Albums
of the year
2012
So it’s come to this has it? A year of music so good that for the first time I came close to wishing albums would stop being made, as anything new coming out will surely distract and take away time from enjoying the fantastic albums that came out already. I feel bombarded with so much good music, yet time to listen slowly dissolving away (as evidenced by my balding head). Granted, it’s very true that I may not branch out as much as one could, and the most frustrating part is half of what I am into based on this post (and my runners-up post next week) may look like I do nothing but wait for Pitchfork’s daily reviews to guide me on my way musically. Rest assured, that is not the case, and just merely a coincidence. Most of the times I’ve done these posts I’ve just said “HERE! This is where’s it’s at – and listen to this other person tell you why!”. Last year, I took the time to write up my own reviews (who’d a thunk it?), but after looking at my blog stats I saw that it really didn’t reach many people. Your loss! So instead of making this feel like a chore left unnoticed this year by writing relatively long reviews that would fall on deaf ears, I would simplify. In the end, let the music speak for itself, eh? Well, for the most part. So, here you go, my favorite albums of the year. I guess technically they are what I consider to be “the best”, but by saying that it means these then have to be put in some sort of order, and quantified some way. But I really can’t do that. Depending on the mood of the day, each one of these albums is “the best” at one time or another, so really out of all the albums I’ve listened to over the past year, these are my go to albums – my favorites – my “desert island discs” of sorts. I’ve shared one track from each album as well, songs that I think not only represent what is great about the entire album, but what may spark an interest in you to checking out the whole thing, because to me they are all worth your time and quite rewarding indeed. Enjoy with aloha, and as always, turn it WAY the hell up, and for crying out loud use headphones. Laptop speakers = death.
12
TR/ST
Trust
There must be something in the public water that nourishes our friends north of the border. Like-minded and fellow Torontonians The Birthday Massacre have been highly successful in adding a new dimension to today’s gothic scene (see above), and now newcomers Trust have added their own refreshing take to the genre by unleashing their debut album Trst (yes, that’s Trust, sans the U). My assumption is that it’s a bit hard to make something fresh out of something as stale as this genre. Gothic music has been around for a long time now in many facets, and has been stretched far thinner than anyone could have imagined. It’s most certainly always perfectly dark, brooding, foreboding, even depressingly romantic, but these moods can really only go so far and usually try the patience of the average listener. Trust are most certainly gothic, from the album cover to press shots, there’s no mistaking where their hearts lie. But what they bring to the mix is a strong desire to dance. Goth music has always been quite danceable of course. From Joy Division to The Sisters of Mercy, the beats have always been there, but it’s always been a matter of your sensibilities and whether or not the music speaks to you in ways that you can look past the dark nature of it all. Trst asks this of you as well, but without the subtlety. The beats aren’t lying deep in a cobwebbed cave waiting for you to connect with them, they are shoved in your face and demanding you get your pale, pasty, black cape wearing ass off the floor of that opium den and show everyone what you’re made of. The track I’ve shared here, ‘Gloryhole’, is a perfect example of that. The synths build and build, the spectral industrial beats throbbing, the gorgeous moonlit chorus – it makes you wonder how a mood and a vibe so macabre (re: vocals that sound like the meandering gibberish of a serial killer) could be so much fun. This entire album is the sound of leaving your apartment at 2am – to START the night – on a crisp Autumn evening, knowing that where you’re headed is going to be dark, dirty, scary, and wrong in every way possible … and hoping it never ever ends. Fantastic.