That's My Dad.

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #1, Purity Ring - Fineshrine

Cut open my sternum and pull my little ribs around you. 

“Transcendence” is the best word in music criticism. Originality, precision or talent are all well and good, but if you’re capable of transcending a culture with art, you will have an attention of the masses. Purity Ring came from a weird place. The Canadian duo emerged from a cavern of genres where experimental electro-pop, southern hip-hop, trap rap and witch-house intertwine in unconventional and off-setting ways.

On their debut LP Shrines, Purity Ring take heaps of sonic ideas, production styles and compositions to build an unusual decoupage which would theoretically take a well-read and, quote-on-quote, intellectual music crowd to appreciate. Anyone exposed to their sound knows all of this gets thrown out the window once one of Shrines’ infectious hooks crawls under your skin. From the chopped and screwed sample styles, lead vocalist Megan James’ adorable timbre and ethereal presentation and scope, Shrines unexpectedly lands on the power to transcend complicated music genres and produce a work of engaging and unanimously lovable proportion.

(Source: Spotify)

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #23, Bat for Lashes - Laura

You’re the train that crashed my heart.

Who writes the rules on sentimentality? Where is the line drawn between a teenage girl crying in her room or a film star slitting their wrists? How can I or anybody else quantify or qualify vulnerability? Often on Bat for Lashes’ “The Haunted Man”, Natasha Khan comes from an age of curiosity where the answer for these questions are urgently needed. Her single “Laura” is a manifesto to such troubles. Khan writes up a story of a legend in her lyrics and places them on a fragile pedestal: like a glass ballerina on a mantelpiece ready to fall. and break into a million little pieces. Vulnerability. “Laura” is a daring emotional piece, one far from Bat for Lashes’ repertoire. From the shakiness of her voice to the audacity of her words, there’s an almost stunning level of disparity in this character study. It’s a level of artistic nakedness that makes you wonder, painfully wonder, who Laura truly is. 

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #38, Grimes - Oblivion

See you on a dark night.

Montreal’s Claire Boucher took the indie-electronic scene by storm with her cutesy lisp and DIY freak-pop aesthetic as Grimes. Her hit single, “Oblivion”, proved Boucher as a kooky charmer with a noteworthy, futuristic and gothy spin on synth-pop which its respective audience have fondly cherished all year and gleefully anticipate more of. 

Purity Ring - Shrines

Gorgeously laced with electro-pop textures, southern rap influenced beat styles and sensuous vocals, Alberta-duo Purity Ring have blessed us this year with their crack-like addictive debut LP, “Shrines”: a fresh and terrifically bold sounding record, easily trumping artists of similar suit (we’re looking at you, Phantogram & Young Magic), making for some of the best electronic music this year. (9/10)

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Beach House - Bloom

If the world of independent music were a diner in the ’50s, Beach House would be it’s own ice cream flavor; orange creme, to be exact. Since their adored 2009 LP “Teen Dream” dazzled listeners, both easy-going and nit-picky, this dream pop duo has undoubtedly taken city and seashore dwellers by storm. Already known their profoundly lush sonic textures and eloquent technical abilities, it comes to no surprise that Beach House didn’t want to change a thing on their latest album: “Bloom”. In fact, Beach House revisits the gorgeous sonic sculpture created on “Teen Dream” and chisels out an extra layer of detail, texture and effect. This remodeling ends up making “Bloom” their most thematic album to date, constructed with punctual compositions and a set of flourishing lyrics to match. These details, while bound with comprehensive traits, are intensely subtle, challenging and hard to wrap your head around, especially to those unfamiliar with Beach House’s sound. Unlike the instant click you’d feel on “Teen Dream”, there is a serious trade-off of patience involved with “Bloom”. From the nautical-sounding opener “Myth” with its glistening guitar tones to the equally heartwarming/breaking “Wild” composed of nostalgic teenage memories, “Bloom” proves to be the most rewarding listening experience of 2012. (8/10)

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Julia Holter - Ekstasis

Read My Full Review On ‘Listen Before You Buy’

[…] So let’s make sense of Julia Holter: an experimental, no, abstract pop artist from Los Angeles. Her second LP, “Ekstasis,” is a determined little bedroom pop record dying to show its guts and craftsmanship. In a style beaming with impromptu efforts constantly justifying its own sloppiness, Holter earns full marks for her diligent service by putting some structure in a spineless genre. It’s this artistic laziness that drives Holter to challenge the conventions in unconventional pop music. […]

(7/10)

Grimes - Visions

With it’s devious synth sounds, bubbling bass effects and bizarre, uncontrollably high-pitched vocals, Grimes’ Visions is the freakiest pop record of this year so far, and I’m loving every second of it. (8/10)

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Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror 

I was never one to deeply analyze Sleigh Bells. They built themselves to be irresistible for the indie scene, and they were. Their debut release “Treats” came out of nowhere and took the indie pop scene by storm in 2009. It’s murderous loudness and juicy pop hooks created polarizing opinions, most in favor of the band. One might construct a deeper meaning in the intentions of this group, but some things are best left enjoyed on face value.

In case you didn’t know, Sleigh Bells is duo Alexis Krauss, former teen pop singer, and Derek Miller, former hardcore guitarist. On their sophomore LP, Reign of Terror, the duo is most notebly out for a new style and, believe it or not, an itch to sound louder than Treats. Sure enough, it was made possible. Just when you thought Sleigh Bells was loud enough to shatter your eardrums, they kick it up another notch.

This is where the pros and cons of this album come from. It’s commendable to see Sleigh Bells go beyond their comfort zone, go for a different artistic and recording style and accomplish their goals in doing so. Specifically, Reign of Terror’s hi-fi recording and arena-sized guitar-based songs are what make this LP feel so fresh. But in all these new changes, what was the opportunity cost? Simple. Where Sleigh Bells became louder, they became less interesting; far less interesting, less entertaining, less immediate, less poppy, less exciting. Listening to a track on Treats gives the same joy as striking a match does: the friction of two forces dying to get set ablaze into something powerful. With Reign of Terror, I feel like I’ve been given a bite stick made of pure metal and am forced to sit through 36 minutes of an album. 

It’s a shame to see an exciting group do the right thing as artists but fall short in their results. Reign of Terror is not worth anyone’s time, but Sleigh Bells will be around. Here’s hoping for them to us with album No. 3. 

This album was my drunk and racist grandmother. (4/10)

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