Boys Noize - "Out Of The Black" 2012
This is a solid full length electronic release, but not stellar. I don't know if there's any super bangers on here, for me anyways, but there's still plenty to dance to, and plenty more ear candy. Check out this sweet video for "Ich R U". Also check out "Touch It", "Missile", and "Rocky 2". People that enjoy music by acts like Daft Punk, Justice, SebastiAn, and Mr. Oizo, will like this.
Willie Nelson - "Heroes" 2012
So, I did listen to the Boys Noize album and this one back to back. Not really that weird for me to switch from electronic to country, but what I found funny was that Snoop Dogg appears as a guest on both of these albums, and doesn't sound out of place on either one, even though both are very far away from the genre he's from. This new Willie Nelson album is pretty solid. He puts out a lot of albums over the years, and a lot of them are crap, but this one is definitely enjoyable. Check out "Roll Me Up" featuring Snoop Dogg, Jamey Johnson, & Kris Kristofferson, "Every Time He Drinks He Thinks Of Her" featuring Lukas Nelson, and "Hero" featuring Jamey Johnson and Billy Joe Shaver. Just some good country music.
Ta-ku - "Re/Twerk" 2012
I found out about this beat maker through his 50 Days For Dilla tribute series. This seems to be a collection of remixes of other artist's songs, some of which he just makes new beats for the vocals and some of which he just makes completely new compositions out of parts of other song's vocals and his original beats. Either way, there's a lot of cool styles being represented here, and he definitely put his name in my mind for people to watch for in the coming year. Check out "Diamond Mouth", "Get It Girl", his remix of "Dance Bear" by Snakadaktal, and the phenomenal textures of "Sweat Like Keith".
Ikonika - "I Make Lists" 2012
The EP isn't bad, but there's nothing about it that makes it stand out in my mind either. Just some good upbeat electronic music to have on in the background. Check out the title track, "I Make Lists", "With Your Mouth", and "Cold Soaking".
SoKo - "I Thought I Was An Alien" 2012
A blind download that definitely paid off. I had to look up some info on her and found out that she's from France. Very unique songwriting for someone that is basically using no electric instruments at all. Pretty much every song on here is great, her voice and lyrics are captivating without her sounding like she's trying to be that way. It's just flowing naturally. Check out "Don't You Touch Me", "For Marlon", "How Are You", "I Just Want To Make It New With You", and "No More Home, No More Love". I can't stress enough that people should check her out.
Purity Ring - "Shrines" 2012
Why is it that most groups that get touted as being great by Pitchfork usually are very bland and generic to me? This is definitely no exception to that. I don't understand the draw of this group, unless you're the type of person that hasn't heard any newer electronic music from the last 3-4 years, and then this might sound semi-innovative. Everything about this album is so cold and calculated, there's no warmth or emotion at all to me. Just the same washed out filter effects and chopped up vocal stabs, poorly executed the exact same way on every track with no variation. It's like they took some of the production techniques from a lot of music I actually do enjoy, and turned it into a color by number painting or something. Some of this could be excused if this singer's voice was cool at all, but she sounds just as flat and generic as the music behind her. There's nothing interesting or moving about this music at all. Check out the video for "Fineshrine".
Elusive - "Illumination Knock" 2012
I remember Elusive from making beats for a lot of west coast people from Project Blowed and Living Legends mostly from about 10 or so years ago. He seems to have re-emerged and trying to be part of the beat scene now. Sometimes it works out pretty good, but other times I think it sounds like he's forcing some awkward timing and drum programming just to fit in the overall feel and sound of the beat scene, and the songs themselves suffer a little bit from it. Check out the bandcamp page for it, since none of these tracks are on youtube.
Two Fingers - "Stunt Rhythms" 2012
This is just Amon Tobin putting out music that's more palatable for the masses under an alias. It still carries his basic sound, and maybe sometimes his weirdness needs a little bit of "dumbing down" sometimes, so a normal person could enjoy it as well. This is an incredibly solid album, I would say the only missteps are the rap guests on a couple tracks not being good enough at what they do to be appearing on beats so fresh, but there's tons of great material on here. Check out "Lock86", "Deep Jinx", "Smurf", "101 South", and "Magoo".
Beneath The Massacre - "Incongruous" 2012
Very solid metal release. This one goes pretty hard. I like the guitar solos on this a lot. Check out "Left Hand", "Damages" and "Unheard".
The Chicharones - "Swine Flew" 2012
The Chicharones is the duo of Josh Martinez and Sleep from Oldominion. This album is a good listen, and definitely a better alternative to stuff that is currently hitting right now like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis that is in a similar vein. In a similar way to how Boots Riley from The Coup is album to infuse comedy with politics, these guys infuse comedy with emo/self-help type hip hop, and do so in a way that doesn't make them come off preachy or corny and after-school specially (*cough Macklemore*). This is actually music that is genuinely fun to listen to, and it doesn't sound like they're talking down to you or anything. Both of these guys have a sing songy style that works out well and makes everything palatable. Check out "Never Had It Easy", "Oldfashioned", and "Bankers Bonanza".
Apathy - "It's The Bootleg Muthafuckas! Vol. 3: Fire Walk With Me" 2012
As with the first 2 volumes of this series, there's a wide range of quality due to the wide range of guests and sources of these songs. It's worth checking if you like his older stuff though. He's not as washed up sounding as some of his counterparts, but he also still sounds like he's partially stuck in the past a little bit too. Check out "Dancing On Your Grave (Remix)" featuring Xzibit, Paul Wall, Ryu, Murs, and Scoop Deville, "If You Forgot My Name" featuring Royce Da 5'9", and "Most Murderous Music".
Ty Segall - "Twins" 2012
Ty Segall is someone I discovered via a blind download of a 2008 release of his. Fast forward a couple years, and all of the sudden his name is everywhere. It's great to see a QUALITY rock artist like this get his just due, and hopefully this era is just the beginning for him, because I see him being a major figure within music for years to come. Check out "There Is No Tomorrow", "Thank God For The Sinners", "You're The Doctor", "Would You Be My Love", and "Ghost".
Igorrr - "Hallelujah" 2012
All I have to say about this album is WOW! This literally blew me away. This is one of the dudes from Whourkr's solo stuff, and I think I like it better than that material, which I enjoy a great deal. The crazy thing about this is that he wears all of his influences on his sleeve (Venetian Snares, Mr. Bungle etc.) but this music is arguably better sounding to my ears today than those act's music is. This isn't for the faint of heart or musically unadventurous, but there is an underlying beauty to the way these songs are put together and carefully edited. Check out "Damaged Wig", "Cicadidae", "Vegetable Soup", "Absolute Psalm", and "Infinite Loop".
Tony Trimm & Hannibal Buress - "Charcuteries & Champagne" 2012
I don't know why this concept hasn't been done before, to my knowledge, but this is so awesome. A DJ laying down some cool music and Hannibal Buress talking shit over the songs about whatever pops in his head. Download it here.
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