Better late then never right? Thinking about what my favourite albums from the past 12 months are has been a more difficult process then usual. Not because I find these lists to be definitive in any real sense. It's a waste of time, in my opinion, to try to come up with 'the perfect year-end list', for judgements on musical tastes are never really ever finalized in such a way. Every time I attempt at a judgement on my own taste (like saying that Daphni's Jialong is my record of the year) I find myself questioning whether such was actually the case (can I really say Jialong was a better record than Tame Impala's Lonerism?). But of course, these misjudgements are part of what makes making lists fun in the first place, inciting further dialogue on what constitutes good music.
More likely however, my difficulty is the result of the fact that 2012 was a bizarre year in music for me. I'm not sure why the reason, but unlike with previous years (2011 in particular), few albums really moved me this year. There were some albums - like Lower Dens' Nootropics or Grizzly Bear's Shields - that killed me at first, but then quickly began to bore as time moved along. There were others - like Kendrick Lamar's record - that I know I should have loved, but just didn't seem to get. Particularly disappointing for me this year was electronic music (notwithstanding those listed below), where the genre appeared dominated by records trying to rehash the past by simply either trying to sound exactly like Burial, or either throwing a shit-load of envelope-filter effects on top of synthesizers in some vain and lazy attempt to celebrate years gone by. What's most depressing about this though is that these apparent shortcomings are really only indicative of my own failures to uncover and discover music that I could really love to the extent that I have grown used to.
But wait, this is supposed to be a celebration. Right? Here are my 10 favourite records of the year with two disclaimers. 1) The record that hit me hardest this year actually was Danny Brown's XXX. But it's from 2011 and can't be counted here. And 2 - Thee Oh Sees are hands down my choice for band of the year. Only problem is that I found myself listened to their back catalog (particularly Help, and Carrion Cralwer) more than this year's Putrifiers III.
10. Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
9. Matthew Shipp Trio - Elastic Aspects
8. Julia Holter - Ekstasis
7. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel .
6. Martha Wainwright - Come Home to Mama
5. The Men - Open Your Heart
4. Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE
3. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
2. Angel Olsen - Half Way Home
1. Daphni - Jialong
And the rest ...
Chris Cohen - Overgrown Paths
Metz - Metz
Lee Gamble - Diversions 1994-1996
Tame Impala - Lonerism
Nas - Life is Good
Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II
Vijay Iyer - Accelerando
Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
Eric Chenaux - Guitar and Voice
Robert Hood - Motor: Nightime World 3
