Little Earthquakes: The Best Music of 2012

Greetings, one and all!  Your vaunted Sunshine has returned from a long stretch in the cold to recap another year in music,  thanks to the clamoring entreaties of my one remaining reader. (This one's for you, Noon!) It was a rough year, in many respects -- my work week continued its gluttonous growth, trudging close to 80 some weeks from its previously quaint 60, while the nation dealt with a bludgeoning political campaign, a continually failing global economy, and endlessly enjoyable discussions about the fiscal cliff.  There was a sense of shellshock that developed from it all -- you didn't really deal with any of it, so much as grit your teeth and hope eventually the mortars stopped falling.  That pervasive sense of caution translated to the music world, as well, as everyone seemed to just stand there looking at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. There were no monster albums this year from the biggest bands -- apparently even the juggernauts were afraid to leave their foxholes -- but that absence cleared the battlefield for some gutsy upstarts to shine and their exploits to inspire the rest of the troops.

So while you might recognize some of the folks on here (including almost all of the top five), I think you'll find a lot of new faces in the crowd to get to know, and hopefully will enjoy discovering them as much as I did. Going back through the year like this has become something of an annual ritual for me, and doing so from year to year starts to feel like a trip home for the holidays -- a little predictable in terms of who will show up, though hopefully with a few new surprises thrown in to keep it exciting.  As a result, for some of these bands there's just not a ton new to say about them -- if they've showed up here before (and/or landed in the top five multiple times) you already know all I can think of to say bout them.  The good news if you keep seeing them, though, is that it means they continue to put out outstanding music for us to enjoy -- music that consumed my (y)ear, heart, and mind and hopefully did the same for you.  So in an effort to reward that continuity (and my exceedingly scarce free time, as evidenced by this, my sole post for the entire year), I'll keep my comments for those old-timers brief, unless absolutely necessary, and spend my time chatting up the newcomers, just like at that holiday party.  So tip your glasses of nog to the return of some dear old friends, and spend a moment getting to know some strangers -- I think you'll like what they have to offer.  Happy new year, my friends...

1. The Walkmen -- Heaven: Marking their third straight appearance in the top five the last five years and their highest finish to date (#4 in 2008 and #3 in 2010), this is the first time they've ever sat atop the list, an achievement that is well warranted once you put this one on to play. If you consider where this band has come from and where they're at now, they're almost unrecognizable -- the drunken, shambling sound of their classic "Bow and Arrows" and other early work contrasts starkly with the smooth, self-assured, almost lounge-y vibe of their current work.  What makes these guys so amazing, though, is how they've incorporated and sharpened those early elements -- the dark, nervous moodiness, lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's soaring vocals, the killer guitar work and drumming -- into their new sound and added to it, shifting effortlessly between the styles from song to song. (Or verse to verse, in some cases.)  Songs like "Heartbreaker," "Nightingales," and "The Love you Love" all sound like vintage early works while equally killer tracks "Love is Luck," "Dreamboat," and the title track all showcase their newfound strengths.  In between are a slew of beautiful, moody hybrids that dance the lines connecting the two eras without ever missing a beat.  (Two personal favorites being "The Witch" and "Line by Line," which somehow sound even better when performed live.) Simply put, this is a perfect album from start to finish and the culmination of the band's work to date.

2.(TIE) The Features -- Wilderness; Silversun Pickups -- Neck of the Woods: Splitting the slot for this year's best reason to crank the volume and belt out the jams come two more old favorites from opposite sides of the country, Tennessee's Features and LA's Silversuns. The Features haven't been heard from since 2009 (they landed at #8 on that year's list), but it seems the time off has done them well as they drop a peach of an album on us, one that perfects their formula from earlier offerings and leaves us wanting more. Still present are drummer Rollum Haas' dervish-like percussion, vocalist Matt Pelham's otherworldy yowls (one of the great rock voices going today, known or not), and more of the band's trademark killer choruses, which will have you belting out the words right alongside them. Songs like "Golden Comb" and the monster triple play of "Big Mama Gonna Whip us Good," "How it Starts," and "Rambo" (a song I nearly blew out my voice and/or speakers on too many times to remember this year) show this band at its finest -- monster hooks, catchy melodies, tons of fun. (And great live, too -- we saw them in a room the size of my living room with maybe 30 other people and it was probably the best show I caught this year. Check em out next time around...)

Moving to the west coast, while the Features may shy more towards the pop end of things, the Silversuns are all about Pumpkins-style rock and they deliver their best disc to date, a top to bottom jam filled with fuzzed up guitars and absolutely bludgeoning drums.  Surprisingly this is the first time these guys have officially made the list (despite me wearing their previous two albums out from repeated listening), but they more than earn it with this album as there isn't a bad song to be found.  Songs like lead single "Bloody Mary," "Simmer," "The Pit," and the gonzo closer "Out of Breath" (which also nearly destroyed my stereo/eardrums multiple times this year) all shred, mixing the band's volatile batch of echoey vocals, a wall of guitars, and a thudding rhythm section.  Drummer Christoper Guanlao remains one of the most underrated drummers out there, and like The Kills' Jamie Hince, while he might not be doing anything that's technically all that difficult (and if I can play his stuff, I'm assuming that's true), the amount of raw emotion he gets out of his instrument is enough to make you kick over your chair and start banging on the tabletop. (Check out his freakout three minutes into "Make Believe" or midway through "Busy Bees" for two examples.) These guys continue to punch WAY above their weight and keep your inner rocker alive and kickin'.

3. Grizzly Bear -- Shields: This was the surprise of the year for me. Discovered on a lark -- I picked it up based solely on their hilarious interactions with Stephen Colbert and their subsequent brief performance on his show -- this one continued to work its way further into my brain with each listen and hasn't gone anywhere since. The Brooklyn band's third offering, this one is easily their best to date -- chock full of beautiful melodies, sing-along harmonies, and all-around stellar songs -- but that is not to say this is an easy album to delve into.  The band remains an experimental, non-traditional outfit, weaving an intricate web of skittish, jazzy rhythms, rich harmonies, and moody reverb into songs that are the equivalent of Russian nesting dolls -- ornate, precious affairs that take time to reveal their full beauty.
Lead singer Edward Droste's gossamer vocals are what take you inside, as his lovely harmonies help you penetrate the songs' outer layers.  On tracks like the opener "Sleeping Ute," with its knotty guitar parts and mountain of sounds, or "The Hunt," a hushed, moody affair that throbs like an aching nerve, Droste helps cut through the fog and get through what might otherwise seem opaque.  On more straight-forward tracks like "Yet Again" or "A Simple Answer," you just latch onto his voice and sing along, savoring every note of the lush melodies.  It really is a remarkable album -- even now I struggle with how to truly describe its myriad effects and facets -- but one that is well worth the effort. Beautiful, beguiling, and brilliant, this was my favorite discovery of the year.

4.The Raveonettes -- Observator: Yet another old-timer, these guys settle in two spots below their previous appearance (#2 in 2011) through no fault of their own -- this one's another clutch collection of angelic vocals, walls of wildly distorted guitars, and simple, primal drums, one that's something of a return to form for them. (They largely jettison the keyboards of last year's "Raven in the Grave" and get back to the basics of earlier works, all swirling guitars, black atmosphere, and loud-quiet-loud dynamics.)  Songs like "Observations" and lead single "She Owns the Streets" show the band at its best and highlight both how good, and how understated, a guitar player Sune Rose Wagner is (a point driven home live, as he suddenly and effortlessly throws off blistering runs on the guitar without the slightest bit of animation) while songs like "The Enemy" and "Young and Cold" highlight their other strength, how beautifully Wagner and bassist/vocalist Sharin Foo's voices can harmonize to otherwise fill that space.  Another great album from yet another band that quietly goes about
its business and slays.

5. Andrew Bird -- Break it Yourself/Hands of Glory: The fourth repeat offender in our top five, fellow Chicagoan Bird is back for the first time since 2009 (the lovely "Noble Beast," which came in at #5 that year) with both a stellar studio album and an equally solid EP that serves as a companion piece to those sessions.  Not much has changed from what I wrote in '09 -- Bird delivers "another album laden with hyper-literate lyrics, pitch-perfect whistles, heart-breaking melodies, and a violin used in more ways than duct tape" -- but what's new is revelatory.  There's the Irish-Caribbean fusion of "Danse Caribe;" the building eruption of lead single "Eyeoneye;" the folksy, country vibe that creeps into "Orpheo Looks Back" and most of the EP. They take what Bird does so well and builds upon it, showing his continued growth as an artist and an expansion of his truly unique sound. Even "traditional" Bird songs continue to wow -- from the sultry, lovely "Lazy Projector" to the heartbreakingly beautiful "Fatal Shore" (Which remains my favorite song of the year), Bird demonstrates his considerable talents and his ability to shapeshift from one genre/instrument/mood to the next without sacrificing a thing. He remains one musician I'll follow wherever he roams...

6. (TIE) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis -- The Heist: Kanye West presents Good Music -- Cruel Summer: This one's for the hip hoppers, and that means if Kanye's got an album out you'll likely find him here, as he continues his ridiculous streak of creativity and quality, keeping him head and tails above the rest of his field and landing him on the list for the third year in a row. (And the fourth in the last five.) But before we get to Kanye's latest triumph, we'll start with an unlikely gem from an unlikely source -- a near-flawless debut from a white boy from the mean streets of....Seattle? Showing that truth can be stranger than fiction  (and more than beards, coffee, and killer indie rock can come from the Northwest) comes Macklemore's fantastic blast of an album, an at times overly earnest affair that grapples with everything from homosexuality, substance abuse and recovery, religion, alcoholism, and riches to more laidback fare as thrift stores, Nikes, and pimped out Cadillacs.

Macklemore's flow is similar to Kid Cudi's, laidback as a lounge chair in summertime, but lyrically they're as different as night and day.  Cudi's known for his stoner vibe and spaced out (and at times angry) moods while this album bristles with social consciousness and optimism. (At times to a fault.) The first six tracks on the album are fantastic -- Lewis' beats are crisp and infectious (particularly on lead single "Thrift Store" and the party jam "Can't Hold Us,") Macklemore's lyrics are sharp and socially driven (absolute gems "Same Love," "Thin Line," and "Make the Money") and they're all buttressed with some killer choruses (and surprisingly beautiful melodies) that'll have you singing long after the first couple listens.  (There's also some quietly funny lines feathered in, as with "Thrift Store's" reference to R Kelly's housewares, one of the funniest lines of the year.) At eighteen songs the album could have lost a bit of fluff and been perfect (clunkers like "Castle," "Cowboy Boots," and the instrumental "BomBom" could disappear without incident), and occasionally he wears his heart a bit too much on the sleeve, but when someone's going for it as unabashedly as Macklemore is here -- and when the rest of the songs are SO damned good -- you're willing to  cut him a bit of slack. For as he says on his ode to relentlessly improving yourself and your craft on the album opener "Ten Thousand Hours," 'raw unmitigated heart -- no substitute. Bangin' on tabletops -- no substitute.' I'll take that any day over the jaded, guarded artifice and manufactured bullshit clogging the rest of the scene today. (Next up, American X Factor: with Adam Levine and THE CEE-LO GREEN!) Indeed.

As for the seemingly annual appearance of my hometown homeboy Yeezy, this time he rolls in with an entire entourage and drops an unabashed monster of a party album on us, after months and months of waiting.  (Cruel Summer essentially became Happy Thanksgiving by the time this one was finally released.) Thankfully, the release date appears to be the only thing that slipped as the quality here is sterling and the album is overflowing with riches.  You already knew from the first four singles released prior to the album that you were in for a treat -- the giant singles "Clique," "Mercy," "Cold," and "New God Flow," which came loaded with appearances from 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Pusha T (who remains the best rapper of the last five years, easily) and some killer, crafty verses by Yeezy himself. (His verse in "Clique" is classic, gonzo Kanye, which includes a single train of thought moving from former CIA director George Tenet discussing cars to mentions of Spike Lee and race, Tom Cruise as a neighbor, Bar Rafaeli, Giselle, Italy, his mother, and God.)

That doesn't even scratch the surface, though -- on the remainder of the album come appearances by fellow Chicagoan Common, Raekwon, and Kid Cudi (on "The Morning"), John Legend (on "Sin City" and "Bliss"), R Kelly (the excellent opener "To the World," which sports one of the best lines to shout along with of the year -- "Bitch, I'm Rick James tonight!"), and the return of former Bad Boy Ma$e (whose appearance on "Higher" takes an already irresistible song to the next level once you realize who's back behind the mic).  Hell, even the bounty of riches on "New God Flow" -- which already sported one of the best beats on the album and a killer gang of MCs -- wasn't enough for Kanye who added a searing verse by Ghostface Killah after the single had already been released.  As I've said so many times before, Kanye remains the most ruthlessly creative guy out there right now, one constantly taking chances trying to top himself or perfect his craft.  And this album is no different, even if it is viewed is a vacation from his normal work.  An arrogant egomaniac or not, he simply continues to make some of the best music available.

7. Regina Spektor -- What we Saw from the Cheap Seats: Like listmate Andrew Bird, Spektor's another old friend we haven't seen since 2009 when she dropped the top five finishing "Far" on us (it finished #3), but find upon her return that not much has changed -- she's come back "with another free-spirited beauty, full of songs of heartbreak, love, and loss belted from the piano bench with a wink and a grin," this time feathering in French, Italian, and Russian to the proceedings along with another vibrant cast of characters.  Spektor, like Bird, remains something of a chameleon (or an enfant terrible), relentlessly reconfiguring the elements around her just to see what will happen -- whether it's sonically (gasping for air in "Open" or mouth drumming in lead single "All the Rowboats"), linguistically (moving among the aforementioned tongues in "Don't Leave Me," "Oh Marcello," or bonus tracks "The Prayer of Francois Villon" and "Old Jacket"), or tonally (moving from the dark beauty of "Firewood" to the bouncy "Patron Saint" or lilting "Jessica") her albums cover a tremendous amount of terrain and form an incredibly rich tapestry.  As with Bird, there aren't many out there like her willing to take so many chances and continue to push the boundaries of their sound forward.  Yet another treat from an artist who can make you smile, cry, or soar depending on the song.

8. (TIE) Tennis -- Young & Old; Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes -- Baby Caught the Bus; Alabama Shakes -- Boys & Girls: This slot's for the throwbacks, the titles that took us back to simpler times and the music that formed their soundtracks -- sixties-style girl pop for Tennis, Stax-era soul for Clairy and the Shakes.  For Tennis' sophomore effort, the husband and wife twosome sharpens the lilting melodies and island guitars of their debut and add a more muscular, fuzzed out rhythm section, which is not altogether surprising considering Black Keys cans man Pat Carney served as album producer.  The enhancement is subtle, but significant -- like putting contact lenses on after years of squinting at street signs. What at times sounded washed out and feathery on their debut sounds fuller and more arresting on their follow-up. From the opener "It all Feels the Same" to gems like "Petition" and the lead single "Origins," each track has that little added oomph that takes the album over the top. If all it took was a little heftier drumming for these guys to really find their groove, let's hope for some more retro magic to come.

If Tennis owe Pat Carney a debt of gratitude for their success, then Clairy and her Rackettes owe Heineken an even larger thank you -- as do I, actually.  For without their relentlessly played commercial over the summer I probably never would have discovered this lass from down under and her merry band of soul slingers. Technically released late last year in Australia, it wasn't until the ads came out this year that the album got any airtime here. And thankfully it did -- for what's inside is a great set of smoldering soul songs.  From the buoyant title track and the blistering lead single from the ad to slower songs like "Vicious Cycle," "Aeroplane," and "She Plays up to You," Browne's enormous voice fills each of the songs with redolant emotion, warming each note with smoky heat like a mug full of mulled wine. They may not be breaking any new terrain here, but if all the originals sounded this good, we wouldn't need em to.

And speaking of homage, the Shakes are mining similar Stax/Volt territory as Clairy (and so many others before them) --  they sport a similarly sultry, soulful lead singer (that of 22-year-old Brittany Howard), have the warm, swinging rhythm section of old, and sing the requisite songs of love and loss, but add a little country-fried twist to the recipe that makes their debut something special.  Part of the allure is Howard's voice, which is massive, unbridled emotion at times -- on tracks like "I Found You," "Be Mine," and "Heartbreaker," she rails and wails like a woman thirty years her senior.  On other tracks she's more subdued, like "You Ain't Alone" and the title track, which are more classic torch songs, and still others, like the lead single "Hold On" or the twangy "Hang Loose," she's the ringleader for the party. The band clearly feeds off of her cues, stepping up or down their attack as every good backing band should, and what they've collectively given us here is nothing short of a fantastic debut.  Keep your eyes on these guys moving forward.

9. (TIE) Alex Clare -- The Lateness of the Hour; Miike Snow -- Happy to You; Django Django -- Django Django:  In a year that lacked any solid offerings from electro's giants -- Guetta's was underwhelming and Deadmau5's was a dud, for two examples -- we were left to find our groove from some of the genre's up and comers.  And while none of these are the traditional club-banger, get up and dance type albums I love (and we so sorely needed this year), they wield portions of electro's armory well, from dubstep to pop and trip hop. British songwriter Alex Clare is the one harnessing dubstep's weapons and instead of focusing solely on that style's bottom-rattling bass lines and wonky sounds of mechanical carnage, he melds them with great little love songs.

An unusual pairing, to be sure -- at least on paper -- but Clare pulls it off effortlessly and makes you reconsider dubstep's longer-term potential. Instead of being a gimmicky, albeit at times undeniable, subgenre tossing out mind-melting, "holy shit, what the hell WAS that" sound effects that trigger something in our primal brains and make you gnash your teeth whether you're on the dancefloor or aisle 6 of the grocery store, Clare shows that those rough and rugged elements provide the perfect backbone to sweet, heartfelt lyrics/melodies that might otherwise sound corny or weak if left to stand on their own.  Songs like "Treading Water," "Relax my Beloved," "Tight Rope," and "Humming Bird" all are perfect examples with Clare's delicate voice and simple, unguarded lyrics bouncing off the weightier dubstep elements to really ring true, and the formula even works on the album's more revved up songs, like "Up all Night" and the lead single "Too Close." (Which owes to Honda what Clairy Browne does to Heineken.) An excellent debut, this one really has me excited for what Clare has for us next.

Stepping into the fray with the more traditional glitz pop elements of electro is the Swedish trio Miike Snow, who fulfill the high hopes of their eponymous debut with this sophomore effort. The trio continues to team up with Yankee vocalist Andrew Wyatt, whose tinsel-thin vocals glide across the pristine melodies, which again come with a disquieting sense of foreboding bubbling under the surface.  Whether the lyrics seem to warrant it or not (as on tracks like "God Help this Divorce" or "Black Tin Box") there's an element of darkness smoldering in each of the tracks, which provides a perfect counterpoint to Wyatt's ethereal vocals.  From the opener "Enter the Jokers Lair" to killer tracks like "Vase" and "Paddling Out," there's a jittery sense of danger conveyed that provides weight to the proceedings and really grabs your ear.  Mix these in with the more upbeat, sunny sounding tracks like "The Wave," "Pretender," and "Bavarian #1 (Say you Will)" and you've got quite a solid album -- two in a row for these Swedish scientists.  Let's hope for the hat trick soon.

Finally comes the debut from the oddly named Django Django, who provide an equally odd, experimental album that sounds like the latest offering from the much-missed Beta Band or some lost treasure pulled from their vaults. The similarities are certainly there -- quirky and weird sonically, but often irresistible (as on the lead single "Default," which fries your brain a minute and a half in with its stuttery, staccato chorus); spare, ethereal rhythms married to lovely two- or three-part harmonies (as on spacy winners like "Firewater" and "Love's Dart"); all from a Scottish quartet that sounds like no other band out there. (Well, minus one.)  Hell, their drummer is even the kid brother of one of Beta's members.  And it wasn't until I listened to this album that I realized how much I missed Beta Band and how unique their sound really is.

It doesn't necessarily go down easy on first listen because it is so jarringly different; it defies description or neat categorization. (I challenge anyone to try and explain their sound without using the Beta Band -- it's damned near impossible without that comparison, and even moreso if your target has no idea who the hell the Betas are, which is unfortunately more than likely.)  The songs are non-linear, lyrically can be non-sensical, and superficially can be clinical and cool.  But the more you listen to them and delve beneath the surface, the more you're treated to the magic of their sound -- there's the tribal rhythms to get you tapping along, the beautiful harmonies to grab your ear, and the vocal layering that bring it all together. (As at the end of "Waveforms," which culminates with a killer chorus in the round, or "Wor," which builds its surfer guitar groove to explosion several times in its four and a half minute length.)  This is experimental music at its best -- edgy without being inaccessible, risky without being profligate.  In a word -- fucking COOL.

10. (TIE) Grouplove -- Never Trust a Happy Song; Harlem Shakes -- Technicolor Health: Following on the thematic heels of the previous couple slots (rap, retro, electro...), this one belongs to unabashed optimism, and while the title of the first band's album might tell you to never trust a happy song, I'd implore you to trust a happy slot as these two albums were turned to numerous times this year for a dose of sonic sunshine.  Grouplove -- an apt handle for an LA-based band whose NY-born members began playing together in Greece and whose sound is a pastiche of folk, pop, new wave, and indie -- deliver an infectious batch of winners on their debut, melding two- or three-part harmonies, belt it to the rafters-style choruses, and a delirious array of handclaps, tambourine slaps, and primal wails before it's through. From album opener "Itchin' on a Photograph" to lead single "Tongue Tied" and "Spun," this album is bursting with heart, joy, and energy (at times it borders on giddiness) and is so convincing and sincere you can't help but be swept away with it. Slower songs like "Cruel and Beautiful World" and "Loving Cup" shine as well and will have you singing along with their big, warm cores. In a year that was as bludgeoning as this one felt at times, we needed an album that was as unbridled and unflinchingly happy as this one to turn to.

Same goes for this slot's other debut, the Shakes' introduction from clear across the country -- a mix of dancy new wave synths and indie guitars from the Brooklyn-based foursome. While Grouplove's sunshine was derived from its giddy mix of everything but the kitchen sink, the Shakes' comes primarily from its pop shine and lyrics, but to equal effect.  From tracks like "Niagara Falls" and "Sunlight," winning odes to their titular subjects, or opener "Nothing but Change, Pt. 2," lead singer Lexy Benaim will have you singing along with his thin-throated voice and feeling the frost thaw on your shoulders.  Subsequent tracks like "Strictly Game" and "TFO" will hammer this home with their ebullient, optimistic choruses. (It's pretty tough to question sunshine so seemingly certain when you're singing "this will be a better year" or "we've got time to make some time" like a mantra.)  The fact that this album actually came out in 2009 doesn't matter -- I discovered it this year, so it counts (take THAT, rules!) -- and it shouldn't to you, either.  If you're looking for a sunny batch of songs to sing along to, the Shakes have got your number.