Dead In The Boot by Elbow

Released:  19 Novemeber, 2012
Rating:  73.85
Genre:  Atmospheric-Alt-Rock

Finally, wrapping it up for 2012 is the phenomenal Elbow with a collection of "B" sides.  These caught my attention in 2008 with The Seldom Seen Kid.  Grounds for Divorce (not sure J.C. Penney paid much attention to the name when they bought the rights for a TV commercial) and Audience With the Pope are still two of my favorite songs since the turn of the millennium.

This album has a couple near comparable tune. The pounding McGreggor is my favorite and the yearning The Long War Shuffle is totally absorbing . Most of the rest of the album is more soulful, exemplified by Lucky With Disease

Into the Future by Bad Brains

Released:  19 November 2013
Rating:  70.77
Genre:  Hardcore-Punk-Reggae

They've been around since the late 1970's and were one of the first true punk bands.  This is there 9th studio release and the first in five years.  More than anything, I can else say, it's really interesting.  I realize that sort of sounds like "damned with feint praise", but I really mean it in the best possible way.  This is an all-black, Rastafarian band, from Washington, DC, playing angry white-boy punk with great reggae beats behind it and outstanding musicality.

Bad Brains – Youth of Today bounces from punk to arena rock to reggae and back again.  Jane,s Addiction would be proud of Earnest Love.  Maybe a Joyful Noise is a sweet reggae number and Mca Dub could come from a trip hop era (of which DC has their fair share.)

All in all, I'm higher on the disc the the average critic, especially as a background sound to a long drive.

Busting Visions by Zeus

Released:  March 27, 2012
Rating:  71.43
Genre:  Indie

Out of Toronto, the quartet calling themselves Zeus (caution if you're Googling them, there are more than one Heavy Metal band of the same name) were recommended to me by one of my musical mentors (thanks Michael) which explains there late entry onto list.  AMG compares them to ELO, T-Rex and George Harrison.  I can see that, and a number of others from the late '60s and early '70s.

Are You Gonna Waste My Time? reminds me of late-Beatles
Love / Pain could be John Lennon in a pop frame of mind.
My favorite son on the album is With Eyes Closed, which could have come from the Guess Who.
Stop The Train reminds me of something between Three Dog Night and the Grateful Dead.

Cobra Juicy by Black Moth Super Rainbow

Released:  22 October 2012
Rating:  70.91
Genre:  Psychedelic Electro-Pop

On the Indie circuit since 2002, the self-released Cobra Juicy is the seventh release for the quintet from Pennsylvania.  This album is described by AMG as "subterranean lo-fi weirdness with upped production values and a  [clear] view of their psychedelic electro-pop."  I'll buy that.  Outside of San Francisco's Deerhoof, I'm not familiar with any of Spotify's related artists, so I'm not sure who to compare them to.

Like a Sundae is a sort of sunny, almost dream-pop tune that seems it would be more at home in CA than PA.
Hairspray Heart is electronic funk (and the lyrics are not for children)
I Think I'm Evil has a cool, 80's kinda vibe.

Sorry to Bother You by The Coup

Released:  October 30, 2012
Rating:  69.23
Genre:  Underground Rap

20 Years and six albums in, the Coup are considered "one of the most overtly political bands in rap history." That being a lean to the extreme left.  (Lead rapper/producer, Boots, was deeply involved in the occupy Oakland movement.  However, that's not what attracted me.  The music is great and the songs are catchy as hell.

The Magic Clap is just a lot of fun.
The Gods of Science has a terrific funk beat.
This Year is a little slice off Motown
The Guillotine is just smokin' hot.

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).

Thankful and Thoughtful by Bettye LaVette

Released: September 25, 2012
Rating:  73.33
Genre:  Old School R&B

Perhaps the best R&B singer you've never heard of, Bettye LaVette has been recording for 50 years.  This is a covers album. She can definitely sing a pretty, soulful song (Neil Young's I'm Not The One).  But she really blows me away when she sings a slow burner (like Bob Dylan's I'm Not The One or Crazy from Cee Lo Green and Dangermouse) or gets down and funky (Savoy Brown's I'm Tired, my favorite song on the album or Fair Enough).

Shields by Grizzly Bear

Released:  September 18, 2012
Rating:  70.00
Genre:  Experimental Post-Rock

The fourth proper studio release from the New York based four-piece.  They hit the big time with 2009's critically acclaimed Vecatimest (reaching number 8 on Billboard's Top 200 chart.)  This is supposed to be a more cerebral work, but frankly, I like this album more.  My favorite song is Gun-Shy, which is a dead give away to my love of pop hooks.  Sleeping Ute seems like something Genesis would have created if they'd been formed in the 21st century.  Yet Again is a sweet pop song (and the harmonies remind me of America.)  The strings on What's Wrong make the song seem as if it's drifting on a breeze.  From start to finish I hear influences from Yes, Roxy Music and the Flaming Lips.

Tempest by Bob Dylan

Released:  September 11, 2012
Rating:  72.00
Genre:  Folk Rock

It's Dylan.  I don't know what more I can say (but I'll try).  It's been 50 years since his debut album.  Personally, I like his voice better today.  It's raw and rough.  Perfect for stories of pain, loss and death.

Dylan continues his exploration of America's musical history, including country (Soon After Midnight which could be a Willie Nelson song), blues ( Early Roman Kings, basically a remake of Muddy Waters' Mannish Boy) and early 70's rock (Pay In Blood).  The one song that has me truly confused (do I like it or not?) is the nearly 15 minute long title track: Tempest, a folk ballad and perhaps the longest song ever performed without a chorus, tells the story of the Titanic with references to both history and the James Cameron movie ("Leo took his Sketch book").  Listen if you have time, once, just so you can say you did.

He's joined by guitarists David Hidlago (from Los Lobos), Charlie Sexton, who's done session work for him since the  late '90s and Stu Kimball, who, oddly enough, was a non-performing lyricist with the Grateful Dead.

Algiers by Calexico

Released:  September 11, 2012
Rating:  75.00
Genre: International Americana

My only dilemma here is whether I love this album, or am completely blown away by it.  It's definitely leaping onto my 2012 Top 10 list, somewhere near the middle.  This is their seventh proper studio release (my second, after 2008's Carried to Dust).  

In the past, Calexico's inspiration has come from their exploration of Southwestern culture,  spaghetti Westerns, Portuguese fado, Afro-Peruvian music, and '50s and '60s jazz, country, and surf music.  On Algiers, they've added Zydeco and Cajun into the mix.  The music is warm, earthy and just a little dark.

My favorite song on the album is Sinner in the Sea, which reminds me a little of Al Stewart.  Maybe on Monday's country guitar and dark theme takes me back to New Riders of The Purple Sage.  I highly recommend checking out the entire album!

Coexist by The XX

Released:  September 11, 2012
Rating:  70.91
Genre:  Atmospheric Indie Pop

This is the sophomore release for The XX.  Their eponymous debut, released in 2009 is also excellent.  The band, formed in London in 2008 while the (then four) members were still in high school, cite influences including everything from The Cure and the Pixies to Rihanna.   The music is pretty minimalist, allowing the vocals to leap way out front.  Romy Madley Croft provides a sensuousness with her satiny voice, while Oliver Sim's smooth-as-malt-scotch baritone serves as a perfect counterpoint.

The beautiful, sparse opener, Angels, features Croft's voice, paired with swirling guitars and punctuated with powerful percussion.  My favorite song on the album is Missing, with Sim's singing the lyric and Croft harmonizing with the music.

Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent

Released:  September 11, 2012
Rating:  70
Genre:  Experimental Rock

Remember the Talking Heads?  I do.  David Byrne lead the band, from their formation in 1975 in New York  until they broke up in 1988.  I loved David Byrne's quirky lyrics, outrageous costumes, unique voice and highly experimental music.  This is his 9th solo album since 1981 and, perhaps regrettably, my first.  Here he teams with St. Vincent (the stage name of Annie Erin Clark, it's also the name of the band she fronts), which makes calling it a solo album a little confusing.

The music is primarily written for a brass band, which sounds more like David Byrne, but was actually the suggestion of Annie Clark. On the opener Who Byrne is out front.  Immediately followed by  Weekend In The Dust where St. Vincent takes the lead.  Optimist is another great tune worth a listen.

This is not an album for background noise.  It deserves takes some concentration to truly appreciate it, and it's worth the effort.

Sun by Cat Power

Released:  September 4, 2012
Rating:  72.73
Genre: 

Cat Power is the stage name of Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall, born Charlyn Marie Marshall in Atlanta, Georgia on January 21, 1972.  This is her first album since 2008's Jukebox (a terrific album of covers, from New York, New York to Hank Williams' Ramblin' Man, to Joni Mitchell's Blue) which was my introduction to her.  This is her 7th album of original material and the first in 6 years.

The clearest thing I can hear is Cheryl Crow (circa Tuesday Night Music Club, my personal  favorite) style song-writing here, though not necessarily every song.  In fact, ironically, my favorite songs are not those that sound most like Crow.  Spotify draws comparisons to PJ Harvey, Feist, Devandra Banhart and Iron and Wine.  I don't really see any of them individually, but if you smashed them together in a super-collider, you might end up with Cat Power.

(By the way, the name comes from a trucker's ball cap with the Caterpillar Tractor logo.)  The opener, Cherokee, is my favorite song on the album.  3,6,9 is one of the more Sheryl-Crow-like numbers.  Human Being is a bluesy piece from the swamps of Mississippi.

A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits

Released:  August 28, 2012
Rating:  81.62
Genre:  Alt Rock

Screaming into front-runner status, late in 2012 is the Super-Group, Divine Fits.  And while I've never heard of of the drummer (Sam Brown, or his band, New Bomb Turks), I'm a big fan of Dan Boeckner (of the Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade) and Britt Daniels (the lead vocalist and guitarist for Spoon, who's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was my favorite album of 2007.)

AMG pretty much nailed the sound describing it as "throbbing, understated synths, insistent beats that jab listeners like a finger in the chest, and echoing vocals that sound like they were recorded in an alley in the middle of the night."  While I hear Daniels' influence loud and clear, I can also hear Boeckner's song writing, though somewhat less frenetic than his work with the Handsome Furs.  My favorite songs include:

• The first single and opener My Love Is Real
• Flaggin a Ride's simple, driving beat and intense vocal track.
• The heavy base of Would That Not Be Nice.
• The slightly folky Civilian Stripes.
• Although not in my top 5 songs on the album, Shivers is still a very cool cover of a 1979 release by Nick Cave's band Birthday Party (before he formed the Bad Seeds in 1983.)

Standing At The Sky's Edge by Richard Hawley

Released:  August 28, 2012
Rating:  72.00
Genre:  Neo Psychedelia.

The son of a steel worker, from Sheffield, England, Hawley began his solo career with a self-titled debut in 2001.  This is his 7th proper studio release and the influences of lat '60s psychedelia are everywhere.  He refers to the lush mix as "rocket sounds." 

The music is a fascinating arrangement of guitar, bass and drums, punctuated with organs, violins, tom-toms, even a tamboura. Hawley as a beautiful baritone that adds a richness to every song.  Spotify compares him to Morrisey, Roy Orbison, Nick Drake and Lee Hazelwood.  At least on this album, I'd have to include the doors.

• The title track, Standing At the Sky's Edge, reminds me of  Jim Morrison at his trippiest.
• Down in the Woods is a raw rocker.
• Seek It is a strange love song - "I had a dream and you were in it/we got naked/ Can't remember what happened next/ it was weird" - with a gorgeous melody, supported by Hawley's rich voice.
• Leave Your Body Behind You leaves you spent.

Ascent by Six Organs Of Admittance

Released:  August 21, 2012
Rating:  74.00
Genre:  Psychedelic Guitar Rock

Former Plague Lounge guitarist Ben Chasny formed Six Organs of Admittance in 1998 in Northern California.  Heavily instrumentals, with diving guitar solos, and large dash of psychedelia, this album is almost universally adored by the critics.  On a song-by-song basis, I can't get to the same place, but taken as a whole, it's a trippy, blast of an album, mostly deserving of the acclaim.

(The album is not currently available on Spotify, so I've resorted to Youtube versions.)

The opener, Waswasa is pretty much a kick-ass, five-and-a-half minute guitar solo.  It's followed by the drugged out Close To The Sky, which could have been done by the Doors, if they'd existed in 2012.  Visions (From IO) is a spacey, slow burner that reminds me a little of Space Oddity-era David Bowie.