Top 10 Albums of 2012

It's that time of year again. Finally narrowed this down to just 10. I want to say this is the order they should be in, but aside from the top 3 staying the top 3, the other ones all switch around depending on what I'm listening to. Anyway, go purchase and support these artists, cause they're all amazing albums.

10. Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan

Favorite Tracks: Dance For You
                        See What She Seeing







9. Gary Clark, Jr. - Blak and Blu

Favorite Tracks: Bright Lights
                        Numb









8. Santigold - Master of My Make-Believe

Favorite Tracks: Freak Like Me
                        The Riot's Gone








7. Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough?

Favorite Tracks: They Could Be Wrong
                         Au Cinéma








6. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

Favorite Tracks: The Lion's Roar
                         King of the World









5. Lord Huron - Lonesome Dream

Favorite Tracks: She Lit A Fire
                        The Stranger








4. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

Favorite Tracks: Rise to the Sun
                        On Your Way








3. Hiatus Kaiyote - Tawk Tomahawk

Favorite Tracks - The World It Softly Lulls
                          Mobius Streak








2. Grizzly Bear - Shields

Favorite Tracks: Sun In Your Eyes
                        Sleeping Ute









1. Alt-j (Δ) - An Awesome Wave

Favorite Tracks: Dissolve Me
                        Tesselate

Laura Mvula

Just like my last blog, here's someone else I know barely anything about. Also like my last blog, I've barely heard anything by this lady. But what I have heard is enough to catch my attention. All I know about Laura Mvula is that she's from London and has released her first EP, She. Sadly it's not available on US iTunes yet, only UK iTunes, so I don't even know what songs to look for.

Out of the three songs that I've heard, She, the title track off the EP and the song that turned me on to her, is by far the best. Reminds me a bit of Lianne Le Havas, one of my favorite new artists of the year. Anyway, it's a beautiful song, especially once it really gets going about 2 minutes in. I'm just waiting until I can actually buy it on iTunes for myself. And until she releases a full album.

 

Kwabena Adjepong (Kwabs)

There isn't very much known about this guy from what I can tell. All I really know is that Kwabena Ajdepong (better known as Kwabs) gained everyone's attention with the following video, which apparently he performed at Buckingham Palace in front of the Queen.




After watching that I'm sure you can see why he gained so much attention, and why he started making the rounds on all the blogs. I've found a few more covers by him, but nothing of his own yet. My favorite is probably this cover of The Wilhelm Scream by James Blake (who you should absolutely go listen to. Ridiculously good debut album). Very different from the original, and he adds his own lyrics and stuff in.




I also know that he's apparently Ghanaian, even though he was raised in the UK, and still has tons of family there. So maybe I can count him as another African musician for the list.

RAC Remixes

One of the blogs I listen to has a lot of remix tracks on it. While I enjoy a good remix, they're not generally something I seek out. With a few exceptions of course (i.e. My Brightest Diamond, whose remix albums I look forward to just as much as her original albums. Cause she's brilliant.).

Anyway, so this blog has lots of remixes. Particularly lots of remixes by RAC. I'd taken notice of them but never sought to find more. Until today, that is. Was listening to the blog in question, and two amazing remixes came on, both of which were by RAC. So I learned that they are a cooperative of 3 guys who make remixes for lots of artists that I like. That's enough to know, I guess.

Anyway, first song I heard was an awesome remix of We Come Running by Youngblood Hawke. I like the original a lot, but I think I like this remix even more. And apparently these guys are popular and on the radio and stuff? Is this true? Anyway, this song is great from the first note. And then the second verse comes in and it gets even better. Fucking awesome.





The second was a remix of one of my favorites, Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. If you haven't heard the original, you must. The song is incredible. And this remix is also amazing. Luckily this one can be found on RAC's album Chapter One, along with remixes of plenty of other awesome bands.




And in case you need more, they have like a bajillion songs on their SoundCloud.

Because I like long songs

So sometimes I love an extremely long song. I especially love when a regular length song is played out to ridiculous lengths at a concert. That's always fun.

I got two new albums this week, both of which are great, and both of which contain songs of around 9 minutes. Both of which songs are fantastic.

The first one is Troubleman, off Mondo, the debut album from Electric Guest. I'm a bit partial to this band since they're from LA, but they also make excellent music. They're produced by Danger Mouse, which is always a good sign, and at times remind me of Graffiti6, which is also a good thing.




Then there is Gary Clark, Jr. This is one guy you should absolutely know about. I first heard him earlier this year with his song Bright Lights. That's probably still my favorite song by him, so even though only a measly 5:25, I will still share it with you.





This guy is pretty freaking awesome. Some have even called him the saviour of the blues. Great vocals, great music, and excellent songs of ridiculous length. Which brings me to another of my favorites from his major label debut album, Blak and Blu. This song is not only almost 10 minutes long, it also has a crazy long name: Third Stone from the Sun/If You Love Me Like You Say. And he doesn't even start singing until like three and a half minutes in. This is one of those tracks that, even though it's already stupid long, I don't want it to end. And I can only imagine how amazing it is live. Apparently it's a double cover, starting off with Jimi Hendrix and moving into Albert Collins.

 

Joe Purdy

Joe Purdy has been one of my favorites for years now. But he's one of those favorites that I haven't kept up with very well. Of course, it's hard with him. I just checked and he's apparently got 13 albums. And as it turns out, I kept up better than I thought with him. There was a time where he realsed like 3 albums a year, but I guess the last I heard was 2009's Last Clock On The Wall, after which he's only released two more. I guess I'll go buy them.

Anyway, my favorite track by him, and one of my favorite songs, is I Love the Rain the Most off the Julie Blue album. Julie Blue is a collection of acoustic tracks that he recorded in a river cabin in like a week with a friend. It's great. I've heard this song performed live with a full band, and it's still great, but there's something about the original acoustic version that is very special.

 

Goldfish

I found another South African song I like! Always exciting. And I think these guys are actually mainstream, though I could definitely be wrong about that.

I heard Goldfish on TV when I was getting ready the other morning. We Come Together must be their current single. The song is actually nothing tremendous, but it's fun and catchy. And it has an awesome video with fan service for pretty much any fan of any cartoon/movie/video game ever.





I don't actually intend to find more of their stuff, because I figure they're mainstream so it will just come to me. So if you like it and look for more and it gets better, please let me know.

Brazilian Girls

Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen have released a song called Good Times, which comes onto the morning music video rotation practically every day lately. This makes me sad. (Also notice I didn't bold those. I would hate for you to come read my blog and think I'm actually posting about them then not listen to the actual post and lose all respect for me. I did it for your own benefit. You're welcome). But Brazilian Girls make me happy. And they also have a song called Good Times. Make your mind up for yourself, but the Brazilian Girls song is clearly 237893598 times better. At least.





Another thing that makes me sad is when bands I love, like Brazilian Girls, break up, which they did in 2009. Luckily in 2012 they have gotten back together and are working on new music, which I can't wait for.

Now don't let the name fool you. There are no Brazilians in the group, and there is only one girl. They formed in New York, but I'm pretty sure they all grew up in ex-pat families and moved around a lot, which explains why she sings in like 5 languages on their debut album, and even more in later ones. I love all their albums, but their first album, Brazilian Girls, is and probably always will be my favorite. And my favorite track by them, which will probably remain my favorite, is Don't Stop, off the album.





Although you can't discount thi nexts track, also off the debut, which seems to be everyone else's favorite. I'm sure you'll figure out why.

 

The Lighthouse and the Whaler

I stumbled across The Lighthouse and the Whaler a few years ago after their first album came out. There was like a week where they were all I listened to cause I was extremely stressed and not sleeping enough and their album was exactly what I needed to calm me down and make everything ok. At the time, they made me think of Fleet Foxes, as Under Mountain, Under Ground illustrates.




That's my favorite track off the first album. At the time I loved the album, but after going back and listening to it recently, it's not as great as I originally thought. I still enjoy it and there are some excellen tracks, but I think it was more the timing that made me listen to it on repeat. Luckily for me they just released a 2nd album, This Is An Adventure, which is really good. It's such a change from their last album, this time a lot more upbeat. It actually reminds me of Freelance Whales now, which is ironic because Freelance Whales's new album doesn't remind me of Freelance Whales. There's even moments that are reminiscent of Phoenix. Pioneers is a great opening track and one of my favorites.





And the first song I heard off the album, Venice, is also a stand out track.

 

Sonnymoon

I like to think of Sonnymoon as Grimes's Korean cousin. Not because they're related or because she's Korean. For some reason that just popped into my head and I like it. So I'm not going to try to find anything to make me think otherwise.

She makes interesting music. Album starts out really upbeat with Wild Rumpus. Kind of reminds me of Tune-Yards for some reason. And it's got a great sound and a great name.





Then the album slows down and takes on more of a soulful sound. Every Summer Night, towards the end of the album, is the complete other end of the spectrum, reminding me of Flying Lotus or Four Tet.




If you like, you can hear the rest of her eponymous album, and other goodies, on her SoundCloud.

Alt-j (Δ)

Very rarely a band comes along that is ridiculously amazing, and Alt-j (Δ) is that band for 2012. And as far as I'm concerned for 2011 and 2010 as well. I haven't heard something this awesome since I started listening to Miike Snow. The day after I bought their debut album I spent a 6 hour drive alone in the car to Arizona listening to it on repeat. Or maybe it was Bon Iver that was the most recent, both were around the same time for me, can't remember which came first. But anyway, the debut album from Alt-j (Δ), An Awesome Wave, is that ridiculously amazing. I just came back from a weeklong vacation, and it is basically all I listened to on my 6 hour cross-country drives.

Alt-j (Δ) are somewhere between Radiohead and Wild Beasts. They are masterful. Their attention to detail and the way they create and build their songs is so good I can't even think of an appropriate adjective to describe it. But that could also be because it's like 6am right now. Maybe drummer Thom Green described them best the first time he heard the music, when he said "It was music I was looking for, I just didn't know I was." Props to Beth for helping me find it.

An Awesome Wave was released on September 18 in the US, which was a great day for releases (Grizzly Bear and Lighthouse & The Whaler also released new albums on the same day, all of which are awesome). The album plays like a drug-enduced love song and pretty much every single song on the album is amazing, and those which aren't amazing are still really freaking good. I'm pretty confident this will be my top album for the year. Favorites are (in the following order): Dissolve Me, Tesselate, Taro and Bloodflood. But honestly, even the intro and interludes on this album are awesome.

Luckily for you, they have put their entire album streaming on SoundCloud. And because I love you, here it is in it's entirety. Put on your headphones, close your eyes, and give yourself 44 minutes to have your life changed. And then go buy the album. And see them live, cause they're on tour now, and in California today.

 

Crystal Fighters

Crystal Fighters may very well be my new favorite band. They're pretty freaking awesome. And I think in some ways they may be just the replacement I've been looking for since Brazilian Girls broke up (although newsflash: apparently they just got back together!). Their music doesn't sound at all like Brazilian Girls, but they've got that same eclectic, international sound. At least their accents and the fun percussion makes me feel that way. I guess that's what you get when you put a bunch of Spaniards together in London and let them do their thing. And when their thing is based on the unfinished writings of one of their grandfathers who went crazy.

They released their debut album, Star of Love, back in 2010, but it's only been available in the US since April of this year. That means that it is eligible for my Top 10 this year, and it's definitely a contender. The openening track, Solar System, is ridiculously good, which I love. Obviously I love it being ridiculously good, but especially so when the opening track is ridiculously good.




There are a ton of awesome songs on the album, but I basically keep going back and forth between Solar System and Champion Sound, which is probably my favorite track. I love the subtle build-up.




My only complaint is that there is a deluxe version of their album, not available to me, which has acoustic versions of a bunch of songs. Luckily they have like every song they've ever made on their SoundCloud, so you can go listen to everything there. And then buy Star of Love, cause it's awesome.

Atoms for Peace

Generally when I blog I try to share new music that I've discovered. Sadly this means that I often leave some of my favorite artists unshared because I expect people to already know about them. Same thing almost happened this week when literally every single music site I use was streaming the new Atoms for Peace single. I figured they've been in the works for so long and this is such a major release that you obviously don't need me to tell you about it. Then I realized that's just silly and it's been shared everywhere for a reason. So here you are, now on my blog, too. New single from the long-awaited and finally officially formed Atoms for Peace, called Default.




If you haven't heard of Atoms for Peace, it's a supergroup formed by Thom Yorke of Radiohead. After he released his solo album, The Eraser, he started touring with Atoms for Peace and playing the album live. The group is made of Thom, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer, and a couple other people. And they're supposed to release an album next year, which is rather exciting.

I also heard another side project of this side project this week, which is spearheaded by Nigel Godrich. I guess it can't really be called a side-project, but it's another group that Nigel Godrich is a part of, called Ultraista. More great sounds, with an album due at the start of October. I knew I'd like them as soon as I read on their facebook that they were "conceived from a love of Afrobeat, electronica, art and inspired by tequila." These are all good things.

I don't know if anything official has been released yet, but there are a few tracks on SoundCloud. My favorite song of the week, though, goes to the Four Tet remix of Smalltalk. Luckily the remix is included on the album.

 

Dan Croll

I've been listening to all kinds of fun new stuff this week. It really helps that I actually have internet at home. It's made me more productive. Now, rather than sit and watch TV, I actually find things to do that are worthwhile. And I listen to more music.

Found out about this guy Dan Croll this week. Don't really know much about him, and I don't think he's released anything yet, but I love all the tracks I've found on SoundCloud. I think I read something saying he used to be a producer and now he's starting to make his own music. But I could have gotten that wrong. Maybe he used to be part of a band and now he's doing solo stuff? All I know for sure is he's British, and you can hear it on his songs, particularly Marion.




The fact you can actually hear his British accent makes me think of Ed Sheeran. But DC (we're already using nicknames), most reminds me of James Yuill. Not really, but kind of. Here's what I think may be his first official single, From Nowhere.





So the plan was to give you all 3 tracks that I love, out of the 4 or 5 which I have found in existence. But Home, which may actually be my favorite, can't be embedded. Assholes. So go to SoundCloud and find it for yourself.

The worst thing ever.

Before I start on the sad stories and terrible music, here's a spot of good new: after 9 months in South Africa, I finally got internet set up at home! That means I will hopefully be blogging more often. Now on to the sad story.

This story involves one of my favorite bands, Little Dragon. I am afraid I'm doomed to never see them live. My first opportunity was on my birthday about 3 years ago. I was living in California, and they were playing at a small venue in Orange County. I had planned to go see them, even found a friend to come with me. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. I share my birthday with a good friend from high school, and he happend to be in a play at the time. His last show was on our birthday, so his wife organized for a bunch of friends to come surprise him for the show. Because I'm such an amazing friend, I forewent the Little Dragon for the play.

Then I moved to Beijing a few months later. I learned about two weeks after I got there about a big music festival the previous weekend, and who should be playing but Little Dragon. So again, I missed them.

Now I live in South Africa, where next to nobody comes to tour. I would say nobody, but I was corrected about five minutes ago when it was pointed out to me that Lady Gaga is coming. Yay? Anyway, nobody that I want to see ever comes here. Except Little Dragon. And they come and play two nights, one night opening for Talib Kweli, and the next night playing a free show. Sadly for me, I wasn't in the country until this weekend. I try to be an optimist and tell myself that when I do finally see them, it will be amazing and we'll become best friends.

Now on to terrible music. I believe I've mentioned how bad South African music tends to be. Here is a perfect example. I saw this song on TV yesterday, and I wanted to change it, but I actually couldn't. I spent the entire video sitting frozen with the remote pointed at the TV unable to change the channel. I don't know if it's the terrible song, the ridiculous name (Snotkop? Seriously? I hope it means something better in Afrikaans), or the stupid dancing, or the strange green lighting, or maybe the Ed Hardy shirt. Surprisingly, this guy apparently won awards for best pop album or something last year. That should tell you what kind of dire straits I'm in.

 

Daughter

What should be a long weekend for this American is being spent in the office. So I'm making the most of it with music, and thanks to Poor Man's Limo I found Daughter. This London band has 2 EPs under their belt, and both are really freaking awesome. Their dark ballads are kind of reminiscent of Feist. And I obviously love their bitter lyrics.

Favorite track from His Young Heart EP: Landfill
I want you so much but I hate your guts





Favorite track from The Wild Youth EP: Youth

 

Sunday variety

Here's two songs I'm really enjoying today. Two very, very different songs.

This one while I was at the gym:





And this one right now:

 

I don't think there's any album or anything attached to Geronimo, but graph rabbit have an album coming out in October. Only Fields is the first single and the only track I can find now, but I'm looking forward to hearing more.

The Oh Hello's

Today was kind of shit and now I have a headache. But The Oh Hello's make it all better. The brother and sister duo from Texas have one self-titled EP and I love every song on it. Mostly reminds me of Of Monsters and Men, but also a lot of The Civil Wars. They only have 4 songs on the EP, so I'll just put one up, Hello My Old Heart, the opener. But you should probably go buy the EP cause every song on there is awesome.





Ok I lied, I'll put two. Have I mentioned that I rate all my songs in iTunes? Well I do, and 5 stars is reserved for songs I could listen to over and over and over and over. And then maybe once more. All 4 tracks on this EP are 5 star songs. I want more from these guys. Here's more for you.

Stars

Today was not looking like it was going to be a very good day. In fact it wasn't such a good day. But then I found out Monday is a public holiday so I have a 3 day weekend, which makes it all better. That and I'm headed up north to visit a friend for the weekend and stay on the gold mine he manages. I'm hoping I can get a couple pounds as a souvenir. For free, obviously. I mean what are friends for if not to hook you up at their job?

I'm in Ghana, by the way. For like the 4th time this year. Which is fine by me cause I kind of like it here. And the food is good. I would actually be happy being poor in Ghana, because I could honestly eat banku (this gruel stuff made from maize) and shito (Ghanaian hot sauce) every day, and I figure that's like the Chinese equivalent of rice and soy sauce. So I'd be set.

Anyway this blog is supposed to be about music, so music it is. This time it's what is probably my favorite band: Stars. They're part of that whole Toronto/Broken Social Scene group of artists (which includes Feist, another favorite). Their album Set Yourself on Fire is my favorite album of theirs, and possibly one of my favorite albums. Never gets old, and I can relate to pretty much every song on there.

I'm not sure which song is my favorite. There are a bunch of great ones, but two in particular that I are probably my favorite Stars songs, period. Don't really know what to say about the two songs except that they're my favorites. So just have a listen. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead.

They took the words right out of my mouth. And probably hers, too, but I'm not as concerned with that.

I used to play One More Night for my students in Japan as part of class. I would play them songs and make it a fill in the blank excersize. I'd mix up the songs for different classes, basically whatever I was feeling, but all of my students heard this one (and Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis cause it was #1 on the Billboard charts at the time and I was trying to incorporate the Billboard charts into my lesson. I probably know every word of that song thanks to teaching in Japan.)

So the good news is you've now heard these songs in case you hadn't before. The better news is that Stars's new album comes out next month and I'm very excited about it. The few songs I've heard so far have been great and I would like to have it now.

Hiatus Kaiyote

Hiatus Kaiyote are my new favorite. I can't stop listening to their album, Tawk Tomahawk. Especially The World It Softly Lulls, which is pretty much on repeat in my ears.




This self-proclaimed future soul group has an incredible debut album, which will definitely be on my top 10 list for the year. Unless I find a bunch more music like this and realize they're just mediocre, but I highly doubt that's going to happen.

Generally, I don't pay too much attention to lyrics, but sometimes I'll look them up when I particularly like a song or a specific line strikes me. There was one of those lines in Mobius Streak, the opening track on their album.

Origami birds flock from my heart, burst out in colour to wherever you are.

Other than that, the lyrics make pretty much no sense to me. They're super abstract. But I like how that one sounds anyway.

School of Seven Bells

I got the newest School of Seven Bells album a couple months ago and was planning to blog about it cause I really enjoyed it. But then sometimes when I blog about bands I've been listening to for a while, I'll go back and listen to their old albums before blogging about a new one. That's what I've done in this case. Before, I thought their new album, Ghostory, was my clear favorite by them. But then when I went back and listened to the first one, Alpinisms, I realized it was much better than I originally thought and really great.

School of Seven Bells are these twin sisters and some dude who make music. For some reason, I always think of them as gypsies, or coming from the mountains of Peru or something. Don't ask me why, I have no idea how I got that image. They're from New York. I became a bit obsessed with the first song I heard by them back in 2008ish, Iamundernodisguise.





I also love that they have weird names for their songs. Makes me like them even more. Like this one, Connjur. I don't even think that's a real word.





One of the twins quit the band before this third album, so the sound is a bit different. That's not completely true. The sound is actually quite consistent, it's just the vocal style that's different. Not as layered and not so much harmony and all that good stuff. But still an awesome album. Listen to all their albums. And on the new one, pay special attention to The Night and Lafaye.

The Head & The Heart

So I've neglected my blog again. This time it was partially due to a trip home to the States, which was wonderful. I managed to get about 2 weeks home, split between California and Oregon, where I went to a wedding. It was actually pretty ridiculous, out in a vineyard in the middle of nowhere, on a hillside with Mt. Hood as the backdrop. And I got to see all kinds of fun people who I haven't seen in literally 4 years, since leaving Japan. So that was good.

You all get to benefit from it as well though. While I was home, my sister and I did a little music swap. There are a few common ways that this usually works out. The first is that I tell her about music and she forgets. Then months later she'll come tell me she found a band and I'll tell her I told them about the band months ago. Or that I put them on my blog, but she is a terrible sister and doesn't read my with the avid interest it deserves. The second option is that she actually listens to it, which is always fun. Sometimes she also gives me music, and this time she gave me some gold.

I usually listen to music my sister tells me about with a lot of scepticism, cause I can remember the days when she loved bands like Yellowcard and Panic! At The Disco. But The Head & The Heart are actually awesome. The Seattle band has one album out and it's excellent. They've also toured with a bunch of great people, which is always a good sign. One of my favorite tracks off the album is Down In The Valley, which I listen to on repeat.

Luckily that track is immediately followed by Rivers & Roads, which is another favorite (and I believe my sister's favorite). So I can just keep listening to both tracks over and over. And this track does one of my favorite things, which is combine male & female vocals. It actually reminds me a bit of Avalanche City at the beginning.

But more than anything else, they remind me of Joe Purdy, one of my old time favorites. So as an added bonus, here's one of my favorite songs ever, I Love The Rain The Most by Joe Purdy.

Lucius

I've been getting whispers about this band Lucius in my earholes for a while now. That makes me happy because my friend is one of the singers in the band, and she's amazing. This one time, when I was turning 16 I think, she serenaded me with Etta James's At Last. It was pretty sweet, especially considering how amazing her voice is. And then this other time, years and years later, I saw her on American Idol (which I watch obsessively. Guilty Pleasure. Don't judge me. Or do, it's cool. I'm gonna keep watching anyway). I don't know how she didn't win, considering she is actually probably the best singer I know. I guess she was just too awesome for the show.

Anyway, they've released a self-titled EP which is only 4 tracks but worth every penny. Especially the first track, Don't Just Sit There, which I've been listening to on repeat. Gives me chills every time. Go purchase it. Then if you're in or near New York, go and see them, and tell Jess I say hello. I hear they've been touring with Freelance Whales, which is an added bonus, though that may have ended...? Anyway, go see them. And enjoy this track.
 

Maps & Atlases

Here's a travel tip: Don't go to Senegal.

Now here's a music tip: Listen to Maps & Atlases. Apparently they have like 3 albums. I just got their newest album, Beware and Be Grateful, and it just keeps on growing and growing on me. It's like 7 parts TV on the Radio and 3 parts Dirty Projectors. Maybe 5:2, and then 3 of whatever other magic they sprinkle in there.

First two tracks are great, and I always love when the first track on an album is one of my favorites. Old & Gray doesn't disappoint, especially once it gets to the end and gets all nasally and weird. Those probably aren't adjectives that you'd think would describe the best part of a song, but just trust me on this one.

And then it moves right into track 2, Fever, which is even better! The songs meld together nicely on the album, and I think thematically, too. Also, my first time embedding from Soundcloud. How exciting!

Chairlift

I travel a lot for work to all kinds of fun places. Planes make a great time to listen to music. But I also get to see some fun things, which I should probably share. Generally, I spend most of my time in offices and hotel rooms, but fun facts abound.

For example, I was in Uganda for a day last week. As usual I didn't see much, but Uganda is very green. Or Kampala is anyway. And there are lots of Indians and the water in the taps smells like dirt. I stayed at a hotel that looked like a castle and was called the Golf Course Hotel. Supposedly there was a golf course somewhere, but becuase it was shaped like a castle I could only think of mini golf. Sadly there was no mini golf course.

And then, driving back to the airport, we were listening to a country music station. In Kampala. Apparently country music is popular among "executives" and "high class" citizens. Interesting....

Anyway, on to the music. This time it's Chairlift. They released their sophomore album, Something, in January this year and I love it. Much better than their first album from a few years back. There were good songs on the last album, but the only really good one was a cute little track called Bruises, which I think was in someway inspired by anal sex, though you'd probably never guess it listening to the song.

The new album is full of great tracks, like I Belong In Your Arms.

This album is generally a lot more upbeat than the last one. And better. Which contradicts my theory about the first three albums my most artists, which says the first one is great, the second one sucks, and the third one is the best. Although I guess you have to start with a great first album for that to work. Sorry, Chairlift, but at least your second one is great!

Met Before is another of my favorites. Again, fun and upbeat. Yay!

Yuna

I've been waiting for Yuna's album since I first heard Live Your Life, the first single off her self-titled debut US album, and became obsessed. I didn't actually get her album till about a month after it came out, but I've been listening to the same three tracks on repeat since I have.

Apparently she's been pretty big in Malaysia, her home country, for a few years. And now that Pharrel Williams has taken notice of her and started producing some of her tracks, most noticeably Live Your Life, hopefully she'll find success in the States, too.

Her sound reminds me a lot of Utada Hikaru, who, despite her massive succes in Japan and her production by Timabaland when she released an album in the US, never managed to gain popularity in the US.

First track off Yuna's album, Lullabies, is one of my favorites.

In general, the album is decent, but a few stand-out tracks make me keep coming back to it. Live Your Life, which I still can't stop listening to, is one of those. The song sounds better with headphones.

Apparently she's touring the US with Grafitti6, who I also love, this summer. These are the reasons why I hate not living at home.

A fun fact

Sometimes on blogs people share things about themselves. Here's something about me, as told through two songs I love.

Sometimes, I think this is how I should be:

But instead I'm usually like this:

Here's another fun fact: I used to have long hair like Jason Mraz in that video. I'm sure you can find pics on Facebook. Not such a good look.

Alabama Shakes

There's really not enough bands out there like the Alabama Shakes. I love this sound. I really have nothing else to say, except that I think they're wonderful and you should buy their debut album, Boys & Girls. And Jack White agrees with me. Here are two of my favorite songs from the album.

Rise to the Sun

On Your Way

Gary Thomas

It would appear I have neglected my blog. It's been practically a month since my last post. I've thought about posting since then, and I have music to share, I just haven't had a chance. I need to not do that anymore. There's too much good stuff to share.

This post is an exciting one for me. It's my first South African musician, and one of the only good South African musical acts I've found since I moved here. I actually hear a fair amount of South African music at home. I generally keep the TV on in the background and have it tuned to a music video station for background noise. One of the music stations I have shows mostly South African music, and unfortunately most South African music is terrible. Think Nickleback.

But then I found Gary Thomas. I don't know much about this guy, except that he's South African. And he seems to have two albums out, but they're not on iTunes. I've actually only heard two songs by him, but the first one I heard is ridiculously good. Really fucking awesome. This guy is awesome. I should probably get to a record shop and buy his new album, Contraption Distoria. And then I need to find out when he's playing a gig and become his best friend.

Walls and Floors. Enjoy.

Michael Kiwanuka

The BBC's "Sound of..." series has always been a great place to find new music, and this year is no exception. Since 2003, BBC has been putting out a shortlist of artists to watch over the next year in their "Sound of..." series. They usually list like 15 artists and then will later crown their top 5 artists to watch. Not every artist they put on there ends up really making it, but they've gotten it right quite a few times (50 Cent and Adele both won, and Florence and the Machine and Lady Gaga were both shortlisted).

I actually tend to like a lot of the shortlisted acts more than the winners. This year is an exception however, with winner Michael Kiwanuka probably being my favorite artist on the list. This British singer just released his first album, Home Again, which is pretty great. People just don't make music like this anymore, and they should. The opening track on the album, Tell Me A Tale, is brilliant.

Other artists worth listening to from Sound of 2012 are Lianne La Havas, Ren Harvieu, Niki & The Dove and Frank Ocean. I haven't heard much from all of them, and not all of them have albums out yet, but what I've heard has been great.

Regina Spektor - Us

This is one of my favorite songs. Definitely one of the most played on my iPod. I'm actually not the biggest fan of Regina Spektor, I think she's generally just ok. But when she's good, she's really fucking good.

Case in point:

Band of Skulls

So this year has been a great one for me musically up until now. A lot of my favorite bands (MIIKE SNOW!!!!) finally released sophomore albums, which is always super exciting. Except when they're not good. It's tricky with sophomore albums, cause they're usually not so good. I find it goes: great first album, mediocre second album, awesome third album. Luckily, not this year, because they've all been quite good.

British band Band of Skulls is another one of my favorites who released a new album this year. Sweet Sour is a great follow-up to their 2009 debut. It keeps the same sound, although they have toned down on a few more songs than previously. There's definitely some stand out tracks, including this one, which I have to share just because I love the name (and whole-heartedly agree with the sentiment).

Of course, the best will always be their first single, I Know What I Am. Nothing beats this song. The male/female vocals also stand out much more clearly on this track, which is something else I love about the band, and bands in general. Actually, I think my last 3 posts were all male/female vocal duo bands. I'm going to need to change that on the next post.

Givers

I haven't found a band that makes me want to dance as much as Givers since Bag Raiders. It's a party in my car every time they're on, which is a lot. And I love bands that have male/female vocalists. These guys tick all the boxes.

They remind me of both Passion Pit and Local Natives. They don't actually sound like either one, but for some reason I think of both of those bands when I listen to Givers. I think the electronic parts remind me of Passion Pit and some of the drums remind me of Local Natives.

Ripe is probably my favorite track off their album, In Light.

Atlantic is great, too.

Of Monsters and Men

I first heard Of Monsters and Men on a live living room recording sometime last year and immediately fell in love. Unfortunately they had nothing else out at the time, so all I could do was watch the video for Little Talks on repeat. Fortunately they entered the national battle of the bands tournament in Iceland, where they're from, and won. So then they released an album (My Head Is An Animal). And it's really good. Plus any band that has an accordianist as a regular member is ok in my book.

Little Talks is still one of my favorite tracks on the album. Not surprised it went straight to number 1 in Iceland when it was released, as it should in the States. Hopefully their album being released in the US tomorrow will help.



You should go look for that live version of Little Talks I mentioned, too. It's also awesome. Lakehouse is another great track off the album.

Wolf People

Here's some good rock for you: Wolf People. They're British and they have one album out, called Steeple. It's very good. Great, classic sound. They remind me of White Denim, so if you like this, go listen to that also.

The opening track of Steeple is great. It's called Silbury Sands.

And here's another good one, Castle Keep. It's very long, but you will enjoy the whole thing.

POLIÇA

So far, this is my favorite new act of the year. And you know who agrees with me? Two-time Grammy award winning artist Justin Vernon, of Bon Iver fame. Their debut album came out last month and it is ridiculously good. Here's my two favorite tracks.

First up, I See My Mother, which is my favorite.



And then Violent Games, which is also pretty freaking awesome.

First Aid Kit

And I'm back on the Swedes again. There's something about those people, they just make great music.

First Aid Kit is a Swedish sister duo who sing folk music. Really good folk music. With really good harmonies. They released their sophomore album, The Lion's Roar, earlier this year and you can hear how much they've developed since their first album a couple years ago. The album is already a front runner for my top 10 this year (along with the new Chairlift album, which I'll have to blog about later). Best track by far is the opening/title track, The Lion's Roar.

I love a great opening track. And this album also comes with a great closing track, King of the World. Everything in between is also great, which is nice because a great opening and closing track always makes me want to listen to the album one more time when it finishes, despite how the middle sounds. But in this case, it's all worth it. Anyway, I highly doubt that this is the official video. Very strange selection by whoever put this on youtube.

Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur

Now that I've moved into my own apartment, I was thinking about what should be my first blog from home. Obviously, I wanted to choose something with "Home" in the title, and the first thing that came to mind was Cinematic Orchestra. I've heard a few albums by this group, but I think their best by far is 2007's Ma Fleur. The opening track, To Build A Home, features Patrick Watson on vocals and is absolutely gorgeous. It's been featured in a lot of shows and movies, so you may have actually heard it. I can't speak for the video, but you will definitely enjoy the song immensely.

If you liked it, which I'm sure you did, you should find more by Patrick Watson also. He makes some great music, a lot of which reminds me of Jeff Buckley.

The second track off the album, Familiar Ground, is also awesome, featuring vocals by Fontella Bass. I know nothing about her, but she sounds great on the song.

Local Natives

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I have no internet in the place I've been staying for the last two months. That means pretty much every Saturday and Sunday morning I come to McDonald's where I get a free hour of internet and can get my fix for the day. Luckily for me I'm moving into an apartment tomorrow, complete with internet! Which means I should probably take this last morning at McDonald's to write a blog from the place that's been so good to me.

I've been listening to some older stuff lately, some of it not so old (like Local Natives) and some much more old (like Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley). Local Natives first album, Gorilla Manor, was actually one of my favorites in 2010, so definitely worth sharing with you guys.

And here's my favorite song, Shape Shifter.

So I actually didn't know this before, but these guys not only hail from Orange County, my own hometown, but they met at UCLA, my alma mater! Makes me love them even more. They have now rounded out my top 2 UCLA alum musicians list (the other being Sara Bareilles).

I really hope these guys make new music soon, but I haven't heard any word of that happening. So for now, here's Who Knows Who Cares, another wonderful song by them to keep you happy.

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

St. Vincent is the stage name of one Annie Clark who, much like my favorite My Brightest Diamond, was once an Illinoisemaker for Sufjan Stevens. Also much like My Brightest Diamond, she released her 3rd album, Strange Mercy, last year. That's where the similarties between the two ladies end, though.

In my opinion, Strange Mercy is her best work so far, although there's nothing bad to be said about her old stuff. I mean, how can you say anything bad about a lady who titles a song Jesus Saves, I Spend?

Strange Mercy was very close to making it into my Top 10 Albums last year, so it's definitely worth sharing. You should of course listen to the whole album, but for now here are my two favorite songs, Cruel and Surgeon.

There's no video for Surgeon, so it's one of those where they just put a picture of her. To be honest, she kind of creeps me out. She's very pretty, but she looks like a doll. That's what creeps me out. Maybe just listen to it in the background instead of watching.

Avalanche City

So a couple months back I read a blog about the best of New Zealand music. Sadly, some of it was your general mainstream crap. But there were a few gems in there, and one of my favorites was Avalanche City. According to Wikipedia they're doing quite well for themselves in New Zealand, and I'm not at all surprised. My favorite song is Love Love Love, the title track off the band's debut album Our New Life Above The Ground. And it might just be one of the best music videos ever. See for yourself.

They also have an EP called Snow, which is relaly good, and I also love the title track off of this one. Both my favorite tracks are actually the first track on their album and EP. I love a good first track. This song reminds me of Snow Patrol in some ways, who I also happen to rather enjoy.

Youth Lagoon

So this is actually what I've been meaning to blog about. Finally got to it.

Youth Lagoon makes nice music and has an album called The Year of Hibernation that came out last year. My favorite song is July. Most of his songs are kind of the same, they start out pretty slow and quiet and then pick up. I guess it could get repetitive, but I like it a lot. Good music for relaxing.

He also has a song called Montana, which I only mention cause my sister lives there now. Well, it is also a good song and worth mentioning for that reason, I guess. Maybe it's the first single? Not sure, but there's an "official video" for it on youtube, so I guess it could be.

Absofacto

I have a list of music that I intend to blog, but I keep getting sidetracked. And it happened again today. Also, I think this is my first blog actually posted from South Africa.

Anyway, Absofacto is some dude who makes music I like. Some of his stuff I don't like, but a lot of it is really good. Best part? Most of it is free on his website!

www.absofacto.com

But for now, here's his new single, Lies (which I really like):

And here's my favorite song by him, Synthesocietal:

New Miike Snow!!

I am, once again, at the Dubai airport. I always seem to post stuff when I'm here. Not that that's bad. I like this place. They have wifi.

Anyway, I had intended to introduce some new music to you, but then I found out that Miike Snow has officially released their first single from their upcoming second album. If you don't know Miike Snow, I'm sorry for you. You should. And now you do. Their first album, Miike Snow, was my favorite album of 2009, and I'm super excited about the new one, Happy to You, which comes out later this year.

Here's the tracklist, in case you're curious:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-You-Miike-Snow/dp/B006OW0P12/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327280671&sr=8-1

These guys are Swedes, and as I already mentioned in earlier blogs, I do like Swedes and their music. And actually, even if you haven't heard of Miike Snow, you have definitely heard them. They've produced some very popular music, for example Toxic by Britney Spears. But their music is much better than hers. Although that is like the only song by her that I like.

Anyway, first single! Well, first official one. Here's Paddling Out.

They had another single earlier this year (Devil's Work) which is also on the new album, but it was an "unofficial" release. Also good, but I like Paddling Out more.

Glasser

Here's Glasser. I don't know much about her, but she makes good music. I think she just has one album out called Ring. Here's the first track, Apply, which happens to be my favorite.

Asa

New year, new job, new continent! I moved to Johannesburg on January 2 to start my new job. It did not make for a good Jan 1, since I had to get up (still drunk) and make it to the airport in the morning. Luckily it helped me to just pass out on the plane, and now I'm pretty sure life will be good here. I say here, but actually I'm in Dubai right now on my way back to China to sort out visa stuff. Lame. I was enjoying the summer.

Anyway, because I live in Africa, I thought I'd share something African. Asa is a Nigerian singer-songwriter. She's pretty great. There's one song in particular by her which I love: Jailer. She's not South African, but I'll get to that once I figure it out. For now, enjoy. And if you enjoy, the video actually has another song of hers, Fire on the Mountain, attached to the back of it, which is why it's so long. Jailer isn't actually that long of a song.