While the album charts have all been dominated by the continuing presence of Adele and Ed Sheeran, 2012 has thrown up a raft of great albums (along with some real stinkers, but we’ll get on to those soon).
Before you all jump down my throats about not knowing Idaho’s 473rd most famous fuzz-rock band, these are my favourites amongst the clutch of albums I’ve heard this year, not a definitive list of the single best album of 2012, as well as our favourite soundtrack of the year and the best surprise of the year.
10) Best Coast – The Only Place
Best Coast’s sophomore effort shows that the group have almost perfected their sunshine infused surf-rock sound, with The Only Place mixing an infectious set of tunes with some wonderfully melancholic lyrics.
The record may start off as a feel good jaunt, but soon gets into a surprisingly downbeat mood, wonderfully masking it's lyrics with cheery arrangements and guitar riffs that put a smile on you face. Like a razor blade inside an apple, Best Coast's sophomore effort is a triumph.
9) Metric - Synthetica
It’s been a good few years for Metric after they hit the big time with their album Fantasies, now three years later they’ve returned with their best album yet in the form of Synthetica.
Lead singers Emily Haine’s vocals are still simply gorgeous, with the albums massive hooks, choruses all the better for coming out of her. She’s not the only standout factor on the album, as it’s one of the most cohesive wholes in music this year, the instrumentation swelling and falling perfectly to make every song effortlessly catchy.
This is an album full of instantly memorable, disarmingly melancholic and utterly charming indie-rock tracks that sees a great band at the very height of their powers.
8) Adam Lambert - Trespassing
While traditional pop may not have turned out too many barnstormers this year, Adam Lambert’s second album is a massive statement from the American Idol runner up, with Trespassing being an absolute barnstorming effort.
Thankfully throwing off the shackles of the pop ballad that held him back on his debut, Trespassing lets Lambert fully embrace himself as artist letting the guitars and eyeliner fully spread their wings.
The album might have made the headlines by being the first album by an openly gay singer to top the Billboard 200 in America, but Trespassing should be on more people’s radar’s for purely musical reasons.
An outstanding pop-rock album that revels in what it is and deserves to put Lambert in the upper echelons of the genre.
7) NeedToBreathe - The Reckoning
NeedToBreathe just get better and better, with this latest album a spine-tingling collection of heart rending tracks that will leave you simply wanting more.
This fourth album from the South Carolina collective is a harder, rockier record than we’ve come to expect from NeedToBreathe in recent years, but the band absolutely flourishes under this new sound, incorporating their country and Christian origins effortlessly with this grander more elaborate set-up.
Yes, the album does have a moral compass, but don’t let the idea put you off, it merely results in some gorgeous and philosophical lyrics.
Lead singer Bear Rinehart’s vocal is astonishing throughout, with his wailing voice full of more barely contained emotion than you could think humanly possible, especially in the albums opener Oohs and Ahhs. It’s this heady of combination of his pain passion fuelled vocal and grand instrumentation that makes The Reckoning the finest album that NeedToBreathe have constructed yet.
6) The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
I love a big old slice of American rock n’ roll and to say The Gaslight Anthem’s latest LP hit the spot would be putting it mildly.
From Brian Fallon’s gravel laden vocals to the buzz-saw like guitars that rip throughout the entire record, Handwritten is a fantastic memorial to a much loved era of American rock that kicks harder than a Corvette when allowed to crack open the throttle.
While their full blown rock tracks leave you breathless, it’s the surprising levels of heart on offer that tip handwritten over the edge and makes it something truly special. The New Jersey group’s fourth album is a continued statement that they have no intention of leaving their spot as one of the genre’s most beloved bands.
Soundtrack Of The Year - Hotline Miami
Ok, so this is a massive cheat, as this is more a collection even than even an original soundtrack, but this bumper collection of 80’s themed music is an absolute work of brilliance.
Hotline Miami was an independent video game that took the internet by storm with its bizarre story, incredible amounts of violence and more than just a passing similarity to the movie Drive. It may be the game’s soundtrack
that’s attracted the most attention of all though as it’s an absolutely amazing collection of murky, dark electronica that feels like the greatest steam-clean your ears have ever had.
From the down and dirty Knock Knock and Vengeance to the clean and calming Miami, this is a collection that begs to be listened too over and over again. Just don’t do it in the office or you’ll find yourself physically gripping on to furniture to stop you making a fool of yourself.
Perturbator’s Miami Disco might also be the best track I’ve heard all of this year, having become as crucial to my daily routine as breathing, eating and making sarcastic comments.
Best Surprise – Aiden Grimshaw – Misty Eye
When we first got a hold of Aiden Grimshaw’s debut album we had no idea what to expect. When it had come to its conclusion, we couldn’t believe it.
Grimshaw had taken the time off and grown so much as artist, he was barely recognisable from the singer we saw on The X Factor.
Make sure to come back tomorrow to find out what our five favourite albums of the year were. Also, what was your favourite album of the year? Let us know in the comment section below.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in The Gaslight Anthem Adam Lambert Aiden Grimshaw