Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Album of the Year 2012

core - I have just very accidentally deleted your post on that Scott Walker interview!!

A million apologies :-(

Ah, there's some past posts I wish you'd done that with, but no apologies necessary Martin, just keep away from any red buttons in secret high security underground bunkers, in fact, I should thank you - thanks for drawing my attention in this thread to CAN Lost Tapes for I am right now foregoing sleep and 'waiting for the streetcar with deadly Doris' while listening online to as much as I CAN, and I CAN feel a CD purchase coming on

This week, I have been visiting Desertshore in both manifestations. From the sea side and the sand side, if you like.

X-TG's new interpretation of Nico's classic is a real masterstroke and one of the most atmospheric, foreboding, scary and yet engaging and beautiful albums I have ever heard.

That's quite a thing.

So even Mr Walker faces a challenge...

I've purchased Can Lost Tapes having surprisingly got to hear about 70% of discs 1&2 each and half of disc 3 online, this was something really of an instant no-brainer as the yooth of today say, or was it well wicked, top man, or even bum?

Again thanks Martin for making aware Desertshore X-TG, I'll be checking it out, as for Mr Walker I'm trying hard not to spend any more £ this side of December, so with Biff Bash I may become a late adapter as the advertising nazis say, or am I just actually being 'long'

That does sound worth investigating. Not my favourite Nico album - possibly my 4th favourite - but it is an excellent album nevertheless.

A few new ones have entered my consciousness the last few weeks:

expect Piano Magic, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Strand of Oaks and Chromatics to all feature in my top 5.

Ok, here is my final list, with the usual apologies, split into categories of exposure:

1. For some reason not heard or acquired yet but I am concerned that these should feature in the list:

Scott Walker "Bish Bosch"
John Cale "Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood"
Leonard Cohen "Old Ideas"
Bob Dylan "Tempest"

2. Possible purchases of the future that I didn't make but thought quite hard about:

Bruce Springsteen "Wrecking Ball"
Neil Young & Crazy Horse "Psychedelic Pill"

3. Purchases I made but didn't quite experience fully, not really their fault:

Cat Power "Sun"
Dexys "One Day I'm Going To Soar"
VCMG "Ssss"
Ultravox "Brilliant"
Bobby Womack "The Bravest Man in the Universe"
The Smashing Pumpkins "Oceania"
Jan Bang Erik Honore et al "Uncommon Deities"

4. And those I did:

John Foxx & The Maths "Evidence"
Tindersticks "The Something Rain"
Gravenhurst "The Ghost in Daylight"
Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!"
Strand of Oaks "Dark Shores"
Piano Magic "Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet"*
Chromatics "Kill For Love"**
Paul Buchanan “Mid Air”***
Jason Lytle “Dept. of Disappearance”****,

all of which are great, perhaps especially the last four in this list.

* Possibly their best (and bleakest) yet?
** Cinematic, urgent and passionate
*** Late-night, gorgeous, poignant, the best (non) Blue Nile album since Hats
**** Faintly disturbing but the best (non) Grandaddy album since The Sophtware Slump.

Wow. That's an impressive list. I haven't heard (of) half of that stuff, but knowing you have great taste I am inclined to look some up.

Of especial interest is the Piano Magic album.

My own nomination goes to

X-TG - Desertshore
A fine interpretation of Nico's classic, featuring superb vocal contributions from some of my favourite singers.

In the envelope:
John Foxx & The Maths - Evidence
Their strongest, darkest album, bringing together all the elements of the other two. Foxx in Wonderland...

Moon Wiring Club - Today Bread, Tomorrow Secrets
A confounding hotpot of theatrical nonsense.
Rapidly becoming one of my favourite bands

Can - The Lost Tapes
I paid over the odds for this, but it's proved worth it. I haven't a complete Can collection, but this fills in a lot of gaps and has inspired me to fill in others. Mad as a box of frogs.


Also recommended :
Brian Eno - Lux
I struggle to consistently like Eno's work, but this one is beautiful, engaging and has significantly more depth

Thanks for reminding me Martin that "Lux" should also have been listed in my first category.

And, worryingly, I left the wonderful "Elysium" (Pet Shop Boys) out of the fourth category.

Hi Mark, agree with you about the need for those four apt categories you've created!

Re: your previous post of 6th December when you mentioned 4 or 5 albums, thanks to that you had me re-evaluating Chromatics Kill For Love which I was quite harsh on earlier, describing it as: "I thought this would be a must have, but what a strangely dead sounding album". I am a fan of the passive vibe that permeates much of The Italians Do It Better label, and I particularly like Johnny Jewels 'Desire' project, so, such is the beauty of opinion on this forum that you made me seriously wonder if I'd missed something with Kill For Love which I'd streamed loads back on its spring release (its still here: http://www.thefader.com/2012/04/03/stream-chromatics-album-kill-for-love/). I've since been re-listening a lot and although I feel there's some repetition on the albums last half I do however love the first half and I feel its now an album worth having, I'm with you on the 'cinematic and passionate' and tracks such as These Streets Will Never Look The Same and Lady work for me.

Going to stick with Beams, mainly as everything else I bought this year was not produced this year. Found lots though, including the re-discovery of Julianne Regan has has been busy years in collaborations with Wayne Hussey and with another treasure I found this year, The Eden House. Regan has been active in digging up old stuff and selling via bandcamp.com so difficult to classify as an album, but noteworthy IMvHO.
Enjoyed Evidence too btw!
Ah, not everything else was pre-2012, I did buy Brilliant. Hmm, not exactly sure on that one - it didn't blow me away, but I wasn't expecting it too. It isn't bad, just seems very late as the follow up to Quartet (which is what it sounds like). Pity I missed the live shows this year as it does sound like they put on a good show.

Musically I pleased with what I found in 2012, maybe a long time since I could say that about a year!