easy star all-stars

Top Albums of 2012 Part 1 (A-M)

Brevity is the soul of wit and it’s also the M.O. of this list. Here are my favourite albums of the year, in alphabetical order, described in five words or less:

Alt-j – An Awesome Wave: More like ‘An Awesome Debut’.

 

Bloc Party – Four: Their heart, it shows — always.

 

The Chevin – Borderland: Hot Hot Heat with hooks.

 

Crystal Castles – III: Child, I will hurt you.

 

Death Grips – The Money Store: I’ve seen footage, it grips.

 

Die Antwoord – Ten$ion: Batshit crazy, brilliant, reflective, 2012.

 

Donkeyboy – Caught In A Life: Norway, what a lovely gift.

 

Dragonette – Body Parts: Consistently catchy from Sorbara, company.

 

Dum Dum Girls – End of Daze (EP): Hooks for days. Mightily impressed.

 

Easy Star All-Stars – Thrillah: Such endlessly creative musical imaginations.

 

Ed Sheeran – +: The birth of a star.

 

Ellie Goulding – Halcyon: Most underrated pop record, 2012

 

Fang Island – Major: Torn asunder by energy uncontained.

 

Frank Ocean – Channel Orange: Singing from elsewhere, affecting here.

 

Gossip – A Joyful Noise: Their most consistent LP yet.

 

Green Day – Uno!: Kill the DJ? Dance first.

 

The Helio Sequence – Negotiations: A slow burner. Magnificence incarnate.

 

High Contrast – The Agony & The Ecstasy: High octane, frenetic, energy infused.

 

Hot Chip – In Our Heads: Always unique. Always on point.

 

John Frusciante – Letur-Lefr and PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone: An artist sharing his soul.

 

The Killers – Battle Born: Took a while. Got there.

 

The Maccabees – Given to The Wild: Underrated band. Strong, consistent record.

 

Marina & The Diamonds – Electra Heart: Small step back. Still enjoyable.

 

Maximo Park – The National Health: Front to back, just hits.

 

Metric – Synthetica: Every single time, they’re gold.

 

Mumford and Sons – Babel: Unique gifts enable connection, resonance.

 

Muse – The 2nd Law: Bad, bad, bad, bad men.

Top 30 Cover Songs of 2012

I’ll be writing quite a bit in subsequent posts, so without much ado, here is my list of the top 30 best cover songs of 2012:

30. Amanda Palmer – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

29. The Maine – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

28. The Knocks – Midnight City

27. Julio Bashmore – Troglodytes

26. Carly Rae Jepsen – Both Sides Now

25. Barricades Rise – Down Under

24. Walk Off The Earth – Roll Up

23. Yellowcard – Fix You

22. Easy Star All-Stars – Thriller

21. Antony Hegarty – Landslide

20. Azealia Banks – Slow Hands

19. Gavin Friday – The Fly

18. Mumford and Sons – Tessellate

17. GHXST – Dragula

16. Niia – Mad World

15. Active Child – Sweet Dreams

14. Brian Molko and Fiona Brice – West End Girls

13. Easy Star All-Stars – Beat It

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Like a Prayer

11. Red Hot Chili Peppers – I Get Around

10. Katja Petri – Candy

(What a serene, pretty take on a teflon-strong melody.)

9. Paper Crows – Disarm

(I really like the reshaping of this classic song.)

8. Paul Banks – I’m A Fool To Want You

(Paul Banks as Sinatra. The look suits him Plenti well.)

7. The Weeknd – DD (Dirty Diana)

(Wow. Does music get more emotionally-charged than this? Maybe the only contemporary artist who could hold a candle to MJ’s impeccable original.)

6. Walk Off The Earth – Somebody That I Used To Know

(The omni-present. A career launcher.)

5. John Mayer – Video Games

(This is maybe the most beautiful, restrained and graceful thing playboy Mayer has ever done.)

4. Ellie Goulding – Hanging On

(The original is a stunner, and here Ms. Goulding gives it a synthy, chic, vital redo. Well done.)

3. Easy Star All-Stars – Human Nature

(This version could not be any more perfect. It is miles apart from the original yet so similar, warm and smooth, like a ray of sunlight taking residence on a wave that’s leisurely travelling the world over. This is so good I think I might even like it more than MJ’s version.)

2. Matt Cardle – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

(Song starts at 1:40. What a stunning, jaw-droppingly gorgeous voice. The best reality singing show song I’ve ever heard.)

1. The Killers – Ultra Violet (Light My Way)

(Technically from last year, this might be the best cover they’ve ever done, and that’s quite a sentiment, as I think they’re the best cover band of this generation. Propulsive and heart-rattling, not contained by this world.)