Year-End Critics' Polls 2012

I don't hate the Grimes album but I'm kind of pleased to see it not make that list, while Baroness, Torche and Pallbearer did.

KUDOS FOR NICKI! first list to acknowledge that it's actually really good

kudos for santigold too, no 10 seems high but it's been weirdly overlooked elsewhere considering how strong the strongest cuts on it are

"I Belong In Your Arms" will make my own list but I couldn't make it through the rest of the Chairlift record.

I was glad to see Chairlift as his #2; it will likely be my own #1.

I was surprised to see Santigold there - it's been ignored everywhere else - but the good tracks are great. Same goes for Chairlift.

From the bottom of Nitsuh's list (though not written by Nitsuh):

Lana Del Rey
January’s most controversial pop starlet was old news by February.

Yes, unless you count selling over 2 million albums.

The Lone album is great! Probably in my top 5 for the year.

Many xposts...

DJ Rashad at #4 is GOOD LIST-MAKING.

The Chairlift album has maybe two low points in the whole thing. Not keen on that lyric about runnin people over in a car, and that last one Guilty As Charged but on the whole it's jam packed with neat little flourishes and catchy tunes. The Talabot remix of I Belong is also great and should have been a bonus track

I went through about three tracks on the Chairlift album thinking "oh hey, this is really nice" and then I hit a wall and desperately needed to play something else

Talabot remix is better than anything on the album imo.

despite not really being A-game Talabot.

I'm listening to this Lone album right now and it's setting me on edge. FIND THE BEAT, A-HOLES!

I Belong, Take It Out on Me, Ghost Tonight and Met Before are all killer. In a different era they'd have enough material to be pop stars.

I'm listening to this Lone album right now and it's setting me on edge. FIND THE BEAT, A-HOLES!

... what?

I would add Amanamonesia (sp?) to DL's list but otherwise OTM.

The time signatures of the drums/percussion seem to be absolutely random much of the time. That's probably not true, but they're more complex than I feel like bothering with. xp

I definitely rc enjoying that Lone album, should probably revisit it at some point.

The beats on the Lone album are definitely highly syncopated, but they don't strike me as particularly random

The time signatures of the drums/percussion seem to be absolutely random much of the time. That's probably not true, but they're more complex than I feel like bothering with. xp

you have got to be kidding

I don't even like "I Belong In Your Arms," but the Talabot remix is the best remix I've heard this year.

Feeling kinda bad for Animal Collective.

Is Sharon Von Etten making a lot of lists?

fewer than Grimes but more than like Kathleen Edwards

#ladies

I really live Sharon Von Etten, but I think the new one is mostly boring. I don't feel like she needs to be catering to the Paste crowd.

xxpost

Damn shame, as that Kathleen Edwards record is solid.

Animal Collective really blew it this time, huh? They haven't even enjoyed any of the post-breakthrough momentum that disappointing follow-ups often get (hello The xx).

Dude, MPP was "post-breakthrough" like three albums deep

idk, I think its fair to call MPP another level of breakthough, i mean like NPR audience level breakthrough

The beats on the Lone album are definitely highly syncopated, but they don't strike me as particularly random

It's cool, I'm not a rhythm ace. I just don't find that kind of madhouse dodging of 4/4 too enjoyable.

xp How so? It got way more attention and sales than any of their previous albums.

It's cool, I'm not a rhythm ace. I just don't find that kind of madhouse dodging of 4/4 too enjoyable.

THERE IS NO DODGING OF 4/4 ON THE ALBUM, EVERY SINGLE FUCKING SONG IS IN 4/4

Uncut sure loves the hell out of Ty Segall, with three of his albums in their list. I agree with Spin that Twins is the best one. When I first heard his name a few years ago, I that he was a rapper, lol.

AnCo "broke through" in like 2004. They used that momentum to break through higher and higher places (like NPR) over the course of two or three more albums over half a decade of work

The XX hit paydirt first time out and now are following up on it. The analogy doesn't work

Okay, DJP. Fine. Whatever. It still makes me squirm and want to put on, like, AC/DC or something so I know that up is up and down is down.

is whiney doing his leftfield/noisy shit list this year y/n?

ty segall name always makes me want to start a woozy britronica group called SEAGULL I THANK YOU.

cuz those kinds of names are popular these days.

xpost y

good man!

new sad borad description:

"Feeling kinda bad for Animal Collective."

xp Do I need to spell it out? The career paths are not the same but the situation of following a big-selling, widely acclaimed, NPR-wooing indie album with a muted, poorly received one three years later is similar. I'm not going to waste time arguing about what does and doesn't count as a breakthrough.

... Coexist wasn't poorly received, unless you are just looking at a small subset of the critical reaction?

You apparently had to spell it ot because I had no idea that you meant that. Neither one of those records was especially "poorly recieved" though

I mean, Coexist is currently rating a 79 on Metacritic, how does that translate to "poorly received"?

MPP reached a lot of people who were never going to be into Centipede Hz, I doubt anyone expected it to sell as well. What I find interesting is the critical abandonment as shown in these EOY lists.

because we have Grimes now...

<b>GRIMES</b>

i def got the impression that coexist had a lukewarm reception (not just here but among UK critics) but perhaps not

it had a lukewarm reception on ilx iirc

lol yeah, and then everyone else gave it an 8

That Spin list is pretty good. It's just occurred to me I have no idea what Japandroids sound like at all.

The strongest songs on that Santigold album were great but the record as an entirety was kind of an uninspiring 6/10 and I'm surprised enough people rated it highly enough to vote it into the top 10 in any list. I can't imagine it inspiring sufficient love or hate really.