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2012 Albums/EPs

chauncey

By chauncey,
in GF - General Forum

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The Great Jacko Collaborator

The Great Jacko

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Christ, Springsteen's latest "Wrecking Ball" is amazing. It's very eclectic for him and is all the better for it swinging from rock to country & folk. I don't really get a chance to pore over lyrics but I know that this is about the current economic and political climate and the atmosphere of the album is tense - there are times when it's the bleakest most mournful I've ever heard him and then there are the usual uptempo songs although with lyrics that tell a different story ala "Born in the USA".

 

 

Bruce Springsteen Swallowed Up(In the Belly of the Whale . - YouTube

 

 

 

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Scott_M Grand Master

Scott_M

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Not that many good albums out this year so far imo - Enter Shikari & Pulled Apart By Horses are the best so far, and they are actually really good.

 

Just downloaded Every Time I Die's new album so will give that a listen this week.

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magicrat Grand Master

magicrat

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Christ, Springsteen's latest "Wrecking Ball" is amazing. It's very eclectic for him and is all the better for it swinging from rock to country & folk. I don't really get a chance to pore over lyrics but I know that this is about the current economic and political climate and the atmosphere of the album is tense - there are times when it's the bleakest most mournful I've ever heard him and then there are the usual uptempo songs although with lyrics that tell a different story ala "Born in the USA".

 

 

Bruce Springsteen Swallowed Up(In the Belly of the Whale . - YouTube

 

 

 

I'm a masive Springsteen fan ( user name probably a bit of give away). Can't really make my mind up on Wrecking Ball. Land of Hope and Dreams has been around for many years . I guess he included this studio version as a tribute to Clarence Clemons and its certainly one of the stand out tracks.

The one I like the most is probably the most eclectic song he has ever done , Rocky Ground, complete with a rap and mariachi trumpets. Some other interesting tracks. Jack of All Trades is a powerful lament and Death to My Hometime an angry reprise of born in the USA hit single. Certainly the best thing he has done since The Rising and looking forward to seeing how they come over live on the up-coming tour

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Champ Grand Master

Champ

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Liking Cloud Nothings. Soko's album was good too, but not up to the EP's standard.

 

All about Jimmy Cliff and Lint giving us some quality reggae and ska this year.

 

LHZZ-TzIBUk

 

Skankalicious.

Summer is on its way. We need a ska thread

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  • 5 months later...
Teflon Don Mentor

Teflon Don

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Perhaps worthy of its own thread, but I thought I'd stick this here:

 

Plan B and Richard Hawley lead Mercury prize 2012 nominations | Music | The Guardian

 

Plan B's third album may have involved a daring change of direction, from 60s soul to politically infused rap, but it looks like a risk that has paid off. His chart-topping soundtrack to the film Ill Manors leads the nominations for the 2012 Mercury prize, standing out among the indie bands and singer-songwriters dominating this year's shortlist.

 

The list of nominees, which was announced on Wednesday evening at a ceremony hosted by BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, certainly appears to be less eclectic than previous years. The four guitar groups nominated are all of a similar hue: vaguely experimental yet unassuming. Of these, the Maccabees are perhaps the most well-known, their third album Given to the Wild gaining plaudits for taking rock music into fresh territory. Django Django's self-titled debut album shares a similar playful feel to that of Cambridge-based group Alt-J. Field Music are relative old-timers on the list with Plumb being the fourth album from the Sunderland band.

 

Joint favourite with Plan B to take the prize is Richard Hawley for his sixth album Standing at the Sky's Edge, which saw the Sheffield crooner venture out across heavier, psychedelic territory.

 

Hawley's inclusion is representative of a good year for solo artists. Of these, Jessie Ware is most striking – the south London singer's debut album, Devotion, is a restrained pop/soul affair with an understanding of underground club culture. Ware said : "I'm really happy, it was such a great surprise to be nominated. It's an album that came from the heart so hopefully that was recognised and is why I got nominated." Elsewhere, retro soul is represented by debuts from Michael Kiwanuka (Home Again) and Lianne La Havas (Is Your Love Big Enough?). The inclusion of Ben Howard's debut, Every Kingdom, tops off a fantastic year for the folk singer, whereas north Londoner Sam Lee also strikes a note for folk with his first LP Ground of Its Own. Roller Trio complete the list and ensure it is a strong year for debut albums – their self-titled effort showcases a love for rhythmic, funk-infused jazz.

 

Whether the nominations represent an upturn in the fortunes of guitar music is debatable. Critics may point out some omissions, such as Rustie's Glass Swords – a Technicolor rave-pop record that won the Guardian's first album award, or Evolve or Be Extinct, the latest grime offering from Wiley. There are no nominations for comeback albums from Kate Bush (50 Words for Snow) or Dexys (One Day I'm Going to Soar).

 

The Mercury prize will be awarded on 1 November at the Roundhouse in London. The winner will receive £20,000, along with an expected boost in sales.

 

Music critic Simon Frith said: "I realised this summer that the Olympics had given us all this great sense of Britishness and how we all became aware of where people come from in Britain. In a way this list reflects that - Richard Hawley is clearly from Sheffield, Plan B is from east London and Field Music from Sunderland."

 

"In terms of genres it might not seem so eclectic but I think in terms of the different personalities within the recording industry it really is. The aim is to draw attention to records people might not have heard but it gets a buzz and debate going even if you think the list is crap."

 

Hopefully Hawley will win it, as he arguably should have done with Coles Corner.

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Karl_b Grand Master

Karl_b

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Are people really surprised by Plan B's 'change of direction' given that his first record was a Hip-Hop/Rap album?

 

Anyway, I've heard plenty of singles from those on the Mercury short-list without listening to any of the albums. I've always liked The Maccabees and like what I've heard of Alt-J, Field Music and Django, Django's stuff; for some reason Richard Hawley has always passed me by but I've been slowly getting in to him recently and his performance with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which was broadcast on 6Music at the weekend, was sublime. He probably deserves a win and seems to be the bookies favourite.

 

On the subject of albums from 2012, still a slow year for me but picking up the past couple of months and I've really enjoyed Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship, Bloc Party - Four, Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is An Animal, Sigur Ros - Valtari, Jack White - Blunderbuss and The Walkmen - Heaven.

 

Jack White's is up there with Sharon Van Etten as my favourite of the year but I'm still looking forward to the new Animal Collective and Two Gallants albums (both of which are sitting on my desk at home) and new stuff from Grizzly Bear, Ben Folds Five (after a 13 year hiatus) and possibly, maybe, hopefully QOTSA. There are also plenty of albums I really want to pick up that I've missed, I always feel that way when the Mercury short-list is announced though.

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  • 3 months later...
chauncey Rising Star

chauncey

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FINAL BUMP

 

Reckon last year was the strongest for a while (admittedly I didn't scratch around much in 2011). Bored in work so have done my favourite 20 releases:

 

 

1. Tame Impala - Lonerism

2. Lone - Galaxy Garden

3. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

4. Grimes - Visions

5. Woods - Bend Beyond

6. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes

7. TNGHT - TNGHT EP

8. Japandroids - Celebration Rock

9. Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber

10. Django Django - Django Django

11. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

12. Passion Pit - Gossamer

13. Anais Mitchell - Young Man In America

14. Actress - R.I.P.

15. Crystal Castles - (III)

16. Shearwater - Animal Joy

17. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

18. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz

19. Lightships - Electric Cables

20. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It

 

There 's some diverse tastes on the GF - it'd be interesting to see what everybody else made of 2012 musically.

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