Goofle

Following in duga's footsteps, I have decided to list my 25 favourite albums of 2012. If it goes well and I am happy with how I have written them, I may add in 50 through 26, as they are all good releases as well. So here goes...

No. 25



BADBADNOTGOOD - BBNG2

I started following BADBADNOTGOOD late in 2011 and fell in love with their modern approach to jazz and classical music, especially strange and often brilliant covers. They have made a name for themselves in indie/underground/hipster circles and seem to have a very large and quite dedicated following. This is not only due to releasing fantastic material, but also their association with alternative Hip Hip acts, most notably Odd Future. Whilst I loved BBNG and both of their live albums, this has got to be my favourite so far. The opening and closing tracks, which are both covers, are particularly fantastic. If you want some fun, quirky and modern jazz, these guys should do the job.

No. 24



Amerigo Gazaway - Bizarre Tribe: A Quest To The Pharcyde

This is a controversial choice as it is more of a mashup than an actual album, but who cares? I fucking love it. How to explain it... so you have Tribe production mixed together with Pharcyde verses, or you have Pharcyde production mixed with Tribe verses. If that doesn't sound appealing to you, there's no point checking it out as it does exactly what it says on the tin.

No. 23



The Shaolin Afronauts - Quest Under Capricorn

Ahh this album was a brilliant bandcamp find (don't you just love those?) which completely took me aback. I will admit this album has gone down in my estimation since first listening to it, but it was probably the first truly "obscure" album I heard this year, and it kick started my interest in digging a little deeper than the surface. Anyway, a beautiful slice of Afro-Jazz which maintains interest despite it's length (maybe just under an hour). A quick youtube search should swing you either way, but I loved it.

No. 22



Swans - The Seer

Right, this album is a monster. It's ferocious and has the most perfect album art of the year without any doubt. Whilst I will admit to having only listened to around four or five other Swans albums beside this (with Soundtracks for the Blind occupying my "favourite spot") I feel well versed on the aesthetic expected when coming into one of their records. Gira nailed it yet again. Probably the most dense album I have ever listened to. There are three 19+ minute tracks (which are all amazing) laced with nuggets of godly bliss. My only issue is the length to be honest. I cannot sit through this without cutting it up with other albums in between but individually, every song is awesome.

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duga

Great stuff, I look forward to the rest. You seem to have a great taste in music which is just far enough removed from mine that I'm hoping to find some gems in here. Like...


This. This sounds like something I would absolutely love. I need to check this out immediately.

That's basically exactly how I feel about this album...it's long with nuggets of bliss. I can get through one disc in a sitting, but definitely not both.

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Confusion will be my epitaph...

Blarobbarg

Goofle, I am anticipating greatness from this list, and will likely check out every album that I have no heard yet that you post. There's a reason I nominated you for best music taste on MB.

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Goofle

Thanks guys.

I need to brush up on my writing skill, but I suppose it's not really a huge issue on lists such as this.

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Goofle

No. 21



Billy Woods - History Will Absolve Me

When it comes to Hip Hop in the last few years, a lot of things have changed. You have a resurgence of Independent artists gaining widespread appeal and also an increased interest in experimentation. The backlash of this is even more saturation of the market, even more sub-par music gaining indie cred and an all-round lack of genuinely interesting music. Then you have albums like this. Politically astute, interesting production, high quality lyricism and just a fantastic release.

No. 20



Chino XL - Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary

If you are not familiar with Chino XL's work, he is a highly praised quick-fire punchline rapper with a conscience. This album follows in that vein with an inordinate amount of material (35 tracks, most of which are 3-4 minutes). If fast paced intelligent rap is your thing, and you are familiar with his work, this album should interest you. My only issue if the sheer amount of tracks and some lame hooks. The track Fathers Day is incredible.

No. 19



Stephen O'Malley & Steve Noble - St Francis Duo

This is an obscure find and one that I wasn't sold on at first, but I listened to it with a pair of headphones and it blew me away. Epic improvisational drone album that consists of four tracks around the 20 minute mark. Similarly to The Seer, I don't always feel like listening to it all the way through, but the drones on this thing are repetitive and hypnotising.

No. 18



Clams Casino - Instrumentals 2

If there is anyone more responsible for the rise of "cloud rap" I would be surprised because this guy has almost perfected that style of beat making. He has worked with many of the "cloud rappers" (who are often pretty shitty) and his beats alone have essentially enabled them to become major superstars. An improvement on anything he released prior to this and something I keep going back to. If only the majority of Cloud Rappers would vanish into thin air.

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Surell

Stephen O'Malley put out new shit? Sold!

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Goofle

No. 17



Big K.R.I.T. - 4Eva N a Day

This mixtape was not exactly a shot in the arm, as I has previously enjoyed everything K.R.I.T. had released, but I was surprised at just how consistently good it was. In previous releases the quality ranged from excellent to eh, but there isn't a bad song on this in my opinion. I love the Burial-esque feel at the start of the album and his more southern flavored beats that follow help to redefine stereotypes. Great album.

No. 16



Normal Love - Survival Tricks

I found out about this album through the vinyl community on youtube (of which I am a casual observer) and it blew me away. Annoyingly there doesn't seem to be anyone who has actually listened to it besides me and a select few. Anyway, it's some of the best Avant-Garde/Prog/Experimental music I have heard in a while.

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LoathsomePete

I definitely liked 4eva N a Day more than Live From the Underground, and it's only more impressive considering it's a mixtape, which is something I did not know. Good list so far, I can't wait to see your top 5, even though I can already hazard a guess at what they are going to be.

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Last.FM
101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

Goofle

Hopefully there's a few more surprises in store. I just deleted an entry by accident so I will do one later/tomorrow.

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Frownland

I love that Normal Love album as well. I was actually trying to remember the name of the album, because I kept on trying to search "No Love" no wave band, but all I got was out of context Death Grips articles. Just thought I'd let you know that you're not alone on that one.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.