When I first heard the self-released album by Parquet Courts a year ago, I knew I was on to something good. After only a few listens, I was sure it needed to be in my top 40 albums of the year. After each listen, the album, Light Up Gold, moved up on the list. Eventually I had to settle for No. 24 as I needed to get my best-albums lists out. Had I spent a little more time with this post-punk gem it would have moved higher on my 2012 list.
So I was happy to see this release get new life on year-end lists for 2013. The album was re-released on the What’s Your Rupture label early this year. Sound Opinions’ Greg Kot named it the No. 1 album, Rolling Stone ranked it 11th best and Pitchfork picked it 40th among 2013’s top albums.
I still highly recommend Light Up Gold and I also suggest you check out the band’s EP from this year, Tally All the Things that You Broke.
Listen on Spotify: Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold
You can see my top 40 list from 2012 after the jump.
THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 (originally posted December 2012)
40. Craig Finn – Clear Heart Full Eyes. Great story telling by the Hold Steady frontman.
39. Eternal Summers – Correct Behavior. Instantly likable new wave pop music.
38. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Cobra Juicy. A little more rocking than past BMSR offerings.
37. Willis Earl Beal – Acousmatic Sorcery. On his debut album, this Chicagoan entertains and confounds. He was a highlight of Pitchfork fest for me.
36. Crystal Castles – III. Crystal Castles and Purity Ring essentially made the same album in 2012. I liked Crystal Castles just a little bit better.
35. Guided By Voices – Let’s Go Eat the Factory. “Classic” GBV’s comeback resulted in three albums in 2012. This was the first.
34. The Babies – Our House on the Hill. Side projects should be fun and this one from members of Woods and Vivian Girls is a blast.
33. Chuck Prophet – Temple Beautiful. Indie vet turns in a great album.
32. Dan Deacon – America. An epic journey as Deacon reflects on the “frustration, fear and anger” he feels about his country.
31. King Tuff – self titled. Great quirky garage rock.
30. 2:54 – self titled. A very cool debut from U.K. sisters Colette and Hannah Thurslow.
29. The Fresh & Onlys – Long Slow Dance. A great collection of pop, pysch and garage songs.
28. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory. Steve Albini helps toughen up Dylan Baldi’s musical project (now a band).
27. DIIV – Oshin. A blend of Real Estate and New Order, Zachary Cole’s side project was pretty neat.
26. Grass Widow – Internal Logic. Nothing groundbreaking about this girls group — just a solid output.
25. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light. I didn’t get this band in the past. This album changed my mind. Hey Jane is a standout.
24. Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold. I almost overlooked this punk / post-punk treasure.
23. Japanadroids – Celebration Rock. Good rockin’ and a Gun Club cover!
22. Wild Nothing – Nocturne. Dreamy pop that recalls ’80s grandeur.
21. Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse. Everything Segall put out in 2012 was great. This was the hardest of the bunch.
20. Metz – self titled. If you prefer your rock ‘n’ roll to be of the maximum variety, you have to check out this skull crusher.
19. Grimes – Vision. One of the most irresistible albums of the year, this young Canadian, Claire Boucher, put out a unique and original electronic album.
18. Peaking Lights – Lucifer. By the time you get to the second song, Beautiful Son, you realize you have a pretty intriguing album — electronic that draws on reggae, psychedelic and more.
17. Dusted – Total Dust. Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt took an alternative path on the lo-fi offering from his band Dusted. Parts of it are stunning.
16. Santigold – Master of My Make-Believe. Not a token major label pick. This is a thoroughly enjoyable second album from the artist fka Santogold.
15. Beach House – Bloom. Beach House makes magic on Bloom, continuing where it left off with Teen Dream.
14. Suckers – Candy Salad. Big pop, synth, folk all in one album, and Suckers actually pull it off.
13. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp. A career album from the artist I used to consider a folkie. Very edgy — and great.
12. Thee Oh Sees – Putrifiers III. I’ve never met an album by Thee Oh Sees I didn’t like and this one I love for its great garage rock.
11 . Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action at a Distance. The best thing next to a new Deerhunter album, this is guitarist Lockett Pundt’s impressive side project.
10. Nada Surf – The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy. Nada Surf is power-pop bliss. This is a great comeback album for these guys, who have been making music since the early ’90s. Stars, the first new album for the band in four years, has an incredibly infectious sound.
9. Frankie Rose – Interstellar. Frankie Rose is a veteran of indie groups, including Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls. While her 2010 release (recorded as Frankie Rose and the Outs) showed glimpses of what was to come, she also stuck with that ’60s girls group genre that made her former bands popular. Here, Rose puts out a highly original album that draws liberally from ’80s pop.
8. The Men – Open Your Heart. The Men made one of the best rock albums of the year, hands down. The spirit and energy of these guys reminds me of the Replacements in their heyday. Like those classic Mats albums, Open Your Heart, takes some cool twists and turns, including the country-influenced Candy, to help pace an otherwise frenetic album.
7. Beachwood Sparks – The Tarnished Gold. With the popularity of Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes, I’m surprised Beachwood Sparks didn’t generate more interest. This easy-going alt-country gem represents another comeback, the first release in 11 years for Beachwood Sparks. Fans of Jayhawks and early Wilco will want to get this album.
6. Grizzly Bear – Shields. Grizzly Bear picks up where it left off with the stunning 2009 release Veckatimest. If you liked that release, there’s a very good chance you’ll dig Shields as well. I’ve always found Grizzly Bear’s sound hard to describe. The oft-used term chamber pop doesn’t quite tell the whole story. Shields is full of dramatic flourishes, which I think makes for a very exciting album even though it’s not exactly rock.
5. Mount Eerie – Clear Moon / Ocean Roar. Released separately, Clear Moon and Ocean Roar are companion albums from the brilliant Phil Elverum, an artist who self releases his music. Elverum makes quiet music that builds into intense landscapes of sound. Both albums were recorded in a vacated church in Washington state where Elverum says he contemplated his own existence. It’s an atmospheric journey marked by many musical peaks and valleys.
4. Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth. There’s a petition pushed by fans of Mountain Goats to make the band’s principal John Darnielle a U.S. poet laureate. I can’t say that I’ve ever been so fanatical about Darnielle or his longtime band, but I do know a great album when I hear one. And Darnielle made one that musically stands up to his thoughtful lyrics.
3. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan. Frontman David Longstreth said Dirty Projectors’ most recent album was influenced by Lil Wayne, Neil Young, Guided by Voices, Rod Stewart and Blind Willie Johnson. No one makes music quite like Dirty Projectors. Harmonized female vocals are often as prominent (or even more dominating) an instrument as the guitar. But no worries — there are guitars on this album, including on the big opening song, Offspring Are Blank. Once compared to prog rock, Longstreth reportedly pointed out in an interview that he wasn’t a big fan of Yes.
2. Ty Segall – Twins. He made three albums in 2012 and they were all really good. Twins is a solid collection of songs from one of the most exciting rock musicians working today. Year-end album lists tend to leave out the best and most fierce rock albums. That’s a shame. Inspired by Stooges, T-Rex and others famous many years before this rocker was born, Segall’s sound is a bit anachronistic and yet his music is so fresh.
1. Woods – Bend Beyond. And speaking of anachronistic… With its psychedelic sound, Woods draws on an earlier era of rock music. When played live, the band extends the excellent title track to 10 minutes (more than double the album length for the song). But you certainly don’t have to be fan of jam bands or psychedelic ’60s to appreciate Woods. I’ve been listening to this band for years and I’d say this is its most accessible album yet. There’s not a bad song in the bunch.
All the Young Punks 