That's My Dad.

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #8, Frank Ocean - Forrest Gump

My fingertips and my lips, they burn from this cigarette. 

It’s official. “Channel Orange” won it all this year. Taking over the Grammy’s, the R&B scene, along with the hearts of youngsters and critics alike, Frank Ocean is dealing with a bonafide success for the ages. Keeping true to the core basics of classic storytelling in song-writing, Ocean cultivated his crown jewel LP with old tradition in an age where everyone else tried to reinvent the wheel. Among many beloved tracks, “Forrest Gump” was my stand-out choice for its minimalist structure, high-concept theme and stunning charisma: a musical dynamic dozens of artists long for in their entire careers, Ocean creates in three minutes. 

(Source: Spotify)

Bat for Lashes - The Haunted Man

U.K. indie pop queen Natasha Khan returns as Bat for Lashes with an emotionally stunning 3rd LP, “The Haunted Man”: a breath-taking baroque pop record sculpted from some of the most mature, detailed and innovative musicianship and dramatic potency we’ve heard from Khan as well any other poet this year. (8/10) 

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Top 50 Songs of 2012: #12, AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It

Some people want me to be heads or tails. 

Thank god for Aluna Francis and George Reid to remind us how catchy UK pop is this year. While the craving for dance-worthy British music has gone dry in recent times, there’s always the lone few projects ready to breathe life back into a fading scene. With some of the grooviest ear-worm hooks and vogue-esque, glossy beats, “You Know You Like It” easily lands the best electronic/pop single for 2012 on both sides of the pond.

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #18, Tame Impala - Mind Mischief

Feels like my life is ready to blow.

Within the first minute of listening to Tame Impala’s “Lonerism”, my jaw was on the floor and my pupils probably dilated. “Holy shit, t-t-this sounds exactly like The B-B-Beatles,” I muttered to myself throughout my entire first listen. Repeated listens came along and the joy was still there. Not in a gimmicky sense where Tame Impala’s talents were just their sonic semblances, but how fresh-sounding their compositions were. Imitating ideas and styles of a classic era may corner an artist into a tight, bland spot, but “Mind Mischief” is pure evidence there’re always new punches ready to be packed.

(Source: Spotify)

Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream

Frank Ocean isn’t the only R&B poet worth your attention this year. Enter “Kaleidoscope Dream”: the sexual, dazzling and zealous sophomore LP of soul singer/songwriter Miguel. After an impressive artistic renovation, Miguel comes at the top of his vocal and lyrical game. Whether its the immaculately potent opener “Adorn”, his dreamy psychedelic title track “Kaleidoscope Dream”, the existentially eloquent Alicia Keys collab “Where’s the Fun in Forever” or his most authentic moments on the intimate yet boyish “Do You…” and “Pussy Is Mine”; Miguel keeps his material definitively fresh and wholly consistent. Along with an earnest level of musicianship effort following suit, “Kaleidoscope Dream” earns a well-deserved reputation with a modest yet mature artistic approach for a timeless sounding record. (8/10)

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Top 50 Songs of 2012: #20, Young Magic - Sparkly

Take my name plate, it screams for you. 

The first time I listened to “Sparkly”, I felt like I just discovered my best friend was a belly dancer. I can hear my heart thumping as I hear dozens of dancers with bangles on their ankles crash against each other as they pound the floor. Soaring vocal samples and hypnotic lyrics, it’s like a blanket of sound wrapping around you to bring a faded coziness. Brooklyn’s Young Magic bring along a bundle of fresh sonic textures to often conventional psychedelic and electronic music, but there’s a slick payoff to be found here. An element of familiarity dipped in exotic marvel: your best friend, a belly dancer. 

(Source: Spotify)

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #36, Beach House - Wild

Our father won’t come home, cause he is seeing double. 

Indie dream-pop darlings Beach House made a profound and delicately chiseled spot on their 4th album: “Bloom”. Without a doubt, “Bloom” landed on many listener’s ‘Album of the Year’ spot, the stand-out track was “Wild”: a timid and melodramatic narrative of fractured teenagers coping with broken relationships ubiquitous to them. Not only does it come decked with soothing breathy vocals and hypnotizing guitar tones, but uses its ingredients to produce a catchy and emotionally haunting summation of Beach House’s entire style. 

Animal Collective - Centipede Hz

“Centipede Hz” never plays the same way twice. I don’t mean that in a “pick up on new and different qualities upon each rotation”, I mean you’ll be bombarded with so much content, you won’t remember it by the time it starts over. Which in a sense, is an achievement a la Animal Collective fashion. Never does the psychedelic freak pop quartet progress a step forward or back from past records, they somehow manage to defy gravity and side-step to the wall and start running around the room. So “Centipede Hz” shouldn’t come off as a total surprise, with its abrasive, nightmarishly challenging, over-modulated yet drab sonic experimentations. Worshipers and casual fans alike, be warned: ‘Centipede’ is certainly one of Animal Collective’s least rewarding experiences, with little to none repeat value and heaps of un-cathartic headaches ready to be had. (6/10)

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Jessie Ware - Devotion

Sexy, dreamily mature and pure in sophistication, latest rise-to-fame contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Jessie Ware hits the underground UK pop scene with a satisfying slow-burner debut record, “Devotion”: an alluring work of love more enticing than Janet Jackson, smarter than Lana Del Ray and as emotionally effective as James Blake. (8/10)

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Real Estate - Days

Like the sonic equivalent of taking a drive on a sunny, inviting morning where serenity bleeds in every corner yet an unshakable tinge of self-loathing, disappointment and sadness constantly combats everything beautiful around you. The result is a topical, realistically delighting and unforgettably charming lo-fi indie surf-pop record intended to gratify listeners in the quiet, intimate sanctity of their psyche. (8/10)

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Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan 

It might be far from realizing its own ideas, farther away from establishing motives or artistic direction properly and farthest away from “Bitte Orca”, their 2009 avant-garde magnum opus, but Dirty Projectors’ “Swing Lo Magellan” comes still intact with front-man David Longstreth’s trademark complex melodies and compositions, the album’s ultimate saving grace. If you can forego the record’s anticipatory hype along with the heart-breaking lack of female vocalist Angel Deradoorian, “Swing Lo Magellan” plays out decently in the world of experimental art-pop, decently enough to not get thrown in the bin. (7/10)  

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Dr. John - Locked Down

In this day, being a revival artist in the arena is menacingly challenging when old time veterans like Dr. John are still here ready to kick your ass. At age 71, New Orleans native Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr. (a.k.a. Dr. John) returns with his latest LP, “Locked Down”: a world-weary, indignant and dark album colored in with kick-ass funk, blues and R&B textures.

It always seems like influential artists of the past own an exclusive rite of way to critical acclaim. It’s a staple of music criticism, but also a factor that gets scrutinized by youngsters. While a marginal slice of young listeners pay homage to classic musicians, it’s understandable, to a degree, why they wouldn’t be interested in listening to Willie Nelson’s new album or the 900th Bob Dylan Greatest Hits reissue. In perspective, this notion makes “Locked Down” even sweeter; despite decades of reputation, this thing makes no sacrifices and rocks hard. Dr. John understands the dynamic of his seniority, making adjustments to better suit his age without sacrificing quality. The doctor does this with help of Black Keys frontman and guitarist Dan Auerbach, who makes this album a gem with stellar production efforts sprinkled with some guitar and back-up vocal work.

From the killer brass jams on “Revolution” to the gritty and aged blues theme song “Big Shot”, “Locked Down” is a consistent album loaded with engrossing lyricism slathered with classic New Orleans styled blues-gone-funk grooves served with a modern punch to knock you out, whether you care for past generations of music or not. (9/10)

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Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship

While Here We Go Magic’s “A Different Ship” works as a polished piece of quasi-ambient rock with the help of Radiohead’s producer Nigel Godrich, this band’s 3rd LP suffers from being “middle of the road”; not pulling any punches, offering any audibly interesting content and lacking in solidified ideas making “A Different Ship” all too easy to forget. (7/10)

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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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Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

With its razor sharp level of emotional control and silky smooth sonic production, Spiritualized’s 7th LP “Sweet Heart Sweet Light” succeeds not only in creating a set of brilliant, catchy tunes, but also as one of the most determined, developed pieces of audio art seen in quite some time. There was no moment of revelation. Nor was there a taint of favoritism. It was a clear cut critical evaluation: “Sweet Heart Sweet Light” is the best indie rock release of 2012. (10/10)

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