2012 was an insanely good year for music. So much diversity, so many interesting people doing interesting things. These were some of my favourite songs of the year.
Album: "12:34"
Released: July 2012
On a hot Friday afternoon in June, I snuck out of work and went to a bar in a suit to see these guys play. It was loud, sweaty, and packed... and it was awesome.
Album: "Forever"
Released: Feb 2012
Girl pop! A quintessential 2012 summer jam.
Album: "Barchords"
Released: Feb 2013
My kind of mellow. Barchords was able to do the minimalist, spacey, balladeer thing without being boring. This was one of the louder, up tempo tracks on the album.
Album: "Port Of Morrow"
Released: March 2012
I realize it’s 2012 and no one is running around with oversized earphones claiming that The Shins will change your life, but surprisingly there were a couple of gems on Port Of Morrow.
Album: "Misery/Stay - 7 Inch"
Released: June 2012
Favourite live show of 2012. A band of seven (including two drummers!) that packed triple the punch.
Album: "The Bard of Montreal - Compilation"
Released: April 2012
Hazy summer vibes got ditched for a fuzzy Jawbreaker sound. In the spring, I had to drive to Edmonton by myself, I played this track on repeat in lieu of coffee.
Album: "Celebration Rock"
Released: June 2012
Vancouver represent! Vancouver represent! Vancouver represent! Vancouver represent! Vancouver represent! But seriously... Vancouver represent!
Album: "channel ORANGE"
Released: July 2012
Save for his performance on SNL where he stopped mid performance to play video games, everything about channel Orange was great.
Album: "Looking 4 Myself"
Released: June 2012
Mainstream R&B steals from the Weeknd's playbook... with sexy results.
Album: "Sun"
Released: Sept 2012
Ironically, the year Chan Marshal put out a big, happy, sounding album she also canceled her tour and declared bankruptcy.
Album: "In Our Heads"
Released: June 2012
On this track Hot Chip nailed what they do best... bittersweet pop disguised as throw away electronic music. The rest of the album... not so much.
Album: "Get Free - Single"
Released: May 2012
For the first time ever Major Lazer actually toned it down for a couple of minutes and created another quintessential summer jam.
Album: "Visions"
Released: Jan 2012
The alien love-child of Aphex Twin and ABBA. It took me a bit of time to get on the Grimes bandwagon, but her charm is undeniable.
Album: "Heaven"
Released: May 2012
Heaven wins my vote for album of the year. It was a flawless comeback album and this particular track may be the most gorgeous song written so far in the twenty first century.
Album: "Swing Lo Magellan"
Released: July 2012
A lot of people were divided on this album. I thought it was the perfect amount of weird.
Album: "Shut Down The Streets"
Released: Oct 2012
While this may not be the best album that came out in 2012, it was the one I enjoyed the most. Shut Down The Streets was AC Newman playing a mellow version of himself and he almost cheated by tapping his New Pornographers band mates for session work.
Album: "Rough Gold"
Released: March 2012
It would be cool if more songs sounded like this.
Album: "Losing You - Single"
Released: Oct 2012
Solange isn’t normally my cup of tea but this was an undeniable stone groove.
Album: "Latch - Single"
Released: Oct 2012
Electronic jam of the year. In fact, 2012 was the year of Disclosure. These dudes – who are both under the age of 20 – can do no wrong.
Album: "Curiosity - EP"
Released: Feb 2012
I tried my best to ignore this track and not put it on my list, but who am I kidding?! 3 minutes of pop perfection that was the soundtrack to some of best parties and happiest moments of my year.
Album: "It's The Arps - EP"
Released: Jan 2012
Todd Terje puts on a master class in synthy instrumental electronica. The entirety of this song feels like a spacey excursion (in a good way).