Looking backward: 2012
(Ten favorites, not including reissues or Olympia, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver bands)
The Megaphonic Thrift – The Megaphonic Thrift LP (Sonic Unyon)
A sunflower in a cornfield of Bloody Dinosaur Youth sound-alikes, this Norwegian foursome’s stunning sophomore LP united high-flying six-string heroics, dreamy boy-girl vocals, shoegaze textures and metallic ferocity in a way that made such familiar sounds seem inspired and modern.
Silian Rail – Each/Other LP (self-released)
On its third full-length, this Oakland-based drums-and-guitar duo married elaborate, undulating melodies to lockstep, almost IDM-like rhythms, conjuring deep emotions without so much as a word. Instrumental math-rock was never this beautiful.
Roomrunner – Super Vague 12” EP (Fan Death)
Music writers used the term “‘90s throwback” all too casually in 2012 (see: Cloud Nothings, Japandroids), but sometimes the shoe fit. Case in point: Baltimore’s Roomrunner, whose no-filler Super Vague showed pitch-perfect slacker irreverence with literal cover art (a black box), a Sub Pop-parodying promo video, and a titanic indie-arena-rock approach rarely taken since Chavez broke up and Foo Fighters went soft.
Speedy Ortiz – Sports 10” EP (Exploding in Sound)
On its debut 10” (!) this Western Massachusetts four-piece — members of Roomrunner's same East Coast flannel-flying society — embraced a gleefully heavy mid-tempo pop-rock sound, with singer-guitarist Sadie Dupuis' clever lyricism and presence giving the songs’ screaming feedback hooks (think Swirlies) and atypical verse-chorus-verse constructs (think Pixies) a kind of intensity you can’t teach.
Grass Widow – Internal Logic LP (HLR)
Three albums in, Grass Widow is still batting a thousand. Internal Logic found the all-female San Francisco trio’s idiosyncratic pop mind-meld — inseparable bass-and-guitar melodies, gauzy harmonies, crafty drumming — sounding more cohesive than ever, like one awesome, half-hour-long song.
Bob Mould – Silver Age LP (Merge)
It’s nice when artists who’ve gone astray remember what they do best. Mould's 2012 hat trick — his published tell-all See A Little Light, Sugar's Copper Blue 20th anniversary tour, and, best of all, Silver Age, his finest album in nearly as long — rewarded fans underwhelmed by his post-Sugar solo work (and baffled by his early-aughts trip thru Auto-Tune hell) for years of patience.
Lee Ranaldo – Between the Times and the Tides LP (Matador)
With this sturdy and forward-thinking collection, Thurston Moore's longtime songwriting foil helped defuse some anxiety about Sonic Youth's uncertain future, revisiting Murray Street and Sonic Nurse's Television-like tones and drawn-out structures while filling the noise chasm with acoustic warmth and psych-rock intrigue.
The Men – Open Your Heart LP (Sacred Bones)
Light on traditional choruses and solos but heavy on meditative guitar jams, the second record in as many years from this un-Googleable Brooklyn quartet touched on the last four decades in rock — reference points include The Buzzcocks, The Replacements, Sonic Youth and Fucked Up — with brains, brawn, good taste, and, indeed, heart.
Metz – Metz LP (Sub Pop)
Heavier than anything Sub Pop’s issued in ages, this Toronto three-piece’s debut is nearly as good for what it is — in-the-red noise-rock channeling Drive Like Jehu, The Jesus Lizard and, on negative, creepy standout “Rats,” yes, Nirvana — as for what it might mean: a return to the label’s loud, proud heyday after too much Fleet Foxes “indie” blahness.
Tame Impala – Lonerism 2xLP (Modular)
Considering the amount of ink spilled on Lonerism already, I’ll just paraphrase a few friends’ first-listen gut reactions: “On something I haven’t heard since ‘Tomorrow Never Knows.’ Damn, son. Who supplies their acid?”
