Cougar writer Olivia offers his top ten albums for our Top albums of 2012 feature.
Frank Ocean – ‘Channel ORANGE‘
Without any doubt Frank Ocean is my artist of year. From releasing the beautiful LP ‘Channel ORANGE‘ to shaking up the conservative and often homophobic world of hip hop by publishing an open letter on his Tumblr which suggested that his first love was a man… Putting him at the top of my list for best album of 2012 seemed a natural thing to do.
Admittedly I did not instantly fall in love with ‘Channel ORANGE‘. I was actually wondering whether Frank Ocean was just a modern version of R.Kelly, with a bit more street cred’ since he’s part of young hip-hop collective OFWGKTA . Turns out both Frank Ocean and his album grew on me unexpectedly. Having listened to this album over a hundred times, I now believe that Ocean might have offered us one of the most groundbreaking and avant-garde- musically and lyrically- albums since Kanye‘s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘.
I actually see quite a few similarities between both albums. Like ‘MBDTF’, Ocean‘s album tells a story; it has a clear beginning, continued chapters, and a finale. It has that clear, logical evolution that I find to be often missing in LPs. Like a roller-coaster, the album starts smoothly with songs such as ‘Thinkin Bout You‘ and ‘Sweet Life‘, probably reaches its peak with the centrepiece and 10 minutes long epic ‘Pyramids‘, and finally slows down again with more emotional songs such as ‘Bad Religion‘ and ‘Pink Matter‘. The tracks on the album flow perfectly, and come together seamlessly to create a dramatical and grandiose master of a piece. Just like Kanye’s gem, ‘Channel ORANGE‘ is influenced by a wide range of genres, expresses various emotions and tackles various themes such as decadence and class, unrequited love and sex.
‘Channel ORANGE‘ is anything but your standard r&b piece and Frank Ocean is far from an average baritone singer . Personally I have a thing for music that is somewhat ‘schizophrenic‘ and think that opposing forces usually tend to create something beautiful. It’s possibly why I am so attached to ‘Channel ORANGE‘, as the artist, and his album are unconventional yet classic, witty yet sombre, simple yet with a bona fide sense of grandeur.
Grizzly Bear – ‘Shields‘
Included in the Cougar Microbes albums of 2012 here.
First Aid Kit – ‘The Lion’s Roar‘
Included in the Cougar Microbes albums of 2012 here.
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City‘
Included in the Cougar Microbes albums of 2012 here.
Django Django – ‘Django Django‘
Included in the Cougar Microbes albums of 2012 here.
Bobby Womack – ‘The Bravest Man In The Universe‘
2012 was marked by the return of music legend Bobby Womack. The man behind the ‘Across 110th Street‘ made a suprise comeback with a beautiful album produced by the extremely talented Damon Albarn ( with whom he had already collaborated on Gorillaz‘ ‘Plastic Beach‘) and XL Recordings‘ owner Richard Russell.
This album is Womack‘s 27th studio album yet I find it suprisingly modern, possibly more so than a lot of albums by new or up and coming artists. I love everything about this album, from the contrast between Womack‘s dark soulful voice and the semi electronic beats, to his amazing duet with Lana Del Rey. One word: Breathtaking.
Wild Nothing – ‘Nocturne‘
Wild Nothing was created in 2009 by Jack Tatum. His debut LP ‘Gemini‘ was already pretty good, but this new LP ‘Nocturne‘ is on a whole new level. Yes, on the negative side one might say that Tatum‘s music is quite predictable and sounds like your usual dream-pop band ( I’m thinking Toro Y Moi, Deerhunter, WU LYF …). Moving past that, I really think ‘Nocturne‘ is a beautiful and pleasurable album. I might not remember it in ten years, but for the moment, songs such as ‘Shadows‘, ‘Paradise‘ or title track ‘Nocturne‘ still manage to brighten up my snowy and cold afternoons.
Chromatics – ‘Kill For Love‘
Included in the Cougar Microbes albums of 2012 here.
NaS – ‘Life Is Good‘
Whenever I talk or think about NaS, I get this uncontrollable urge to quote Jay-Z‘s 2001 diss track ‘Takeover‘ in which he basically summarised his rival’s career. It goes like this: “4 albums in 10 years, nigga? I could divide. That’s one every… let’s say 2, 2 of them shits was doo, 1 was ‘nah’, the other was ‘Illmatic’, that’s a one-hot-album-every-10-year average’
When NaS announced a new album, I (and I’m guessing a lot of people) might have feared the worst. Let’s face it, he might be one of the most gifted lyricist and rappers of this generation but has nonetheless come up with some questionable material in the past. However, it seems that a year of personal troubles brings out the best in him. ‘Life is Good‘ is NaS‘ 11th studio album, it comes post Kelis, post daughter’s twitter/condom-gate, and in the midst of many legal issues, but it’s just great.
I am in love with the sumptuous first track of the album, ironically called ‘No Introduction‘, in which NaS, in a semi mid-life crisis style looks back at his life. I guess it introduces the theme of this album. No more Jay-Z beef, or NaS vs The World. ‘Life is Good‘ is NaS vs NaS, reflecting on his personal life, fatherhood, and his experience of hip-hop. One rather personal song called ‘Bye Baby‘ is dedicated to ex-wife Kelis. A bunch of big names feature on his album: Rick Ross on the impressive and intimidating ‘Accident Murderers‘, ‘Reach Out‘ with Mary J Blige, and the surprising ‘Cherry Wine‘ with the late Amy Winehouse.
After years of disappointing his fans, NaS is finally back with an album that is worthy of his reputation. Enjoy.
Purity Ring – ‘Shrines‘
One of my favourite album of 2012 is definitely Canadian duo Purity Ring‘s first LP entitled ‘Shrines‘. With ‘Shrines‘, band members Roddick and James have perfectly captured the essence of what 2012 should sound like. Their music is a mix of electro-pop, Dubstep, R&B, with a good dose of mystical shoegaze.
Strangely, their sounds amazingly coherent, controlled and unique. From the beginning to the end this album remains captivating.
