The Top 50 albums of 2012: 20-11

20) Glocca Mora- Just Married

While the opening track may be my favorite, this album made me nostalgia hard.  I have never been a huge Midwestern Emo fan, but this album has a general sincerity in its sound that I haven’t heard since the old Weezer.  The difference being, however, Weezer always reminded me of my insecurities as a teen trying to find my place.  Just Married, however reminds me of the years just after this point.  This is an album which echoes the years of having a niche, sneaking out, breaking bottles and causing mischief.

While the vocals quiver with an uncertainty, the album seems to combine the vulnerability of hose younger years with the excitement of first acting out and taking risks.

As far as the instrumentation, it is pretty as expected: 4/4 time signatures, harmonizing guitars, breakdowns occurring after each verse, and standard song structures.  While they obviously aren’t reinventing the wheel here, the instrumentation works fairly well. 

Why I enjoy this album so much is how well the instrumentation couples with the vocalist.  It isn’t that he has a great voice.  To be honest his voice would probably be a complaint with any other style of music, it’s that the two just marry so perfectly.  The voice cracks at times (‘theories of relativity by david nicholas’), but holds an exposed tenderness, especially when coupled with the lyrical themes throughout the album (returning home again, not wanting to wake up, ect.).

19) Oren Amgarchi, Jim O’Rourke & Keiji Haino- Imikuzushi

When I saw Haino’s name on the bill for this collaboration, I immediately knew I was in for a treat.  Imikuzushi did not disappoint either.  This is yet another great album which is determined to tread the line of noise and noise rock.  Walls of guitar feedback are flung at the listener.  Haino screams occasionally in a language I cannot understand.

But once you get a few minutes in, the trio really find their sound.  The bass goes from nonsense to rhythm.  The guitar occasionally turns off two of its distortion pedals, and though probably all improv, it does create a great sound.

The drum work is by no means spectacular on this album, and is probably the weakest end of the group.  But that isn’t to say the drumming is bad.  No, the drumming, while not rewriting the instrument, definitely provides the necessary background for the others to play and for the listener to understand.

Probably the hardest thing for listeners of albums on this top 50 is the song lengths.  Here it is no exception.  Imikuzushi is four tracks long, totaling over an hour in length.

I have found that this album is one I hardly listen to from start to finish.  Each of the four tracks feel great standing alone; so much so that putting one on usually fulfills my urge for listening to this band.  This is the only album I can make this statement for this year, and while it is not necessarily a bad thing, it definitely affects how I see this album.  On that same note though, this is both a testament to the fact that each song feels complete and that others can youtube a track and quickly (well like 15 minutes) understand most of my opinions in this review and begin to form opinions of their own.

18) Kevin Drumm- Relief

Most ‘cool/hip’ 2012 lists try to put a noise album on them.  I have noticed this year it is Jason Lescaleet- Songs About Nothing.  While I disagree that this album is worthy to be on a top 50 list, I am still guilty of placing a noise album on my own chart.

Relief is a single 36 minute track.  Never during this time is there a moment of silence; feedback is continuously occurring, high pitch drones come and go, and swells of static bubble up throughout.

Although Relief is a harsher noise album, it is a rather calming piece.  While the first minute may be rather off putting to many listeners, Drumm does a great job at creating an improvisational noise set that would be both great introduction to the genre, all the while still being a complex, thought provoking, work.

One aspect of this albumthat is very impressive is how well Drumm is able to manipulate the sound.  Multiple ranges are constantly changing, but never does one of the sounds feel out of place.  Drumm does a great job of allowing these sounds to coexist.  They all feel natural and do not feel like the screams of a laptop; rather it sounds crafted with real instruments and difficult to perform.

After hearing this album I have decided I am going to look further into Drumm's vast discography.  I highly recommend this album to those interested in noise.

17) Calibro 35- Ogni Riferimento a Persone Esistenti o a Fatti Realmente Accaduti e Puramente Casuale

In all seriousness, this band is cool.  I mean the name of the album translated means “Any reference to existing persons or actual events is purely coincidental.”  A fitting name for an album that consists of Italian exploit film soundtrack covers with original works fitting that theme sprinkled in.

While I am not too sure which tracks on here are covers, I can say for sure that these songs truly embody that 70’s funk vibe.  Phantasmagorias of noir landscapes and crime syndicates and Blaxploitation permeate my subconscious when I hear these songs.  But then again, as an American listener I do not know too much of the Italian exploit film genre.

Though all of the tracks are instrumental, do not let that dissuade you if that is not usually your cup of tea.  This is all grimy, gritty funk with solid breakdowns.  Each song has great pacing and they flow well into one another.  Having played keyboards for a while in my past, I loved the mixing of the organ.  On the song ‘Arrivederci e grazie’ the organ works so well because it stays in the background.  If you don’t actively hunt it out it may pass you by, but if you pay attention you can hear that even it has great instrumentation to it.

The songs all keep a relatively similar pace to them; nonetheless, Calibro 35 does a good job making them each sound their own.  Tracks like ‘New Dehli Deli’ bring an Indian vibe to the funk, while songs like ‘La banda del B.B.Q.’ make good use of humming and harder hitting drums. 

If you were looking for some music that both you and your jam-band loving friends can enjoy, pop this album on, you won’t be disappointed.

16) BNNT-_ _

In case you didn’t know, I love this band.  Everything about them is ridiculous, and congrats to their baritone missile player for winning that Polish art award.

_ _ is a fierce album.  Right from the first track, the album has an unwavering, in-your-face attitude.  The drums pulsate, and the samples polish it all up perfectly.  After its abrasive opening, BNNT start experimenting in great ways.  ‘The armistice ended the first Chechen War’ is a splendid track which really jams and throws some cowbell in the noise rock for good measure.  The song flows perfectly into the next track, which wouldn’t be a great track if not for the excellent xylophone in the background.

It is impressive how good their missilist is as playing his instrument.  At times it sounds like a bass (‘Child soldiers of Congo’), and other times it sounds like a guitar (‘Operation Diesel_ British troops have taken Afghan heroin factory’). 

While the standout track is ‘Child soldiers of Congo’, This is an album where the songs all seem to be reaching to be the standout track.  It is a shorter album, but contains no filler.  I look forward to their next album, and will be sure to visit any shows or soundbombings should they ever occur in Ohio. 

15) Superstorms- Superstorms

If you are looking for a more out their ambient album that doesn’t quite venture into the realm of ‘dark ambient’, Superstorms may be up your alley.  Labeled as ‘abrasive ambient’, this was a marvelous 5-track album which can easily take the listener on a sonic adventure. 

Much of my praise for this album will seem like a repeat of my first review of it, but it gets spot 15 for my albums of the year for all of those reasons.  It’s a drone album that isn’t brooding, but is instead uplifting.  It holds extremely harsh sounds but presents them in a very palatable way.  I stand by my comparison of this to a collaboration between Tycho and Prurient.

What’s more is this albums length (roughly 30 minutes) works greatly to its advantage.  This album sounds like one epic piece, but its brevity enables it to be listened to in a leisurely manner.

Overall, an astounding album from an auspicious artist.

 

14) White Lung- Sorry

This album works so well because of its pacing.  It is a short, quick album that maintains high energy throughout, ending all too soon and leaving the listener wanting of more.  While 20 minutes is more an EP than an album, after a few listens, I am beginning to agree that it is an album.  It has ten tracks and feels like a complete work.

This is another album that just has no bad songs on it.  Every track has the potential to be an album single.  The singers voice is extraordinary and works perfect with their sound.  I am surprised that Metz has received so much love this year when Sorry does everything Metz does but better.

Next time one of your friends makes a remark about how women cannot play music, show them this and remind them that three of the members are female.

13) Black Moth Super Rainbow- Cobra Juicy

Dandelion Gum was always my favorite Black Moth Album.  It felt more put together than their older stuff, but was still bringing more to the table than Eating Us.  When I heard they were making this album I was sort of skeptical, mainly afraid they would continue normalizing their music as I felt they were doing with Eating Us.  Still, I paid the money for the kickstarter and hoped for the best.

While this isn’t the best, it is great and it exceeded my realistic expectations.  Black Moth have such a unique sound and it just works so well.  Cobra Juicy perfectly displays how Black Moth are able to experiment while still making accessible sounds.  I could put this album on when my parents come over and not feel uncomfortable, but at the same time this album has withstanded multiple listens and has me still coming back to it.

As far as the sound of this album, songs like ‘Hairspray Heart’ have an addition of some electric guitar and I think it works well.  It is sparse and compliments the synths.  The Song ‘We Burn’ reminds me of beats that Odd Nosdam might make.  The Song ‘Gangs in the Garden’ demonstrated a more synthpop sound. ‘Spraypaint’ may be my favorite track on this album.  It is slower, has relatable lyrics, and drags on in a good way.

While I felt that ‘Windshield Smasher’ may have been the worst song on the album, Black Moth chose it as the single.  Regardless, this album is fun, uplifting, and worth a listen.  Also the songs were even better live (regardless of the moshpit for some reason occurring).  

12) Lil Ugly Mane- Mista Thug Isolation

What a solid throwback to 90’s Memphis rap.  Coming in at 18 tracks long, this album has great beats, absurd lyrics, and a good flow to boot. 

Now that you know it is, let’s get who Lil Ugly Mane is out of the way so that we can discuss the music.  Lil Ugly Mane is a white dude who used to make noise music.  If you played any of these tracks for someone, neither of those two things would be guessed.  I have read critiques who have said that Lil Ugly Mane makes his music unbelievable…but to them I ask, is that not the point?

See this album is rap about smacking bitches, killing fools, riding dirty, and getting loaded.  Lil Ugly Mane recognizes that while these are the themes, this is simply music.  The artist need not live this lifestyle to make a great album comprising of such subject matter.  And this makes sense, seeing as the average listener to music of this style typically does not live this lifestyle either.

As far as the beats, phenomenal.  While I recognize that all beats weren’t created equal on this album, even the worst beats (‘Radiation’) beat out the majority of rap albums sounding like this that are trying to take themselves seriously.  But on the other end, songs like ‘Serious Shit’ and ‘Bitch I’m Lugubrious’ have such killer production that it is amazing he produced this whole album without any contributing artists.

Now to the lyrics.  Absurd.  Lets take ‘Bitch I’m Lugubrious’.  Right off we get spit this:

            Bitch I’m Lugubrious (side note, yes that is a real word)

            My trap game the stupidest

            I been sick since the uterus

And it just keeps hitting as absurd throughout, throwing misogyny in with references to Ernest Worrell.  The man is a true linguist.

In the end, this album beautifully reconstructs a 90’s Memphis album while exceeding on all fronts: beats, lyrics, flow, and even artwork.

11) Infants- Giant Leg

 

 I learned about Brainiac around 2003 and was immediately saddened to hear they had ended years earlier.  I adored their crazy synth punk and until Infants I really did’t know of any other bands that attempt to create such a frantic sound in the same manner.

With Giant Leg a similar disappointment occurred.  I found out about this album, listened and enjoyed the hell out of it, only to find out that the album was recorded in 2009 and due to a series of events its release was postponed until 2012.  Sometime during that span of three years, the band broke up.  While a good band, Gum Takes Tooth, did form in the wake of their demise, I still prefer this frantic freak synth punk.

This album is so great because of all the things it throws into the pot at once.  Unlike so many synth-filled albums, this has real drums.  Giant Leg also makes minimal use of samples, and they are tastefully used.  Often with bands with two vocalists, one is subpar.  Here, the male/ female vocal combo works great.  The female has very Japanese sounding vocals (I believe she is from Tokyo), and while her voice is very rocking, it couples well with male using slightly softer vocals.

On a first listen to this album, there is quite a joy of wondering how the next song may sound.  This album, while keeping to a frantic pace, constantly switches up the sounds they are trying to achieve.  Sometimes it is choppy and punk with tiny mellow spots scattered throughout, other times every instrument sounds like it is running through an overdrive pedal, and sometimes the instrumental breaks are reminiscent of Boredoms.

This album is truly a landmark for synthpunk, and I believe that it will garner a cult following should enough people get the chance to hear it.

The Top 50 albums of 2012: 30-21

30) Strip Steve- Micro Mega

Here is another great Ed Banger Records release.  Strip Steve’s Micro Mega is a great mix of French house and Electro-house.  While this album went relatively unnoticed compared to Banger’s Boys Noize album released this year, I felt Micro Mega was by far superior.

If you are a fan of Justice/ Daft Punk/ SebAstian/Vitalic, and want more of that style Electro-house, this album will match up just fine.  While it by no means changes the genre, Micro Mega does, at times, really pull out all the stops in fully capturing this sound.  The Song ‘Skate Control’ is a perfect example of this genre, and showcases it perfectly.  The song starts out in utter chaos, with crazy electronics which could never fit together, than, once the drums kick in it suddenly makes sense.

At times this album also reminds me of Juan Maclean.  ‘Astral Projection’ sounds like it would fit perfectly on some of Juan’s albums, not to mention his DJ Kicks release.  It is in songs like ‘Astral Projection’ that Strip Steve shows he can do more than just electro-house.  While I have never been a huge fan of French house, Strip Steve does it well.

Overall, this was a great album which caught me offguard.  I look forward to hearing Strip Steve’s next album, and plan on backtracking through his previous works as well.

29) Black Pus- Pus Mortem

While Lightning Bolt did not give us a full album this year (only Oblivion Hunter EP), its drummer, Brian Chippendale did release a great album under his solo alias, Black Pus.  Released on bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want release, Pus Mortem was a nice surprise.

To me, Black Pus has always seemed like a more accessible version of Lightning Bolt.  The drumming is slower overall; the vocals, while still muddied, work to create better melodies; and the songwriting in general feels more refined.

What is really impressive about Black Pus is the live videos.  Watching these videos, you can see that the songs on Pus Mortem are not a creation of a studio full of producers, but the recordings of songs being performed by an extremely talented man.

One of my favorite aspects of this album are the techniques used to fill in sound.  Always is a rhythmic sample of a single bass note.  The addition of such a single repetition creates a much more dynamic landscape.  On top of this, while this album does not use vocals in a traditional sense, the vocal ranges that are created throughout is quite astounding.  Songs like ‘Play God’ show the amount of effects being ran on the vocals and showcase Black Pus’ ability to act as a vocal synthesizer.

28) Black Dice- Mr. Impossible

Many of the reasons most people disliked this Black Dice release I thought were strengths.  People criticized that it had too much rhythm and song structure.  People protested the pop sound found on the newest album.  I found these changes in the Black Dice’s sound to be an acceptable consequence resulting from the growth of the band.  Bands should grow, their sounds should change; Black Dice seem to have accepted this, and I feel this allowed them to create an album far superior to their previous release, 2009’s Repo.

This is not the first time that Black Dice have reinvisioned their sound.  Beaches and Canyons sounded much different than Load Blown Record (still my favorite).  Mr. Impossible is the sound of a more unified band.  The band still works with only crazy scraps of sound, but rather than creating such an out-their sound, the band weave these sounds together in a way that could be almost palatable to the average listener.  No harsh pitches are to be found on the album, nor do any tracks exceed 10 minutes.  Black Dice are literally taking noise and turning it pop.

The sound of Mr. Impossible is fantastic.  It is unique, even to the band; what’s more is it takes a genre known for distancing itself from the listener and give the listener catchy riffs and even moments of funk.  While ‘pigs’ is the single from the album, ‘Spy vs Spy’ is the standout track to me.

27) NAH- TAPEFUCK & END

When TAPEFUCK came out in February I couldn’t stop raving about it to anyone willing to listen.  Unique samples and heavy drumming with a sound which made me want to draw comparisons to a darker/heavier Tobacco.  Right from the start of the album, the saxophone squeals pulled me in, and I knew that I had found a hidden gem.  My only complaint, though, was that the album was so short. Sitting at under 20 minutes, the albums 9 tracks were always over before I was ready.

In September I noticed that END had come out a few months earlier, again slipping under the radar.  END really expands NAH’s sound.  The samples still hold a tapewarp sound, but END sounds more like a beat album at times.  Songs like ‘Brain Chips’ really highlight this sound and I would love to hear a track from this album make its way onto some rappers mixtape.

While really it is END that sits in 27, TAPEFUCK feels like a precursor to NAH’s sound on this album and END should be listened to after TAPEFUCK.  Given the amount of great music put out by NAH in 2012, I am expecting another great release some time this year.

26) Charles Gayle Trio- Streets

Streets is named after its front man’s persona while he was living homeless.  Charles Gayle, 73, is the saxophonist pictured on the cover.  Often going by the name ‘Streets the Clown’, Gayle creates performed spoken word, acted as a mime, and most importantly, played saxophone.

Streets is an impressive album for a few reasons.  One being this is Charles Gayle’s 31^st album that he has fronted on.  Second is that free jazz is becoming a less and less seen form of music in the modern world.  Gayle could have easily chosen to sit back and let the backing band carry the album, or allowed for the album to be more structured.  But he chose not to, strongly leading the 7 tracks of wild free form music.

It is a bold move to put out such an album, and this album shows that Gayle has not lost his touch on jazz.  And the times when his two counterparts make solos, such as the drum solo on the title track around 6:30, they show that they too understand Gayle’s sound and can accompany it as well as recreate it (just listen to that bass solo at 7:45 on ‘Streets’.

I grabbed this album on a whim and I have found myself increasingly impressed with the sound that it creates.

25) Yowie- Damning With Faint Praise

I always am skeptical of music emailed to me by the artist.  While I appreciate them reaching out to me, I do tend to judge music slightly harsher when it is given to me and not found.  Damning With Faint Praise, however, passes over this high bar with ease. 

Let’s start off first with the technicality displayed on this album.  I read one interview where the band stated practice was often a few hours long perfecting one 30 second section.  Truly on this album that shows.  Odd time signatures coupled with multiple time changes appear on almost every track.  While I am by no means on top of all of the math-rock albums of the year, I can still say with some certainty that this may be one of the most ambitious.

‘Slowly but Surely’ immediately captures the albums sound.  To the average listener it would almost seem all over, but a focused listen confirms a method to the madness.  One of my favorite aspects of the song, which is different from much math-rock, is the quivery sound of guitar notes.  I do not play guitar so, so I am left wondering if they are simply turning their whammy bars up to 11 or what, but the sound is unquestionably their own.

Another aspect I love about this album is often while one guitar is giving almost les-claypool gone guitar riffs, the other dances between strange mutations of arpegiations and high pitch squeaks. 

Finally, I must say I do love the longer song lengths.  To some, a five track album may seem daunting, but really, Yowie uses this time to allow for the songs to grow/ mutate, and really create a much more cohesive voice than they would have if they were shorter.    

24) Aufgehoben - Fragments of the Marble Plan

This is literally the sound of music collapsing in on itself.  It is hard for me to describe, both because of its sonic breadth and terrifying dissonance  Because of this, this may be the shortest description in my Top 50 of 2012.

Aufgehoben push to the furthest outsets of noise rock, often traversing into noise just long enough to blast any perceptions the listener has of the true meaning of music, only to bring it back to a rhythmic state just before the listener cannot take anymore abuse.  Ambitious is a word I throw around quite a bit on this chart, but truly, this album is an elaborate display of the deconstruction of music, and truly must be visited to understand.

23) Dope Body- Natural History

Let me start out first saying that I was not a fan of Nupping.  I wanted to like it, I really did, but I just could not appreciate it.  The guitars were to sharp, or the vocals to nu-metal, or something, I don’t know.  Whatever it was, Natural History made me have to relook at how I viewed their band.

For starters, this album reminds me of Andrew W.K. but slightly more genre crossing.  We are given moments of party rock, times of heavy riffs, but then there are jam session guitar solos and calypso-esque music.  Dope Body took a chance with this new sound and I think it worked great.

‘Road Dog’ is definitely my favorite track.  I was completely unprepared for the breakdown into a drugged out psyche fest and equally surprised how well they pulled the sound back.  So much in fact, I told myself that I didn’t think they could do it live and youtubed it.  Sure enough, live recordings sounded equally great.  After that, I decided they are now one of my top ‘need to see live bands’, if not just to bounce my head to tracks like ‘High Way’ and ‘Powder’.

I now can see why this band has gotten so much love on the internet, and though I still cannot get into Nupping, I am excited to see where there sound goes from here.

22) EPROM- Metahuman

The first time I heard this album I was very confused.  I was told only that it was electronic music, and from what I had gathered it was gaining comparisons to Flying Lotus’s wonky style.  After hundreds of listens, I can tell you for sure that this is wonky, but in a different way.  The songs have more space between the sounds, and the sounds are often very strange in an almost humorous way on first listen.  At first, they were almost offputting, but as I left the CD in my car, I kept coming back to it and each time with more and more favorite tracks. 

EPROM’s album ranks so high on my top 50 because of all of the crazy details hidden in it.  Many songs on the surface have a ‘trap’ feel, but when you pay attention, the details of swells, filters on sounds, and variations and repetitions of rhythms are astounding.  If robots listen to techno, than Metahuman is for androids.  It has a sound that is a hybrid of mechanical and organic sounds.

I cannot stress how unique this album sounds.  The deep bass compliments the trap snares, and somehow the bleeps, bloops, and vocal chops all fit as well.  As one review I read stated (extremely paraphrased) EPROM has perfected his craft with Metahuman.  While this is a sound I would never attempt to create in the first place, he has refined his work into a seamless, impeccable display of a style no one ever knew existed.

While you may have never known this style of electronic music existed, this is the quintessential album to it…until EPROM makes another release.

21) Guardian Alien- See the World Given to a One Love Entity

I like long songs; I Loved Boredom’s Vision Creation Newsun; I think Dan Deacon can make some good music.  Therefore, It is almost obvious that See the World Given to a One Love Entity made it on my list.

Consisting of one 37 minute track, See the World Given to a One Love Entity is a psychedelic ride full of oriental strings, Boredom’s styled drum rhythms and repetitive chants.  Overall, it appears the theme of this album is giving the world to a Rastafarian alien, as depicted in the artwork and the music video teaser.

While all of this sounds like complete hippy wankery when written out (and don’t get me wrong, it totally is), See the World Given to a One Love Entity is still a great listen.  Guardian Alien do a great job keeping a constant feel to the track while allowing for the song to still grow and the sounds to occasionally swell.  This music works good to create a trance, and sounds even better through headphones.

If you are as upset as I am that you cannot purchase Vision Creation Newsun on vinyl, pick this up instead.