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Written by Larry White and Michael Canter.
After reviewing the following retrospective regarding the top albums of 2012, at first glance one thing is evidently clear: Tame Impala’s Lonerism is a very good album, but declaring it “album of the year” lends tremendous disservice to a number of greater albums that deserve that credit. The album was released just three months ago. It’s quite a heady statement to therefore make those comparisons and frankly a bit ballsy, too.
It seems Tame Impala was given the crown of indie sovereignty before the album even dropped—a similar indie-critique phenomenon that propelled Bon Iver’s ho-hum eponymous release of 2011 to the top of last year’s retrospectives. Lonerism is a Top 40 album. It is certainly not the best release of 2012. The same could be said of Bon Iver in 2011.
For my money, Blunderbuss is infinitely better than Lonerism and should be ranked number one. That being said, we are strictly talking about opinion and there is no real factual basis or standard checklist to rate music and determine which album is better or worse than its peers. Plus, tastes change: In many cases an album will grow on a listener slowly over time, and others seem to fade from our collective memory at a quicker pace than is really deserved due to radio overplay, mainstream acceptance and non-stop marketing. None of those things turn good music into bad, but ask The Lumineers and fun. how it feels to be universally hailed at first and subsequently loathed by the same critics a few months later.
If a critique is provocative enough, the music geeks rush to listen. The best reviews tend to come from established journalists. Certainly, each has their critics as well and you can find a number of misses if you search those retrospective archives. But their success rate is generally better because they have reputations to maintain—though it may soften their views on some of the better music.
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ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Blunderbuss by Jack White
Label: Third Man Records
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Best Songs: “I’m Shakin’”, “Take Me With You When You Go”, “Sixteen Saltines”, “Hypocritical Kiss”
On Blunderbuss, Jack White has proved why he’s not only the inheritor of a tradition but also a remarkable, if bloodied, ambassador.
~ Randall Roberts, LA Times
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BEST OF THE REST
The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind by Ben Folds Five
Label: ImaVeePee Records/Sony Digital Distribution
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Best Songs: “Hold That Thought”, “Erase Me”, “Do It Anyway”, “Thank You For Breaking My Heart”
Yes, it’s been 13 years since Ben Folds Five’s last album, and this release is a pleasant reminder of past times that will evoke a smile or two without sounding archival or forcibly dated. And there is a little more cohesion, as an album, than any of the band’s previous works. Tight hooks abound on The Sound Of The Life Of the Mind, the melodies are grandiose and the harmonies are absolutely sublime. Front to back, this album is a winner. It’s wonderful to have our BFF back, even if it’s apotheosis is slightly more inveterate.
~ Michael Canter, Jivewired.com
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BEST OF THE REST
Arrow by Heartless Bastards
Label: Partisan Records
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Best Songs: “Simple Feeling”, “Parted Ways”, “Only For You”, “Got To Have Rock & Roll”
Heartless Bastards’ lead singer Erika Wennerstrom has always had the type of voice that can stop traffi c and mesmerize the listener, but on Arrow, the band’s fourth studio release, she displays a burning intensity that wasn’t quite there on previous efforts. There’s plenty of breathing room in these arrangements—acoustic guitars, solitary bass lines, ebb and flow dynamics–but it is the key addition of new members Mark Nathan, Jesse Ebaugh, and Dave Colvin, plus amazing production by the band and producer Jim Eno that puts the album over the top and makes Arrow the best release of 2012 thus far.
~ Michael Canter, Jivewired.com
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BEST OF THE REST
The Only Place by Best Coast
Label: Mexican Summer
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Best Songs: “The Only Place”, “Do You Love Me Like You Used To”, “Last Year”, “No One Like You”
Melody rules, thanks to countless wordless vocal hooks and Bruno’s surf-guitar fills.
~ Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune
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BEST OF THE REST
Shields by Grizzly Bear
Label: Warp Records
Release Date: September 18.2012
Best Songs: “Yet Again”, “A Simple Answer”, “Speak In Rounds”, “Sleeping Ute”, “Half Gate”
There are moments of utter insanity, of tranquil reluctance, and of foulful ecstasy. Shields growls and purrs in ways Grizzly Bear has never before.
~ Drew Litowitz, Consequence of Sound
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BEST OF THE REST
Welcome To The Country by Gram Rabbit
Label: Royal Order
Release Date: July 18. 2012
Best Songs: “Wild Imagination”, “Eeyore”, “Honky Tonkin’”, “Din Ho”, “Olde October Moon”
Bonus: “Desperate Heart”(single available separately)
Call the latest release by Gram Rabbit A Fistful Of Rabbit if you like, in loving tribute to the spaghetti western meets psychedelic rock sound it personifies, one that is a near 180-degree reversal in sound from the band’s previous output. Without doubt, this is a daring but successful move by a band that has made its mark by amassing a huge cult following.
Through ingenious and savvy arrangements, astute musicianship and an ear for nostalgic hooks that traverses generations, Gram Rabbit breathes sensual life into a project that capitalizes on the avant garde. Welcome To The Country is a prize despite its directional change for the band, or maybe in spite of it, but with no consolation necessary. Welcome To The Country is an unexpected winner.
~ Michael Canter, Jivewired.com
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BEST OF THE REST
Half-Made Man by Ben Sollee
Label: Tin Ear Records
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Best Songs: “Unfinished”, “The Healer”, “Slow Down”, “Some Lovin’”
Half-Made Man refreshingly proves that connecting with your audience and collaborating with talented friends can make for a good blueprint.
~ Amanda Koellner, Consequence of Sound
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BEST OF THE REST
Theatre Is Evil by Amanda Palmer & Grand Theft Orchestra
Label: 8 Ft. Records
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Best Songs: “Smile (Pictures Or It Didn’t Happen)”, “Want It Back”, “Lost”, “Bottomfeeder”
Theatre Is Evil is a long listen, an extensive production best left to sampling in two parts, as the artist seemingly intends. If you put all the online chatter aside and any preconceived notions you may have about Amanda Palmer (the person) based on said chatter, and just focus on Amanda Palmer (the singer), you’ll find an absolute gem of a record. The standout songs are true masterpieces, and the rest of the album is hardly simple filler. As Palmer has publicly stated, you can grab the entire LP for free (in exchange for an e-mail address through Top Spin Media), but it’s well worth the upgrade to get Theatre Is Evil in lossless digital format. Or, do yourself a real favor and get it on vinyl.
Amanda Palmer has a lot to say. Her music, and this album in particular, is certainly no different.
~ Michael Canter, Jivewired.com
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BEST OF THE REST
The Slideshow Effect by Memoryhouse
Label: Sub Pop Records
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Best Songs: “The Kids Were Wrong”, “Punctum”, “Walk With Me”, “Heirloom”
Upon first listen of The Slideshow Effect by Memoryhouse you will immediately take notice of two not-so-subtle generalizations:
- They have an incredible knack for making each instrument sound like a heartbeat.
- Every chord on this album resembles life’s initial breath.
Having listened in full, if you walk away with that same feeling, consider yourself in the majority. For proof, the last 90-seconds of the song “Heirloom” is all you need. If there is indeed a mystical breath of life, then in the diffused, ambient world of chill wave, “Heirloom” is it.
Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion have created a painstaking portrait of assertive melodies centered on the disillusion of a failed relationship that manages to suggest an element of closure in sentiment. At times, Memoryhouse can get a bit maudlin; this is a debut full-length after all and it is an ambient record, but songs like “Walk With Me” and “The Kids Were Wrong” help self-contain that oozing emotion. Others, like “Punctum” and “Heirloom” for instance, enhance that ambiance. Thematically speaking, relationship instability and disharmony are assuredly the dominate genes here, but the entire album is a think piece that chokes off the whiny heartbreak with both grace and beauty. The Slideshow Effect is, for the most part, spectacularly alluring.
~ Michael Canter, Jivewired.com
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BEST OF THE REST
Bloom by Beach House
Label: Sub Pop Records
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Best Songs: “New Year”, “Myth”, “Wild”, “The Hours”
That’s become their signature magic trick: stopping time right before the sun disappears over the horizon, tricking you into believing a feeling can last forever.
~ Lindsay Zoladz, Pitchfork
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HONORABLE MENTIONS
“Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey
Big Moon Ritual by Chris Robinson Brotherhood
The Wanton Looks by The Wanton Looks
Channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean
Coexist by The xx
Born To Die by Lana Del Rey
Lonerism by Tame Impala
Attack On Memory by Cloud Nothings
Long Slow Dance by The Fresh & Onlys
Visions by Grimes
Synthetica by Metric
LARRY WHITE is a music business professional who resides in Tulsa. He began his career in the San Francisco Bay Area while still in high school during the “British Invasion” of the mid 1960s, as band manager for The Baytovens. He served in executive positions at KHJ Radio, MCA Records and Warner Bros. Records, and worked with such notable and diverse artists as Barbra Streisand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Madonna, Jane’s Addiction, The Cult, Erasure, Pete Townshend and The Who.
Originally published in This Land, Vol. 4, Issue 3. Feb. 1, 2013.
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