Let it be known that I love the ladies. Four of the next five entries feature women on vocals. (Bob Dylan sneaks his way in there, as he is completely allowed to.) Even the crassest female vocal has rounded edges, a feminine curvature about itself that penetrates the innermost parts of a male listener the way nothing else can. And when a competent woman (that is, a woman who knows precisely, exactly, what she is doing) lends her voice to a properly accommodating piece of music the results can be soul-stirringly moving.
Here is half of my top 10 albums from 2012. Everything beyond this point is highly HIGHLY recommended.
10) Poliça - Give You The Ghost
Poliça is a cool band to be aware of. Though this is their debut full-length album, its music has been featured in various TV shows and the band itself has become something of a trendy indie darling. You will understand why if you quit being so snooty about it and just listen. Haunting echoey female vocals tremble over a subtly funky bed of post-disco bass and electronics. Hypnotic as the music is, Poliça begs too much of your attention to be classified as chill. Recommended for late night midtown driving.
9) Bob Dylan - Tempest
Bob Dylan is by this point a very old man. And on Tempest he sounds every bit the however-many-hundreds-of-years-old man he is. But though his voice has turned to dying gravel, Dylan the lyricist is wittier and sharper and feistier than ever, and Dylan the musician/songwriter is swaggier than ever. Here he expertly dabbles in swampy Mississippi blues, bittersweet ballads, long stories and short stories, each song comprised of piss and vinegar. This isn't the album one puts together during his final days. Tempest is Bob Dylan, done Bob Dylan's way.
8) Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
Van Etten is a new discovery for me, and I wish I had been on board sooner because of all the things I am a sucker for, I am suckeriest for lady singer-songwriters. As for Tramp, Van Etten all at once appears vulnerable and confident, peeling through her songs with a warbled voice that perfectly and unapologetically communicates how and what she's feeling. Contributors to the album include members of The National (including Aaron Dressen, who also produced), Wye Oak, and Zach Condon of Beirut, so you know this album is folkishly indie-riffic!
7) Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur
My wife thinks I'm in love with Kathleen Edwards. I'm not. I'M NOT. Just mildly obsessed with her. If her songs sucked it wouldn't be that way. If her tweets weren't grade-school hilarious (@kittythefool) it wouldn't be that way. But regardless of what I think of Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur is another tremendous collection of music. Produced by that guy from Bon Iver, Voyageur sonically sounds different than Edwards' previous releases but still retains that Tom Petty/Americana feel to it. "Change the Sheets" would have been the summer song of 2012 had it not been released as a single in the middle of winter. Elsewhere on the album Norah Jones makes an appearance as a background singer, so listen up for that I guess.
Also, don't watch the video to "Chameleon/Comedian" if you're eating. You've been warned.
6) Susanne Sundfør - The Silicon Veil
I've casually followed Susanne Sundfør's career for the past few years. She has that angelic Norwegian voice, and it was obvious early on that one day she was going to write the perfect set of songs and get the perfect producers to engineer the most perfect sounding songs that she could absolutely crush with her perfectly perfected vocals. Well, this is it. Here we are. The Silicon Veil is a journey, and Sundfør floats you through it while a cloud of electro-classical music envelops you. These songs are dramatic and cinematic and icy and celestial in that special Scandinavian way. I don't know what's next for Susanne Sundfør, but The Silicon Veil will be dang hard to top.
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