Create a Little Chaos – The Shouting Tree The Shouting Tree is an amazing one man band from Austin, Texas that creates a crazy mixture of post-rock, math rock, and a hint of psychedelic rock. The Shouting Tree creates an amazing live show through the use of loop pedals and electronic noises that fill out his sound. While some of the music sounds like something that would be played in an 80’s dorm, some of the sounds are incredibly well done and blend with a sound that is very modern. The Shouting Tree creates great music that will make your ears bleed from the high pitches, fast tempos, and excellent musicianship. — 3:20 Fennesz – Hasten Down the Wind Morten Solli’s Fennesz has one of the most consistent and best releases in 2012. The Norwegian musician has created an album that combines some of his influences with his own style to create a record that is truly his own. He creates an album that is heavily influenced by music from his past but his modern style keeps the sound fresh and original. I was hoping he would release another album this year, but his focus on producing soundtracks means we will have to wait another two or three years for a Fennesz record. — 4:03 Zomes – Zomes Zomes is a solo project from Aaron Coyes, a musician and artist from Chicago who combines electronic music with indie rock and pop music to create a sound that is somewhere between Joy Division and Kraftwerk. Aaron Coyes’ album sounds like a lot of different bands and musicians put their influences into a blender and pushed the machine to its limit. You could take most of the tracks off this album and not know what genre you were listening to, but the album is incredibly well done and would sound great in a DJ’s bag. — 3:31 Tennis System – Hush Tennis System’s album Hush is a slow building album that comes out of the gate with a heavy electronic drum section. The sound has a lot of similarities to the music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and makes a lot of electronic noise with the same tones. However, once the album gets going, it becomes an incredibly lush and beautiful album that creates an amazing balance between the electronic music and the vocal-driven sounds. A very close favorite for album of the year. — 6:17 Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes Until the Quiet Comes is a solo effort from Los Angeles’ Flying Lotus. Flying Lotus had been putting out amazing albums before but I felt like this was the best album he put out this year. Flying Lotus’ ability to create something very electronic and almost electronic sounding while not making it all synths and samplers, but with a live band and real instrumentation makes the album sound like something that would be done by a band in the 60’s instead of the 21st century. — 6:31 Gaz – Seance I can’t be honest and say I listened to Gaz’s album a lot this year because it didn’t. However, I did listen to a couple of songs and felt like I should include the album somewhere on this list. The album is a very interesting fusion of jazz, psychedelic rock, and modern electronic music that feels like it could only be created by one man. As much as I love electronic music, there is something special about the album that has you wondering how Gaz was able to pull it all together. His album is one of the more unique and amazing things I heard all year. — 7:45 Ghost B.C. – Infestissumam Ghost B.C. are a unique group of musicians from South London who create some amazing music. The album flows nicely between the punk rock and garage sounds that have been their signature sounds over the years. However, Ghost B.C. bring in some of the electronic music they love and blend it with their sound to create a sound that is all their own, but doesn’t sound like it was created by a band with no knowledge of the electronic music scene. A great record from the rock band from London. — 7:09 Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball Wrecking Ball is Springsteen’s second best album of the past 30 years behind The Rising. This album is Springsteen’s most rocking album in years and was the perfect way to end the year for me. Bruce Springsteen is the man of rock music and no matter how many other artists try to touch his sound, they cannot replace the songwriting, musicianship, and voice of Bruce Springsteen. — 7:33 Hozier – Hozier Hozier has a strange mix of punk rock, folk, and electronic sounds that make for a very unique album. It’s probably a good thing that Hozier sounds nothing like anyone else out there because as weird as the album sounds, it works extremely well and creates an album that sounds like nothing else in the same vein. — 4:45 James Blake – Retrograde For a guy who creates most of his music with a computer, James Blake still manages to create a very interesting mix of electronic music with some strong drum sounds and guitars. Blake has done a good job with creating a sound that is distinctly his own, and the result is an album that is extremely unique. There is a reason why I love James Blake. — 5:54 Ducktails – Lazaretto Ducktails creates some unique music that is best heard on headphones and on small speakers. If you listen to Ducktails, your brain needs to be prepared for a weird and wild ride of sounds that will put you in a different space than you ever been before. For those who like a little adventure, this album is a true delight. — 6:04 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today One of the best songwriting minds in music has done something a little different with his second full-length album. For the most part, it’s a great album. While I do love the songs and lyrics that Ariel puts on his albums, the lyrics seem a little more interesting and less “normal” than his previous releases, and the album has some more modern, electronic sounds. My only gripe with the album is the fact that many of the songs would have sounded better with a live instrument, but as long as Ariel gets that into his sound, the album is a great one. — 7:48 Beach House – Bloom Last year, I got a chance to see Beach House in Brooklyn in a very small space and got the chance to see them play a variety of songs that made it onto this album. Bloom is one of the best albums of the year, and you can see why with a lot of the songs are perfect to create a mood. The songs aren’t very long and Beach House manages to create a sound and mood with few notes to keep you in a dream-like state. — 7:45 Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver The man behind one of my favorite albums of 2010 is back and has created one of my favorite albums of the year. With a mix of folk sounds and electronic touches that are almost hard to believe, the album fits together to create a sound that you want to listen to over and over again. With the right volume, Bon Iver creates an album that is very hard to forget. — 8:24 Yuck – Yuck I’m pretty sure I am a bit biased, but the only other album that stands a chance to top this album this year is probably going to be Bjork. The electronic music has a lot of influences from the classic sounds of 80’s and 90’s, and all the sounds are put together in such a way to make the album sound like someone’s dream rather than a group of people trying to put their favorite bands to their influences. The album is very well done and will create some unique sounds and moods that is hard to find anywhere else. — 5:42 Grizzly Bear – Shields Grizzly Bear has created an album that is very hard to listen to in the traditional sense, but the album sounds beautiful and creates a sound that will make you want to watch it all night. This is the kind of album that I don’t normally listen to, but after my friend played this album in her car and we drove around Manhattan, I can’t get the album out of my head. Every song is very well done and each sound is like a different mood. While the second half of the album does start to sound a bit familiar, you can definitely sense the change in sound and feel that they went through. A great record from the New York based group. — 8:52 Tame Impala – Lonerism Since my last Tame Impala review, I’ve gotten the chance to see them live and they did a great job. The band has created a sound that is very electronic in nature with strong guitar work to create something that sounds like the