Music Banter - View Single Post - 12 For '12: Anteater's Top Albums Of 2012

Anteater · 01-02-2013, 04:55 PM

1. The Panic Division - Eternalism

And thus we arrive at 2012's #1 record of the year for me -- a pop masterpiece that blends the best of 90's alternative rock and pop punk with the synthesized magnificence inspired by 80's hook masters like Tears For Fears and Mr. Mister....all courtesy of some jack-of-all trades musical genius living in San Antonio in my good ol' home state of Texas by the name of Colton Holliday.

Although he was originally the lead vocalist of post-hardcore group Carbon 12 Theory back in the early 2000's, The Panic Division is Colton's musical baby: he's involved heavily in every aspect: he sings, shreds guitar, writes the songs, and produces everything on top of that. Due to this, Eternalism is a goddamn Archon of a record, monstrously infectious and consistent to the point of worship. It is unlike anything else out there right now, and yet appeals to anyone with a taste for both the 80's and 90's in equal measure.

The songs themselves are bubbling pockets of pop perfection, boiling with all kinds of neat details and grit under all the dazzling layers. Colton's voice overseers the whole shebang, suspended somewhere between Roland Orzabal and that guy from All Time Low, a narrator whose inflections and delivery morph to fit the needs of whatever song is blasting. Variety is present in many a viral flavor: 'Marching Tide/Silver Rings' is a straight up frat-jam with killer melody, while the New Romantic in you might find yourself fist pumping a bit to 'The Labor Of Love' and 'Too Young To Fall' despite yourselves: they'd have sold out arenas two decades ago in a heartbeat.

At this point I'm merely rambling, but here's a little secret: it's really, really, really ****ing hard to do a good pop record, moreso than anyone generally appreciates. But as Herculean as that tends to be, it's even harder to do something as melodically sublime as Eternalism. It blows every other 80's nostalgia trip from the last ten years out of the goddamn water, and does so with mercurial ease.

And that, brothers and sisters, is where the road ends in 2012 for me.