Kentaro...
1. King Elephant -
Exhaust (Tour Edition)
http://kingelephantband.bandcamp.com/album/exhaust
Made in Missoula! Catchy, riffin' punk with a lot heart and great
playing. When music this good is made in
the Inland Northwest, you *flip your wig* every time you listen to it.
2. Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV
http://blackbananasband.bandcamp.com/
A phantasmagoric bricolage of fun
pop music from the 1970's onward.
3. Porcelain Raft -
Strange Weekend
4. Dunes – Noctiluca
http://duneslala.bandcamp.com/track/vertical-walk
Majestic, austere, intoxicating West
Coast dream pop.
5. Terry Malts -
Killing Time
Joey Ramone steals the Spits van and
does doughnuts in my front yard. Which
is totally cool, since I live in a rental.
6. Tamaryn - Tender New
Signs
7. Black Breath -
Sentenced to LIfe
8. X-TG - Desertshore/
Final Report
9. Radar Eyes - s/t
10. Hunx - Hairdresser Blues
11. My Bloody Valentine - EPs
-1988-1991
12. Plateaus - s/t
13. KING BROTHERS - Mach Club
14. Art Fad - Banditos
15. Is/Is - III
16. Chrome Cranks - Ain't No
Lies in Blood
17. Crocodiles - Endless
Flowers
18. Fuxa - Electric Sound of
Summer
19. Ty Segall Band -
Slaughterhouse
20. Acid Mothers Temple & the
Melting Paraiso UFO - Son of a Bitches’ Brew
Top Trax
1.
2. Boy Friend – Lazy
Hunter3. Riff Raff – Obtuse Angle
4. Ty Segall Band – Tell Me What’s Inside Your Heart
5. Brian Jonestown Massacre – I Wann To Hold Your Other Hand
6. Shonen Knife – All You Can Eat
7. Bare Mutants – Without You
8. Mind Spiders – Fall In Line
9. Heavy Hawaii – Super Bowl XXVII
10. Gayze – East Coast Dying
Next is Keith...
I hardly listened to anything that
came out this year, but here's my...
TOP 5 RELEASES OF 2012 (free
downloads in parentheses):
4. Bone Sickness -- Unreleased
I saw them awhile ago and thought
they were pretty good. Ian forwarded me some unmastered songs from some
upcoming release and they're really sick. It's like death metal. I don't know
if this counts for this year but I don't have anything else to put.
3. Naomi Punk -- The Feeling
I've only listened to this all the
way through once but I've listened to a few songs a bunch. Also I saw them play
a lot of these songs live and thought it was great. Really heavy and catchy.
It's way more interesting sounding than the first album but still gets stuck in
my head.
My friends made this. I've listened
to it a lot. The Slave Graves side is up for download if you wanna hear it and
I know there's a few more tapes. Definitely worth it for the Microbabies stuff.
This is my favorite release from
this year, but like I said I didn't listen to that much. Either way it would
still be in my top 5. It's like a good continuation of The Endless Blockade but
the sound of it feels like more of an "experience", or something. I
don't know, it's short, aggressive and very satisfying. I should listen to more
new music.
Also:
&
I heard all these songs on tour so
much so I never put these on. I didn't get sick of hearing them every night
though.
Vaarallinen -- Demo
Ian showed me this. I dug it but
haven't listened to the whole thing yet. I think they put out something else
this year too. I liked everything I heard. Finnish style Hardcore from
Singapore.
Napalm Death --
Utilitarian
If I had heard this
earlier it would be on the list. I like new most Napalm Death almost as much as
old Napalm Death. Smear Campaign was one of the albums that got me into grind.
(edit by Keith: I forgot about that Terry Malts album, I heard it a bunch this year and loved it!)
And Tim...
Usually I try to listen to as much new music is possible because if
something rad is going on I don’t want to miss out on it. I don’t know if there wasn’t as much rad
music this year as in years past, or if I just didn’t pay attention, but I feel
like most of the best music I heard this year was from old albums/bands I
hadn’t heard prior. So this year end
list is not a very good representation of what I spent my year listening to,
but nonetheless here are my 10 favorite albums released in 2012 I listened to
this year.
Tim B.’s albums of the year:
1. Mind
Spiders – Meltdown
This was one of my most
anticipated albums of the year and it didn’t disappoint. The first Mind Spiders album was full of good
songs, but did not really work as a cohesive album. It sounded like a dude in his bedroom trying
all kinds of different things. This
sounds like a solid album made by a solid band.
The first half of the album is killer garage rock a la Jay Reatard or
every other Mark Ryan band. The second
half is a little bit weirder, Devo influenced rock and roll.
2. Mean
Jeans – On Mars
This album is slower and
longer than their last, but I think the songs are better. A little bit more 90s power pop and a little
bit less The Ramones. There are a
handful of downer songs on here, but they maintain a childish perspective that
still makes them fun/charming. These guys what everyone to have a good time all
of the time.
3. Scott
Walker – Bish Bosh
Scott Walker is fascinating. This album is much more accessible than
Walker’s 2006 ‘The Drift’. A lot of the
songs seem more straight forward. He
uses more guitar and synth on this album than on any previous. However this is
still weird, hard to take in and unnerving to listen to. Really listen to this one.
4. Audacity – Mellow Cruisers
This band went from
being one of many noisy, reverb drenched, garage rock bands to being one of the
catchiest punk bands around. Party time
fun punk rock for everyone.
5. White
Lung – Sorry
I think this band is
going to be huge. Angry, riot grrrl
inspired punk from Vancouver. Really
listen to this one.
6. Sonic
Avenues – Television Youth
This is another album I
was really looking forward to this year.
Sonic Avenues first full length was one of the best power pop albums to
come out in years. This one is a little
bit more punk and a little less pop, which is a switch I’m not super stoked
on. Some of the songs and structures are
really satisfying, but some fall flat.
7. Ty
Segall – Twins
Of the three albums Ty Segall released this year
Twins is by far the most straight forward poppy album and also my
favorite. It’s probably my favorite Ty
Segall album. Sometimes Ty Segall
reminds me of Jay Reatard even though they sound nothing alike. Both way too prolific, both way too
consistent and both long haired and very impressive.
8. Terry
Malts – Killing Time
This is some noisy
pop. The singer sounds like he is trying
to immitate Morrissey and Joey Ramone a lot.
Some songs have a guitar feeding back throughout the whole song. Some of the lyrics are obnoxious, buy mostly
this is catchy pop album well worth your time.
9. The
Babies – Our House On The Hill
I’m a fan of anything
Cassie Ramone does. This album is a bit
less garage and a bit more country than the first The Babies album and it’s a
switch I’m pleased with. Also, Cassie
Ramone sings on “See the Country”, “I wanna see the rolling hills of Idaho.”
Represent.
10. Protomartyr – No Passion All Technique
I was very much looking forward to a new Tyvek album
this year and when it came out I wasn’t too into it, so I was stoked when I
found out about this band that shares a member.
This is a little bit more post punk than Tyvek, but it fucking
rules. At times the sloppy singing style
reminds me of Pissed Jeans. Really
listen to this one.