Casey's EPs, Songs, and Albums of 2012

Reflecting back on 2012, I can't help to compare it to 2011 due to the fact that I only started paying attention to a broader scope of music that year. As of now, 2012 feels a lot weaker at the top than 2011, however the depth far surpasses it. It pained me to leave off records such as Chromatics, Gifts From Enola, Lone, Masked Intruder and Savoir Adore, but this year just had too many strong albums to mention every single one of them. It's even crazier when you think that if you had told me that all of Two Door Cinema Club, Say Anything, Sleigh Bells and Motion City Soundtrack wouldn't have a place on this list, I would have thought you were crazy. Surely a couple of those could release poor albums, but there was no chance that all of them could. Alas, the worst happened, and none of those albums will receive any more mention than this. Pop punk also had a very down year after taking up three of my top five spots (or so) last year, and you won't find a record that I consider pop punk amongst the top 25. Bands you will find featured predominantly are fun., Yellowcard, Frank Ocean, Take One Car, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, and far more that you can find below. If you click on the name of the album, you will find links to our coverage. If you click on the name of the song, you will be taken to Youtube for a listen.

Nathan Flynn's Top 40 Songs of the 2012

After a year of listening to new music, I find that I’m not listening to a lot of 2012 music. There have been a few standout albums (Good Kid m.a.a.d. City, Some Nights, Vital, Cruel Summer) that I still listen to on a regular basis, but most releases, even some that I liked a lot- sorry Regina Spektor- have just fallen by the wayside. Well, this isn’t about the best albums of the year: this is about some diamonds in the rough scattered around some of 2012’s best and worst releases. My 40 favorite songs I would recommend checking out from this year (with links!) are:

Artist of the Day: Japandroids

Japandroids is a fun band. It's hard to say that about artists that take themselves too seriously, but Japandroids releases material that is easy to listen to, not too over-produced, and has a raw sound that has a carefree vibe to it. The band released their second full-length this last June, and it's a work to be remembered. Not in a solemn way, either; it's a record that you listen to and enjoy thoroughly, nothing withheld, and in doing so, cheer yourself up, bring yourself around to have a good time. Songs like "Fire's Highway" and "Adrenaline Nightshift" bring lots of energy to their repertoire, which is a strong suit for the unrefined garage-rock band, and they really bring out the kind of performance a live show might bring out, but leaves it to be accessible on your phone or iPod, any time you want it. And after three years without a "real" release, critics were just as excited as fans; the lively track list was commended all around and the album was received with acclaim. It's not a surprise, though; one listen will tell you exactly why it was received so well, and why this lo-fi noise-rock duo strikes it well with so many people.

To listen to the album, you can stream it for free on their Polyvinyl Records page.

Artist of the Day: Japandroids

Being a musician, rock duos that consist of nothing more than a guitarist and a drummer really just don't seem fair. You could be in bands of up to five pieces and still not be getting as much sound as energy as a band with nothing more than a fuzzed out guitar and heavy drumming. Canadian rockers Japandroids are easily the best example of this archetype. Never before has there ever been so much catchiness, energy, and excitement from just two angry, sexually frustrated young boys.

After three years of touring with their explosive debut Post-Nothing, Japandroids are returning this June with their sophomore effort, entitled Celebration Rock. And if lead single "The House That Heaven Built" doesn't get you unbelievably excited for what I expect to be the greatest punk album in a very long time, then nothing will. The uplifting lyrics, the relentless drums, the gang vocal "oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh" choruses, all of it is just Brian King and David Prowse doing what they do best, and making their best track to date.

On Celebration Rock, the band stated that they wanted to replicate what the audience would be doing at their shows through their music. Which on "The House That Heaven Built," is a sound that they easily perfected. By just listening to it you can feel the room around you pounding along with the jumping and the dancing, and you can hear all 300 people packed in the venue screaming the "oh oh oh"s , bringing the overwhelming sensation that any good punk show should. And if the boys can keep that up for eight more tracks, then Celebration Rock is going to be one hell of an album.

Stream "The House That Heaven Built" here
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