Top 12 Albums of 2012

What a great year for the music it was. Albums were made for save us from a 'music industry cliff' some of them were very careful other just came out raw and exploded well, some have their weaknesses but other were really strong so here are what I think were the most steady of them all. 

 12  'Jake Bugg' (self-titled) by Jake Bugg:

So young,so brisk, some people have called him the new Bob Dylan, and there are some similarities especially how mature the sound is but this album doesn't sound so natural, although it's so good,is fabricated 'pop' but at least is enjoyable. 

   

To Listen:Trouble Town, Country Song, Lightning Bolt ,Taste It,Two Fingers

 11 [DRAW] 'The Abbey Road Sessions' by Kylie Minogue + 'MDNA' by Madonna:  

Both albums are so pop and slightly different from what was happening in that scene, Kylie's has no electronic beats and is a compilation of her hits in a orchestral way as for Madonna's sounds like b-sides of her entire career and avoiding the 'fun' ones you get an amazing collection of intimate tracks. Two albums that were so produced that actually worked.

To Listen: [MDNA]   Gang Bang, Love Spent (Acoustic), Falling Free, I Fucked Up,Masterpiece, I Don't Give A, B-Day Song [The Abbey Road Sessions] All the Lovers,Where the Wild Roses Grow,Flower,Can't Get You Out of My Head,Finer Feelings,The Loco-Motion.

 10  Endless Flowers - Crocodiles: 

Very pleasant, what you expect from Crocodiles.No much risks taken and the sound doesn't go faraway from previous works punk/garage/fun.

To Listen:Endless Flowers,Hung Up On a Flower,Dark Alleys,Bubblegum Trash.

 9 . ill Manors by Plan B:  
Ben Drew AKA Plan B hit the big screen with a film he wrote and directed and with that an epic soundtrack came. Probably the most gutted and sincere Plan B work, which is weird because is about a film so is from a character perspective and not suppose to be very personal, but it is.

To Listen:  Playing With Fire, Deepest Shame, Live Once,Falling Down

 8  Spiderwebbed by STUMBLEINE: 
Electronic, Soft , chill out nothing more nothing less. What any other electronic artist  tried to do but on this album everything fitted well even the dub step bits. 

To Listen: Cherry Blossom, If You,Capulet, Fade Into You ft Steffaloo,Catherine Wheel ft Birds Of Passage, The Beat My Heart Skips ft CoMa.

  

 7 .A+E  by Graham Coxon : 
it has a futuristic vibe like from 1960's Jetsons. Many guitars and some kind of aggressive in the joy way.The Album may not have a super hit but has a sincere feeling and it's like the sound of a music playground, very experimeting and charming.

To Listen: City Hall, What'll it Take, Seven Naked Valleys, Running For Your Life,  Knife in the Cast.

 6 In the Belly of the Brazen Bull by The Cribs:

Back to their basics.The Cribs do and did a fantastic job with or without Johnny Marr sound like they have the spirit of classic punk, to entertain, be fast and joyable. Is also inspirational for new bands.

To Listen: Come on, Be A no One ;Confident men ; Arena Rock Encore;Should have Helped;Back To The Bolthole

 5   Mirage Rock by Band of Horses:
A Collection of underrated but in sake of making great music and for enjoyment of people who will hear it. The band still got what make them unique and enjoyable.Is an album with balance, everything calculated  in space and time  nothing shading anything.

To Listen: Electric Music,A Little Biblical,Slow Cruel Hands of Time

 4  Given To the Wild by The Maccabees: 
it's full of tunes to take you out of routine and from earth, gladly it is soft psychedelia not an overrated boring clichè. Very cosistant and full of interesting dreamy sounds. 

To Listen: Given to the Wild ,Glimmer,Heave, Pelican, Went Away,  Go,
Unknow (featuring Catherine Pockson),Grew Up at Midnight, 

 3 . Lonerism by Teme Impala:
The perfect balance of voice and instruments is reflected in every song.The album is more relaxed and trippy than their debut album but the essence is not lost.A band that have improved and know how to mix everything to deliver the best of them.

To Listen:Sun’s Coming Up,Keep on Lying,Apocalypse Dreams,Why Won’t They Talk to Me?, Be Above It

 2  Streets In The Sky by The Enemy: 
Probably band didn't save the guitar music (not by themselves) but this album has plenty of songs you can relate  or that easily brings memories to you and is not a forced sound it flows naturally. Fast and fantastic,has everything what great classics are made of, and is very rock'n'roll mixed with some melancholia.

To Listen: 2 Kids,Like A Dancer,Like A Dancer,Make A Man,This is Real,Bigger Cages (Longer Chains),Get Up and Dance,Gimme The Sign

 1 . Lex Hives by The Hives: 

Rock and Roll in the 'non-artistic' way, it's pure, classic,random and timeless. Band doesn't need to change to deliver a fantastic album that has the perfect amount of everything that sounds effortless. Stylized like a vintage album, The Hives do a retrospective/introspective to what made the band so fabulous.Proper rock and roll.

To Listen:I Want More, Patrolling Days, Take Back The Toys,Midnight Shifter.( but obviously you need to hear all the entire album) 

Probably You wont agree but IMHO these were the most enjoyable and strong albums and somehow they sensitize what 2012 were a year of comebacks and retrospective.