This is the 7th time we’ve wheeled out a top 42 for our end of year poll. That equates to almost 300 individual tunes which have done much more for us that yer average piece of recorded music. The rules for our list are simple, an artist can only appear once and we’ve excluded anything that has come by way of our own label Indiecater. 2012 proved to be the first time, since we started doing this sort of thing, that we didn’t need to cull that many entries from our original list of favourites. This could mean one of 2 things, that 2012 wasn’t up to much in terms of memorable indie numbers or that we didn’t spend half enough time uncovering the rich seam of underground gold. My money is on the former as I really noticed for the first time how other genres have completely eclipsed our staple diet. To sum up, 2012 hasn’t really come close to being a vintage year even if much of the best material had a vintage sound. Let’s hope the harsh austerity draws to a close before 2013 breaks. KD





This is how our 2012 sounded (playing in reverse order)

[8tracks width=”400″ height=”400″ playops=”” url=”http://8tracks.com/mixes/1188455″]





42) Catcall – The World Is Ours

…channel the Go-Team but with a good degree more loose chord injections…





41) Hooray For Earth – Never

…fans of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark et al would probably pardon and embrace this nugget…





40) Passenger – Feather On The Clyde

…isn’t it nice to listen to songs where the words trickle out clearly…





39) Rhye – The Fall

…a climber that will grace every inch of your inner walls…





38) Mogwai – George Square Thatcher Death Party (Justin K Broadrick Reshape)

…signal rock action but instead deliver, on this occasion at least, beautiful electronic redaction…





37) Gypsy & The Cat – Bloom

…a genuine feelgood triumph…





36) Bottle Of Evil – I Can See Your Face

…all you’ll need is a setting sun…





35) The Wedding Present – You Jane

…a gem, a proper bouncy anthem…





34) Lotus Plaza – Out of Touch

… if pummelling percussion in the environs of a feast of jangle is your bag then this could well be your new squeeze…





33) Capybara – Late Night Bikes

…might well give the weaker amongst you minor palpitations…





32) PS I Love You – Don’t Go

…reaching for decibels not heard since Marty McFly was violently cast backwards into a bookcase…





31) Hospitality – Friends of Friends

…sterling stuff…





30) The Colurs – Washed Away

…a joyous sing-along during the harmony laden chorus…





29) Sara Radle – Last

…as unhurried as this ensemble is it can’t help to foster goosebumps…





28) pROVISIONAL mOOVES – sON

…like a lost Orb track that was destined for a Bentley Rhythm Ace remix until it decided to retire to Koh Phi Phi…





27) She Sir – You Could Be Tiger

… the gloriously Pale Saints sounding ‘You Could Be Tiger’ pounced throatwards…





26) Woodsman – All Tangled Up

…a vivid expression of doodling chord structures…





25) Tracey Thorn – Taking Down the Tree

…Thorn emerges triumphant while retaining the softly focused dialogue of the original…





24) Pandercakes – Paint By Numbers

…kick and rush indie pop, with interconnecting fey boy/girl vocals and a melodic thunderclap of instrumental sound…





23) Grizzly Bear – Yet Again

…could well provide an antidote for jaded listeners convinced that the end is nigh for brand new classics…





22) Mmoss – Another Dream

…the rolling harmonies prove the perfect foil to the swirling retro giddiness…





21) Cheers Elephant – Leaves

…does its merry thang after the third short silence and gives credence to a small hankering for certain whistling Swedes…





20) Toy – Left Myself Behind

…really is quite an extraordinary 7 minutes, especially the molten instrumental breakdown in the second half…





19) Girl Band – In My Head

…hey approximate an aircraft engine made up of equal parts Pet Lamb, Ash and Nirvana…





18) Arbouretum – New Scarab

… A touch of ragged country that is fuelled by a rotating chord and Dave Heumann’s deft pronouncements…





17) Sharon Van Etten – Serpents

..really is a kick in the balls without the associated pain…





16) Daniel Rossen – Return to Form

…lolloping nature reveals untold pleasant nooks and crannys…





15) Solomon Grey – Firechild

…clubbers take note, googlers keep an eye out…





14) Beachwood Sparks – Forget The Song

…wave after wave of lush harmony…





13) Miike Snow – Devil’s Work

… light up the sky piece of fantastical audio that hints at Ian Brown but is rather more encouragingly aligned with several minutes of Alan Wren’s drumming…





12) Tame Impala – Apocalypse Dreams

… takes psychedelic themes to future places, or at least to as far as Jellyfish foraged…





11) Lord Huron – Time To Run

…they’ll be dancing to this wherever good music is played…





10) White+ – Red

…bumps and grinds and offers a mighty presence even if the words are not in the least bit discernible…





9) Winter Villains – The Air

… catch a ride on a passing iceberg…





8) Team Me – Show Me

…what the Arcade Fire used to do when the city centre inspired them…





7) Saint Motel – 1997

…coming-of-age lyrics (with parental voicing) and impressive arrangements…





6) Earlimart – 10 Years

…seldom have the words ‘I’ve got nothing, without you’ sounded this heartfelt…





5) Emily Wells – Passenger

… given that she is currently ensconced in New York it is perhaps not overly surprising that the only faint signature that is discernible is that of Regina Spektor…





4) Spirit Spine – Delta

…overriding impression is one of audio made by robots with enhanced A.I.…





3) Conduits – Top Of The Hill

…the twin diametric forces of Jenna Morrison’s glacial vocals and the monstrous chords are irresistible…

Conduits – Top Of The Hill





2) Slow Magic – Corvette Cassette

…understated euphoria…

Slow Magic – Corvette Cassette





1) Lower Dens – Brains

…I’ve started to tingle as if my torso had turned tooth-like and chewed on a gold coin…

Lower Dens – Brains







