2012 Albums of the Year....So Far

As we reach the start of the slide into the back-half of the year, here is a list of the albums that will likely feature high on my list of favorites. Already there has been a lot of jockeying for position, and I have no idea how the list will shape up by year's end. Anyway, here is my list of top albums of the year...so far:

Beach House
Bloom

Nothing short of the perfect dream pop album.

Purity Ring
Shrines

Biggest surprise of the year. I saw them live and hated every second of it. But what didn't translate in the live setting was sublime on record. Brilliant mix of ethereal vocals, haunting synths, and Dirty South beats.

Miike Snow
Happy To You

Quirky electro-pop elevated to something more by soul-searching lyrics.

The Twilight Sad
No One Can Ever Know

Expanding their sound to a more synth-heavy place, No One Can Ever Know reaches heights of tortured brilliance.

Burial
Kindred EP

While not a total reinvention of his signature sound, it opens the doors wider and shows he is not some one trick pony.

The Weeknd
Echoes of Silence

Relentless in its attack, the third album in his mixtape trilogy is the long comedown after a night of excess, focusing brilliantly on Abel Tesfaye's gorgeous falsetto.

Man Without Country
Foe

My most surprising entry as initially I thought it a good but not great record, however, it has slowly taken hold and its lush, dense synth pop is like ear candy.

Sigur Ros
Valtari

Their most muted album surprisingly is their most emotionally rich work yet.

Alt-J
An Awesome Wave

Amazing post-Kid A fusion of guitar pop and experimental electronics, all humanized by singer Joe Newman's gravelly croon.

Mount Eerie
Clear Moon

Part one of a two part record, Clear Moon is Phil Elverum's contemplation that life is but an instant, happening all at once, vast and extreme, but ultimately, and hauntingly meaningless.