1. Black Clouds - Everything is Not Going to Be Ok.
2. Suspyre - s/t.
3. Gojira- Le'enfant sauvage.
4. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I.

Haven't listened to much this year.

I listen to Manchester all the time, that's definitely a great album.

Ah okay, gotcha. Have you listened to the Beach Boys' new album?

I've already mentioned my top ten, but now I'm going to mention my bottom five. In no particular order:

Grimes - Vision
I just don't get this. Sure there's one or two decent tunes on it but overall it just sounds nauseating and a little too sugar-coated for my liking. The sound of her voice kind of reminded me of Alison Shaw from Cranes however she uses her voice in a way I don't like. I'm filing this next to Cults' s/t and the first Sleigh Bells albums.

Led Er Est - The Diver
They're going for a dark, minimal, early-80's post-punk vibe but fall way short. Similar in a way to The Soft Moon but lack the interesting textures and atmosphere. I can't really remember anything else about this, which might say something.

Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect
A very disappointing full-length debut album from this dream-pop band. They have a nice lush sound here but certainly not the tunes they had on their The Years EP. There is nothing worth noting here apart from the last song which is actually pretty good, but too little too late.

Blood Red Shoes - In Time To Voices
I liked their first two albums Box Of Secrets and Fire Like This. But here they seem to have run out of ideas and interest in what they do. They sound like a band bored with making music and just decided to go through the motions. While it's not a complete disaster it is another huge disappointment.

Whirr - Pipe Dreams
Not a bad album as such, but certainly nothing to get excited about. In some parts of the blogosphere this is apparently the best shoegaze album of the year. But if this album is the best shoegaze album of the year then this has been a truly poor year for the genre, which is the way it looks to me. Originality has seemingly dried up.

So is it mainly her voice that gets to you? Considering it is the most prominent aspect of the music, I can understand not liking it if she bothers you. Even when it is subtle and the synths behind her are taking over, her voice still plays such a role that it is essential to the music (otherwise it would just be warbling synth crap).

Personally, I love her voice and if it wasn't for how unique and creative she is with it, the whole album would blow.

It's not just her voice though, I was also indifferent to a lot of the songs on it. It just didn't compute with me. Mind you I was expecting a lot from the album due to the hype surrounding it so that may have also affected my view on it. It sounded a bit cheap and throwaway to me but I probably will give it a revaluation at some stage.

Ah yeah, the hype can kill it. I saw a passing mention of her before I checked her out...I had no idea she was being hyped until after I heard the album. I'd say I agree with you about some of the songs on there...but the 3 or 4 great ones are REALLY great, in my opinion.

Even the songs I did kind of like I felt they were something I would probably get sick of within a month and rarely listen to again. It would probably have made a better impact on me if it was an EP.

Top 4 albums in no particular order

Passion Pit-Gossamer
King Tuff-King Tuff
Metric-Synthetica
Japandroids-Celebration Rock

Are these the only 4 albums you've listened to from this year?

Monica Richards - Naiades
Stray - Letting Go
Anathema - Weather Systems
Assemblage 23 - Bruise
The Frozen Autumn - Chirality
Sigh - In Somniphobia
Ihsahn - Eremita
Susanne Sundfor - The Silicone Veil
Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Ame
Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I

Still anticipating lots of others.

No, I still have to think about what I would add, whether bobby womack, or the new smashing pumpkins or others.

I'm pleased with the new Imagine Dragons EP that came out this year, too. Continued Silence.

I've been skimming through the pages & picked some of my faves.

In no particular order;

Lushlife - Plateau Vision
Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet
Beach House

lol, that's it. Need to go back and study the previous pages as I was skimming right quick. Will update.

There are few albums that are good

Paul McCartney- Kiss the Bottom
Monica- New Life
Nas- Life is Good

1. Jüppala Kääpiö: Animalia Corolla
Kääpiö here take the free folk musings of their 2010 album Sporing Promenade and expand them greatly. Many criticize the increased traditional musicality put on display here (the album is far less sparse than their previous attempt because of a bit of instrumental drone), but I found it very satisfying. The atmosphere here is different than before but still very earthy and meditative. A relaxing summer night spin that never gets old.

2. Jakob Ullmann: Fremde Zeit Addendum
In classic Ullmann fashion, this three-disc set contains four virtually silent compositions. As opposed to A Catalogue of Sounds, these compositions are much more Feldman-inspired. The "point" is no longer the low volume: it is the wellspring of airy sounds that lurk beneath a haze of nothingness. Comes highly recommended for those rainy days in particular.

3. Charles Gayle: Streets
Wonderful free jazz explorations here. A very solid disc from one of jazz's late-blooming greats.

4. Death Grips: The Money Store
A significant step up from Exmilitary, which was excellent in its own right - this is remarkably consistent and explores more of the harsh beat territory that I felt got skirted a bit by reliance on guitar in the mixtape. Really makes me wanna hear their sophomore LP, released later this year.

5. Vikki Jackman, Andrew Chalk & Jean-Nöel Rebilly: A Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring
An excellent ambient work from a few of the greats on the underrated Faraway Press label. Their strength certainly lies in unity: Jackman's usual escapes into the ether are curbed by the other performers and Chalk shines as always (though takes a step down from his previous collaboration with Daisuke Suzuki). This was my first listen to Rebilly's work, and she certainly rounds out the trio finely.

6. Grimes: Visions
"Oblivion" is irresistable. Though her public persona might be a bit anger-inducing, she is nevertheless accurate in a lot of her discussion of her music: a minimalist influence is definitely there, and the maximalist impulses of dance music are miraculously balanced here to generate a pop concoction that I can't avoid.

And those are the six I've heard so far this year that I think rate high enough to deserve mention, though other notables were Azealia Banks, Animal Collective's single, Beach House, Swans, Clams Casino, Lana Del Rey, and, if you count them, Trixie's Big Red Motorbike with their newly remastered compilation.

"3. Charles Gayle: Streets
Wonderful free jazz explorations here. A very solid disc from one of jazz's late-blooming greats. "

Hells yeah.

This was a tricky one for me, but it became one of my favorites of the year as well. It's nothing like Alternative 4 which I was sort of hoping for, but with no anticipations and past listening to the band, it would turn out to be a pretty damn good album.

Please stick around. :)

:thumb:

:beer: Will do!

I saw you made a thread about Charles Gayle in the jazz section. If you haven't checked out more from him (since no one really responded to that thread) I'd say check out Repent. It was my intro to him!

Thanks. Mad people sleepin' on Charles Gayle yo... :D

Yeah, damn Tiny Mix Tapes drops the ball on their voice to the "experimental" indie kids on the block! They always give good reviews to new jazz (Roberts last year, Gayle this year) then are very hush hush until their year-end list where it gets to sit way below less worthy works. And The Wire is a good 80 USD for a subscription. For shame!

Ah, finally someone else who thinks this album is worthy of being on the list.

Who is Charles Gayle?

Free jazz musician, started recording in about 1988. His newest album is called Streets, and it's very good.

At the moment, the albums that stick out to me for the first half are, alphabetically:

Aesop Rock - Skelethon
BadBadNotGood - 2
Buckethead - Electric Sea
Busdriver - Beaus$Eros
Chimp Spanner - All Roads Lead Here
The Dead Kenny Gs - Gorelick EP
Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Root Stimulation
El-P - Cancer For Cure
Gift of Gab - The Next Logical Progression
Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
Øresund Space Collective - West, Space, and Love
Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
Pep Love - The Rigmarole
Rush - Clockwork Angels
T.R.A.M. - Lingua Franca
Tajai - Machine Language
Tetrafusion - Horizons EP
You Slut! - Medium Bastard

I think Rush, El-P, Aesop, TRAM, and You Slut are on top at the moment...

^

I'll have to add Killer Mike's album to mine as well. I just listened to it, and it's really damn good.

haha so true!

I think you're the only person I know who likes this album, the only thing more disappointing than this album was the disappointing new Gonajsufi album, that I honestly forgot existed.

It was lackluster, but I figured I'd mention it as I never heard any discussion on it. I can see it not making the final cut, that's for sure.

1. JACK WHITE - Blunderbuss

http://store.thirdmanrecords.com/ima...erbuss_300.jpg

2. LANA DEL REY - Born to Die

http://miloco.co.uk/milocoblog/wp-co...orn-to-die.jpg

3. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Wrecking Ball

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-djTg1NA5Hn...ng-ball300.jpg

4. ALABAMA SHAKES - Boys & Girls

http://wearsthetrousers.com/wp-conte...12-300x300.jpg

5. FOSSIL COLLECTIVE - Let it Go EP

http://midiarock.com/wp-content/uplo...Go-300x300.jpg

I like Busdriver just fine. Not close to my top albums though. The Money Store, Cancer 4 Cure and that Fiona Apple album are near enough my Top 3.

I am kind of obsessed with Pond - Beards, wives, denim + Delta Spirit - s/t

Great albums.

Yeah that one is really good. Some of my favs

Killer Mike - RAP Music
El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
Death Grips - The Money Store
Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania
Beach House - Bloom
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

So is that new Charles Gayle album really worth getting?

so can someone make the most epic thread already TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2012 i dont think 20 days will make a big difference but anywayz bumpith time to look back

Shields - Grizzly Bear

The Idler Wheel... - Fiona Apple

On The Impossible Past - The Menzingers

The Odds - The Evens

channel ORANGE - Frank Ocean

I've never been good at listening to new albums (I usually look at "best of" lists to find out what albums I should listen to from the previous year), but some 2012 releases stand out as fantastic.

Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music. If ya'll haven't heard it, get on it. Possibly one of the best hip hop albums I have ever heard. The wordplay is incredible, and the production from El-P is great, too.

Death Grips, NO LOVE DEEP WEB. I know it's polarizing, but I love it.

Ty Segall Band, Slaughterhouse. Old school punk mixed with new garage rock mixed with Sabbath-esque rif***e mixed with pure attitude. Or, if you prefer, just call it thrash 'n' roll. This is a great flashburn album that explodes in your face, blows you away for half an hour, and then burns out. It's awesome.

JJ DOOM, JJ DOOM. This album from MF Doom and Jneiro Jarel comes from Doom while he's stranded in England, and it's really good. I know that some Doom fans were put off by the style- it's absolutely nothing like his other work. But it's still great.

I've got others I'm sure, but those are what I think of right off the bat for albums that have made lasting impressions on me.

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/TomCla...ing______2012_

^ My Top 50 but here's the Top 10 as of now:

Pigs - You Ruin Everything
Hop Along - Get Disowned
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Son of a Bitches Brew
Death Grips - The Money Store
Killing Joke - MMXII
Divorce - Divorce
Weasel Walter - Mary Halvorson - Peter Evans - Mechanical Malfunction
El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - Weltuntergangsstimmung
Aesop Rock - Skelethon

Goofle, you're becoming more and more obscure by the day. I like it. Is that Anus of Black Cat album really that good?
If so, any chance of a link. I've heard a track off it and was intrigued enough to hear more.