5 Dec 2012

The Active Listener's Top Albums (& E.Ps) of 2012 Part 3 of 4

I've chosen my forty favorite albums of the year here, listed alphabetically.
Here's the third part of the list.
I've included links to full reviews if they were originally reviewed here on the Active Listener.

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Maston - Voyages ( E.P) 
Available as Digital / Cassette

What I Said : Incorporating everything from vintage psychedelic pop to exotica, sixties space pop and Ennio Morricone style soundscapes, Frank Maston offers a uniquely cinematic take on psychedelia that should appeal to fans of Pepe Deluxe, Broadcast and Spindrift without really sounding a jot like any of them. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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James McKeown - English Dream 
Available as Digital / Cassette

What I Said :  "English Dream" is on a whole other level, with songs that feel totally lived in with sparse, textured production that leaves plenty of room for these superior compositions to breathe. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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Melody's Echo Chamber
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said : Prochet's songs are hooky little numbers with plenty of range - from moody synth numbers like "Mount Hopeless" to full on psychedelic backwards tape trickery in "Is That What You Said?" (FULL REVIEW HERE)
 
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MMOSS - Only Children
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital / Cassette

What I Said : It's like they've rifled through my record collection, pulled out a bunch of my favorite albums and somehow managed to find a selection of tracks hidden in the grooves that I've been unable to access myself. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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Moon Wiring Club - Today Bread, Tomorrow Secrets
Available as CD / Vinyl

With completely different vinyl and CD tracklistings this continues Ian Hodgson's exploration of confusing English electronic music. It's as good as anything he's made so far. And that's really saying something.
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Dennis Olsen - Aubade (E.P )
Available as a Name Your Price Bandcamp Download

What I said : If this is Olsen's idea of lo-fi, I'd love to hear what he could do with a bit of a budget behind him, because this is a gorgeous, sweeping piece of psychedelia with layers of lush overdubs the likes of which I haven't heard since the release of Tame Impala's "Innerspeaker". (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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Opossom - Electric Hawaii
Available as CD / Vinyl / Bandcamp Download

What I Said : A near flawless collection of sunny psych pop tunes that reimagine a more raucous and instrument focused take on Caribou's much adored "Andora" album. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
 
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Prince Rupert's Drops - Run Slow
Available as Vinyl / Cassette / Bandcamp Download

What I Said : Prince Rupert's Drops have obviously spent some time studying the classic rock songbook, and have taken the lessons they've learned into a number of  interesting directions. Completely ignoring the quiet / loud aesthetic that most bands seem to rely on to create drama, PRD seem to have decided that they won't resort to cheap tricks where excellent songcraft and tight band interplay will get the job done instead. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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The Resonars - Crummy Desert Sound 
Available as ?

"Crummy Desert Sound"  is an album full of top notch British Invasion inspired guitar pop tunes, highlighted by windmilling guitar parts, stratospheric Keith Moonesque drumming, and picture perfect vocal harmonies, all delivered with the sort of snotty bravado that all the best rock n rollers aspire to, but few achieve. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
 
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Ty Segall & White Fence - Hair
Available as CD, Vinyl, Cassette

My favorite so far from these two psych pop mavericks - noisy at times, but impeccably tuneful.





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