Side One Track One

2012 – the year in which the Mayans saw it fit to end all days would make a pretty nice conclusion to all things, or well when it comes to music at least. I would gesture it’s been a good year from the fact that I had particular difficulties in narrowing down my favorite releases, and it really has been a good year. Never mind even ranking them, just whittling down to these 10 was a challenge enough. This past year was great in that it saw plenty of newcomers take hold, and even better, the new guys from last year firmly held their places and graduated from being promising newcomers to established powerhouses. Throw in some seasoned players, and you’ve got a year that had one hell of a variety to offer. Yes, it was a good year. Here are my choice choices. In no particular order, of course.

:Beach House – Myth:

:Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice:

:Django Django – Life’s A Beach:

:Fanfarlo – Feathers:

:Japandroids – The Night Of Wine And Roses:

:Kids Of 88 – Feel The Love:

:Purity Ring – Fineshrine:

:Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards:

:Tennis – Petition:

:Yellow Ostrich – Marathon Runner:

Because at least two of you asked for it, here’s the third part of my Top 25 Albums of 2012.  As I’ve said, I easily could have listed 50 releases, but I realized that half of those would have been albums that I only listen to when I’m in a particular mood.  In other words, they’re not immediately accessible, and that to me knocks them down a notch.  So, if you’re looking for 25 releases that you can immediately dive into and love, this is the place to be.  Enjoy.

15) Tennis – Young & Old

I didn’t expect to like this album as much as I did.  There are so many great songs on it, and I think that (for me, anyway) it establishes Tennis as one of the best pop acts currently working.

:Tennis – Petition:

14) The White Wires – WWIII

Even if I had wanted to, there was no escaping the garage rock glory of WWIII.  It’s loaded with so many hooks that the White Wires could cut a bunch out, and they’d still be providing an album that’s catchier than any of us deserve.

:The White Wires – Let’s Start Over Again:

13) Twin Shadow – Confess

To be honest, I figured I’d listen to Confess and just repeatedly skip to Five Seconds while ignoring the rest of the songs on the album.  But that didn’t happen.  In fact, the “skip” button never even came into play.

:Twin Shadow – Golden Light:

12) The Eastern Sea – Plague

Austin’s the Eastern Sea have been slowly assembling all the right pieces for years, and Plague is them (finally) putting everything together.  I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

:The Eastern Sea – A Lie:

11) Jack White – Blunderbuss

While Blunderbuss may sound exactly how you’d expect a Jack White solo album to sound, it’s still a pretty great effort.  If we’re lucky, we’ll get a follow-up sooner rather than later.

:Jack White – Missing Pieces:

Today’s music is here to tell you that it’s the first of the month, so you should pay your rent.  Enjoy.

:Dinosaur Jr – Pierce The Morning Rain:  These guys just put out this rocking single, and they’re playing the Mohawk this Thursday with Shearwater.  That sounds like reason enough for me to throw them a mention.  Buy their album and a ticket to the nearly sold-out show, friends!  I Bet On The Sky is available now via Jagjaguwar.

:hitRECord – Move On The Sun:  For those of you that don’t live in a world dominated by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, hitRECord is his collaborative production company, and this solid pop song is part of a 78-artist compilation that he and his partners just released.  You should check out what else they’re doing.  It’s all pretty neat.

:Tennis – Guiding Light (Television Cover):  This duo have been kind of quiet lately, but late last week they rolled this lovely cover out, announced some tour dates, and then said they’ll soon be heading into the studio to put together a new album.  I’m excited.  Young And Old is available now on Fat Possum.

:Crystal Castles – Wrath Of God:  About a week ago this act officially announced the details for their upcoming album, and then they released this intense track.  I recommend pulsing lights and headphones.  (III) is expected everywhere on November 5 via Casablanca/Universal Republic.  Also, you should try to catch them when they Emo’s East on October 13.

:Young Fathers – Deadline:  I’m not at all familiar with this band, but they just signed to Anticon, and the world seems to suddenly be buzzing about them.  This song is cool.  What else should I be giving a listen?  Tell me!  Look for Young Fathers to release Tape One in late November.