January 4, 2013
QRO’s year-end list reflects the oddity and diversity of 2012 – the year the world didn’t end. Lots of releases, little agreement – it was 2012:
| 20 | Father John Misty Fear Fun 2012 saw Joshua Tillman graduate from Fleet Foxes and graduate into his own alt-folk troubadour persona. |
 |
| 19 | Jack White Blunderbuss Many wondered what Jack White’s first solo album would be like and, of course, it was great. Read review |
 |
| 18 | 2:54 2:54 It’s just the right time for these shoegaze-meets-grunge sisters. |
 |
| 17 | Divine Fits A Thing Called Divine Fits Britt Daniel of Spoon & Daniel Boeckner of Wolf Parade put another feather in their alt-caps. Read review |
 |
| 16 | Bob Mould Silver Age Alt-punk ultra-veteran delivers some of his best work in decades. Would that we all could have this kind of Silver Age. Read review |
 |
| 15 | Lower Dens Nootropics Baltimore’s pride had a great year with a gutsy, intense, artsy-yet-approachable album and a nice spot at ATP. |
 |
| 14 | Passion Pit Gossamer Electro dance pop for the masses. After this release, it’s safe to say, “They made it”. Read review |
 |
| 13 | The Lumineers The Lumineers You’ve likely heard their stand out song, but you need to hear all of the folk rock goodness from this Denver trio. |
 |
| 12 | Yeasayer Fragrant World Alt-darlings do it again, again, with yet more unclassifiable & incredible. Read review |
 |
| 11 | Dinosaur Jr. I Bet On Sky It’s unprecedented how great their twenty-first century has been. Always Bet On Dinosaur Jr. Read review |
 |
| 10 | Mumford & Sons Babel Enough folk and rock to hopefully last you until their third release. Read review |
 |
| 9 | Of Monsters and Men My Heart Is an Animal A perfect start for this Icelandic group. Hold onto this album. Read review |
 |
| 8 | Ty Segall Twins Not only did he manage to put out no less than two singles and three full length recordings in 2012, but Twins was a culmination of polished distorted fuzz and reverb and from the one man songwriting powerhouse. |
 |
| 7 | A Place To Bury Strangers Worship ‘The loudest band in New York’ is also one of the best – drawing in the listener while simultaneously pummeling him. Read review |
 |
| 6 | Frank Ocean Channel Orange Ocean recites life back to us with Channel Orange – an unexpected experience to divulge in. |
 |
| 5 | Ariel Pink Mature Themes A traveling circus sideshow for most of 2012 thanks to the live antics of the frontman from another planet, but the shenanigans play well on record. Read review |
 |
| 4 | Grizzly Bear Shields Are these avant-auteurs even able to make a record that’s not a critical success? |
 |
| 3 | alt-J An Awesome Wave Satisfies your weird side and all of the cravings it has. A great blend of rock, hip hop, and electronic elements that make it a very satisfying listen. |
 |
| 2 | DIIV Oshin An incredible release in spite of never intending to leave the bedroom. Thankfully something like this unlikely mix of beach pop psych and minimal krautrock can’t be easily contained. Read review |
 |
| 1 | Japandroids Celebration Rock Runaway pick for #1 – everything that’s right about indie and rock. Read review |
 |
at
No Comment
