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Articles : Lachlan Dale’s best albums of 2012

By on December 18, 2012
This is how I spent most of 2012 (with Battle Pope) (c) Shaun Tenzenmen

This is how I spent most of 2012 (with Battle Pope) (c) Shaun Tenzenmen

Where would we be without music critics – those titans of men blessed with higher sensitivity and superior powers of perception such that they are able to tap directly into the essence of art to uncover objective truth, while we, the plebs, are left to drown in paralyzing uncertainty. In this manner are they not like the stargazers, soothsayers and prophets of old?

These men are the pillars of modern culture; the bedrock upon which we – the musicians, the publishers, the fans, the consumers – can do little except gaze upon with a mix of awe and melting admiration.

The coming of the end of another year fills me with joy, for it marks the time for slow-moving hordes of pale-skinned music critics, dizzy on a high from their sense of self-importance, to publish their self-indulgent “best of” lists for the year.

Allow me to throw my hat into this tired ring.

The year in review

This year was good to me. I found much music to inspire me and compel me onward – locally, across Australia and internationally (I hope my work with Art As Catharsis shows as much).

There are few things sadder than a love that has hardened and stagnated, so I would like to sincerely thank these bands for preventing my downfall in that regard.

Note: I refuse to rank these albums on some kind of bizarre scale, so here are my favourites from 2012 in no particular order. Each link goes to my favourite track from the album.

Best non-Australian releases of 2012

Best Australian releases of 2012

Bands to watch in 2013

  • Hydromedusa
  • Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt
  • Killsong
  • Funeral Moon
  • Snakes Get Bad Press
  • The Reverend Jesse Custer

About

In his spare time, Lachlan melts cephalopods and sorts raw numbers. He runs Art As Catharsis, plays guitar in Serious Beak, Adrift for Days and Battle Pope and writes philosophy at Writing As Catharsis. Follow him on tumblr or Twitter.