Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself / Hands of Glory EP (Mom + Pop)I can't believe I had to move to Chicago to really start listening to this guy. He's got the goods, people. An old-timey gentleman who writes songs I wish I could sneak into his dreams and steal. Seeing him live for the first time at the Fourth Presbyterian Church last week was sublime.
Favorite track(s): "Give It Away" // "Three White Horses" (official videos)
Jherek Bischoff - Composed (Brassland)
Beautiful, carefully crafted orchestral pop. Bischoff is a gifted songwriter from Seattle, who used a ukulele (!!!) to compose most of these tunes, which at times seem informed by musical theatre, and he then built massive sonic houses on the foundations. Incredibly, he recorded this mostly one track at a time, on a laptop, at times traveling to the musicians themselves to capture performances in living rooms and studios. Truly grand.
Favorite track: "Young & Lovely (with Zac Pennington and Soko)" (official video)
I have a serious Britt Daniel/Spoon fixation, and his new egalitarian project with Dan Boeckner and Sam Brown is extremely enjoyable. Much like Spoon, this album is lean, precise, and tough. Their voices blend and overlap wonderfully, and the music isn't just a bunch of Spoony Handsome Familyisms; there's an overt 80's feel with all the synths present, and a great sharing of work. It is not a one-off project either: there will be more albums and tours from this band.
Favorite track: "Would That Not Be Nice" (official video)
I also have a serious Andy Falkous fixation. The 3rd full-length from this Welsh post-punk band is snarly and clever, brutal and withering. Falco is English btw, not Welsh. He's seems to me like an educated punk: his songs use literary and scientific starting points to then explore emotional topics with a snide, angry cleverness. It's intimidating music, but such a thrill to witness firsthand. FotL features 2/3 of mclusky, and you can tell, because it is awesome, along with new additions Jimmy and Julia who are heavy-hitting badasses. I played tic-tac-toe on the LP cover with Jack the drummer at their Chicago show, and it ended up a draw.
Favorite track: "I Am the Least of Your Problems" (official video)
Led by Lars Finberg, formerly of A-Frames and sometimes of Thee Oh Sees, this record is a terrific collection of fun, oddball tracks that entertain and confound, from acoustic strummers with woodwinds to squonky repetitive atonal crunch 'n' synths. I suspect this band smells terrible, for some reason. Their tour blog is both hilarious and thoughtful, and of all the albums on my top ten, these guys likely need your money the most. Apparently, because The Intelligence is based on both Seattle and L.A., there are 2 versions of the group, both of whom contribute to the LP.
Favorite track: "(They Found Me in the Back of) The Galaxy"
Springsteen-esque. Replacements-esque. Canadian. Just 2 dudes. Fantastic. I don't care that this is on everybody's top ten list; it's there for a reason! This album is permanently good, and unfuckwithable. You can not fuck with this band. You can not fuck with Japandroids.
Favorite track: "The House That Heaven Built" (official video)
Thoroughly retro folk-rock from this North London singer-songwriter whose family emigrated from Uganda. Breezy, soulful, authentic. It scratches my pretty-music itch better than anything else I've heard in 2012. He has a wonderful voice and deceptively simple songs, underpinned by jazz; methinks he studied music at university. He wandered past us while we were waiting to see him play earlier this year, and the guy just couldn't have been more humble and gracious. Onstage he is the same, with a professional sheen, and he dropped a cover of Hendrix's "May This Be Love" that shone like a star. Having opened for Adele, and being on a phat major label, you might see this guy peering at you from the Starbucks counter, so your mom may try to talk to you about him, but check it out anyway.
Favorite track: "I'm Getting Ready" (official video)
I've been a fan of Menomena since before you, unless you're from Portland in 2001. On their latest LP the trio is now a duo, and they maintain their quirky pop aesthetic while introducing some seriously heavy lyrics. They sound freer, to be honest, but a tad less weird. Having lost my own mother to brain cancer around this time of year, it's a pretty big set of feelings I am left to cope with on my own; this album is about the loss of Danny's mother, and the struggles of Justin's single mother, which are both things I can relate to. What I'm saying is: there are a lot of reasons this album is one of my favorites of 2012. For you, dear reader, know that you will find unparalleled honesty and musical ingenuity within.
Favorite track: "Pique"
San Francisco-based psychedelic soul. Sure is funky! Can't get enough of dude's big scratchy voice, not to mention those big organ-laden grooves. That's literally about all I know to share about Monophonics, except that there's maybe 6 members and I wish that I were the 7th. I dare you to resist the track I've linked below. I dare you.
Favorite track: "There's A Riot Going On" (official video)
Okay I lied: this may be my favorite album of the year. Yeah, this is my favorite album of the year. Soul music from a kid who clearly grew up on Stevie Wonder and D'Angelo, this shit is smooth, deep and affecting. Can't stop spinning it. Tyler the Whoever has an ear for talent, but so does about every music writer on the web - this chunk of bliss has topped so many damn best of 2012 lists I feel unoriginal talking it up. To hell with it though: there's a reason this kid is so popular right now, and it's not just the hype over his sexual malleability. The songs are layered and deep, with lyrics to match the classic sounds. I find myself singing them all the time, even though I don't really know what half of it's about. In addition to the master suite below, "Pyramids," and the ubiquitous "Thinkin Bout You," try "Super Rich Kids," "Bad Religion," and the poppy "Lost" to see what the fuck is up.
Favorite track: "Pyramids" (official video)
