Best Albums of 2012...So Far

2012 looks like it will be a great year for music; Queens of the Stone Age are set to release a new album, Trent Reznor's How to Destroy Angels project is rumored to be up to something, and there may even be new Tool for the first time in six years. There's also a slew of independent releases due out that could really blow us away.  However, apart from Fiona Apple, not many big names have released anything yet, but that doesn't mean the music hasn't been great.  Here's the best of what's been released so far this year.


5. Cloud Nothings
Attack on Memory

Cloud Nothings have apparently been around for a while, but no one really listened to them, or even heard of them, until this year. Attack on Nothing is definitely one of the best alt-rock albums I've heard in a while. Combing Weezer with Slint and a dash of Smashing Pumpkins, the music is both dark, melodic, and totally rockin'.

4. Sleigh Bells
Reign of Terror

To those outside the loudness-war/noise-rock arena, you may not notice Sleigh Bells' new direction. As someone who has followed their work closely since they began, I can tell you that for their second album, Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss completely changed their style.  It was all beats and make-it-as-loud-as-possible for their first effort. Reign of Terror focuses more on songwriting, vocals, and a sort of story.  Don't worry though, the noise is still there.

3. Chromatics
Kill for Love

Capitalizing off their sudden popularity following their appearance on the Drive soundtrack, Chromatics have released a brilliant, stark, and haunting follow-up to 2007's Night Drive.  "The Page" may be one of the best songs of the year, and opening with a cover of Neil Young's "Into the Black" was a bold move that paid off extremely well.  This album has everything going for it: the mood, the beats, the intricate guitar work, and Ruth Radelet's mysterious vocals all make this one of the best listens of the year.

2. A Place to Bury Strangers
Onwards to the Wall EP

Yes, I know, Worship came out before July 1 too, and it was a full-length album. While I can say I love the new sound, no one who claims to love hard rock can say they prefer it to Onwards to the Wall.  The five-song EP seemed to come out of nowhere and was probably rushed through production, but it is the best thing APTBS has done since their self-titled debut. Driving bass lines, kick punching drums, and the ever-present squall of Ackerman's feedback-laden guitar, you know, the usual.  Here, the songs are more well-rounded, and the sound is A+.  Onwards puts almost every other album in its rear-view mirror.

1. Beach House
Bloom

If the album cover's not enough to prove it, let me just quote PopMatters by saying that Bloom is called an album "in the most awe-inspiring sense of the term." Or, as MSN Music said, in perhaps the best summation of any album ever, "Bloom is the aural equivalent of the Jesus and Mary Chain frosting a birthday cake." That's good enough for me, and this album is far and away the best of the year; it's probably the best of the decade too.