Category: Uncategorized

20. Taylor Swift – Red

If the U2-esque rock of “State of Grace” or the schizophrenic electro-bounce of “I Knew You Were Trouble” weren’t enough indication, we’re not in Kansas anymore: At 22, Taylor Swift is out of Rapunzel’s tower and into an inner-city apartment. She still falls deep in love, but she’s significantly smarter about it than before – and, for once, she’s sick of playing the victim. The “indie record” that Tay’s jilted lover clings to in “We Are Never Ever…” may indeed be “cooler” than hers, but if Red proves anything, in no way does that make it better.

THREE TOP TRACKS: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, State of Grace, The Last Time.

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19. Death Grips – The Money Store

No-one did terrifying quite like Death Grips in 2012. Across two LPs, they brought their knife-edge headrush down upon an unsuspecting public, delivering violent and decidedly ugly rave-minded tunes that took in so much that they were essentially unclassifiable. While No Love Deep Web brought all the dick-slinging attention, it was their effort from the first half of the year that stood as the greater of the two. A dizzying, aggressive opus from the dark alleyways of hip-hop, ferocious MC Ride spat venom, vile and vitriol across clattering beats and quivering, quaking synth buzz. Not for the faint-hearted.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Hacker, I’ve Seen Footage, The Fever (Aye Aye).

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18. Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra – Theatre is Evil

Over an hour’s worth of material made it to Amanda Palmer’s first studio album in four years – but, before you start groaning, here’s the kicker: Not only is an overwhelming majority of the album salvageable, much of it also ranks among the best songs that Palmer has ever put her name to. Whether it’s the reckless abandon of “Do It with a Rockstar,” the playful dark-pop of “Melody Dean” or the anguished balladry of “The Bed Song,” Palmer provided fans old and new with a varied, masterful record. None do it quite like her.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Want It Back, Do It with a Rockstar, The Bed Song.

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17. The Smith Street Band – Sunshine and Technology

Within the first thirty seconds of the album’s title track, Wil Wagner has pulled the rabbit out of the hat, torn away the Wizard of Oz’s curtain and pegged a rock through the stained-glass window of his local church. Sunshine and Techology is a record of raw-nerve honesty, heart-on-sleeve sincerity and songs that are as stirring as they are provocative. It’s hard to decide on which is more exciting: The fact that the Smithies hold the future of Australian rock in their hands; or the fact that, for all of Sunshine‘s excellence, the best is still to come.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Young Drunks, Sunshine and Technology, I Want Friends.

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16. Silversun Pickups – Neck of the Woods

Things take a turn for the grandiose on SSPU’s third studio album – not one track falls below the four-minutes-forty mark, leaving plenty of room for songs to bubble, boil, detour, crash and rebuild. In that regard, it’s safe to say that Woods is the most sonically adventurous record the band have done thus far: the drums pulse, roll and click accordingly with the churning bass, keyboard buzz and Brian Aubert’s heavens-high vocal range. Meticulously crafted and sharply, inventively delivered, there’s a lot to take in with Neck of the Woods. Still, it means there’s even more to get out of it.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Pit, Skin Graph, Busy Bees.

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15. Something for Kate – Leave Your Soul to Science

As each year without a new Something for Kate album passed, fears for the worst began to set in. Oh, but with what grandeur they were swept aside: Not only did SfK return to formation, they put out their best record in over a decade. Leave Your Soul to Science traversed prior achievements with the band’s cohesive dynamics and brainy songwriting; adapting and shifting into new ideas, contexts and ambitious sounds. At once warmly intimate and confessional as well as outward and expansive, few bands in 2012 provided as interesting and enlightening a listening experience as these returning giants. Wonderful.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Eureka, Survival Expert, Miracle Cure.

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14. Jonathan Boulet – We Keep the Beat, Found the Sound,
See the Need, Start the Heart

If you want to spot the difference between Jonathan Boulet’s 2009 debut and its lavishly-titled follow-up, look at the promo pictures. 2009 was a ruffle-haired, clean-cut kid, chilling by the pool in plaid. Now, the smile has been wiped clean, a beard has grown down to his chest and the motherfucker is dressed for business. Throwing everything and anything at the album, from pan-pipes to monk chants, this reckless pop abandon liked its drums with miltary precision and tribal rhythms; as well as its vocals doubled, tripled and even octupled. A wild adventure in sound, from one of the smartest young men doing it.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Keep Away You Feral Son of a Bitch, Trounce, FM AM CB TV.

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13. Bob Dylan – Tempest

Dylan cared little for his naysayers early on in his career, parodying them on 1962’s “Talkin’ New York” and mocking them amidst folk furor and cries of “Judas” in his electric period. So what, then, would make you think he cares now? Yes, his voice is shot to absolute shit – since when was that his selling point, anyway? If anything, the barely-there blues muttering and guttural rumble of his vocals makes Tempest even better – a sinister stroll through hard times, rewritten history and men of the worst sort. Every modern Dylan album is an event, but Tempest may be his best in decades.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Pay in Blood, Duquesne Whistle, Narrow Way.

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12. Jamie Hay – King of the Sun

Across several bands and as many releases, Jamie Hay has positioned himself as a figurehead of workman-like melodic punk-flavoured rock, replete with open-book honesty and an omnipresent vulnerability. Listening to this solo effort – with a few friends roped in for good measure – strips back Hay’s normally-amplified songwriting efforts to reveal the sum of its parts. The lyrics, in particular, resonate deeply; their detail and their conviction hitting severely close to home. It’s a record that makes you feel just a little closer to the man behind the music once it’s all done and dusted. Is “national treasure” too strong a term?

THREE TOP TRACKS: Rabbit On, Old Photograph, Hand in the Quicksand.

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11. Vanguard Party – Forever Jung

Blessed are the geeks, for they – alongside the cheesemakers – shall inherit the earth. The proof is in this decidedly delectable pudding from a sadly-dormant project that was essentially the vehicle for frontman Jared Chappell’s unquenchable thirst for all things sardonic and smart-arsed. Whether they’re tearing apart your “2 deep 4 u” Tumblr nemesis or toying with girlfriends – both kidnapped and imagined – VP bring substantial pop/rock chops along with their Jonathan Coulton-meets-John Linnell lyricism and imagery. It’s not all fun and games – but most of it is, and that’s what makes Forever Jung such a fucking ripper.

THREE TOP TRACKS: (I’m In A) Shitty Band, Think for Yourself, Imaginary Girlfriend.

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30. OFF! – OFF!

Every listener is different before OFF!’s debut self-titled effort starts up. By the end of its seventeen-minute run-time, however, all listeners are exactly the same – fucking on the floor, breaking shit and stomping holes in the floor. OFF! has classic punk rock literally bred into it – vocalist Keith Morris has been fuelling angst since before you were born, from Black Flag to Circle Jerks and beyond. Here, he’s maintaining the rage with an all-star cast, barely pausing for breath as he takes down any and all challengers. It’s pretty simple, really: Don’t fuck with OFF!

THREE TOP TRACKS: King Kong Brigade, Wrong, Cracked.

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29. The Presets – Pacifica

It seems like only yesterday that The Presets – unwillingly and unwittingly – became the biggest thing in the country on the back of their platinum-seller Apocalypso. Perhaps it doesn’t feel like all that long ago thanks to Pacifica, which brings you right back into the duo’s odyssey of thunderous synths, bomastic beats and the kind of choruses that smack you around the head a few times before slipping inside your conscience. Featuring their biggest pop tracks as well as their most dank and dirty material to date, Pacifica expanded in all directions and struck gold across the board. Overlooked and under-appreciated.

THREE TOP TRACKS: A.O., It’s Cool, Push.

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28. Hira Hira – Now Here Nowhere

There has never been a better time than right now to be a fan of Sydney collective Hira Hira. The sneering, jagged post-punk that litters their debut full-length has never sounded this forceful, visceral and… well, frankly, fucking excellent. Although bits and pieces are nicked everywhere from surf rock to Neil Young, Now Here Nowhere presents listeners with a sound that unmistakably belongs to them. If Royal Headache were the “sound of the underground,” so to speak, as far as Sydney was concerned in 2011; then it’s safe to say that the 2012 title belonged to this band and this record.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Nowhere, Bugs, Dead Land.

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27. Passenger – All the Little Lights

The way it reads almost lends itself to fairytale more than reality: A visit to Australia leads to some busking, some busking leads to some gigs, some gigs lead to some tours, some tours lead to an all-star collaborative album, which eventually makes Passenger – aka Mike Rosenberg – the little ex-pat folkie that could. Here, he leads us down the roads less travelled as he spins stories and weaves characters – both first and third-person – between gorgeous acoustic picking, creaking double bass and fluttering brushstrokes. Excuse the horrific pun, but Passenger has undoubtedly arrived at his destination.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Wrong Direction, Holes, Things That Stop You Dreaming.

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26. Paul Kelly – Spring and Fall

For fans, a new Paul Kelly record feels like coming home – and, with a five-year interval, this homecoming couldn’t have come sooner enough. Shedding the biblical imagery of predecessor Stolen Apples, Kelly – along with nephew Dan and producer/collaborator J. Walker – instead picks apart a relationship that begins with all the joy of a major chord, yet falters substantially along the way. It’s no spoiler to let you know that it won’t survive the album’s running length. Besides, it’s the journey we’re taken on with Spring and Fall that makes it such a joy to listen to.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Gonna Be Good, New Found Year, None of Your Business Now.

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25. Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls

A drum shuffle, a guitar twang and an androgynous blues howl admitting that they “didn’t think [they’d] make it to 22 years old.” For many, this is where the love affair with Alabama Shakes began – and let’s keep in mind this is within the first minute of their stellar debut album. Rolling through tight grooves, fiery licks and some serious vocal chops from 2012’s first lady of rock, Brittany Howard, Boys & Girls, had heads turning across the globe; not to mention festival tents packed on the off-chance of hearing these sumbitches live. Turn it loose and shake it like a Polaroid picture.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Hang Loose, You Ain’t Alone, Hold On.

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24. The xx – Coexist

Given all of the attention that production man Jamie XX has received in the past few years, 2009’s xx could well have been the last we heard from Britain’s great white electronica hope. Thankfully, however, Jamie came back on board for the make-or-break sophomore LP – somehow he must have know that they still had stories left untold. Submerged in ambience and lingering on heartbreak, Coexist runs through deeper bloodlines and emotional centres. Its morose overtones means that there is no “Islands”-esque moment of pop clarity, but this does not serve as a deterrent. Rather, it makes Coexist feel whole.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Fiction, Reunion, Angels.

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23. Justin Bieber – Believe

Remember the Justin Bieber hate page you joined back in 2009? “Puberty is going to hit Justin Bieber like a truck”? That one? Well, get your cutlery ready and prepare to eat your damn words. At eighteen years of age, the Biebs has evolved into an untouchable pop phenomenon – and, remarkably, his audience has grown up with him. The club bangers and rnb jams are crystallised perfection, while even the ballads and Hallmark-card rap verses have grown less grating. Deny Believe its credit all you want, but it won’t be long before you’re the last one against the wall.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Beauty and a Beat, Right Here, As Long As You Love Me.

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22. David Byrne and St. Vincent – Love This Giant

Between them, they’ve made enough indie anthems to fill an entire night’s playlist, from “Life During Wartime” to last year’s “Cruel” (read: Cruuu-uuuuu-uuuueelllll). So, what happens when a Talking Head melds minds with the guitar-wielding femme-fatale? In a word: Horns. Shitloads of horns. On probably the funkiest record Byrne has put his name to in years, he battles pretentious parties and the rapidly-devolving human species with Annie Clark cooing, shredding and occasionally screeching alongside him. A suitably and delightfully odd affair from what can only be described as 2012’s most successful experiment.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Weekend in the Dust, Who, Dinner for Two.

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21. Best Coast – The Only Place

The Only Place is not a carbon copy of the duo’s 2010 debut; nor is it an open love letter to the state of California as the title track may have you thinking. Rather, Place sees frontwoman Bethany Cosetino rummaging through bad relationships, poor health, gossiping frenemies and crippling homesickness. It’s done with impeccable production and Bobb Bruno’s sun-kissed lead guitar, adding a greater texture to what was previously a fairly straightforward sound palette. If your twenties suck, have sucked for a period or did suck, then perhaps you’ll find some respite in The Only Place.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Why I Cry, How They Want Me to Be, The Only Place

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