The Best Albums of 2012: Honorable Mentions

The following five albums didn't make this year's top 10 list. They were pretty good, but not quite there. Some didn't deliver where I though they should, and some are here simply because, well, there can only be ten in the top 10. Either way, these are still worth a listen, but just missed being the best of the year.

In alphabetical order (by artist):

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Mature Themes

This album sat in the top 10 for quite some time because of its originality and quirkiness. But that ended when four new albums came out in November and knocked this off the list.  It's definitely weird, but don't let that scare you away; some great songs, like "Symphony of the Nymph" and this year's #20 song, "Kinski Assassin," make it worth the effort, if only for comic relief.

How to Destroy Angels
An Omen EP

While these songs are very good, and I am wiling to give Trent Reznor a pass on just about anything, much of what is offered on An Omen is basically Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV with lyrics. Mauriqueen Maandig is an excellent vocalist, and her lyrics are more moving than ever. "Ice Age" is a massive standout, despite it's tempo and mood, using one of the most intriguing instrumental loops I've ever heard. But there's just something a little off here. Much like Ghosts, this EP doesn't sound complete. It's so close to being great, it just doesn't quite make it. If it's any indication of how the forthcoming HTDA full-length will sound, however, then we have something amazing to look forward to.

Sleigh Bells
Reign of Terror

If you were looking for Treats II, you came to the wrong place. So did Sleigh Bells, apparently. While each of the songs on Reign of Terror are good, only a few are great, and the pacing leaves something to be desired. The rock is gone, the songs are more moody, the production is cleaner, and the noise is less...loud. The only single-worthy song here was the single, "Comeback Kid," which sounds like classic Sleigh Bells. This could have made the Top 10, if only there was a little more oomph.

Twin Shadow
Confess

Twin Shadow has his thumb on the pulse of throwback-dance-rock, clearly picking up bits of Hall & Oates, and parts of Peaches and mashing them together.  While there are quite a few great songs on Confess, all but two ("When the Movie's Over" and this year's #16 song "Beg for the Night") feel really repetitive. We've covered this use-me-then-leave-me ground before, so many times people stop feeling sorry for you and just tune it out. I'd love to say this is as good as Twin Shadow's debut album, Forget, but it's literally the same album, so really, it's just two years old.

Jack White
Blunderbuss

Much like Ariel Pink up there, poor Jack White has fallen victim to numbers. If only there were 11 spaces in "ten," but alas. White's #7 song, "Sixteen Saltines," stands with the best he's ever written with any act he's been in. But other parts of this album, for me at least, tend to go on too long, or bring the mood down too far. Despite that, I can't wait for his next release, whatever that might be.

Stay tuned for the Top 10...