Best of 2012 (so far)

Best of 2012 First Half:

Albums:

Patrick Watson’s Adventures in Your Own Backyard is:
A gorgeously orchestrated, intimate, grower of an album; lush & lovely; Familiar & Transporting

Andrew Bird’s Break it Yourself is:
The finest, most accessible record from a contemporary legend: his most emotional, musically consistent & palatable record yet

Lost in the Trees’ A Church That Fits Our Needs is:
A cinematic & heartwrenching record; a masterful display of the power of music: as catharsis in the face of tragedy, as fitting & gorgeous elegy

Sharon Van Etten’s Tramp is:
Basically the realization of a 21^st century indie-rock/singer-songwriting Carole King & a subtle triumph for Aaron Dessner (whose production here is spot-on)

Fiona Apple’s “The Idler Wheel…” is:
Predictably brilliant, yet still somehow fresh & captivating; we’ve come to expect genius from her, & here again she delivers, but this time with addition via subtraction: the starkness is jarring and powerful, & the drumming is brilliant

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EPs (because there are some really good ones this year):

Daniel Rossen’s Silent Hour/Golden Mile is:
Better than Veckatimest

Josh Ritter’s Bringing in the Darlings is:
A cute, quiet little stop-gap meditation on love & stuff

Burial’s Kindred is:
Proof that Burial is an electronica legend, I guess you might say

Honorable Mention:

Regina Spektor’s What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is:
Kind of Regina’s sellout record & similarly kind of like Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine (A record also produced by Mike Elizondo); but an album which nonetheless buoys Spektor’s quirkiness & talents with big, fun noises when necessary

Dry the River’s Shallow Bed is:
A great Brit/indie debut: something for fans of both Third Eye Blind, & Mumford & Sons, & The Head & the Heart

Django Django’s Eponymous debut is:
Another great British debut albeit quirkier & artier; a quirky, contemporary update of sounds found in the best of Pink Floyd & 80’s art-rock i.e. The Talking Heads

Simone White’s Silver Silver is:
Hauntingly beautiful. The first two tracks about the loss of a friend & about talking down a depressive respectively is possibly the most powerful opening tandem of the year. A hidden gem.

Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music is:
A balls-out Hip-Hop record; fierce & fearsome: a man on a mission backed by seriously banging production from El-P

Big K.R.I.T.’s Live from the Underground is:
A solid debut from a smooth-ass dude; a good neo-soul, southern hip-hop record.

Mark Lanegan Band’s Blues Funeral is:
The welcome return of a badass dude at pretty-much-top-form.

Bobby Womack’s the Greatest Man in the Universe is:
Kind of a miracle, & a testament to the genius of Damon Albarn as much as anything .

Also:
 

Lower Dens’Nootropics
 

First Aid Kit’s The Lion’s Roar
 

Kishi Bashi’s 151a
 

Norah Jones’ Little Broken Hearts (Norah Jones does Danger Mouse)
 

Jack White’s Blunderbuss (Jack White is an asshole)
 

Dr. John’s Locked Down (the best Black Keys record ever made)
 

The Shins’ Port of Morrow
 

Best Coast’s The Only Place (Thank you, Jon Brion)
 

Exitmusic’s Passage (The shoegaze record I’d rather listen to than Beach House)
 

The Walkmen’s Heaven (Their best-ever imo)
 

Father John Misty’s Fear Fun (A more-fun albeit less-good Fleet Foxes record)
 

Spiritualized’s Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
 

El-P’s Cancer for Cure (A production monster)
 

A bunch of really great Electronic Stuff including Actress & LHF

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Link to my favorite songs of the first half of 2012 on Spotify (via the facebook):
https://www.facebook.com/music/playlist/Best-of-2012-So-Far/10150612588021935