Best of 2012: Albums

I'm not sure if it has more to do with the way I've consumed music over the past year but there haven't been nearly as many stand out albums this year than in past years. There were a ton of artists who released great songs but very few albums that I listened to from start to finish multiple times. After writing mini-reviews for about half of the albums I found to be much more monotonous than in previous years. So presented without justification or hyperbole, here are my 10 favorite albums from 2012.


10) The Life And Times - No One Loves You Like I Do

9) Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile

8) Beach House - Bloom

7) Menomena - Moms

6) Tanlines - Mixed Emotions

5) Sea Wolf - Old World Romance

4) Geographer - Myth

3) Zeus - Busting Visions

2) Grizzly Bear - Shields

1) Twin Shadow - Confess

During my first listen to Confess shortly after it was released in July, I was pretty sure it was going to be my favorite record of the year. The entire album has a very specific and unique sound yet each song can stand on its own. As mark of most of my favorite albums, my favorite track has changed several times during my many listens but sums of its parts have stayed uniformly excellent.


Honorable Mention:

Chad Valley - Young Hunger
Deftones - Koi No Yokan

Electric Guest - Mondo
Father John Misty - Fear Fun
Grimes - Visions
Porcelain Raft - Strange Weekend

Vacationer - Gone
The Weeknd - Trilogy

Yellow Ostrich - Strange Land
The 1975 - Sex EP/Facedown EP