UPROXX’s 10 Best Albums Of 2012

Attack on Memory by Cloud Nothings

All We Love We Leave Behind by Converge

Koi No Yokan by Deftones

Swing Lo Magellan by Dirty Projectors

Kaleidoscope Dream by Miguel

Local Business by Titus Andronicus

Blunderbuss by Jack White

#9. Hypnotic Nights by JEFF the Brotherhood

(From guest contributor Burnsy)

When I first grabbed the JEFF the Brotherhood album, Hypnotic Nights, it fell victim to a little thing I like to call “Forgetting that I purchased it”. So the album was originally released on July 13 and I probably didn’t listen to it until September, which makes me sad now, because it is one of my favorite things that was created this year.

The first thing that came to mind when I listened to Nights was that JEFF the Brotherhood reminded me of Local H, and it turns out that’s a solid comparison because both bands are two-piece rock groups with a grungy, garage vibe. That said, I think one of the reasons that Nights resonated so well with me is that it’s not of this time, in that this band and a video for “Staring at the Wall” would have fit in perfectly in the 90s, leading off 120 Minutes or Alternative Nation, as I snuck out my window to smoke a Marlboro Red.

From the simple chords of the albums opener, “Country Life”, to the closing track, a haunting, trippy cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Changes”, Hypnotic Nights isn’t groundbreaking or something that we’ve never heard before. However, it is a kickass reminder of rock music that says, “We just don’t give a f*ck.”

#7. channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

In July, not long after Frank Ocean discussed his sexuality in a widely read Tumblr post, Beyonce also posted something online: a poem she wrote for Ocean. It read, “Be fearless. Be honest. Be generous. Be brave. Be poetic. Be open. Be free. Be yourself. Be in love. Be happy. Be inspiration.” Her message could double as a review of channel ORANGE, one of the most exciting and organic R&B albums in years. It's intended to be listened in one, long, swirling, woozy-eyed journey, and that's when it's at its best. And all from a 25-year-old kid who not long ago was hidden in the shadow of Tyler, the Creator. Don't write that novel, Frank.

#5. The Seer by Swans

"Lunacy," the opening track from The Seer, is over six minutes long — and it's one of Swans' shorter songs on the album. The Seer tests you; it doesn't want to be listened to passively. It's a two-hour challenge, full of double-digit-length drones and spiritual murmurs, with an occasional acoustic respite in the form of a song that ends with "Use your sword/Use your voice/And destroy." But it's worth the commitment.

Beneath the punishing, abyss-staring noise, there's a certain beauty and grace and self-reflection to the album; plus, try listening to it while performing a mundane chore around the house. Doing the laundry will never seem as important as does right then. No wonder frontman Michael Gira called The Seer the "culmination of every previous Swans album as well as any other music I've ever made, been involved in or imagined." He wasn't being hyperbolic, either.

#3. The Idler Wheel... by Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple is a once-in-a-lifetime creation. She's brilliant, maddening, frenetic, impossible to pin down, fierce, flirtatious, scary, and hilarious. And it's those eccentricities, and a dozen more just like them, that makes, sigh, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do so riveting.

The album, a jazzy, raw career culmination that can either inspire or destroy you, depending on your mood, sounds different with every listen; you half expect Fiona's deeply personal voice, hollering, squeaking, and mischievously bouncing all over the place on the album, to flicker out of "Werewolf," like the subject in a Hogwarts painting. Idler is a confession, and you never want Fiona to stop confiding.

#1. Celebration Rock by Japandroids

You sip a beer. You finish a beer. It tastes good, so you have another beer. Five minutes later, you're done, and you've got a nice buzz going. You have a third. Why not? It's a party. Two beers later, you're feeling really good, like you could do anything. (Except drive; don't drink and drive, kids.) Your head is swimming slightly, but in a good way — you don't have to puke. You're invincible and the world is yours.

That's what Celebration Rock feels like. It's sweaty, F*CK YEAH, hands-to-the-heavens rock 'n' roll, made by two guys. And just two guys, making as much OH OH OH OH OH OH noise as they can with a guitar and drum set. The only extra flourish on the album is the crackling fireworks that begin and end it. The album title is spot-on: Japandroids made a celebration of everything good about rock, about music, about 2012.