12 For '12: Anteater's Top Albums Of 2012 (And More!)
 

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From the man who knows hustlin' better than you, me, and the rest of humanity combined comes an LP opus that's so stupidly grandiose yet so ridiculously golden (no pun intended) in its socio-economic ambitions that you can't help but wonder: did the 90's ever really die, or has the age of nostalgia finally gotten caught in a loop that even America's greatest Eagle Scout will be unable to untangle us from as the years go on?

But I digress: Rick Ross knows how to get a party started, and this was 2012's go-to record for coked-up commentary concept album jibberjabber, souped up against some of the best goddamned production/sampling the West Coast hotshots have to offer (AKA The Justice League). I mean, listen to dat smooth sax on album centerpiece 'Sixteen' or Usher's uncharacteristically well-placed croon that graces the radio-friendly 'Touch N' You'. I'm no hip-hop connoisseur, but I know craft when I hear it ladies and gents, and it marks an honest-to-God evolution sonically for one of the world's funniest living-n'-breathing oxymorons. Dig it!

anxious to read this Anteater! :)

I'm glad you are...because it just gets better and better. :love:


You know what really sucks when it comes to the Metal music umbrella? There's just too many awesome records to choose from throughout a 365 day cycle! And the subgenres, oh the subgenres...goddamn: Why does there have to be so much talent out there? xD

Still, this is one band that people should always pay attention to, regardless of the year in question. Considered to be something of a 2nd tier thrash band (alongside Iced Earth and others) by the mainstream during the golden late 80's/early 90's despite being just as good (if not better) than the Big Four, questioning the legitimacy of Testament as far as metalhood goes is the equivalent of sacrilege, AKA lets-burn-you-at-the-stake-for-heresy.

That being said, there's never been a better time to get into the band than 2012: Dark Roots Of Earth is a motherfuckin' monster of a record, and undoubtedly the best set of songs they've brought into the recorded realm since 1988's The New Order. The songwriting and performance chemistry between guitarist Alex Skolnick and vocalist Chuck Billy has never been better! While the artwork is about as awe inspiring as they come, the whole thing has that instant-classic quality to it's sense of groove that gives the critically lauded early 90's output from Pantera and Metallica's Black Album a run for their money....hell, make it a goddamn marathon.

Highlights are innumerable really, but my favorite cuts here include the thudding title track, the atmospheric yet sludgy 'Animal Magnetism'...and an anthemic yet deliciously scuzzy tour-de-force by the name of 'Dragon Attack'! Most of you will probably find a favorite of your own before long however...

This has been a wonderful year in metal in all shapes and forms, but as far as more traditional styles go, the album art that graces this fantastic record is undoubtedly the face that we'll look back upon in years to come. Long live the veterans!

There was one word that attracted me to this thread:
it starts with A and ends in nteater!
Lookin' forward to it, my vermilingual friend! :thumb:

Heard that record was good, need to check out Testament's other stuff first though!

Wait... Anteater, you like Rick Ross? And Testament? I thought you only listened to cheese-fest 90's elevator jazz! :p:

But seriously, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, if only to read your (as always) wonderful writing.

Metallica is one of a kind :D

Trollheart: Happy to have you following pal! You'll be familiar with a couple of albums that pop up here methinks!

Blarobbarg: So now I'm a smooth jazz guy instead of a proghead? How times have changed! Enjoy the thread. :beer:

Anyhoo....


I've seen this adriatic maestra mentioned around MB every so often over the last year or so, but even I'm surprised at how relatively little attention she gets here in the States, especially considering the insanely sad and moving circumstances that pushed her into the wonderful world of jazz, pop and bossa nova. She's about as perfect as they come in this genre, and 2012 doesn't have another record quite like this sophomore outing floating around either.

Under normal circumstances, its easy to criticize someone like Melody Gardot if you haven't actually spent any time in her aural universe: the songwriting, good as it is, isn't anything you haven't heard before from the numerous other jazz-educated progeny of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Eliane Elias.

Still, this stuff burns right through you like mercury on dreary, mundane nights, especially when minimalistic, stripped down elements come to the forefront on cuts like 'My Heart Won't Have It Any Other Way' and 'So Long' -- the production throughout The Absence is a warm, immaculate phenomenon in and of itself, attuned to the soft drum brushes and acoustic subtleties that flow around Melody's shimmering vocal evocations, almost as if she's attempting to summon you somewhere.

If someone asked me straight what I thought the most beautiful genre of music in the world was, Bossa Nova comes to my lips without a second thought....and such is made entirely justifiable by midnight oil masterpieces like this one: 2012 could have used far more of 'em.

^I'll definitely have to check out this album! Thanks for the pick Anteater! :)

There's something fascinating about the idea that someone has been a master at his instrument of calling for decades before you were even born, sharing the stage with music legends both alive and long deceased...and then decides, out of the blue no less, to release a record under his own name in 2012 despite the fact that nobody was even watching for it.

When I heard this solo offering for the first time a few months ago, I asked myself: is this really the same Brian Auger, undisputed god of the Hammond organ, who played with Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin during their heydays? It sounds so...well, contemporary! Unusual, catchy, kinda atmospheric....and proggy?

Hammering the nail in somewhat: Language Of The Heart is very, very interesting even if you don't like it -- Brian hasn't done a whole lot of recorded music outside of his 70's output as leader of The Oblivion Express. Yet here, he combines his songwriting and Hammond expertise with the jazzy, club-friendly production style of electronic duo Tea to fashion his virtuosity into something that can only be described as House-Prog, with small doses of 60's psychedelic pop and contemporary smooth jazz elements thrown in for good measure. I mean, who else is currently even attempting to do something like that these days?

The answer, obviously, is no one. It boggles the mind that there hasn't even been one iota of an FM radio station (not even the bland jazzy ones) who has picked up tracks as catchy as the propulsive "Autoroute', the melancholic 'Seasons' or the groovy title cut and served 'em to an audience that love stuff like this to sink their teeth into. Sure, Brian Auger isn't at the same level as a vocalist as he is as a Hammond player and keyboardist, but when he harmonizes with his daughter on background vox, you almost get chills. That's right, friggin' chills!

The 1960's are getting further and further behind us, but its a helluva breath of fresh air to see one of the kings of the latter part of that era produce an independent collection of songs that manages to stand right up there in substance with the best albums from other genres this year. It probably won't make too many other folks' lists, but it most definitely made mine.

P.S. All of the YouTube videos have been taken down from the album, but the album is fully streamable in the below link:

STREAM HERE

Australia, in recent years atleast, has become something of a mecca for unusual and entertaining rock bands who draw upon the adventurous spirit spearheaded by many a 90's act (Faith No More, Deftones, Incubus) whilst pummeling in semantic grooves learned from the halls of T&M (Tool & Meshuggah) University in equal measure. Some of these groups have even achieved international success, such as Karnivool and The Butterfly Effect.

That being said, the newest and perhaps most promising bunch of this Down Under-stated prog scene are Twelve Foot Ninja, who have slowly but surely been building their celebrity online through a series of entertaining interviews, videos and even a freakin' track-by-track graphic novel as part of the pre-release hype engine in celebration of debut album Silent Machine, released earlier this year to many an excited fan....including myself.

Listening through Silent Machine the first time, you are struck by a few things immediately as opening number 'Coming For You' stampedes into the room: these guys not only know how to bend disparate styles and genres into the great alt. rock umbrella without undercutting the songwriting....they do it really, really, really fucking well. Dispersing a Calypso/reggae bridge and hook amidst a very Tool-esque chord progression isn't something just anyone can pull off, but these guys blow it out of the water, and the rest of the album displays that same dynamic reach in spades. The title track, my favorite song off the album, glides along the theatrical borderline between Queensryche and Faith No More with an ease that's nearly horrifying....but in a way that compels repeat listens en masse.

This is a bizarre, but wonderful metalized album that will certainly be cementing Twelve Foot Ninja as a musical magnate in 2013 and beyond, vehemently reviving that experimental yet catchy sense of ferocity I thought lieth in the corpses of Dog Fashion Disco and Boy Hits Car.

As good as Deftones' Koi No Yokan was, this record makes them look almost pedestrian in comparison, and thus its here instead of them.

That definitely sounds interesting, I will look up that album when I get home.

Enjoy it Pete! :pimp:


Although neither dead, dying nor devoid of compelling material if you know where (and how) to look, AOR is one of those genres where the pickings seem to stay relatively slim from year to year. Like progressive rock, it gets ignored by anyone who isn't savvy with the genre already by the time people put together their end of the year lists. There's a lot I could say, positive and not, about the implications of this indifference in regards to a lot of people here on MB and the music-listening world in general, but that's not the purpose of this review and thus I'll get to the point: there IS such a thing as a good modern AOR record, and this Swedish studio project's debut self-titled sets an excellent example of how it can be done.

Sonic Station is a years-in-making music endeavor by guitarist Alexander Kronbrink, who's also the chief songwriter and (to a degree) producer. After meeting singer Marika Willstedt during college, they began collaborating and bringing in various musicians and guest vocalists over the next couple of years, culminating with the debut's release back in February. The amount of work that's gone into this musical production is astounding: every skeptic I've shown this record to, even the 80's adverse among them, were impressed by how gorgeous the mixing is from song-to-song, and in this genre that's a factor that can go a lonnng way...even making up for weak songwriting at times.

Thankfully, the eleven songs that comprise the LP are not only fairly muscular on the melodic front, there's variety from cut to cut too! 'Intro', a deep synth concoction that melds some heavenly horns with Kronbrink's pedaled out axework segues into 'Love's Gonna Show The Way', a bouncy Toto/Journey hybrid brimming with cheesy but heartfelt optimism and an insidious hook to boot.

Many a band would be fine copying 'Love's Gonna Show The Way' eight more times with slight deviations and call it a day at the studio, but Alexander goes above and beyond throughout: 'Never Let The Sunshine Die' is an epic that distills the best of Whitesnake and The Eagles into something that would probably blow down the house at a live setting, whilst some L.A. Westcoast stylistic touches light up 'My Last Refrain' and 'Reasons' into an FM balladeer's wet dream. The previously mentioned Marika Willstedt is lead vocalist on both of these numbers, and I guess there's a reason she's a T.V. megastar in the Netherlands: she's blessed with some godly pipes, and knows how to get the best outta 'em.

For some people, especially around here, admitting that you like 80's rock in good ol' 2012 is the equivalent to admitting you have a drinking problem: pulling teeth is almost easy in comparison. Records like this, however, might make such a confession far easier....if given a fair shake that is.

Well known amongst Adult Swim viewers and fans of contemporary dream pop/shoegaze, School Of Seven Bells are one of the few "indie" bands of the last decade that supersede their hipster trappings and have continued to grow immensely from record to record since debuting back in 2007.

So what makes them better than most of their Pitchfork-approved contemporaries? Part of is that their sonical roots are simultaneously obvious (Cocteau Twins, Lush, Curve) and at the same time unusual for their style (the progressive rock genre, Judie Tzuke, Mew), and anyone who has listened to Benjamin Curtis's previous band The Secret Machines can attest to these more subtle influences at play. The other part, however, is pitch perfect production and a penchant for writing songs that sound like auditory ambrosia flowing down in rivers from the Gourishankar.

Whilst the Deheza sisters are no longer together in the group, Alejandra works her pipes magnificently though a couple of uptempo masterpieces ('The Night', 'Scavenger') and foggy epics that build into smoking, horizon faring nimbuses that are just as keen on thunderballing through a dancefloor skyline as they are to dissolve into freezing, synthesized rainfall upon the cityscape ('Low Times', 'When You Sing').

Danceable, immaculate, hook-laden and even haunting in some fashions, Ghostory gets you floating before you even know it.

P.S. -- Merry Christmas everyone! :)

I felt School of Seven Bells grew tremendously from Alpinisms to Disconnect From Desire (both of which I loved), but I actually felt that Ghostory stagnated a little. It's still a good album, but it was a little dull compared to their other 2 albums.

I'll definitely be checking out a few of those other albums you mentioned, though.

When your name translates from Latin vulgate into "Do Not Forget', uncertainty abounds before you even attempt to dive into Australian black metal newcomers Ne Obliviscaris. Preliminary research would show you that they, along with Sydney tech-death band Ouroboros, received a sizable grant (about 20K each in fact) from the Australian government for recording purposes and whatever else they require. Putting the information in context with this review, its a miracle that Portal Of I came out at all: the band had been trying for years to get it off the ground, but thanks to government support and recognition they were able to bring this fantastic record to life for the benefit of guys like you and me. Very inspiring stuff!

Vocally, there is wonderful contrast throughout: we have a combination of voracious snarling courtesy of Xenoyr and the high soaring tenor of violinist Tim Charles. And this contrast doesn't just include mic tag teaming: the songs themselves pass back & forth along a chromatic divide between melody and dissonance. Sometimes you'll have a gregarious guitar solo sear the horizon while the earth crumbles below to the blast-beating force of the drums and bass, and other times you find yourself enraptured by what happens when the metal elements are dropped completely. 'Tapestry Of The Starless Abstract', for instance, features a drop dead gorgeous middle section where acoustic guitar, melancholic violin and eerie patches of synth muse together at sundown before the violence surges back in for the final five minutes.

Many a black metal band has reaped the benefits from a gradual shift into more multifaceted sonic frameworks that draw upon sophisticated jazz and classical elements in other genres, but Ne Obliviscaris have already eclipsed most of them as far as sheer finesse goes in the space of a single, insanely well conceived debut release.

Being progressive doesn't mean alternating your elements or shoehorning in uncharacteristic "whacky" genre-bending interludes between 50 minutes or so of aural pummeling: it's bringing in little bits and pieces of everything all at once, letting the overall result speak for itself....and from that perspective, this band is already right on track to redefining black metal as we know it. If they didn't make my top 2012 list, then something would have been really, really, really wrong. :)

I had no idea I was going to enjoy "Silent Machine" from Twelve Foot Ninja that much, and then when I clicked to watch "Coming For You," I loved it so hard I'm still in disbelief minutes later.

It's not that your album picks aren't good -- on the contrary, they are all exotic and fun and flavorful -- but I just wasn't really expecting to be in to any of them that hard because I'm not familiar with any of the genres.

Thanks so much for the awesome reviews!! Keep 'em coming ;)

A merry Christmas t'ya, Ant! :beer:
I also reviewed "Ghostory" for my journal. I was rather amazed at a) how unlike what I expected it to be (prog rock) it was and b) how much I enjoyed it despite that. Great album and although not usually the sort of thing I listen to I'm glad to have discovered School of Seven Bells, and glad to see you're also listening to them.

Great reviews as always. I'll give that Sonic Station crowd a listen soon as I get a sec. Sounds right up my particular boulevard! :thumb:

misspoptart & Trollheart: A Merry Christmas to both of you, and thanks for the 'vonderful feedback! And yes Troll, I think you'll dig Sonic Station quite a bit. :dj:


Let's be quite clear here my fine feathered friends: I listen and appreciate a variety of genres. That doesn't mean I'll fall in love with your favorite post-hardcore record at first ring, but even the people out there who don't like me will concede (grudgingly) that I have an uncharacteristically open mind. That being said, progressive rock is and always will be my favorite genre of music: for every pretentious over-indulgent half-assed record that stumbles out bloated into the marketplace, there's usually two or three records a year that set the bar rather high for other bands (other genres included) to aspire to. English Electric Part 1, the latest and greatest album from the modern era's heir to the Genesis throne, is one such record, and also my big pick of the year for the genre too.

Although Big Big Train started off as yet-another neo-prog. outfit back in the early 90's, this was a band whose evolution is something to be in awe of: 2007's The Difference Machine was about as contemporary as you got, blending the best of Radiohead and Tears For Fears into their own harrowing atmospheric prescription, and 2009's The Underfall Yard saw yet another shift stylistically into a highly wound, modern take on the Genesisian sound circa A Trick Of The Tail/Wind & Wuthering, due in no small part to the recruitment of new vocalist and flautist David Longdon.

Three years from that point and lots of good music later, English Electric Part I is a monstrously fun outing for anyone with even the slightest interest in a symphonic, multifaceted take on modern progressive rock, contextualized thematically and lyrically on incidents and individuals from England's industrial era. Led along by the warm, yet furnished vocals and flute skillz of Longdon (who really does sound a helluva lot like a hybrid of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins), the fluid guitar work of Dave Gregory (of XTC fame), longstanding bassist Greg Spawton and keyboardist Andy Poole, soaring numbers like 'The First Rebreather' and the banjo-pop of 'Uncle Jack' come to a vivid sort of life and stand out even more thanks to the incredible production that provides the canvas.

This is a very rich sounding record: lots of finer details are embellished from song to song, including a full-blown brass band and orchestral elements that serve to expand the arrangements. Nowhere is this awesomeness more evident than at the end of a cut like 'Summoned By Bells', where the climax segues into a lonely horn solo that echoes, subdued yet starkly visible, into the high end and out of sight as things drawn to a close....and there are so many other moments that stand out just as much.

For my readers living in the U.K., you'll probably appreciate this record far more intimately than some Yank like me could, but this is a masterstroke by anybody's standards. If you're going to pick up only one prog record before the end of the year, make this your first and final stop!

Nice one Ant! I've just started my own review of my top 20 albums for this year, for which I expect to be jeered and laughed at, and "English Electric" features high in that too. It's only not higher than it is because I came across some tremendous albums that just shoved it down the list. But a great album for certain, not only for prog fans but for anyone who enjoys well-crafted, thoughtful and insightful music.

Hip-hop, rap and everything else in between has had decades to solidify itself in the minds of millions across the world: the connoisseurs of the style will tell you one style or discipline is better than another, that Gucci Mane can oust Ghostface Killah at the drop of a match, and so on an so forth. But from my perspective, hip-hop is yet another genre where the real meat is not provided by who raps or by what is said...but rather by the sonic composition which underlies those surface hooks.

In that regard, Seattle's Marcus D is the sort of bedroom producer some of you probably know in real life: young, savvy, and something of a prodigy once you get him into a studio with his laptop and some good recording equipment. That being said, what makes him interesting is whom he derives his musical inclinations from -- Jun Seba, AKA Nujabes, deceased in a horrible car accident back in 2010 and the undisputed king of jazz-rap production. His solo material is at this point legendary even among people who aren't normally into hip-hop, and his collaborations with rappers like Funky DL and Substantial pretty much defines how jazz-inflected lyrical beatage sounds today.

Melancholy Hopeful is Marcus's sophomore record, funded entirely through Kickstarter, and I'm really damn happy it got made at all in all honestly. It's a record that feels and sounds, in every sense imaginable, like the kind of LP Nujabes himself would have created if he'd continued making music. Not the point of imitation exactly (less piano, more urban groove), but considering that many of the rappers featured here are people who have worked with the deceased maestro in the past (Cise Star, Shing02, Substantial, Funky DL), its hard to listen to this and not feel a bit...well, melancholic. This isn't a tribute record, but Marcus's choice in collaborators doesn't feel coincidental either.

But what can I say really that others couldn't point out immediately upon listening? The songs themselves are excellent for the most part, featuring a lot of sax, brass and the occasional violin flourish, held together by a dreamlike progression that dances from cut to cut with different tempos, atmospheres and arrangements. There's three instrumentals here, one featuring Emancipator! And whilst the overtly self-conscious lyrical nature of jazz-rap sometimes gets a tad glaring ('Streets Lament'), there are some real monsters here like the R&B flavored 'Fly' and the dazzling 'Night On The Town', where all the album's guests come together to craft the best hip-hop number of 2012, hands down.

Perhaps the first jazz-rap record to emerge in the wake of Nujabes's death that actually comes up to eye level with the best stuff he did while alive, Melancholy Hopeful is also a powerful release from a very promising young producer. One can only salivate at what the future holds in store for him if the quality displayed here is of any indication.

I didn't even know that Melody Gardot record was out, so thanks for that! I'll be straight on that. Theres a few albums here I haven't heard of as well, so looks like this is a thread to pay close attention to.

Great work, Anteater.

mojo: Didn't know you were a fan of her: awesome! I'm still surprised more people don't talk about her around here though, especially now that we're at the end of the year. :clap:


There's something deliciously liberating about a band just cutting the fuck loose and attempting to record something as grandiose and psychedelic as some of the great early 70's jazz entrepreneurs were prone to do once the acid dropped and the coke went up like smoke. Conjuring this sort of demon, complete with lots of free jazz zaniness amidst the crushing tides of sound, illuminated by moments of zen like serenity and vocals that get under your skin....its certainly no walk in the park, especially when 95% of music listeners out there have ADD and probably don't give much of a **** to begin with about your music.

I suppose that's partly why I have nothing but respect for a band like Motorpsycho, who took flight in the late 80's as a enterprising, adept psychedelic grunge band in Norway around the same time as Soundgarden and Nirvana were coming into their own here in the U.S. Unlike their westside peers though, Motorpsycho have never stopped evolving or recording new, oftentimes fascinating material for the better part of the last twenty years. Simply put, they are the quintessential Indie rock group of the modern era, worshiped in their own country as gods...but probably deserve a larger international audience.

Moving on to The Death Defying Unicorn, its a double LP done in collaboration with jazz keyboardist Ståle Storløkken (of Supersilent fame) and functions as a spacehopping fable of sorts for its titular character expressed through the fractal lens of musicality that sounds more at home on a Sun Ra or Black Sabbath record than something that Motorpsycho would have done in the past. Heavy, fuzz blasted riffs collide with squealing saxophones, lilting orchestral strings and unsettling vocal extrapolations straight out of an acid folk extravaganza....and its a journey unlike any other I've had this year.

When you listen to The Death Defying Unicorn for the first time, keep in mind that these guys were cutting their teeth at bars covering Husker Du and Sonic Youth before I was even born. That they've gone from that to this in the space of two decades is nothing short of frightening....and magnificent.

P.S. -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

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.

Cool list. Wish I could find that Brian Auger and Twelve Foot Ninja. Downloaded some old stuff of each.

Ne Obliviscaris was pretty cool too.

Still checking into some 2012 albums.

Well, you and anyone else here are free to PM me with album requests....because I obviously own all of them. :afro:

With the main list out of the way, I can now focus on a couple of other records that, while very good in their own right, didn't quite punch through to my top spots for one reason or another. Enjoy!


For those of you hankering for some of some ambient, post-rock melancholy comfort food generally provided by bands like Radiohead, Mew and Sigur Ros, Canada's got a hot new commodity for thee...and they are kites made out of glass!

That being said, these guys have some insane promise despite coming out of pretty much nowhere last January. Vivid production work, gorgeous hooks & song progressions, topped off with a lean mean running time of 36 minutes made this an album I returned to periodically throughout last year. I've already introduced it to a couple of people here on MB, but now the rest of you get to enjoy it too! Start with 'Terra' directly below -- what a monster!

Also, you can buy the album at a price of your choosing from their Bandcamp -- http://glasskites.bandcamp.com

No matter what decade you call home as far as musical taste is concerned, its hard to escape the 70's. Everything you like generally has one root or another in the era, from hard rock pyrotechnics to New Wave to your favorite electronic music. What a surprise, then, to find that a supergroup comprised of members of Soilwork, Arch Enemy and Mean Streak had come together and created the best damn love letter to FM radio that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Bruce Springsteen, Boston, The Bee Gees, Toto....this is the stuff that dreams are made of, and elements of all these great bands are wonderfully present and bursting forth on The Night Flight Orchestra's debut record Internal Affairs.

Every song here, 1 to 12, is the best highway cruising single that you've never heard before. You have your suites (the rollicking 'Siberian Queen' and bar-hopping odage 'Transatlantic Blues') your groovy West Coast rockers ('California Morning', the crazy catchy 'West Ruth Ave') and even a heartland anthem here and there ('Green Hills Of Grumslov'). Great variety, great hooks, topped off with some excellent production. Turn this sucker up! It nearly cracked my own top 12....perhaps it might do the same for the rest of you!

Well, I won't beat around the bush: Fiona Apple bored the living fuck out of me in 2012, as did about 90% of what ended up on NPR and Pitchfork's Top 2012 lists. We don't (and shouldn't) celebrate artists just for being arty: we celebrate them for making art that isn't pretentious for the sake of impressing your fedora-wearing amigos and isn't shoved up its own avant-garde asshole (such as Swans The Seer: people bitch about Yes and Tales From Topographic Oceans, and yet they can sit through 30 minutes straight of Gira's endless repetitive noodling and treat it like a spiritual orgasm. It's a good record, but that's still a double standard, folks: give me a break!)

That rant aside, Susanne Sundfør is a babe from the land of the ice and snow who'd normally get pigeonholed in the generally "quirky/Indie" sphere of female singer-songwriters who magnetically attract critical acclaim in the same way that Daniel Day Lewis attracts Academy Award nominations. That being said, this girl is in a league of her own. Partly because she can actually sing in tune, and partly because the songs themselves on this 3rd studio outing, The Silicone Veil, from the arrangements to the production style to her choice of instrumentation, are gorgeous even when they don't knock your socks off. Think Depeche Mode meets the lovechild of Bjork and Joanna Newsom and you'll have some degree of comprehension on how this clicks together.

The YouTube videos below can instill a more thorough appreciation of her particular sound than I could in words, but nevertheless: this is a beautiful album that's slipped under a lot of people's radars for the last couple of months....don't let it slip through yours! It nearly made my list after all. :tramp:

"Oh fucknuts, another supergroup..." sighs a reader as he comes to the bottom of page 3 on Anteater's amazing and life-changing 12 For '12 thread. "That smooth jazz stuffz he reviews is so orgasmic...but I hate heavy music!! Damn you Anteater, damn you!!"

However, my dear disappointed readers, how can anyone hate a musical camaraderie made up of former members of Dog Fashion Disco and Nothingface, destroying your speakers via a high-fi, hi-intensity level of thrashery that sounds like early Deftones on crack cocaine?

These industrious troublemakers, appropriately aggressive under the moniker of Knives Out!, have been diagnosed with a severe yet deliriously fun case of sonic schizophrenia that punches holes through all manners of sound based confinement. The listening equivalent, as the title track affirms, of "riding a headless horse into a non-stop suicide". Good thing I brought a saddle! :D

And what is my professional opinion, you may ask? Well, if you missed this violent tour-de-force back in 2012, be sure to snap it up immediamente I say! And if you happen to be nursing an old flame for late 90's alternative metal and a certain red-faced breed of experimentalism...well, you might just fall in love again before the day is through.

Unsurprisingly to me, I'm on the fence about a lot of these albums. Knives Out! reminds me of Acid Bath or some other Dax band so that's good but I seem to only like portions of songs that you posted.

I'm always interested in what Testament is up to and I didn't realize they had made anything new but.. I'm not sure if I need anything new from them.

Those Susanne Sundfør songs sound kind of nice, better than Fiona Apple, but Fiona only sounds sort of okay to me. In this review you insulted me for hating Yes but liking Swans. So I'm kind of offended but I haven't listened to The Seer yet. I know I don't like Yes so now I'm even more reluctant to devote time to The Seer (thank you much) but I will say that I definitely like My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky despite my definite dislike of Yes.

Also, I hate every band that you mentioned in your review of The Night Flight Orchestra (Led Zeppelin's okay) but I still like the songs you posted. (I'll take a link, please :))

I'm not sure I agree that The Panic Division made a better 80s pop revival record than any of the bands that tried in the past 10 or 12 years. But maybe.

As always, your taste is intriguing and your writing is good enough to beguile me. I just don't know what to think.

Great job this year:beer:

And a great job to you too, good sir. :beer:

First of all, that Testament record is easily the best thing they've done since they got started in the late 80's, so that's why its worth checking out even if you aren't planning on furthering your library with their material. :)

Also, believe it or not, I actually like Swans (and to a less extent, Michael Gira's more solo-oriented output as well) quite a bit. The point I was trying to make is that a lot of the more experimental drone and post-rock that some people around here put on a pedestal isn't all that different from a lot of the 70's progressive rock that they consider to be pretentious. Yes, there are aesthetic differences and whatnot, but I still consider it to be something of a double standard as far as genre appraisal goes.

Then again, I'm a tad surprised anyone can completely hate Yes even if you aren't particularly prog-friendly, especially on some of their more blistering and strange records like 1975's Relayer, which you might want to give a whirl at some point if you haven't done so in the past. :pimp:

The Panic Division are more interesting than a lot of the other 80's pop revivalists out there because he (Colton Holliday) melds that aesthetic with more contemporary-ish hooks and arrangements. That facet isn't all that surprising considering his history as a frontman in a post-hardcore group, but it certainly sets his music apart from the majority.

But yeah, I'll be sending The Night Flight Orchestra your way. Enjoy!!

As promised, here are my reflections on the Night Flight Orchestra album:

I'm a bit stunned at my reaction to this because I like it the whole way through, mostly. Normally I hate when rock bands base their songs on major chord progressions and match every element (guitar, bass, voice, beats) to that progression. But this album took me off guard.

It has subtle elements that make me like it and most of them are probably personal. Based on my own experiences with the music I heard as a child.

First of all, if the vocalist had made noises at a pitch that were even slightly different than he did, I would probably not be able to listen to this. But he doesn't go too far off the rails for me, never going too dramatic or falsetto. He sings like a 70s/80s rock singer that I find acceptable.

Now, before I approve any of the other current prog-esque acts that I've heard, I must note that I can barely get through this band's song entitled "Transatlantic Blues" because it goes on forever. I appreciate its lack of proggy noodlings but it's still too long. Way too long.

But there's something I like about this album so I'll try to place it. For one, a lot of it generally sounds like 80s hard rock that I like (I dunno, Dokken Lite?). Also, I like the 70s disco/rock sounds on "Internal Affairs" and while "1998" for example is almost too cheesy for me, its cheesiness manages to fly under my radar. Some of the other songs also almost turn me off completely but then end up sounding just enough like War (or some-such) that I like them.

Overall, this album sounds like it was made by a band whose 70s and 80s singles I like. I doubt I can adequately describe that with words. It's just a feeling and even the saxophone interludes don't bother me much. Essentially, almost every time that it fully turns into prog cheese, it returns to the territory of plain old 3-minute classic rock songs.

Granted, if I'm not in the mood for major chords, this turns me way off, but if I am in that mood then the album gives me a listening experience similar to that of the 'heavy' bands that were on 70s and 80s pop radio, and I like that.