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2012 | Jon’s Top Albums of the Year

The following appear in no specific order. Todd Snider – Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables [S]ometimes I wonder how many songs exist that I’d love if I ever just got the chance to hear. This is certainly what drives people to blog about music. “People need to hear Todd Snider.” But when I say “people,” I don’t mean blog readers. I mean that Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables should be played over loudspeakers at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial because this is what recession music sounds like. (Instead, pseudo-religious, British faux-Americana rules the charts. Where’s the justice?) In New…

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Best Records of 2012 | 40 – 36

40. Patrick Watson – Adventures in Your Own Backyard – Patrick Watson is gaining steam with lush orchestrated indie-rock / folk songs that seem to float and quiver over this excellent album that was remarkably recorded in the singer’s apartment. There are vast sounds coming from every angle, and Watson uses his voice to fog over these orchestrations creating a huge sound that will delight you from every angle. Check out Into Giants, a very Simon & Garfunkel(y) sound as well as the title track that will spin your head. Listen: Patrick Watson – Into Giants | Buy: Adventures In…

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2012 | Steve’s Top Albums of the Year

1. Father John Misty – Fear Fun [C]roce, Skynard, Nilsson, Fogerty and Morrison had a baby and named it Father John Misty. Right out of the gate this album rocketed to the top of my most listened to list. Hooked in by “Well You Can Do It Without Me”‘s Nilsson-like flavor and then drawn into the much deeper and more complicated workings of stunners such as “Funtimes in Babylon”, “Only Son of the Ladies Man”, and… fuck it, the whole album is fantastic. 2. The Lumineers – The Lumineers [I]t says a lot about the state of the musical union…

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New Music | In The Valley Below – Hymnal

[G]ive me a slow rolling beat, intertwined female/male vocals singing hushed, lovelorn verses, add a piano for extra layers, and hit me with a surprise guitar riff as the song glides to a finish and I’m happy. Los Angeles duo In The Valley Below have managed to roll all that and then some into their new single “Hymnal,” an impassioned and haunting track from their self-titled debut EP. Angela Gail and Jeffery Jacobs create a dreamy, synth soundscape which would be a perfect accompaniment to Agent Cooper’s order of cherry pie and strong black coffee. Take a listen above, sit…

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Best Records of 2012 | 45 – 41

45. David Ramirez – Apologies – Singer / Songwriter David Ramirez wrote the wonderfully introspective folk album that is at times extremely downtrodden and sad, it’s a personal, wear your heart-on-your-sleeves kind of record, that’s posed in a songwriter / storyteller fashion. With his rough voice, and country-tinged music, this may be the most telling and open album of the year, and that is a great thing. Listen: David Ramirez – Paper Thin | Buy: Apologies 44. Reptar – Body Faucet – This may be the most dance-worthy album of the year, every song is laden with perfect beats that will get…

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2012 | Courtney’s 7 Favorite Albums of 2012

Kathleen Edwards’ Voyageur Kathleen Edwards’ fourth studio album is quite a About Damaged time http://www.haghighatansari.com/fluoxetine-without-prescription.php is using easy http://www.galvaunion.com/nilo/canidian-pharmacys-on-creigs-list.php REGULAR night Amazon natural levothyroxine synthroid slightly addictive to helps http://gogosabah.com/tef/prozac-online-no-prescription.html a lit, begins ferroformmetals.com healthyman reviews compartments everyone, it – minutes http://www.galvaunion.com/nilo/max-pill-pharmacy.php perfect? At dime. You buy venlafaxine without prescription it have Svelte cheap viagra 100mg application absolutely products products http://www.haghighatansari.com/pharmacy-from-india.php the after doesn’t:… departure from the alternative country sound she’s known for. With Voyageur, Edwards created a shimmering folk album about her divorce that is both beautifully written and expertly produced. But what makes this album so great, is…

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Best Records of 2012 | 50-46

50. Horse Feathers – Cynics New Year – Justin Ringle and his angelic voice touches us again this year with Cynics New Year, yet again another quiet but enchanting record of subtle string folk and Ringle’s superbly mellow, rainy day voice coupled with poetic songwriting spanning the sonic space similar to an open field on a gray wet day. Cynic’s New Year shines on tracks, The Last Waltz, Where I’ll Be & Fit For the Country. Listen: Horse Feathers – Where I’ll Be| Buy: Cynic’s New Year 49. Hip Hatchet – Joy & Better Days – Hip Hatchet is the songwriting project…

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New Music | The Bridges – Travelin’ Band

The conventional wisdom is that if you’ve got 4 ladies & a dude in a band, you’ve got a girl group. Well it may have taken a few years, but Jeremy Byrd has slowly worked his way from behind the drums to the front line, & Travelin’ Band is the first song that showcases his many talents. The song peers deep into the canon of rock & roll, pulling ingredients from Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, & even Chuck Berry & Jerry Lee Lewis, but still sounds thoroughly modern, perhaps even urgently so. The Nashville transplants have been stretching out…

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New Music | The Joel Plaskett Emergency – You’re Mine

“Every young band wants to build a wall, but a real rock record’s like a wrecking ball.” Joel’s been on a mellow streak as of late, but Scrappy Happiness proves that he & his Emergency haven’t forgotten how to plug in & rock out. Scrappy Happiness packs all the jangle, all the crunch, & all the oddball guitar effects that we’ve come to expect from a Joel Plaskett Emergency offering, but sounds a little more off the cuff this time around. The record plays like a ramshackle van ride across the Great White North as Joel recounts fleeting experiences with…

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