With all the distractions of housebuying and babybirthing in 2012, this year hasn't been kind to my listening habits. A late burst of aural activity though has saved my annual tradition of putting together a Festive 50 and, as ever, it was a struggle whittling down my choices to a mere half century. One clear trend stood out for me in 2012: brilliant returns from old hands like Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith and Dr John, as well as names from the more recent past like Spiritualized, Tim Burgess and Beth Orton. There was also some really original hip hop voices, most notably Kendrick Lamar and his stunning record, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
So, without further ado, here's what tickled my fancy (in descending order from 10 to 1 with YouTube links, then the remaining 40 listed below and also available as a Spotify playlist here):
10. Tim Burgess - The Economy
9. Kendrick Lamar (ft. Dr Dre) - The Recipe
8. Karine Polwart - Cover Your Eyes
7. Ben Howard - Oats in the Water
6. James Yorkston - Just As Scared
5. Beach House - New Year
4. Gravenhurst - The Prize
3. Beck - Looking For a Sign
2. Daniel Rossen - Saint Nothing
1. Beth Orton - Call Me the Breeze
Looking at my Top 10 again, it's pretty clear to me that I have a preference for lyrics-driven, mellow, folky music these days - the lack of ROCK does concern me a little. Anyway, here's what else I liked in 2012 (in nothing other than alphabetical order):
Andrew Bird – Beyond the Valley of the Three White Horses
The Big Eyes Family Players & Friends – Greenland Bound
Bloc Party – Day Four
Bob Dylan – Scarlet Town
Bobby Womack – If There Wasn't Something There
Burial – Kindred
Cat Power – Human Being
Chairlift – Take It Out On Me
Cheval Sombre – Someplace Else
Chromatics – Lady
Dr. John – Revolution
Everything Everything – Cough Cough
Field Music – (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing
Fiona Apple – Valentine
First Aid Kit – Emmylou
Frank Ocean – Sweet Life
Frightened Rabbit – Wedding Gloves - feat. Aidan Moffat
The Futureheads – The Old Dun Cow
Ghostpoet – Survive It
Grimes – Oblivion
Grizzly Bear – Yet Again
Hexvessel – Sacred Marriage
The Invisible – The Stain
Jack White – Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy
Jens Lekman – Become Someone Else's
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Third Swan - single version
Leonard Cohen – Darkness
Liars – No.1 Against the Rush
Mark Lanegan Band – Gray Goes Black
Neil Halstead – Tied To You
Patrick Watson – Lighthouse
Patti Smith – April Fool
Perfume Genius – Normal Song
Saint Etienne – Over The Border
Spiritualized – So Long You Pretty Thing
State Broadcasters – Trespassers
Swans – The Seer Returns
Tame Impala – Apocalypse Dreams
Tindersticks – Show Me Everything
The xx – Chained
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