1. Grizzly Bear – Shields
The epitome
of a grower, this album hasn’t been off my stereo since I got it and only seems
to get better with each listen. The
title of “modern classic” was attributed to their last album Veckatimest but Shields
sounds just as strong to me now. I like
to get an album that I can listen to as a whole as opposed to for certain
tracks; every time I put this on I have to listen to it all. If I was pushed I would say highlight tracks
for me are Sleeping Ute, What’s Wrong? and the single Yet Again.
2. The Walkmen – Heaven
Not
necessarily their best album by a
fair whack, but even when treading old ground The Walkmen still sound like a
better class of band than most and only ever like themselves. This one has a warmer, more confident sound
to previous releases and Hamilton’s voice has never been stronger- which fits
with their career trajectory of growing from underdogs to now almost-weathered
heroes of the 00s indie scene. It also
features a couple of their strongest songs to date in We Cant Be Beat and the
title track Heaven.
3. Francois & The Atlas
Mountains – E Volo Love
I saw these
guys at Great Escape festival in May: they were the first band I saw of many
and by far my highlight of the weekend. I don’t speak French so there is a kind of ambiguity for me as to what
some songs are about, but melodically it’s just a really nice album with lots of
strong off kilter moments to enjoy. Favourite parts for me would be opening track Les Plus Beaux’s, Edge Of
Town’s percussion and tick-tock drums combo, the Smith’s-like guitars and
moment where the horns/strings come in on City Kiss, and finally the way Piscine
builds from a simple keyboard phrase to almost a dance song.
4. Stanley - Animals With Amazing
Disguises
I have
always loved Stanley and in particular Steven’s voice, so it was great to get a
chance to hear and own their debut album this year. They have a pretty unique sound and are a
really hard band to pinpoint without semi-lazily mentioning Divine
Comedy or Radiohead. In truth, there’s a lot more going on there than just that
and I can’t wait to hear what they do next!
5. CS Buchan – Nothing Left To
Steal
As with the
Stanley guys, CS Buchan and I are admittedly good friends. However, I’m trying
to be honest with this list and put in what I have listened to most, and I have barely had Charley’s second LP off my stereo either. I think Charley is a massively underrated
talent and probably the most prolific writer I know. Before this even came out he had another one
ready, plus a side project album. Check
out A Thousand Years or Here Is My Life for some lovely folky heartfelt
goodness.
6. Drive – OST
Technically
this came out in America in 2011 but it was only available to buy here in 2012... I think... Well, I hope! Anyway, yes it’s a total hipster’s paradise of a
name-check but if Tick Of The Clock by Chromatics doesn’t make you want to jump
in your mate's Rover and head to the beach for a cruise past Asda then you
maybe need to watch the film again.
7. Tame Impala – Lonerism
Just got
into this and it's growing on me more and more every day. There is a kind of
60s/70s experimental production feel running through this album which is pretty
infectious, and the single Elephant is probably the coolest thing I have heard
in ages.
8. Andrew Weatherall –
Masterpiece
In
production and DJ circles, Andrew Weatherall is a pretty big deal. This compilation for Ministry Of Sound (part mixtape/part remix collection) has several examples that show exactly why, and I like how
eclectic the range/style of the tracks and contributors are.
9. Beach House – Bloom
As with The
Walkmen’s latest album, the album Bloom is (in my opinion) not as good as Beach
House’s previous offering Teen Dream. The songs Myth and On The Sea, however, are absolutely outstanding and
the album is worth a buy for those alone.
I was totally
surprised how much I liked this album as I’m not normally a fan of hip-hop, but
the production, lyrics, choruses and beats on this are spot on. Not only does
it get you dancing but it gets you thinking too!
Honourable Mentions
Peace - EP Delicious
Frightened Rabbit - State Hospital EP
Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile
SM
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