As disclosed in the award announcement, our album of the year category this year is composed of the winners of all our genre categories, as well as one personally chosen record from each writer. Since the Best Album podcast is due up within 24 hours, now is the time to talk about those personal picks. So, let’s!
Oh, also, explanations given by respective writers. I can’t get it to not say that I wrote it. So yeah.
John – “Get Disowned” by Hop Along
This the only album that didn’t make it to any of the award categories, since it didn’t really click heavily with the rest of the staff until after we had all of that done. This actually works out pretty well, since I don’t really have a great idea of what genre it would get slotted into between Rock and Pop. But enough about site politics: the work Hop Along has created is definitely something that belongs in the discussion for the best music of 2012. They effortlessly balance between meekly personal and big as love compositions while pacing around the waning flame of their own youth. The difference is that where most would look away or engage it with metaphor, Hop Along stares right at it and records it in detail. And as a fire burns brightest before it’s extinguished, the closing title track that the whole record builds towards is both devestating and redeeming of every second of time put in.
Matt – “Tramp” by Sharon Van Etten
No blurb. Soz. Matt chose Tramp largely because he only listened to a little bit of music this year, but we did a whole podcast on how goddamn good it is, so you could go check that out.
Andrew – “Bish Bosch” by Scott Walker
The first time I heard “Bish Bosch” I was driving down Highway 50 to get to a class. I finished during the regular, intense traffic on the way back. The experience I had with it was unabatedly weird, getting inside my skin, my head, and if it was possible, it would probably try to get in through other orifices of my body. I didn’t feel the same for the rest of the evening, I just kept thinking about what in the fuck “Bish Bosh” was or meant and how it haunted my throughout my drive. There were fleeting mentions of dictators and fart noises and while one could perhaps gather nothing, I felt a flicker through Scott Walker’s dialogue, but I wasn’t exactly sure where it came from. A lot of the material is simply something I can’t explain on my own, you need to do your own paying attention, your own deciphering — that’s what makes “Bish Bosch” a most difficult and frightening reward.
Metal Dan – “The Chills” by Horrendous
Horrendous’s debut album is an impressive exercise in atmospheric death metal. This trio have crafted a love letter to fans of old school death metal, one that straddles the line between Swedish death metal melodicism and the raw aggression of the legendary Floridian scene. Unlike a lot of imitators, “The Chills” sounds like it was lifted right out of that early 90’s era. There is no pretense here: just raw, unabashed and well crafted material. Voracious guitar solo’s rip into surprisingly epic and melodic bridges, that offer a respite and effective contrast to the brutal bombardment of the instrumentation and the hoarse but brutally grating vocals of Matt Knox and Damian Herring. The production matches the music here perfectly, with a perfect blend of raw that does not compromise the brutality of the music here without verging on lo-fi. “The Chills” got better for me with every listen, and I was pleasantly surprised that months after hearing it for the first time it was just as impactful and enjoyable as it was on its first listen.
Stephen – “R.A.P. Music” by Killer Mike
Right out of the gate, Killer Mike brings the energy. El-P’s expert production gives him what he needs to go hard for most of this album. It’s something that we were all pretty surprised about. Musically, there isn’t much to talk about, it’s very immediate, but what’s important about this album is the dual nature of the content. The top notch beats and the sick flow are what brought me in, but the lyrical content is what kept me interested. Killer Mike is a brilliant storyteller, and he’s speaking from his experience. As El-P said of him in an interview with the Village Voice, “He’s a man who has experienced a bunch of different shit. He’s taking on a lot of responsibility right now. And people are listening to him because he’s someone who’s seen and done some shit. I mean, let’s be honest. You don’t want to take life advice from a priest. You want to take life advice from a fuckin’ thief.” Getting into the second half of this record, perspective changes from very personal stories to more general statements on society. In songs like “Reagan” and “Don’t Die,” subjects are covered that done differently might sound preachy or didactic, but their usage is vindicated by their continued relevancy and also by Mike’s sheer talent and charisma. Another thing I admire and can relate to is that he isn’t really interested in being “socially conscious” or political posturing. Mike just cares about his people, and that’s a great message to hear in 2012.
Fermata over Whole Rest 