Derrek Tipton writes This Charming Music for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the paper or The Daily.
Nothing in this world can truly define a love-hate relationship like a “Best Albums of the Year” list. Some choices may make you triumphantly clench your fist in the air, but some choices may leave you angry.
But everyone loves to read to them, if only to fight and bicker with someone about it.
This is not by any means definitive; it is just a list of music that I think is pretty rad.
1. “Becoming” by Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams’ entire discography has prized itself on focusing on a different aspect of black metal with each release. With “Becoming,” the band found itself exploring the moody and twisted realm of atmospheric black metal.
Taking note from other atmospheric acts such as Wolves in the Throne Room and latter-period Arthemesia, “Becoming” is a monster of a record that has taken the rawest and most grim aspects of black metal and ejected them to the farthest reaches of the solar system. It is ejected far enough to crown this record the greatest of the year.
2. “Class Clown Spots a UFO” by Guided By Voices
It was very tempting to put all three of Guided By Voices’ releases of 2012 in this list.
While the album’s earworm title track would be enough to give this a spin, GBV mastermind Robert Pollard proves with the rest of the material as to why he is referred to as the “Pop Zeus.” Endlessly catchy, odd and whimsical, “Class Clown Spots a UFO” can proudly stand with the best of the GBV catalog.
3. “Some of the Parts” by Boz Boorer
In a review I wrote a few months ago, I described “Some of the Parts” as a record that “runs rampant with an eclectic mix of influences in and out of the rock umbrella; rockabilly, blues-rock, psychedelia, indie pop, you name it.”
That really sums up most of what can I say for this album. This record is a melting-pot of sorts for rock ‘n’ roll. It’s an expression of everything that Boorer has absorbed in his days with The Polecats, Morrissey, etc.
4. “Global Flatline” by Aborted
“Global Flatline” sees Aborted fully embracing the goregrind ways of its early days. After experimenting with a savvy mix of melodic death metal and goregrind on its past few releases, this record stands in line with unrestrained brutality of “Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage” and “Engineering the Dead” in the Aborted chronology.
Like the past records of Aborted, it shows its knowledge of sophisticated medical terminology to describe some gruesome health issues. But gut-wrenching death metal is Aborted’s business and business is good.
5. “Peter Buck” by Peter Buck
Here is another one of those melting-pot rock ‘n’ roll albums that I have become so fond of, this time courtesy of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck.
Buck’s first foray in the solo artist world, which was released only on vinyl, is enough to fill any man’s appetite for uncompromising garage rock. This record’s spontaneous tunes contain the youthfulness and vitality you would expect from someone in their early 20s, not from a man who will soon be hitting his 60s. But when you are, in my humble opinion, the greatest guitarist to walk on this little planet, there is not much you can screw up.
6. “Fire Starter” by The Hiatus Flux
This sextet from Bloomington, Ind., provides chaos galore with “Fire Starter.” Drawing from mathcore acts such The Dillinger Escape Plan and Botch, The Hiatus Flux manages to successfully merge some of the most sincere melodies this side of the Mississippi River with the noise and the fury of the aforementioned bands.
The record is chock-filled with odd time signatures and technical riffs, but not for the sake of being random and not for the sake of showing their progressive chops. Everything that is done here is done to further the journey of the music.
7. “Mouseman Cloud” by Robert Pollard
Robert Pollard gets another project on this year’s list, but rightfully so. Three Guided By Voices records and two solo records in the same year? Pollard is a man of his craft, and he knows his craft very well.
Like most Pollard releases, “Mouseman Cloud” deals with the four P’s of rock: pop, progressive, psychedelic and punk. Each tune gets the attention, or lack thereof, that is needed, ultimately making the record feel like an unfocused mess; a charming and beautiful, unfocused mess.
8. “Born There” by Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost
About a month ago, St. Louis rock ‘n’ roll legend Bob Reuter told me that his band sounds like a “weird cross between The Ramones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan and the Sonics.”
“And we rock it like hell,” Reuter said.
I have found these statements to be completely accurate. He has the punk vibes, the folk-rock vibes, the blues vibes and everything in-between. Reuter has been playing this stuff since the 1960s, so it’s easy to see why “Born There” works on so many levels, very much like the album Peter Buck put out this year.
9. “Time I” by Wintersun
The writing and production process for this record took eight grueling years. But the result is a record that incorporates everything Wintersun became known for on its first record. It’s a savvy mix of folk metal, black metal, melodic death metal, power metal, etc.
“Time I” is not quite as strong as its previous album, but it still highlights the mastery that Jari Maenpaa, the genius behind Wintersun, displays with almost every sub-genre of heavy metal known to mankind.
10. “Ex Lives” by Every Time I Die
I had a friend refer to Every Time I Die as “mindless mosh.” This has puzzled me, and if anyone else feels the same way, it is now time to lose that notion.
“Ex Lives” finds Every Time I Die referencing their technical hardcore days of “Hot Damn!” and “Last Night in Town.” They take some deep-fried, Southern riffs reminiscent of their “New Junk Aesthetic” and “The Big Dirty” records and stick it in a blender with enough dissonance to make your grandma weep. Not to mention they throw in some witty wordplay from former English-teacher and vocalist Keith Buckley.
Now, that’s a recipe for success.
Honorable Mentions:
“Monolith of Inhumanity” by Cattle Decapitation
“Oceania” by The Smashing Pumpkins
“Beware and Be Grateful” by Maps & Atlases
“Autotheism” by The Faceless
“Let’s Go Eat the Factory” by Guided By Voices
“The Bears for Lunch” by Guided By Voices
“Jack Sells the Cow” by Robert Pollard
“Battle Born” by The Killers
“Plains of Oblivion” by Jeff Loomis
“The Rewritten Chapters” by Catamenia
Derrek Tipton is a junior journalism major and writes ‘This Charming Music’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Derrek at dmtipton@bsu.edu.
