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.
4
DIIV
Oshin
Diiv’s debut album, Oshin, is lovely, and lovely, and then a little bit lovely as well. Hailing from Brooklyn, they named the band after the Nirvana song ‘Dive’, and when reading about these guys I see mentioned often that they’re apparently influenced by them quite a lot. I’m not sure if they said they have been, but if it’s music critics saying it, I’m really not hearing it. I may be seeing it, however. In most of the press photos and video clips I’ve seen of them, they have a scraggly, couldn’t be bothered, grunge-y Seattle look going on while playing in dirty graffitied basements with beer cans and cups scattered about. It’s all such a juxtaposition from the music they make, which is truly and completely gorgeous. It has all the sounds that prick up my ears; a driving, repetitive almost krautrock groove, heavily reverbed and echoed guitars, and vocals that are added more as an instrument or effect rather than a soapbox for bad lyrics (check out the song ‘Follow’ that I’ve shared). Of course the lyrics could be bad, but who can tell, really? What makes them stand out above the rest are a few things. First the willingness to be instrumental. So much of the album reminds me of the old 4AD band Dif Juz not only in their sound, but being open to just letting the music speak for itself in all it’s jangled beauty. Second, the length of the songs and the album as a whole. A lot of times bands that go for this sound have something, well, cinematic in their heart. There’s something about this particular style that feels theatrical and epic in scale, and bands tend to stretch songs for well over the running time of a normal pop structure, and that’s all good and fine and I personally love it, but the short get-to-the-point vibe of these songs is another reason why this album stands out for me. The songs are kept short – on average about 3 minutes – and thusly it makes the appeal of coming back to this album repeatedly ever so stronger. Lastly, there’s an element here that I can only just call “adult”, and just plain effervescent. There is a mood in their songwriting that reminds me so much of The Radio Dept. – especially their last album Clinging To A Scheme (which topped my 2010 albums list). I don’t know how to explain it, but there is a humility in their music that is very admirable, especially at their age. This one’s a gorgeous, rockin’ little jewel.