Iljajlm's Top 50 + 12 Of 2012
After a slow start, 2012 evolved into a superbly awesome year, complete with everything from stellar debuts from groups just starting to old groups releasing albums after a decade or more (I'm lookin' at you Godspeed.) While not without it's disappointments, 2012 definitely ended up being a great year. I'm sure I missed out on some cool albums, so feel free to rec and whatnot. |
| 62 |  | Dark Time Sunshine
ANX |
| 61 |  | Alcest
Les Voyages De L Ame |
| 60 |  | Ghost Mice
All We Got is Each Other |
| 59 |  | Pierce the Veil
Collide with the Sky |
| 58 |  | Coheed and Cambria
The Afterman: Ascension |
| 57 |  | Belle Histoire
Dreamers
I wrote a review for this and they're pretty good and local and need more exposure. Check it out if you like indie pop and awesome female vox |
| 56 | | The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends
I'll probably jam 2012 tomorrow. Kesha is actually awesome on that track |
| 55 |  | Andrew Bird
Break it Yourself |
| 54 |  | Art By Numbers
Reticence: the Musical |
| 53 |  | Mount Eerie
Clear Moon |
| 52 |  | Rise and Fall
Faith |
| 51 |  | Tigers on Trains
Foundry |
| 50 |  | House of Heroes
Cold Hard Want |
| 49 |  | The Mars Volta
Noctourniquet |
| 48 |  | Rush
Clockwork Angels
m/ |
| 47 |  | Make Do and Mend
Everything You Ever Loved |
| 46 |  | The Menzingers
On the Impossible Past |
| 45 |  | Kayo Dot
Gamma Knife
I wish the production on this were better |
| 44 |  | Trioscapes
Separate Realities |
| 43 |  | You Slut!
Medium Bastard |
| 42 |  | Exotic Animal Petting Zoo
Tree of Tongues
This is really only as high as it is because of Pharmakokinetic. |
| 41 |  | Regina Spektor
What We Saw from the Cheap Seats |
| 40 |  | Sharks
No Gods
They actually listed Swans as being one of their favorites of the year. A million cool points. |
| 39 |  | DIIV
Oshin |
| 38 |  | Sigur Ros
Valtari |
| 37 |  | Hop Along
Get Disowned |
| 36 |  | Meshuggah
Koloss
dem junz |
| 35 | | The Mountain Goats
Trascendental Youth |
| 34 |  | Portico Quartet
Portico Quartet |
| 33 |  | If these Trees Could Talk
Red Forest |
| 32 |  | Lost in the Trees
A Church that Fits Our Needs
Weird how the two bands with trees in their name are right next to each other |
| 31 |  | Suis La Lune
Riala |
| 30 |  | Death Grips
No Love Deep Web
[insert pun about album cover here] |
| 29 |  | Cloudkicker
Fade |
| 28 |  | Deerhoof
Breakup Song |
| 27 |  | Every Time I Die
Ex Lives
I WANT TO BE DEAD WITH MY FRIENDS OOOOOOOOOOOOOH THERE WAS WHISKEY IN THE DEVIL'S BLOOD ANIMAL ART OR ANIMAL SHIT AND OTHER ONE LINERS |
| 26 |  | Fiona Apple
The Idler Wheel... |
| 25 |  | David Byrne & St. Vincent
Love This Giant
Dem horns |
| 24 |  | State Faults
Desolate Peaks
I hope they see this and post my list on their page and talk about how awesome my taste is. |
| 23 |  | Circa Survive
Violent Waves |
| 22 |  | Trophywife
Hold Onto Your Luck
I wish they hadn't disbanded |
| 21 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs
Chelsea Wolfe bringing her dark to the acoustic arena. |
| 20 |  | Passion Pit
Gossamer
Pop album of the year. So catchy and danceable oh my gawd. |
| 19 |  | Kendrick Lamar
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Good hip hop jamz. Making me interested in hip hop again. |
| 18 |  | The Tallest Man on Earth
There's No Leaving Now |
| 17 |  | Right Away, Great Captain!
The Church of the Good Thief
Andy Hull doing acoustic songs, what's not to like? |
| 16 |  | The Early November
In Currents |
| 15 |  | Captain Murphy
Duality
Duality wins the "surprising late entry" award. The production is ridiculously good, and makes up for some awfully questionable lyrical content. |
| 14 |  | Deftones
Koi No Yokan
This wore off me a bit, but it's still fantastic, and Leathers is one of the best songs to come out of this year. |
| 13 |  | Hammock
Departure Songs
Gorgeous. Long, but so so gorgeous. |
| 12 |  | Purity Ring
Shrines
Debut of the year, easily. Most of the songs sound pretty samey, but they're all so awesome to begin with that I don't even care. And jesus her voice man. So sexy. |
| 11 |  | Crystal Castles
(III)
The fact that I enjoyed this so much kinda pisses me off for ignoring them for so long. Alice Glass is still ugly though, even her voice is awesome. |
| 10 |  | Bat for Lashes
The Haunted Man
Another great discovery, Natasha Kahn just has a way of resonating with me. Some of her vocal melodies are absolutely astonishing. The chorus of Marilyn is completely engrossing. |
| 9 |  | Loma Prieta
I.V.
I.V. didn't really do much for me at first. There wasn't anything I disliked about it, it just didn't hit me like it seemed to everybody else. But after a few more listens, it hit me like a brick wall. This album alone made my interest in skramz skyrocket. |
| 8 |  | Beach House
Bloom
I think this was my first foray into dream pop. And let me tell you, it's amazing. One of my favorite discoveries from the year. |
| 7 |  | mewithoutYou
Ten Stories
This one was a grower, and I seem to be in the minority in thinking that this is their best release (besides Brother, Sister of course.) But I just cannot get enough of this. Catchy, unique, and wonderful through and through. And that random Hayley Williams contribution is cool, even if brief. |
| 6 |  | The Chariot
One Wing
Oh man, I didn't expect them to improve much on Long Live, let alone blow it away. Their most diverse slab of chaos yet, and easily their best to date. And having this on pink (so m/) vinyl just makes it all the more awesome. |
| 5 |  | Between the Buried and Me
The Parallax II: Future Sequence
I know I know, lolbtbam, but I'm a diehard fan, and probably always will be. Even that didn't prevent me from being skeptical of this though. How much longer can they keep using the same formula and still stay fresh? Well on Future Sequence, they change it up enough to keep it fresh, while still staying true to their technical, genre bending wank (because even I can admit that that's what it is.) Here's to staying a BTBAM fanboy. |
| 4 |  | Converge
All We Love We Leave Behind
One of my highest anticipated releases of 2012, and Converge most certainly did not disappoint. I don't even think they're capable of releasing a bad album at this point. Choc full of all the technicality and harshness they're renowned and adored for, and damn near flawless from start to finish, it's Converge being Converge, and what more could one want? |
| 3 |  | Godspeed You! Black Emperor
'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Probably the best surprise of the year was Godspeed dropping a new album out of fucking nowhere. When I heard that the album bore resemblances to Yanqui, I was a bit skeptical, but this was Yanqui done like it should be. Mladic is probably one of the best songs they've written to date. This only heightens my excitement of their reunion, and I can only hope that they continue to put out mind blowing tunes. Also, seeing them live was pretty fucking great. |
| 2 |  | Death Grips
The Money Store
While narrowly missing out on the crown, The Money Store does win the award for most listened to of the year. Time and time again, I come back to this and each time I enjoy just as much, if not a little more, than I did the time before it. Even a couple of the tracks I didn't love at first I came to appreciate (most notably Blackjack.) Hell, the only immediate flaw I can find is that "Fuck That" is a 3.5 where every other track is a 4.5 or 5. |
| 1 |  | Swans
The Seer
I had no idea what kind of a beast I was about to encounter when I heard the first few notes of "Lunacy" I didn't even fully expect to enjoy this, being a mammoth of an album. I mean, come on, a fucking 32 minute title track? But boy was I ever floored. From start to finish, The Seer is a crazy ride through harsh drones and dark lyrics, some pretty acoustics and even some catchiness. While not the most immediately enjoyable album, the patience required to endure this is well worth it. Here's to the undisputed album of the year. |
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