Best Of The Year 2012: First Half Update

Welcome to MuzikDizcovery's second edition of quarterly updates in 2012. Every staff member will put out a top five list, allowing them to showcase their absolute favorite records of 2012 to date. Additionally, it will be able to alert you of albums that you may not have heard of otherwise. This list does not only include albums that have been released as of June 30, as any album that we have heard so far this year is free to be included. Beach House, The Tallest Man On Earth, The Menzingers, fun., mewithoutYou, John Talabot, Athletics and Take One Car all feature prominently in our lists. If you click on the album name, you will be led to our review for the album (if we have done one). All the lists can be seen below the jump.

Album Review: Beach House - Bloom

Album Rating: A

I don't really know how to feel about Beach House not changing their formula at all over the six years that they have been releasing albums. After the just-noticeable-enough reinvention of their sound on 2010's masterpiece Teen Dream, I was expecting a drastic change in Beach House's sound on the next album. On the other hand, I am more than satisfied with the duo's ability to keep the same sound, making the most miniscule of tweaks in between releases, and still be able to make it sound incredibly new and refreshing. Bloom is definitely not a renovation of Beach House's signature dream pop sound, but it's better than anything they have ever done before.

Best Of The Year 2012: First Quarter Update

As we did last year, we're going to be doing quarterly updates. Every staff member will put out a top five list, allowing them to indicate their absolute favorite records of 2012. Additionally, it will be able to alert you of albums that you may not have heard of otherwise. This list does not only include albums that have been released as of March 31, as any album that we have heard so far this year is free to be included.  All the lists can be seen below the jump.

Artist Spotlight - Beach House

By looking at a lot of artist names and album titles, the words "beach", "teen", and "dream" (chillwave artists are mainly guilty of overusing these words) seem to pop up so often that the mood that they are used to convey in accordance to the music has become so trite to me that I often completely avoid music that attempts to evoke the hazy and carefree feeling of being a teenager spending a whimsical day at the beach with your significant other. But once Beach House (possibly the most quintessential act in dream pop today) dropped their third LP, entitled Teen Dream in 2010, it came off as trying so hard that I just had to give it a listen. And of course, everything from the refreshing production to Victoria Legrand's ethereal contralto completely floored me, especially on tracks such as "Zebra" and the popular song-of-the-year contender "Norway". And now Beach House has returned with a new track, "Myth". From a mysterious news exchange between Exclaim and other publications, it is hard to judge whether the duo's alleged fourth LP, Bloom, is really coming out this May or not, but "Myth" (which appears as the opener on the tracklist that Exclaim reported) is definitely hard evidence that something is on its way. Judging from "Myth", Beach House has not deviated too far from the dream pop formula of Teen Dream. While it would be interesting to see how the duo could have progressed since their 2010 hit, more of the ethereal beauty and teenage dreaminess that the group pulled off so impeccably is certainly no less than welcome.


"Myth" can be streamed here.

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3/8 UPDATE: Pitchfork has reported that Bloom has been confirmed, as well as a spring and summer tour. It will be released May 15 on Sub Pop in the U.S. and Canada. According to a press release, the band says the album was written "between countless sound checks and myriad experiences during two years of tour". A full tracklist and tour dates can be seen here.