really latch unto anything for this guy. Average lyricist, not too much charisma.

John Talabot- fIN
The magic of Talabot is he's able to sustain your interest and build upon emotional climaxes that you never expected some songs to go to because he's so smooth in directing you there. If there's a problem with this album is that he still may need help in track by track sequencing, the songs are most strong, but they can be draining to continue on after a few.

Burial- Kindred EP
The EP is more of a tease than a completed work I think. Pretty incredible stuff considering Burial sidesteps from sounding too Burial-y yet still remains in tact with properties of his familiar identity. This is a stepping stone, a reflection of his undying potential to keep growing.

Grimes- Visions
The authorial voice here is so strong that you forget to even consider the influences she has (doesn't really matter). When Grimes is on, it is the most amazing contemporary electropop you'll hear (see the first and last thirds). Her problem I think, she doesn't know how to slow things down and balance energy levels from track to track, as I start to lose interest in its spotty middle section. Still, best new artist of the year.

Frankie Rose- Interstellar
It's the little album that could. A small album that expands depending on the outside environment you listen to it at. Night time is the right time, and go outside and get chills while you reflect and imagine.

Lambchop- Mr. M
Highly unobtrusive and never in your face. This album/band finds sublimity in never straying from a low-key middle ground where listeners might need to do more work in going to it rather than the usual opposite. Somewhat like Bill Callahan or Tindersticks, but even they have pop songs that slay you over. All this album wants to do is gently cuddle, not fuck. Still growing for me.

Perfume Genius- Put Your Back N 2 It
Will go down as pretty underrated by the end of the year. I think it's a pretty great album. Incredibly moving with life affirming bits coming in 2-3 minute packages. I like how Hadreas can remain short yet feel completely satisfying. It's a great gift he has.

Japandroids - Celebration Rock

This might not be indie rock, but it does have a certain sound that I've come to associate with indie rock. For example, the "guys at a concert harmony", for lack of a better description. It also reminds me of some older music (a little Blind Melon, a little Blink 182), just not anything I'd say I'm a fan of. It's not boring, but it doesn't do it for me.

5/10


Four albums in, and my top 10 remains untouched. If all else fails, I'll just expand it to a top 20.

meh, whatever. Go listen to Since I Left You and go on a journey.

Did you at least like or would consider this song to be in your end of the year song list? Truly one of the great rock songs to come this year/in awhile.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqaEQTi3rew[/youtube]

"Alrighty! Time to catch up on all these 2012 releases I've been hearing about!"
*listens to Carly Rae Jepsen*
*listens to Japandroids*
"Whelp, that's about all of them. Pretty shit year IMO!"

2012 is so much better than 2010 and 2011

Overall, I'm counting ten albums, plus a video game soundtrack, plus a couple albums I only listened through one time. That might not compare to what some of you go through, but my time is limited, and it eventually gets wearying listening to albums because they're from 2012 instead of because they're what I feel like listening to right now. And the music landscape is largely dominated by styles that hold little to no interest for me. What I ending up doing was sampling albums from different sources: one from pop radio, one recommended by critics, one recommended here, one that was the return of an older band...

I've never heard it! Now that I've done my listen through I'm going to acquire all the missing ones. I'm really looking forward to hearing Get Up With It actually, I've heard good things.

For instance, if I wanted to get into Symphonic Metal or whatever genre you enjoy, you probably wouldn't recommend that I listen to something from this year because it wouldn't be a proper and effective exposure to the genre as a whole. I'm sure that there's an album from another time that would be better at getting me invested in the genre.

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
High Tier
Okay, I said that I didn't want to ever hear anymore post-hardcore, ever, and I guess this is somewhere on the post-hardcore spectrum, but I actually quite liked this. That's because you could definitely hear the effort they made to sound unique. Every track had something to make it stand out - the players obviously had incredible skill at their instruments, which is not a comment usually made about "Punk". Still, the vocals were lame and the band came off as seeming "Too Kool for Skool", but hey, that's a minor complaint compared to those I have of similar bands.