Saturday, December 29, 2012

Kent Rock's Top 25 Albums of 2012


Well another year of record purchasing has come to an end. There were some surprises and some let downs but for the most part it, artists released the product I had anticipated. I'll keep this short as JJ pretty much covered the year. We definitely grew tired of writing the standard review. I like JJ, also purchased some 40 new albums this year. It's interesting to see where we agree, where JJ is wrong haha and how our duplicates appear in their pecking order.

Again I will keep this short and sweet as JJ pretty much nailed the how the year went.

The biggest surprise for me went to Serena Ryder for her work on 'Harmony'. Serena Ryder is an artist I always assumed I wouldn't dig. My bad there. She's great.

My favourite find of the year was Del Barber. Del was an artist I discovered at the Regina Folk Festival with two albums in his back catalogue and a new one 'Headwaters' all of which are impeccable.

My biggest disappointment should have been obvious. I liked their first album in the mid 90's but had written their following albums off as crap. When they came back with a new album after a ten year hiatus I had hoped Matchbox Twenty had grown up and put out an adult record that was going to be fresh. Turns out 'North' was everything I hoped it wasn't going to be. Worst album of the year. I do embarrassingly like the drums in their single 'She's So Mean' but that alone can't save the record let alone the album. I should have known, I admit.

Other albums that should have impressed but I felt just simply missed the mark was The Darkness' 'Hotcakes' and Soundgarden's 'King Animal'. Soundgarden's single 'Been Away Too Long' fires on all cylinders but the rest of it just kind of blends in like wallpaper to me. The Darkness has some ripping tracks musically but vocally it just never seems to match up and doesn't get me off.

Best ep's go to The Biters for 'Last of a Dying Breed' and the self titled Lifetakers record.

Best album that came out last year but just discovered this year is 'Killin' Uncle Buzzy' by Travis Meadows

So without further ado this is how I thought the year went down.

1. Lucero – Women & Work
2. The LustKillers – That Which Does Not Kill Us…
3. Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten
4. Del Barber – Headwaters
5. Serena Ryder – Harmony
6. Mumford & Sons – Babel
7. Pink - The Truth About Love
8. Hey! Hello!
9. The Cadillac Black
10. Soul Asylum – Delayed Reaction
11. Justin Townes Earle – Nothing Is Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
12. Billy Talent – Dead Silence
13. The Wooden Sky – Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun
14. Holly McNarland – Run Body Run
15. Redd Kross – Researching The Blues
16. Zac Brown Band – Uncaged
17. Danko Jones – Rock and Roll is Black and Blue
18. JD McPherson – Signs + Signifiers
19. The Lumineers
20. Matt Mays – Coyote
21. JJ Voss – Show Em Who’s Voss
22. Jack White – Blunderbuss
23. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
24. Our Lady Peace – Curve
25. Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
 

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