Monthly Mix: The Playlist, December 2012

Alt-J offers up "Something Good"

     Well, friends, on the last day of 2012 comes the last Playlist of the year. Not only that, it is also the final post under the title "Feerock's World." Don't worry music fans, this site will be back next year under a different name and design with the same concept in mind. It will still have the same goal to recap some of the month's best music and to give insight on a few bands and their new albums.

     December handed out plenty of gifts, not to mention a bunch of stocking stuffers in the form of toasty mp3s. British indie quartet Alt-J kicks things off with "Something Good", a slow moving eerie cut off of their 2012 release An Awesome Wave. Another featured song comes from Cincinnati indie rockers Walk The Moon. The band handed us "Tightrope" as the second single and serves as a peppy dance number to get the blood flowing on these cold nights. Scottish indie-folkers Frightened Rabbit deliver the last featured cut of the month in the form of the somber, yet uplifting "Dead Now" which will be on their new 2013 record Pedestrian Verse.

     Thanks for reading, folks, it truly was a great year of music like usual. Have a good New Year's Eve and I hope to see you up around the bend.

December 2012 Playlist

1. Alt-J - Something Good

2. AWOLNATION - Kill Your Heroes

3. Walk The Moon - Tightrope

4. Mystery Pills - Anti-Pattern

5. Wild Cub - Thunder Clatter

6. Peace - Wraith

7. Girls Names - Hypnotic Regression

8. Bleeding Rainbow - Waking Dream

9. Frightened Rabbit - Dead Now

10. School of Seven Bells - Secret Days

11. OMN - Between Us Now

12. Memory Tapes - Neighborhood Watch

IN THE BONUS:

Top 5 Tracks of the Year:

5. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built

4. Bear Hands - What I've Learned

3. The Shins - Bait and Switch

2. Lymbyc Systym - Falling Together

1. Tanlines - All of Me

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

Please try and support all the great artists on the Monthly Playlists!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @SteveFerris7

Best Albums of 2012

     It's hard to believe another year is almost in the books. The feeling is bittersweet as we get to look back on the great year it was and we get to anticipate what lies ahead up the path. Seems like just yesterday the first fresh batch of albums came in and were absorbed into the eardrums. The return of alternative rockstars from the past and a whole bunch of indie dance tracks set the pace for what turned out to be another successful year for alt-nation.
     As the year ends, and the heap of music has piled up, it's nice to take a look back at a few of the records that stood out a cut above the rest. With that being said, here are some of the best albums from 2012:


Best Albums of 2012


20. Purity Ring - Shrines

19. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz 

18. Muse - The 2nd Law

17. Beach House - Bloom

16. Grizzly Bear - Shields

15. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

14. Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

13. Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory

12. Minus the Bear - Infinity Overhead

11. Passion Pit - Gossamer

10. Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet On Sky

9. Japandroids - Celebration Rock

8. The Shins - Port Of Morrow

7. Yeasayer - Fragrant World

6. Tame Impala - Lonerism

5. moe. - What Happened To The La Las

     New York jam-rockers moe. have the uncanny ability of making quality studio albums, something that is not the norm for the genre. On their most recent effort What Happened to the La Las the group utilized an outside producer in John Travis (Kid Rock, Social Distortion) and joined up with Sugar Hill Records. Heavy on guitar-shredding and catchy hooks, The La Las is one of this year's most pleasant surprises.

4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania

     Of all the 90's alternative rockstars that made returns in 2012, only Billy Corgan managed to break through the fold with a solid album. Although they dawn a completely new line-up except for Corgan, Oceania sounds like vintage Pumpkins, in both the production and the song writing. Their classic sound remains true. Welcome back.

3. Brothertiger - Golden Years

     Chillwave guru John Jagos aka Brothertiger dropped perhaps the most dance friendly album of the year. Golden Years is Jagos's first major release and it sure does deliver the goods. Blending easy-breezy summertime vocals with blazing hot synths, this album was meant to be played in the heat of the summer. This is definitely not the last we've heard from Brothertiger, and that's a good thing.

2. Jack White - Blunderbuss

     It's safe to say Jack White was on a mission in 2012 to prove once again that he should be at the top of the list of the world's baddest musicians. He states his case very well with Blunderbuss, his first solo studio album. This record is filled with a little of everything including gritty guitar, poppy keys, and plenty of White's swagger sprinkled in. Mission accomplished, Jack.

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon

     Northern Ireland indie-rockers Two Door Cinema Club made a surge in 2012 stretching to the banks of California and many places in between. This was in part due to Beacon, an impressive collection of arena-sounding, guitar-drenched, dance-worthy rock songs. Frontman Alex Trimble claims this album "Is much more intimate" than their last. That may be true, but it's also more explosive, which is a good thing for music fans.

There you have it folks, the Best Albums of 2012.

Stay tuned for the December 2012 Playlist as well as some site changes!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @s_ferris