Best Albums of 2012: 20-16




Tiny Swimmers - Spurtin' Spirit

 

Into the top twenty of 2012's finest albums.    You've now got only five days left to vote in the 2012 Festive Fifty at www.dandelionradio.com/festive50.htm. 

Wonder if any of these'll feature:

20.  Chest Crawl - Guantanamo Baywatch (Dirtnap)

Loved them as soon as I saw the name, but wasn't prepared for the manic excellence of this crazy-shit surf-punk barrage.   Frenetic and stupidly brilliant.

19.  Meanwhile - Interlard (Self-Released)

This has only been in my life for a couple of weeks and already I can't do without it.   Noisy noise with subtly majestic rhythmic jerks.   My wife asks me to switch it off.   Download for name your price here.

18.  The Sting - The Fuzz (Melting Records)

At about this time last year Melting Records were just about the most important thing in my life, and then they came up with this in early 2012.  Stunning garage rock with knobs on.

17.  Volume 7 - Bola (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

From a label that put out stunning stuff all year came this magnificent piece of Ghanaian kologo licks with deep soul-inflected vocals.   The remixes album that followed wasn't half bad either.

16.  Spurtin' Spirit - Tiny Swimmers (Self-Released)

Another one you can download for free from here.   Punk-fuelled everything but the kitchen sink wildness from Minneapolis.

Mark W