Best Album of 2012, Honorable Mentions

First Aid Kit, The Lion’s Roar

First Aid Kit initially got noticed covering a Fleet Foxes song on YouTube in 2008.  The song-choice proved fitting; since then, the Swedish sister-act has developed its own brand of harmony-rich, folksy Americana.  Produced by Mike Mogis (a gifted musician with production credits on records by Bright Eyes, M. Ward and Monsters of Folk), the Kit’s sophomore release has a number of tasteful instrumental touches that lend it some indie-country cred.  Bells (and whistles), glockenspiel, accordion, autoharp, mandolin, dulcimer, pedal steel and trumpet all pop in and out here and there, spicing up the mostly acoustic guitar-keys-drums arrangements.  Still, the main course, the foundation of the whole album, the engine that drives this thing, is the vocals.  Powerful yet reserved, throaty yet smooth, the two individual voices are each capable of holding their own.  But when combined, the effect is staggering.  These are the kind of harmonies that hit me deep, that seem to swell and grow and take on a vivid, luxuriant, resonant quality.  And rest assured, they’re not the result of multi-tracked studio trickery; I saw the gals play a pretty large ballroom and not only did they pull it off live, they stepped in front of their microphones at one point and filled the space with their voices, sans amplification.  Must be something in that Scandinavian water.  Highlight: Despite their relative youth (the sisters are aged 19 and 22), “In The Hearts Of Men” makes a pretty strong case for their maturity.  Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of life in general, it might be the most superbly sung tune on the album.

 

Frank Ocean, Channel Orange

Frank Ocean turned the hip-hop establishment on its ear last year when the release of his debut LP came with the revelation of his bisexuality.  The unrequited love that led Frank-O to the realization is beautifully, sometimes touchingly, chronicled on Channel Orange.  Confronting and revealing the pain and turmoil may have been cathartic for the then 24-year-old but, the album is anything but an outlet for sad-sack sulking (also, it isn’t wholly autobiographical -- Ocean peppers the set with tales of other distant, drifting or otherwise lost souls) and the accompanying music is nothing short of compelling.  The slow-burn R&B sounds at once thoroughly contemporary and respectfully Steve-Wonder-ous.  Taken as a whole, Channel Orange is a shining example of Ocean’s unique vision and noteworthy talent.  Highlight: Perhaps commenting on a generation’s attention span, the album affects a detached sense of channel-surfing as the songs cycle by.  Remarkably, even though it feels disconnected, it still holds your attention.  

Tennis, Young & Old

This, among a few other records, was the soundtrack to my summer.  Roadtrips, barbecues, yardwork sessions -- all were accompanied by the airy, unassuming pop sounds of the husband-and-wife duo from Denver.  Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore wrote their first album on a lengthy sailboat trip; it’s lo-fi, kinda surfy, and has a nice ‘50s feel to it.  This, their follow-up, picks up where it left off (the first song is appropriately titled “It All Feels The Same”) while increasing the drum presence, turning down the reverb, and generally polishing things up a bit.  Moore still sings in a delicate voice bordering on twee, her piano still anchors some songs; Riley still plays lean but loose, his guitar (along with some nuanced keyboard work) still provides brief flourishes hither and thither.  The tunes are fairly simply constructed and the entire thing clocks in at just over half an hour.  The album though, is anything but plain or trite.  Songs like “My Better Self” and “Robin” gently seep in after only a couple listens while the album-closing “Never To Part” (a cheery-sounding account of arranged marriage) does well to further the mood of the set before effectively capping it.  This mood, and maybe the whole aesthetic, might be best summed up by the repeated “High Road” lyric: “Paradise is all around but happiness is never found.”  Think about that.  Highlight: The fleeting guitar break about halfway through “Origins” isn’t overtly surf-rock but, it still rides a tasty wave of pure and easy good vibrations.