#vincentbennett

lets cut to the chase, 2012 has been a weird year for music.

Well, when I mean music I selfishly mean myself. Why? Because this year was my year of picking and dabbing into every other genre that isn't of norm to myself. However, apart from me and my musical callings, 2012 in general has been weird. We had mainstream rappers and singers biting the Black Metal all-black worship the devil lifestyle, you know Euronymous is rolling over in his grave right now, Hip Hop tunes turning into Techno tunes, Metal and Hardcore turning into a fashion statement, Indie becoming a vomit of late 80's early 90's pop music, progressive music becoming the next big thing and every fucking genre of music saying "swag" and "yolo"... seriously kill yourselves. 

I know everything I've listed has much negative context, but through the negativity the good albums truly stood out even more angelically than previous years.

Here is my 2012 Best of List. 

~

Roadkill Ghost Choir- Quiet Light e.p

I discovered Roadkill Ghost Choir not in the conventional way I find music, I was listening to Joe Rogans DeathSquad Podcasts like I do before I sleep and Rogan started to preach about this band, Ignorantly thinking to myself "Psh Joe Rogan doesn't know shit about good music" I was brutally put into place when he played Beggars Guild. This sextet hails from Deland, Florida, with a weird pained sound but in a way it hits you right in the spot. The creaminess of Wilco mixed with southern spectrum of The Allman Brothers Band lets say.

Go like them on Facebook: 

www.facebook.com/roadkillghostchoir

and buy their ep on Bandcamp:

Bandcamp: roadkillghostchior.bandcamp.com

Alt-J- An Awesome Wave

Call it hipster that, call it hipster this....out of your system yet? Now contain your idiocy and listen and listen well while you're at it. These 4 englishmen carry the Olympic torch this year for best indie album. Why? simply because this album is simply simple...simplicity(I added simplicity for fun). These guys have the simple talent of writing songs. Catchy, groovy and simply good. I get the feeling that pretty much most indie bands try to be as simple as possible, but you simply cant be as simple as this album. If you look at the past couple years the indie genre's best albums have come from simple bands, The xx, Foals, Bombay Bicycle Club and so on. So this year, to simply put it, An Awesome Wave wins and simply so. Also, you know you are simply doing fabulous in the indie scene, when DJ's remix the fuck out of your album. Lets hope these guys don't get the typical sophomore slump like most indie bands with great debut albums and simply keep writing simple tunes. 

www.facebook.com/altJ.band

Alabama Shakes- Boys & Girls

3 Grammy nominations on a debut album.... wait hold up.. 3 Grammy nominations for a DEBUT ALBUM..... To be honest, I shouldn't even bother elaborating about them because 3 grammy nominations for a debut album should be enough for you to go and pick this album up and listen to it over and over... But then again, the Grammy's know half music and half retarded. So, I'll elaborate. I was at a festival by the name of Eurockeenness in Belfort, France on some what of a rainy day and all my fellow french amigos decided to stay behind at the camp site and yell "APERO" drunkly for hours rather than see bands. So me being Asianly curious to see other bands and not miss Mastodon, I proceeded to the festival. I also happened to be about an hour early just so I could get a good spot for Mastodon. As I lonesomely stood in the center of the field next to drunken couples and angrily waited for Mastodon with out my french compadres, Alabama Shakes came on, and when they came on, Brittnay Howard with her deep southern Alabama accent told me "You Ain't Alone" and proceeded break into song for me. I fell in love, and to this day i'v never had a band make me almost cry with tears of joy... and this is coming from someone who was waiting for Mastodon..Mastodon. ANGRILY!!

www.facebook.com/theAlabamaShakes 

Shut In- Old Homes e.p

In 2012, I really lost my kinship with Metal and Hardcore, I really, really tried to keep it and painfully so. I listened to everything new that came out to try and hold that adoration I grew up for. The feelings of goosebumps, adrenaline addiction, the fuck you's and hatred were really gone...Until... SHUT IN.. Fronted by Vincent Bennett of the Infamous Acacia Strain, Shut In's debut e.p takes the fertility of Gaia and rapes it with Oedipus's incredibly complex father. People, it doesn't get more brutal than that. If you want fucking pissed off, fast, perfectly produced hardcore, I give you Shut In and if you choose not to, you know Vincent Bennett will find you and fuck your life. 

www.facebook.com/shutinHC/info

Deftones- Koi No Yokan 

I don't think I know a single band that is consistent with album releases as the Deftones. I'm not going to get into a history lesson on the Deftones, but once again they have written an almost perfect record. Koi No Yokan feels like the Deftones used their signature minimalism in Ko No Yokan album as the canvas and shapely painted the sounds in each song so perfectly that it feels like they need to win the Nobel Sound Engineering Prize, if it existed. The silence in the background of each song is so hauntingly loud through out the album that the best part is the silence. The silence brings out everything so much more intricately, almost as if touchable with your hand.

So, I'm going to keep this minimalist as possible,

Deftones had the best album of 2012.