Rolling "favorite music of 2012 so far" thread (albums and/or tracks edition)

so add to my list:

Merchandise - Desire

I assumed rap was building momentum after 2011, but I've been kinda unimpressed with 2012 rap so far, although there's a few mixtapes and singles I've been meaning to check out for a while.

So, like Cat Power and Fiona Apple, very confidential-to-allusive-to-cryptic-to-let-it-blurt (and back), always *evocative* singer-songer Martha Wainwright now uses tuneful beat science to parse hot mess. More developed than the Power, less experimental than the Apple, Come Home To Mama has more of a band feel and knows from Prince, Stevie, Ziggy, Dolly, her parents and brother, while always being her own thing. This'll be streaming a little while longer
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/07/162301799/first-listen-martha-wainwright-come-home-to-mama Good on Koss UR40 headphones.

Still liking the Power and the Apple too.

"knows from...Stevie" Nicks, that is (kinda)

As Brad pointed out on the Zazen Boys thread, their new album Stories is now on Spotify and worth checking out at the very least:

http://open.spotify.com/album/1g3QRORSzdLU6E00Iuo2wG

Someone will like this.

Thank you Lindstrom thread for introducing me to Haim - the Lindstrom and Prins Thomas remix of "Forever" is killer and everyone should go listen to it, but the original is sweet too. http://youtu.be/sEwM6ERq0gc

Kane Ikin - Sublunar
Normal Love - Survival Tricks
Dimlite - Abscission
Tujiko Noriko - East Facing Balcony
∆ - Awesome Wave
Barry Adamson - I Will Set You Free
Debo Band - s/t
Murder by Death - Bitter Moon, Bitter Drink
Oh No - Dr. No's Kali Tornado Funk

Tracks:

Freelance Whales - "Aeolus"
Soft Pack - "Bobby Brown"
Bat for Lashes - "All Your Gold"
JJ DOOM - "Retarded Fren"
Efterklang - "Between the Walls"

Reminder to future self in February, 2013 - vote for these, in roughly this order:

iamamiwhoami - Kin (post MV exposure, its still electropop that stands repeated play)
Hammock - Departure Songs (double dose of Nashville's finest sleepgaze elegies, with added vocals)
Zambri - House of Baasa (Danielle Dax's discography in a blender)
Hanne Hukkelberg - Featherbrain (balefully clattering Nordic experimental folk(?))
Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, The Congos - Icon Give Thanks (™ falsetto harmonies + laptop exotica)
Purity Ring - Shrines (girl wonder/horror of the body + UK bass music)
Blondes - Blondes (organic house for diletantes like me)
Grimes - Visions (electro cotton-candy with vaporous message)
MNDR - Feed Me Diamonds (Electropop with vocal charm. Known from "Bang Bang Bang")
Shackleton Music for the Quiet Hour (Not quite Coil)
Yppah - Eighty One (if Boards of Canada produced a trip hop album)
Ane Brun - It All Starts With One (dark K. Bushy art pop suite, belated US release)
Chairlift - Something (faster, more direct, and more sparkle than the debut)
Niki & the Dove - Instinct (too much EP redux)
School of Seven Bells - Ghostory (crafty production, songs less ideosyncratic, Claudia missed)
The KDMS - Kinky Dramas and Magic Stories (Kathy Diamond returns with a better retro-disco album than Escort's)
Monolake - Ghosts (invented Ableton to facilitate high-gloss idm)
EXITMUSIC - Passage (theatrical dreampop from Boardwalk Empire actress and hubby, Beach House fans willl love it)
Beach House - Bloom (confident, but familiar)
Bat for Lashes - The Haunted Man (this one is still gelling. Stripped and synthetic)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Trouble (solid electro-dance-pop with wallflower vocals)
Lazerhawk - Visitors (unapologetic Jan Hammer tributes for your Countach's tape deck)
Gazelle Twin - The Entire City Remixed (Ballardian DCD vs the Knife album highlights given idm/mnml treatments)
2:54 - 2:54 (90s gazy crossover ala Curve & Garbage, but plods a bit)

For consideration/need to hear:

Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
Poliça - Give You the Ghost

Singles/tracks (rather incomplete):

Lianne La Havas - "Forget"
iamamiwhoami - "goods"
Ane Brun - "These Days"
Psy - "Gangnam Style"
MØ - "Maiden"
David Lynch feat Kathy O - "Pinky's Dream (Trentemoller Remix)"
Grimes - "Oblivion"
Purity Ring - "Fineshrine"
Chairlift - "I Belong in Your Arms"
Dum Dum Girls - "Coming Down"
Icona Pop - "I Love It"
Shook feat. Ronika - "Distorted Love"
Orbital + Zola Jesus - "New France"
Santigold - "Disparate Youth"

I like that Poliça album a lot, not sure how much attention it's been getting.

some recent faves

andy stott - luxury problems (i know it just barely came out, but hot damn)
seahawks - aquadisco (also just came out, but unlikely to change my mind about this one either)
daphni - jiaolong
jonas munk - pan
tin man - neo neo acid
mungolian jetset - mungodelics
deepchord - sommer
innergaze - mutual dreaming
everything from andres/des andres
four tet - pink

liking but still digesting the new emeralds, smallpeople, and windsurf records as well.

*deZ andres, rather

innergaze - mutual dreaming

Oh crap, this is really good!

still have a lot of listening to do but here is my albums list so far (hopefully not forgetting anything):

Leif, Dark York
Black Bananas, Rad Times Xpress IV
Miguel, Kaleidoscope Dream
Pharaoh Overlord, Lunar Jetman
Bardo Pond, Yntra
Sungod, Cuts from the Ether
Sylvester Anfang II, Perzische Tapitjen
Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, The Congos, Icon Give Thank
Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Third
Neneh Cherry & the Thing, The Cherry Thing
Astra, The Black Chord
Goat, World Music
Pinkish Black, Self-titled LP

sorry no capsule reviews! I mostly like psychedelia anyways!

Mosca - Eva Mendes EP
Blawan - His He She & She EP
DJ Spinn - Teklife Vol.2 What You Need
Young Smoke - Space Zone
Easy Star Allstars - Thrillah
Goat - World Music
King Creosote - To Deal With Things EP / I Learned From The Gaels EP
Konx-Om-Pax - Regional Surrealism
Pete Seeger - Hard Travelling, the Best Of
Tim Heacker & Daniel Lopatin - Instrumental Tourist

i had to submit a ridiculously early ballot this week. albums order ended up as:

1. DAWN RICHARD - Armor On
2. TAYLOR SWIFT - Red
3. ANGEL HAZE - Reservation
4. FARRAH ABRAHAM - My Teenage Dream Ended
5. NICKI MINAJ - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
6. MIGUEL - Kaleidoscope Dream
7. THE CATARACS - Gordo Taqueria
8. SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - Ghostory
9. FIONA APPLE - The Idler Wheel...
10. VOICES FROM THE LAKE - Voices From The Lake
11. BLONDES - Blondes
12. ROYAL-T - Rinse Presents: Royal-T
13. CARLY RAE JEPSEN - Kiss
14. COOLY G - Playin' Me
15. MIREL WAGNER - Mirel Wagner
16. JOHN TALABOT - ƒin
17. KALENNA - Chamber Of Diaries
18. NINA SKY - Nicole & Natalie
19. JESSIE WARE - Devotion
20. LINDSTRØM - Smalhans
21. NENEH CHERRY & THE THING - The Cherry Thing
22. LEONARD COHEN - Old Ideas
23. MICHAEL MAYER - Mantasy
24. LE1F - Dark York
25. KENDRICK LAMAR - good kid, m.A.A.d City

(nb: only the first ten counted towards the ballot ;_; ;_; )

tracks, jesus christ, I know it's the more important list but I almost end up caring about my albums list more because it's more manageable and I don't have to wrestle 200 amazing tracks down into a shortlist or compare the apples of dance tracks with the oranges of pop songs or work out which I should miss out on the basis of including those artists in my albums list and aaaaraghjhdjhsskjsljdslkjsl;ksk

Is Armor On the only full release by Dawn Richard, Lex? I'm interested in checking her stuff out.

there's a mixtape from last year too, A Tell Tale Heart (which made the ILX poll). Armor On is meant to be a "prologue" EP (though album-length) to the proper album, which was due out last week - except she got a physical distribution deal at the last minute (hurrah), so it's gonna come out in Jan instead. (but I have the unmastered promo - it's basically done and it's stupendously good)

but the lead single from the album is out, Pretty Wicked Things - it's amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbTv-ztcmw

also replace Kendrick Lamar with the Santigold album at the bottom of that list

got bored the other day and did a quickfire top 30

obviously stuff like taylor and kendrick still needs time to digest

1 Frank Ocean Channel Orange
2 Jessie Ware Devotion
3 Bass Clef Reeling Skullways
4 Miguel Kaleidoscope Dream
5 Silent Servant Negative Fascination
6 Angel Haze Reservation
7 Holy Other Held
8 Grimes Visions
9 Jeremih Late Nights With Jeremih
10 Bat For Lashes The Haunted Man
11 Swans The Seer
12 Jam City Classic Curves
13 The xx Coexist
14 The KDMS Kinky Dramas And Magic Stories
15 Joey Bada$$ 1999
16 Taylor Swift Red
17 Catcall The Warmest Place
18 Julia Holter Ekstasis
19 NHK'Koyxeи Dance Classics Vol. 1
20 Tame Impala Lonerism
21 Kendrick Lamar good kid m.A.A.d city
22 Actress R.I.P.
23 Dawn Richard Armor On
24 Beach House Bloom
25 Chairlift Something
26 Fort Romeau Kingdoms
27 Cate Le Bon CYRK
28 The Walkmen Heaven
29 Chromatics Kill For Love
30 Schoolboy Q Habits & Contradictions

and then singles, no. 1 would be Sky Ferreira "Everything Is Embarrassing", and then I don't know the order yet for the rest, but here's some good ones:

Angel Haze "Werkin Girls"
Icona Pop "I Love It"
AlunaGeorge "Your Drums, Your Love"
Bat For Lashes "Laura"
K.W. Griff "Bring In The Katz"
Javiera Mena "Luz de Piedra de Luna"
Usher "Climax"
Bicep "Vision Of Love"
Solange "Losing You"
Joey Bada$$ "Survival Tactics feat. Capital STEEZ"
Miguel "Adorn"
YN RIch Kids "Hot Cheetos & Takis"

Burial's "Kindred" would fairly comfortably be my favourite EP of the year.

I like that Poliça album a lot, not sure how much attention it's been getting.

Yeah, I've come back to this one a few times - it's good!

thank lex

actually, tracks, why not. this is my longlist. all of these are tracks i have listened to repeatedly this year. excluding tracks off those 25 albums i listed up there. though any ballot i submit will have Call Me Maybe at #1 because duhhhh you can't deny the power of public pop.

DAWN RICHARD - Pretty Wicked Things
CHERYL COLE - Call My Name (Royal-T Back To '99 Remix)
NICKI MINAJ ft. CASSIE - The Boys
IKONIKA - I Make Lists
TRINA ft. GUNPLAY & ICE BERG - Beam
KENDRICK LAMAR ft. GUNPLAY - Cartoon & Cereal
MISHA B - Home Run (Zed Bias Summavibes Vocal Mix)
D'BANJ - Oliver Twist
LEA-ANNA - Clear Di Way
CIARA - Livin' It Up
TY$ - My Cabana
JUSTIN BIEBER ft. BIG SEAN - As Long As You Love Me
SNEAKBO - Zim Zimma
USHER - Climax
COVER DRIVE - Sparks (Wookie Remix)
RITA ORA ft. TINIE TEMPAH - RIP (Seamus Haji Remix)
MARIAH CAREY - Triumphant (Get 'Em) (Vintage Throwback Mix)
HUXLEY - Let It Go
PACHANGA BOYS - Time
MR BEATNICK - Sun Goddess
TODD TERJE - Inspector Norse
JME - 96 Fuckries
2 CHAINZ ft. KANYE WEST - Birthday Song (Funkystepz Miami Bass Mix)
OMAR-S & OB IGNITT - Wayne County Hill Cops
ERIC CHURCH - Springsteen
DJ FRESH ft. RITA ORA - Hot Right Now (Zed Bias Remix)
ZEBRA KATZ ft. NJENA REDDD FOXXX - Ima Read
WYNTER GORDON - Stimela
RUDIMENTAL ft. MNEK & SYRON - Spoons
DELILAH - Love You So
ALICE COHEN - Mauve Mood (Gavin Russom Remix)
MISTA SILVA ft. SKOB, FLAVA & KWAMZ - Boom Boom Tah
CAT POWER - Cherokee (Nicolas Jaar Remix)
ALEX AGORE - I Got Something
SLACKK - Fat City
TOUCH SENSITIVE & ANNA LUNOE - Real Talk
DAVIDO - Dami Duro
HARDWAY BROTHERS - Mania Theme (Toby Tobias Remix)
KONSHENS - Stop Sign
LAITH ft. RAE RAE - I Go Out (François & Chris Lawrence Remix)

18 from 2012 that I really like / love / adore, in some kind of vague order.

Grizzly Bear - digging out Veckatimest at the weekend made me worry that this was a bit 1-dimensional and maybe I was over it. Then I played it again yesterday and it isn't and I'm not.

Swans - only listened to the whole thing through start-to-finish once, but have listened to each disc a couple of more times, and occasional individual tracks. It feels momentous, absolutely monolithic.

Field Music - still adore this. Concise and wonderful.

Liars - this is still growing on me, and has been a real door-opener to this band for me.

Four Tet - don't think this guy is capable of making a record I don't like.

Divine Fits - as good as any recent Spoon record, for my money.

Beak - still getting to know this, but such a thrill to listen to.

Portico Quartet
Minotaur Shock - these two are my go-to "let's put some music on" music, when I just want something on to do stuff to. Both really, really good.

Neneh Cherry and The Thing - still getting to know this, too, but dead exciting.

Daphni - obviously very functional, but great fun.

Japandroids - kind of like the rock version of the Daphni album, in that it's totally designed to move crowds, just in a different way. Em loves it, so I've got to know it really well.

Grimes - was the default listening for the early part of the year.

Orbital - still have reservations about this, but when they manipulate / push buttons this well, even if it's obvious what they're doing, i can't begrudge it.

John Talabot - just really good. I don't love it to bits, but I listen to it alot.

Richard Hawley - Probably not his best, but I've just really enjoyed having this guitar sound wash over me.

St. Vincent and David Byrne - much prefer her contributiosn to his, but, of course, hers wouldn't be the same without his. Love the brass.

Patrick Wolf - a weird beast, re-recordings of songs I already love in original forms, but it's all rendered so beautifully, and I just love this guy by default.

I've not yet heard, and very much want to hear and will almost certainly buy, the following:

Invisible
The Bad Plus
Emeralds
Lindstrom's second
The Tracy Thorn Xmas record

Have just bought that Jaar remix of Cat Power simply on the strength of finding out it exists.

sick mouthy would enjoy a Blondes record imo

http://open.spotify.com/album/1UIXCqt9WyiF06DCAg1meL

I have it! I like it, just not as much as these.

ah okay! prefer it to the talabot personally, but i'll let you off

I thought I did too, initially, hut the Talabot grew on me more.

I think you'd like the Efterklang album, Nick.

Albums I've particularly enjoyed since posting the June roundup:

Sam Lee - Ground Of Its Own
Actress - R.I.P.
Dog Is Dead - All Our Favourite Stories
Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Fetch
Goat - World Music
alt-J - An Awesome Wave
Ragnhild Furebotten - Never On A Sunday
Efterklang - Piramida
V/A - The Rough Guide To Undiscovered World
Sleaford Mods - Wank
Lau - Race The Loser
Calan - Jonah
Ebo Taylor - Appia Kwa Bridge
Jessie Ware - Devotion
Rachel Newton - The Shadow Side
Cornershop - Urban Turban
We Show Up On Radar - Sadness Defeated
Esperanza Spalding - Radio Music Society
Anywhere - Anywhere
Brad Mehldau Trio - Ode
Troyka - Moxxy
Beach Boys - That's Why God Made The Radio
Elton John vs Pnau - Good Morning To The Night
V/A - Personal Space: Electronic Soul 1974-1984

While we're all dumping big EOY spoilers, this is an attempt at an albums list:

Julia Holter - Ekstasis
Josephine Foster - Blood Rushing
Marissa Nadler - The Sister
Tenniscoats - Papa's Ear
Grimes - Visions
John Talabot - Fin
Nite Jewel - One Second of Love
Barbara Morgenstern - Sweet Silence
POLICA - Give You The Ghost
Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras and the Congos - FRKWYS 9
Georgia Anne Muldrow - Seeds
Dawn Richard - Armor On
Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream
Belbury Poly - The Belbury Tales
Cooly G - Playin' Me
Janka Nabay - En Yay Sah
Kelan Philip Cohran and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - s/t
Zita Swoon Group - Wait For Me
Lee Ranaldo - Between the Times and the Tides
Dirty Three - Toward the Low Sun
Starring - ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ
Group Rhoda - Out of time, Out of touch
Las Malas Amistades - Maleza
OMBRE - Believe You Me

Efterklang is a name I'm aware of but have never really heard or investigated. What do they do?

The Byrne & Vincent album has really grown on me. I agree about Byrne though - I love him unconditionally but his solo persona can sometimes come across a bit, i dunno, obvious, straightforward, lacking humour or subtlety(?) - songs about the cult of TV feel really hackneyed in 2012. Ice Age is my favourite song on there.

Some tracks:

Gudrun Gut - Garten
Barbara Morgenstern - Need To Hang Around
Polica - Dark Star
Nite Jewel - One Second of Love
Mirroring - Silent From Above
Dead Can Dance - Children of the Sun

A very good thing:

Untold - Change In A Dynamic Environment EPs 1-3

Talabot and Blondes = two sides of the same coin. The former's a bit more accessible and poppy and Blondes is more fuzzed-out and trippy. I love the Talabot so much, it's a real grower, while I have to be in the mood for Blondes.

The Efterklang album was built from field recordings, taken in an abandoned Russian-owned mining town in the Arctic circle. It's song-based, orchestrated, full of subtle and mysterious sonic details.

Wishlisted for payday.

eh, i had an earlier album by them and it did nothing for me. maybe i should have given it a better go, but it sounded like an Arcade Firey band with all the edges smoothed off and replaced with orchestras. Fine I guess but not for me.

i don't think i ever heard that georgia anne muldrow album, though i meant to. what's it like?

from what I've heard of her she's very very eclectic, mellow but unhinged in a Badu kind of way.

It's her best since Olesi imo. Standout track is probably Best Love.

Miguel
Kendrick Lamar
Staff Benda Bilili
Amadou & Mariam
Dawn Richard

Michael Mayer - Mantasy
Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
Rangda - Formerly Extinct
Cooly G - Playin' Me
Kid Koala - 12 Bit Blues

most obsessed-upon new-ish trax (excluding tswift, last few months

gunplay - tats on my arm; i got this
usher - what happened 2 u; 2nd round
rick ross f/ omarion - ice cold
2 chainz f/ mike posner - in town
RiFF RaFF - LiL MaMa iM SORRY
jens lenkman - i know what love isnt
juicy j - bandz a make her dance
lana del rey - driving in cars w/ boys; i sing the body electric
jeremih - late nights
frank ocean - pyramids
carly rae jepsen f/ owl city - good time
main attrakionz - green on site
king louie f/ lil durk - want it all

Added to my best of 2012 playlist:

Hammock - Departure Songs
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city
Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man

http://open.spotify.com/user/djperry1973/playlist/7Hi5uKSCgKZM5doRaEIDOz