The Haunted Man by Bat For Lashes

Released:  October 22, 2012
Rating:  69.09
Genre:  Indie

This is a challenging album, for me, to describe.  There are moments I'd call chamber-pop, like the opener Lilies.  Others are more singer-songwriter, such as my favorite song on the album All Your Gold.  The beautiful  Laura  the first single off the album, reminds me of Kate Bush or maybe even Bjork.

Pakistan-born Natasha Khan is the creative force behind the band from Brighton, England.  In fact, she pretty much is the band, though she's hired a lot of other musicians to perform behind her; especially strings.  This is Bat For Lashes' third album and my second by the band.  While I really enjoy listening to it, in the right frame of mind, I'm not quite as high on it as the professional critics, who seem to be pretty much over the moon for it.

Mondo by Electric Guest

Released:  May 15, 2012
Rating:  74.00
Genre: '80s Dance Pop

It's a late purchase,and thus a late entry. For that I apologize.  It wasn't until a friend and fellow Danger Mouse enthusiast mentioned that Brian Burton had produced this that I was even aware it existed.  And you should know my rule by now:  If Danger Mouse is involved, buy it.  He does not disappoint.

Danger Mouse has been involved with the creative force behind Electric Guest, Asa Taccone, almost since the Grey Album.  In fact, he credits Taccone with helping him to define his style.  So it's no surprise that you can hear a lot of his other work in these songs.  The Bait and Troubleman could have been Beck;
American Daydream reminds me of Sparklehorse (from Dark Night of the Soul), or maybe Damon Albarn (from The Good, The Bad and The Queen album);  Control taps his work with James Mercer on the Broken Bells album; This Head I Hold, my favorite song on the album and is an RB number reminiscent of his work with Cee Lo Green.  The one exception is Under The Gun, which reminds George Michael.

Sunken Condos by Donald Fagen

Released:  October 16, 2012
Rating:  75.56
Genre:  R&B

I love this album as much as the critics (it received a metascore of 82) and it easily jumps into my top 10 for 2012.

Steely Dan's Aja was one of my favorite albums through the late '70s and Early '80s.  In fact, when I first heard the a CD, my only thought was how amazing Deacon Blues would sound with that format.  In fact, it was the first disc I ever bought.  Donald Fagen, half of the brain trust behind Steely Dan, has brought that sound into the 21st century.

Check out Slinky Thing, which could have easily fit between Black Cow and the title track on Aja; Weather In My Head has a great funk beat and is my favorite song on the disc; The New Breed's got a little bit of an Al Jarreau vibe; and Out Of The Ghetto's opening riff is dead ringer for Curtis Mayfield's Pusherman from the Superfly soundtrack.

Tender New Signs by Tamaryn

Released:  October 9. 2012
Rating:  68.89
Genre:  Shoegaze Revival

I don't imagine I qualify as a Shoegaze revivalist, because I was never a big Shoegaze guy the first time around.  Given my lack of experience here, it's hard to compare it to anything I've heard before.  The best I can describe it is pretty and atmospheric.

Tamaryn, the New Zealand-born singer providing the soft, girlish vocals here and guitarist Rex John Shelverton are the duo known by the name of Tamaryn.  The formed in New York in the early '00s and this is there third album (my first).  I really like this album and recommend it as a Spotify or Pandora listen (and only add it to your collection if you really like what you hear too.)  However, I'm also really interested to see where they go from here.

A few of the songs here could easily qualify as dream-pop (While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming, Afterlight, Violet's in a Pool) and those are the songs I'm personally more drawn toward.

The 2nd Law by Muse

Released:  October 2, 2012
Rating:  71.67
Genre:  Neo-Prog

For a change, I like an album more than the critics.  While this has received generally good reviews, I think it's a terrific album.  The influences are so varied that it's fun to play: Who Does That Remind You Of?  I hear Oasis (Explorers), U2 (Uprising), Queen (Survival), David Bowie (Panic Station) The Smiths (The 2nd Law: Isolated System) and Led Zeppelin (Supremacy).  The UK band has been around in one form or another for 15 years and, although this is their sixth studio release, it's the first I was inclined to obtain.

"Muse's fusion of progressive rock, glam, electronica, and Radiohead-influenced experimentation is crafted by guitarist/vocalist Matthew Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard. Bored by the sleepy life provided by their hometown of Teignmouth, Devon, the three British friends began playing music together. They started the first incarnation of their band while only 13 years old, changing the name of the group from Gothic Plague to Fixed Penalty to Rocket Baby Dolls as time passed. By 1997, the bandmates settled on the name Muse and released their self-titled debut EP" (by Heather Phares for Rovi).