Tis the season for year-end best-of lists, and The Record Exchange is pleased to bring you our 2012 Staff Picks!
Take a gander at Nickey‘s list:
BEACH HOUSE
Bloom
CHROMATICS
Kill for Love
DUM DUM GIRLS
End of Daze
GRIMES
Visions
FIRST AID KIT
The Lion’s Roar
GRIZZLY BEAR
Shields
LOWER DENS
Nootropics
PURITY RING
Shrines
WOODS
Bend Beyond
IAMAMIWHOAMI
Kin
VIEW MORE 2012 STAFF PICKS LISTS HERE.
Tis the season for year-end best-of lists, and The Record Exchange is pleased to bring you our 2012 Staff Picks!
Take a gander at Chad‘s list:
HILLFOLK NOIR
Hillfolk Noir Radio Hour
GRIZZLY BEAR
Shields
CHROMATICS
Kill for Love
LEONARD COHEN
Old Ideas
HERE WE GO MAGIC
A Different Ship
TAMARYN
Tender New Signs
BEACH HOUSE
Bloom
BLACK MARBLE
A Different Arrangement/The Weight Against the Door
LAMONT KOHNER
Willamette Dubs
BONOBO
Black Sands Remixed
VIEW MORE 2012 STAFF PICKS LISTS HERE.
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE
To Whom It May Concern captures every moment of The Civil Wars’ thrilling year through the beautiful photography of Allister Ann and Tec Petaja. This 64-page book showcases life on stage, behind the scenes, and on the road. Tracks In The Snow is a special edition 10″ vinyl by The Civil Wars. Pressed on red vinyl, this four song holiday record features an original title track, a stripped down rendition of the hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” as well as two live bonus recordings from The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI.
Track Listing:
1. Tracks In The Snow
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3. Girl With The Red Balloon (Live at Turner Hall)
4. My Father’s Father (Live at Turner Hall)
PREVIEW/BUY THE CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE DELUXE CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE
Big Boi has been struggling against straight-man typecasting for years. That will happen when the public first encounters you as the guy standing next to Andre 3000, whose arty tastes and Ziggy Stardust wardrobe made him Outkast’s natural focal point. But Big Boi made a convincing play for Outkast’s freaky, funky legacy on his solo debut, 2010’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. On this follow-up, he goes even further left, diving into a sea of bleary synth washes and floating female voices – a sound that owes as much to “Planet Rock” as to current indie rock.
The guest list reads like a blog digest. Big Boi shares the synth-pop fever dream “Lines” with moody indie duo Phantogram and cocksure Harlem MC A$AP Rocky. “Shoes for Running” is a three-way race with bubbly rapper B.o.B and surly Cali punks Wavves. Bringing these new jacks together in harmony is impressive enough; the ease with which Big Boi insinuates his smack-talking, game-kicking self into their midst, even more so.
But the album is most fun when Big Boi stops trying to prove he’s bigger than hip-hop. Best of all is “In the A,” an old-school, ego-fueled lyrical jag: “King shit, Buckingham Palace/Till I’m buckin’ on the motherfuckin’ beat, goddamn it,” he spits, sounding like Zeus dusting off the old thunderbolt. —Rolling Stone
Tis the season for year-end best-of lists, and The Record Exchange is pleased to bring you our 2012 Staff Picks!
Take a gander at John O.‘s list:
CURTIS STIGERS
Let’s Go Out Tonight
MATT MUNISTERI
Still Runnin’ Round In The Wilderness: The Lost Music Of Willard Robison Vol. 1
LINDI ORTEGA
Cigarettes and Truckstops
HILLFOLK NOIR
Hillfolk Noir Radio Hour
DARRELL SCOTT
Long Ride Home
ELIZABETH COOK
Gospel Plow
KELLIE PICKLER
100 Proof
LILLY HIATT AND THE DROPPED PONIES
Let Down
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
Carry Me Back
THE SHINS
Port Of Morrow
VIEW MORE 2012 STAFF PICKS LISTS HERE.