ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2012

thought fiona would be higher

Yeah I was joking ('death of the album' isn't gonna happen anytime soon) but I just see a general lesser level of enthusiasm for stretches of this poll in comparison to the tracks.

That track is p great. I liked the album but I think I still listened to 'When The Pawn' more times in 2012 than this one.

xxp

Huh wow, thought Fiona would be top ten for sure. Deserved it too tbh

I find myself enjoying releases with "long" tracks that do a lot over 8-10 mins. I can dip in and get my artist experience in one go. Suits my listening lifestyle I guess.

it seemed like a good album, idk maybe i'll give it more time soon

i was surprised the idler wheel actually got the critical traction it did: i don't recall fiona apple getting taken seriously that much in the 90s (when i loved her a LOT), and it's easily the most difficult, oddest album of her career: "hot knife" isn't that representative, the rest is all clanks and whirrs and weird found sounds and oblique memories and uncomfortably foregrounded vocals. lyrically she's still got it, though: this opening couplet from "left alone" is all-time:

you made your major overtures
when you were a sure and orotund mutt
and I was still a dewy petal
rather than a moribund slut

*oblique melodies

http://i.imgur.com/nsGZOdD.png

18. BLONDES Blondes (634 Points, 25 Votes) Spotify

I need to give the Blondes album another go. did nothing for me on first listen

Ah good, I like the Blondes album. I don't listen to it a lot, but I enjoy it whenever it's on.

I know the rock stuff has been complete utter garbage so far and any Fushitsusha is better but feeling kinda underwhelmed by what I've heard - like there's more blues not enough no wave to them these days.

My impression from a couple of tracks tho'.

my fave haino-related release last year was actually his live jam alb w/ o'rourke & arambachi - pure rock action, not too heavy on the bloos - but i figured that had even less chance of making this poll

enjoyed blondes, definitely preferred it to the talabot, didn't vote for it at all. that is one super-nice album design though! something so simple, but i could spend ages looking at the shapes on it

yay blondes, my votes are coming thick and fast now

a lot of the dance/electronic stuff that's placed so far i've described as perfect for grey, hungover days; this is the opposite, the music is so dazzlingly bright, it sounds just like one of those piercingly bright winter days when you look up and you're momentarily blinded by the sun and everything around you just seems more luminous than usual

you made your major overtures
when you were a sure and orotund mutt
and I was still a dewy petal
rather than a moribund slut

lol, lex, I will concede that this is quite a good couplet, but jeez, even with a Fiona Apple record you manage to highlight the lyrics with derogatory terms for women. \o/

Haha, the main image I get when I hear Blondes is loads and loads and loads of roses, for some reason. I get something stately, almost 'classical' (as in Roman or Greek) about them, so it's statues and flowers and stuff. Prob just me of course.

Maybe it's the fx they use - 'choir of angels' kind of thing

Or just the titles - wine etc I associate with romance. I dunno, just being weird

my fave haino-related release last year was actually his live jam alb w/ o'rourke & arambachi - pure rock action, not too heavy on the bloos - but i figured that had even less chance of making this poll

Cor Jim o'rouke, totally forgotten of his existence :)

This Blondes record sounds triffic. All of my 'to check out later' will be bobbins related I think.

^ first track on the blondes is built round a meredith monk sample fyi

i can see why that particular Fiona album snapped up so many critical nods: it's uglier, riskier and more unflinchingly inward-looking than the others. don't get me wrong, her other albums all have their own share of introspection and incredible lyrical turns; it's just that the sentiments of this one have nowhere to hide amongst the creaky, dead-end musical ambits and stark backdrops. the end result is that her revelations on The Idler Wheel.. have more of a point-blank impact. the earlier albums all had a lot of polish and glisten to them that provided reprieve from their more harrowing reflections.

great, have a look into that. xp

http://i.imgur.com/LUGMp5g.png

17. CARLY RAE JEPSEN Kiss (635 Points, 20 Votes, 4 First Place Votes) Spotify

wow 4 first place

awesome

was so not expecting this album to be anything more than "call me maybe" plus filler but there are so many charming golden-age-of-teenpop songs on it

the second drop into the chorus of curiosity >>>>>>

The people who loved this album REALLY loved it. I thought it was nice.

just realised that the Terje thing is essentially album length anyway. sometimes it can be difficult to make clear-cut distinctions between the two formats.

second time there's been a run of three i've voted for (neneh/vftl/sviib was the other)

Really curious about the two ppl who beat CRJ on Canadian Idol and what's happening in their careers

Only 1 point between Fiona Apple and CRJ!

Next year the increasingly-cramped graphic will have to include track count and total length.

the Terje thing is essentially album length anyway

It's only about 20 minutes long isn't it?

Inspector Norse - 6:36
Myggsommer - 3:20
Swing Star Pt 1 - 4:19
Swing Star Pt 2 - 6:42

oh shit, you're right sorry. i just listened to it all the way through and it seemed to last for longer than that. :)

Its album length if you're a grindcore band tbf

Enjoyed this album for a while but it didn't really stick. Sort of like Selena's album back then - better than expected and worth a good month of heavy rotation.

one third way through if its dream theater

Tiny Little Bows has everything going for it (Sam Cooke sample, slap bass). Has it been a single yet?

OFF!'s album from this year was like 16 minutes or something.

It's the Arps was basically Inspector Norse + some arpy sketches. They were okay, but I know which side of the EP the bread's buttered.

somebody on the CRJ thread compared the album to marit larsen which killed listening to it for me

The title Tiny Little Bows always makes me think she's singing about pasta farfalline

at its best the CRJ album just has melodies and charm for days, eg hurt so good

you can see why the people who love it really love it: it captures a strain of pop that a lot of (maybe older?) pop fans thought had been stamped out by trashy eurodance about sexting in the club - it really is impt that CRJ is a 26-yr-old rather than a teenager.

as abcfsk says it didn't stick as much as my first few listens would have predicted, but i've put it back on and am enjoying it v much

the duets can fuck off though

dumping the whole of the blondes record and crj record would make a good playlist imo, im gonna do that; both were on my ballot & i dont feel like i listen 2 them enough

yesssss for CRJ. nothing else gave me so much joy this year, i just want to dance around singing along to it with a hairbrush forever

the bonus tracks are also really key & essential, "Sweetie" is maybe my favourite track on the whole album - generosity for dayyyys

the duets can fuck off though

Yes!

stop fronting, Owl City lovers

Oh, I forgot about that key change in Curiosity. BOLD!

so many times i was on such a rush from "curiosity" and didn't press skip in time and ended up hearing fucking owl city's voice :(

Just checking - the Blondes album doesn't usually come with the tonne of remixes on the spotify link, right?

remixes all on disc 2 of the cd