Albums 2012

Following my favorite songs of the year, here are my favorite records of 2012. Thank you so much for reading all year. I'll finish up the year end posts with my guest lists next week.

Songs 2012

Just like that, the end of the year is upon us. I'm starting my year end countdowns with my favorite songs of 2012. My albums and guest lists will follow. It's been another great year for music and I hope you find something below that you enjoy.

James Blake played Music Hall of Williamsburg

"The great thing about New York is that people always seem to be on your side" stated James Blake shortly after easing his way into a spectacular show in Brooklyn and that statement never seemed so true. With the crowd hanging on every word, it seemed as if there was a cheer after every line he uttered kicking off with the opening lyrics"My brother and my sister" from "I Never Learnt to Share". Playing a heavy dose of material from his incredible debut and other EPs, Blake took a moment during some brief technical difficulty to let us know "the new record is almost finished" and some of the tracks from the forthcoming album even made their U.S. debuts. Carefully blending pristine vocals with tight beats that burst at the seams, Blake, with the support of two fantastic backing musicians playing live guitar and drums, unleashed a gorgeous display of crooning soulful vocals and concentrated dub blasts that hit you directly in your core. The dizzying early classic "CMYK" sounded as fresh and relentless as ever and his cover of Feist's "Limit to Your Love" brought the show to another level. He really seems to have made that song his own. For someone who has had a relatively quiet year, it was sensational to see people so mesmerized by a performance. His vocals can easily be compared to those of Thom Yorke or one-time collaborator Justin Vernon, but his ability to bend and manipulate them to fit snuggly within his deep hypnotic rhythms, displays a genius level of songwriting skills. Adding layers of warbled samples and rich textures only add to his craftsmanship  When he announced the final song of the evening, an astounding version of "Wilhelm Scream", the crowd responded with a heartfelt sigh to which Blake simply said, "I was hoping you'd do that". After a brief tease, he was back for more swirling textures that immediately transfixed the entire room. Yet with momentum building, the night came to a close with a delicate and much requested "A Case of You" which absolutely melted the crowd and ended an enchanting performance.

Animal Collective played Terminal 5

There was a lot riding on Animal Collective's make-up gig for their cancelled appearance at the Williamsburg Waterfront. My last encounter with the band was during their 2007 tour in support of the awesome Strawberry Jam. It was probably the most disappointing show I've seen in the past five years.

Playing a set of material mostly from the good (but not great) Centipede Hz, the group was surrounded by psychedelic claws and rainbow saturated teeth that hosted an outburst of warped images and television static. Exploding to life during new tunes "Applesauce" "Wide Eyed" and "Moonjock" the group was firing on all cylinders and seamlessly transitioned between each track. The slow burning "Crimson" got the night off to a slow start and lead single "Today's Supernatural" fell flat along with "Mercury Man" as Avey Tare donned his best Pat Smear hair style and sat cornered away while Deakin and Geologist kept the momentum at a high. Schizoid blasts of electric pulses were non-stop and throbbing bass lines echoed the cavernous hall; the band has never seemed so distant from their Sung Tong days. Panda Bear's booming "New Town Burnout" sounded as epic as ever and it was such a pleasure to see him behind a drum kit. As Merriweather closer "Brother Sport" began to take shape towards the end of the main set, the crowd reached a new level of excitement that had laid dormant for most of the new material. An epic sing-a-long from the crowd ensued during the monstrous hit as a wave of bliss overcame the audience. After what seemed like the culmination of sonic ecstasy for the evening, the song bled into "Peacebone" and Avey ditch his postion behind synths and boards for his traditional place in the front. His screams soared and his body lurched during each wail bringing the primitive nature of the band back into the mix. The encore kicked off with the under appreciated "Also Frightened" before the mega-sensation "My Girls" brought the crowd to a near frenzy. Things winded down with "Amanita", the closer from their latest release and probably the weakest track on the album. It was an unfortunate low to an evening of tremendous promise for a band not known to be crowd pleasers. Going into an Animal Collective show with any kind of expectation is a mistake and when you allow the band to take you on their magical journey with an open mind, you are far better off than hoping for them to play some sort of greatest hits set.

Setlist:
01 Crimson
02 Today's Supernatural
03 Wide Eyed
04 Applesauce
05 Mercury Man
06 Lion in a Coma
07 Moonjock
08 Father Time
09 New Town Burnout
10 Monkey Riches
11 Brother Sport
12 Peacebone
--
13 Also Frightened
14 My Girls
15 Amanita

Dinosaur Jr. played "You're Living All Over Me" at Terminal 5

Dinosaur Jr. playing their toxic fueled masterpiece You're Living All Over Me in its entirety is enough of a selling point on a show by itself, however add on a dream list of special guests, and it instantly becomes legendary. As the band catapulted into "Little Fury Things" they were joined by Lee Ranaldo who helped deliver extra backing vocals as the band celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of their immortal sophomore record. Played in near perfection, the trio ripped through the entire album busting out prime, oozed-out, renditions of "Sludgefeast", "In a Jar", "The Lung", "Tarpit" and culminating with Lou's lo-fi precursor "Poledo". And that was only the beginning. In the weeks leading up to the celebration, special guests were said to be joining the band onstage, but the onslaught of stars was nothing short of spectacular. Pixies leader Frank Black joined in on a new tune before sticking around for Doolittle classic "Tame" and that was only the beginning. Johnny Marr found his way to the stage along with Kevin Drew for perhaps the most epic version of the already killer "The Wagon" before leading the grunge pioneers into the Smiths classic "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side". And the hits just kept on coming. Kim Gordon pulverized "Don't" off Bug in what was one of the most thrilling and raw performances of the night. Seeing the queen of fuzzed out rock alongside the titans of Dinosaur is not something soon to be forgotten. Hell, they even through in a Deep Wound track. In someways it seemed like a fantasy. Dinosaur Jr. covering the Pixies with Frank Black and the Smiths with Johnny Marr is something straight out of a dream and being there to witness it in person will unquestionably be remembered for years to come. The encore kicked off with Fred Armisen taking on drumming duties and Tommy Stinson picking up the bass to cover the Stooges' "TV Eye" before bringing Kevin Drew back for "Start Choppin". Fittingly, the night ended with the forever fantastic "Freakscene", but not before the absolute annihilation of the audience. Sure there were some jams that lasted too long and some of J's solos were long winded, but that only made the classics shine through in  an even greater light and in some moments be down right captivating. It seems strange to be gawking at a Dinosaur Jr. show in 2012, but tonight saw the band in rare form as they were joined by other visionaries that without a doubt influenced almost all in attendance. There are sometimes when Dinosaur Jr. can seem on par with your friend's garage band that you've seen a million times throughout the years, and then there are moments when everything clicks and you are witnessing three men  unleashing some sort of magical power. The explosive guitar wails of J Masics and the locked in tight rhythms from Lou and Murph are certainly forces to be reckoned with and twenty-five years after the release of their magnum opus, it is clear that many other bands still have a lot of catching up to do.

Setlist:
01 "Thumb"
02 "Little Fury Things" (w/ Lee Ranaldo)
03 "Kracked"
04 "Sludgefeast"
05 "The Lung"
06 "Raisins"
07 "Tarpit"
08 "In a Jar"
09 "Lose"
10 "Poledo"
11 "Almost Fare" (w/ Frank Black)
12 "Tame" (w/ Frank Black) [Pixies cover]
13 "Alone" (w/ Al Cisneros & Kurt Vile)
14 "Don't Pretend You Didn't Know"
15 "Watch the Corners"
16 "The Wagon" (w/ Johnny Marr & Kevin Drew)
17 "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" (w/ Johnny Marr) [Smiths cover]
18 "Training Ground" (w/ Dale Crover) [Deep Wound] cover
19 "Gargoyle"
20 "Crucified" [Iron Cross]
21 "Don't" (w/ Kim Gordon)
--
22 "TV Eye" (w/ Fred Armisen & Tommy Stinson)
23 "Start Choppin"
24 "Freakscene"

Neil Young & Crazy Horse played Madison Square Garden

My only prior experience seeing Neil Young, was in 2008 when he was doing a combination of his greatest hits and new pleasures. This was not that same show. This time around, Neil has taken Crazy Horse out for another wild ride and watching these guys jam for over two hours was surely a sight to be seen. It has been called the "Crazy Horse Huddle", where Neil, Billy Talbot, and Frank "Poncho" Sampedro stand in a close-knit circle and repeatedly blast each other with monstrous guitar solos so larger than life, it's a wonder any of them can still hear and that their guitar necks don't break on a nightly basis. Entering to the Beatles' "A Day in the Life", stage hands dressed as crazed scientists assembled ten foot tall amps reminiscent from the Rust Never Sleeps era and the legends launched into "Love and Only Love" before the classic "Powderfinger". Gargantuan licks erupted from the band and Neil's signature thundering guitar seemed to be just as powerful as ever. From here on out, the band alternated between some classics and new tunes from the recent Psychedelic Pill. "Walk Like a Giant" can easily be seen as the junior to Neil's classic "Like a Hurricane" and it definitely has an ego complex. Stretched out to an epic 16+ minute long jam, junior might not be appropriate, however the homage to its older counterpart is crystal clear. The juggernaut of a tune culminated with a five minute long noise jam that you would expect from Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr, but clearly the Godfather of Grunge is not ready to hand over his title any time soon. At this point in his career, Neil is privileged enough to do what he wants, such as recycle riffs that worked for him decades prior and in a sense, reinvent his own wheel. Midway through his two hour performance, the acoustic portion of the set kicked off with the onstage banter from Live Rust and fake rain poured down on the stage as Neil delighted the crowd with "The Needle and the Damage Done". After the brief acoustic stint, it was back to the rocking classics. Another new jam, "Ramada Inn" was followed by an enthusiastic "Cinnamon Girl" from the Crazy Horse time machine and really saw people rise to their feet. The night concluded with "Mr. Soul" from Neil's days with Buffalo Springfield before the droning closer "Hey Hey, My My". For many in attendance, the show did not feature enough of the classis, which Mr Young certainly has enough of to make up an entire setlist, however watching these four men jam out with brilliant guitar playing was definitely a treat. For almost half a century, Neil Young has been a pioneer in both his song-writing and colossal sounding guitar and his performance at Madison Square Garden certainly aided to the idea that this living legend has inspired countless acts over the years even well into his tenure, Neil can outplay many that linger in his shadow.

Setlist:
01 "Love and Only Love"
02 "Powderfinger"
03 "Born in Ontario"
04 "Walk Like a Giant"
05 "The Needle and the Damage Done"
06 "Twisted Road"
07 "Singer without a Song"
08 "Ramada Inn"
09 "Cinnamon Girl"
10 "Fuckin Up"
11 "Mr. Soul" (Buffalo Springfield song)
12 "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"
--
13 "Roll Another Number for the Road"

Metz played Mercury Lounge

After obliterating the Knitting Factory during Sub Pop's CMJ Showcase, it was made clear that Metz was an act never to miss. As Mercury Lounge fell into darkness, the Toronto thrashers erupted in sonic furry that bubbled up into oblivion before collapsing into an absolute audio assault. In a year when punk has been resurrected to the indie circuit with bands like the Men channeling their inner Dinosaur Jr and Hüsker Dü and Titus Andronicus echoing the Replacements, Metz have angled their sound towards the more agressive and noise ridden tendencies of the Jesus Lizard and Big Black. Their striking and violent guitar is brought forth with sinister melodies and blood-curdling screams that are enough to give anyone an instant asthma attack, yet these guys still found time to joke aboot being from Canada. Jagged guitars rip at the pulsating bass lines and cymbals crash down like thunder; there was no stopping these three. They wrenched their guitar necks with such vigor and in such syncopation; their rhythms completely locked into a solid groove. "Get Off" and "The Mule" had some particular angst, but really there was never a dull moment. From the jolting opening until the ear bleeding finish, Metz were razor sharp delivering blow after blow to a masochistic crowd and a hyper-extended "Wet Blanket" delivered the knockout punch to end the trio's lightening set.

Widowspeak - "Ballad of the Golden Hour"

Widowspeak (my favorite Brooklyn band at the moment) has announced that they will release Almanac, the follow-up to their brilliant self-titled debut album, on January 22 via Captured Tracks. The album was produced by Kevin McMahon who also worked on Real Estate's Days and Titus Andonicus' The Monitor. You can check out the album art above and download the first single "Ballad of the Golden Hour" below as well as the full tracklist.

Widowspeak - "Ballad of the Golden Hour"

Tracklist:

01"Perennials"
02 "Dyed in the Wool"
03 "The Dark Age"
04 "Thick as Thieves"
05 "Almanac"
06 "Ballad of the Golden Hour"
07 "Devil Knows"
08 "Sore Eyes"
09 "Locusts"
10 "Minnewaska"
11 "Spirit is Willing"
12 "Storm King"

Buke and Gase - "Blue Monday"

Brooklyn lo-fi folk punks Buke and Gase have released a cover of New Order's epic "Blue Monday" to benefit relief efforts in Red Hook, Brooklyn from Hurricane Sandy. Living in New York City for almost seven years now, I cannot begin to describe the events of the past week. It was unlike anything I've been through as a New Yorker and hopefully something that no one will have to live through again. Stay safe everyone!

Atoms for Peace - "What the Eyeballs Did"

Here's a new one from Thom Yorke and Co. (now known as Atoms for Peace) called "What the Eyeballs Did". It's the b-side to "Default" which they debuted a few months back and was premiered yesterday by Mary Anne Hobbs (you can here her talking at the end). As you would expect, Flea lays down a killer bass line.

Their new album is expected in early 2012.