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Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2012 (Clarence Ewing)

CHIRP Radio Best of 2012

Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2012. Our next list is from Blog Manager Clarence Ewing.

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Categorized: Best Albums of the Year

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Curtis Swank writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2012 (Curtis Swank)

CHIRP Radio Best of 2012

Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2012. Our first list for this year is from volunteer Curtis Swank.

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Categorized: Best Albums of the Year

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CHIRP DJ writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011

For the entire month of December, CHIRP volunteers have been posting their favorite records of 2011. Now, we’ve compiled the lists, have done the maths, and put together the definitive CHIRP best of 2011 list. Enjoy!

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

#1 tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
As inventive as any album this year, Merrill Gerbus’ sound is a junkyard of Afro-Caribbean, R&B, Funk, and Modern Rock influences, though her voice maybe her music’s most unique quality. After her first album, BiRd-BrAiNs, found an audience despite being recorded on a digital voice recorder, Gerbus’ took advantage of her first studio-recorded release that turns tunes to treasure. —James Vest

#2 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
This album is beautiful in its quiet grace, and the honesty of its lyrics. Even 9 months after its release these songs still get happily stuck in my head. —Liz Smyth

#3 Detroyer – Kaputt (Merge)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
I haven’t listened to any other album this year more than Kaputt. I am infatuated with every track here. I guess artistic audacity just gets me every time. I want to hear someone giving a crazy idea his all, even if that could potentially mean utter failure. Dan Bejar could’ve made the worst decision of his life by releasing Kaputt, but as long as listeners like me are around, we’ll make sure this isn’t the last time an artist doesn’t play it safe. Kaputt is my favorite album of the year. —Dylan Peterson

#4 The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Giant, swirling walls of guitar and a tremendous sense of intensity, that great build-up and release, made The Big Roar perhaps the best shoegaze album since the heyday of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. —Shawn Campbell

#5 The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Springsteen, Dylan, Petty are the common comparisons…but with a hypnotic bend. Roadtrip music that makes you drive faster…be safe, use cruise control instead. —David Staples

#6 The Weeknd – House of Balloons (XL)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
The debut mixtape from Toronto’s mysterious The Weeknd spread through the interwebs like wildfire. House of Balloons collected over 200,000 downloads in a matter of weeks and quickly made these guys into a household name. It’s easy to see why. As far as contemporary R&B goes there aren’t too many artists, The-Dream aside, that are doing stuff like this. The beats are so good they might buckle your knees if you’re not prepared, and when combined with Abel Tesfaye’s considerable pipes and a penchant for darker subject matter this stuff becomes downright sinister in the best way possible. —Stephen Dobek

#7 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Anthony Gonzalez reimagines the grooves of the 80s and makes them sound new again. The child-like “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” might be my favorite song of the year. —Erin Van Ness

#8 Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
As good as Sleater-Kinney? Yes. —John Schechinger

#9 Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Since these guys have been hammering away in Chicago for years now, you wouldn’t have thought this album’s greatness would have taken anyone by surprise, but Neverendless felt like it came out of nowhere – slamming into your senses like the 2-ton flatbed truck that Cave commandeered to share its new songs with the city. Crisp and clear production with impossibly tight songs. Somehow these epic jams all seem to end too quickly! —John Lombardo

#10 Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
The most unique and exciting album I heard this year hands down. This is music I’ve never experienced before and the fact that it comes from one musician, playing one instrument, recorded in one take is absolutely mind-blowing. —Mike Pakowski

#11 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Seattle outfit Fleet Foxes sophomore effort is the perfect soundtrack to a lazy Sunday morning. The Foxes effortlessly evoke the feel of early 70’s light rock bands like Crosby, Stills & Nash. Check out the warm vocal harmonies on the albums title track, “Helplessness Blues.” —Jim Waiter

#12 James Blake – James Blake (Universal Republic)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Staying with the theme of amazing UK-ness, but completely changing, well, everything, the music of James Blake has had a huge impact on 2011. Not only has he stretched the genre of dub-step into a calmer territory, much more accessible to all, but the kid is brilliant! At the time of the release in February, he was 21! And now, he’s a household name. Well, a household name in my shabby apartment. —Michelle Nadeau

#13 Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Hey, guitars! Yeah, that’s an instrument for old dudes, but Kurt Vile doesn’t care. He knows how to write a great song with his guitar, and he should continue. Kurt has an aura that you can’t really fuck with. The timelessness of songwriting wins again here, whether you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth, or Arcade Fire, Kurt Vile’s music somehow stretches across decades of rock and roll cool and comes back with a uniquely original style. —Dylan Peterson

#14 Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this album when it was first released. The knock on Noah Lennox’s follow up to his landmark album Person Pitch was that it’s “more of the same.” But sometimes that’s a good thing, especially when it comes from a gifted musician who continues to sharpen his electro-ambient-avant-pop craft. —Clarence Ewing

#15 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
It takes guts to make a debut album this indecipherable. Garage production without the garage rock, this Kiwi-American trio have put together a quick half-hour of spare, danceable tunes penned by Flying Nun vet Ruban Nielson. UMO have hooks galore, but are just as content to ride the main riff of a track through the fade-out. —Austin Bainard Harvey

#16 Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
“I still keep my baby teeth, In the bedside table with my jewelry, You still sleep in the bed with me, My jewelry, and my baby teeth. I don’t need another friend, When most of them I can barely keep up with. I’m perfectly able to hold my own hand, but I still can’t kiss my own neck. I wanted to give you everything but I still stand in awe of superficial things I wanted to love you like my mother’s mother’s mothers did…Civilian…”
No explanation needed. —Bobby Evers

#17 Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
I would think that by now Radiohead would have worn out their ability to make this kind of music so well—you know, said everything they can say? Anyway, they haven’t. —Tony Breed

#18 The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Capitol)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Decemberists get rootsy, release one of their strongest efforts to date. —Al Gabor

#19 Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
If a young Elvis could have somehow been body swapped with Leonard Cohen, Elvis presumably would have ditched Rockabilly for Rhythm and Blues. Because such a situation isn’t possible, there’s Timber Timbre to put to rest what that scenario would have sounded like. The album is a haunted space–expansive, mysterious, and eerily exciting, making you want to cling to something you love. —James Vest

#20 Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Ernest Greene’s got the voice and he fuses it seamlessly with electronics. It’s hard not to like this music. Every track does well. —Richard Paul

#21 Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Formulaic and catchy? No problem. Married types are unattainable. It’s okay. —John Schechinger

#22 Cults – Cults (In the Name of)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Bouncy but creepy take on sixties girl group sound and themes. —Al Gabor

#23 Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
A lovely pop album from the adorable couple that is Tennis, Cape Dory is delightful, light, and fun. It’s about love. It sounds like summer. It makes you want to dance. I really enjoyed it. —Abbey Fox

#24 Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place (Asthmatic Kitty)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
A beautiful, dreamy, hypnotic album. Julianna Barwick’s voice is enchanting, soothing and magical. —Mike Pakowski

#25 Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
It almost makes me feel yucky how much I’ve listened to Yuck in 2011, pun not intended. But why should I? They’ve earned their place on my playlists! Maybe it’s their delicious 90’s throwback garage rock sound or perhaps it’s Daniel Blumberg’s amazing fro that instantly reminds you of Sideshow Bob (not in a super creepy way, though). I cannot wait to hear what this London group does next. —Michelle Nadeau

#26 Disappears – Guider (kranky)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Another year means another Disappears album on my top 10. This band, that we are all very lucky to have locally, just keeps getting better. There is a new album due in March and it makes me wonder if they will make it 3 for 3 on my list in 2012. —Andy Weber

#27 JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Want More (Bloodshot)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Chicago’s favorite soul crooner is back in full force with the fabulous Uptown Sound for their first release on Bloodshot. The only thing better than this album is seeing these guys live. —Sara Miller

#28 Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes (LL)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Lykke Li portrays her vulnerability with such passion on this album. “I Know Places” is one of my favorites. —Liz Smyth

#29 Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Waits’ collaborator/wife Kathleen Brennan laid down the law: no songs over 4 minutes. Well, a few creep over that mark, but concision leads to the sharpest songs Waits has created in a long time. From barroom balladeering to scuzzy blues to rockabilly, Waits is in control on his best album since Rain Dogs. —Mike Bennett

#30 Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI-)

BUY: Insound / iTunes
Well when I first listened to this album I was blown away just by the fact that Wilco was able to excite me again. Just when I had written them off they pull me back in. Well done! —Andy Weber

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Categorized: Best Albums of the Year

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Shawn Campbell writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Shawn Campbell)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. Our final list is from CHIRP Radio President and Founder Shawn Campbell.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

Seapony – Go With Me (Hardly Art)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Who needs groundbreaking when you have a record this lovely and breezy? As a sucker for a great pop song, I fell under the spell of Seapony the first time I heard them, and probably listened to this album more than any other in 2011.
Wax Idols – No Future (HoZac)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Wax Idols meld multiple decades of sound into their hyper-catchy garage rock. There’s a bit of 60s girl group, some 70s postpunk, 80s tough grrrl rock, all blending together nicely in a record that reveals a little more with each listen.
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (Capitol)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This old school blast from the Beastie Boys made me tremendously happy. Clever enough to be satisfying, dumb enough to be fun.
Disappears – Guider (kranky)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
There’s always been something enticingly ominous about Disappears, and Guider delivered more of that dark, driving energy. In fact, it almost feels like the second half of a double album with last year’s Lux – there’s not a lot of evolution, but there’s an equally strong set of songs.
Gold-Bears – Are You Falling in Love? (Slumberland)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
While I liked this year’s Pains of Being Pure at Heart record, Gold-Bears grabbed the fuzzy C86 spot in my heart that The Pains’ self-titled album held in 2009. Catchy songs buzz and soar, teenage heartache abounds, and there’s just a little more oomph behind it all.
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Giant, swirling walls of guitar and a tremendous sense of intensity, that great build-up and release, made The Big Roar perhaps the best shoegaze album since the heyday of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I loved the fact that one of the most anticipated records this year was from a group of women in their 30s and 40s – and that, at the end of the day, all the excitement was completely merited with a strong set of rock songs and a really great energy.
Tashaki Miyaki – 12” EP (Self-Released)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Fuzzy, druggy pop songs, heavy on the reverb, half girl group, have Velvet Underground – a formula I’m virtually powerless against when the songs are good. And these are good. Bonus points for the cover of Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat.”
Mickey – Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreamer (HoZac)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
What’s not to love about scuzzy glam garage from Chicago? Replace a few ‘s’s with ‘z’s, a few ‘y’s with ‘ee’s, in titles like Bright Lights Big City, Kids in Love, and Baby We’re Gold, and this album could sit proudly next to the likes of Sweet and Slade.
Stone Darling – All I Wanna Do 7” (Self-Released)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I don’t particularly like including a single on my best-of list, but this song haunted me for the second half of the year. Gorgeous harmonies, lush and lovely, and no, not a lost Mazzy Star track.

Honorable Mentions

Beach Fossils / What a Pleasure EP / Captured Tracks

A Classic Education / Call It Blazing / Lefse

Swiftumz / Don’t Trip / Holy Mountain

Charles Bradley / No Time for Dreaming / Daptone

Evans the Death / Threads 7” / Fortuna Pop!

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Categorized: Best Albums of the Year

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Tony Breed writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Tony Breed)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Tony Breed.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
It’s rare to find an album that really grabs you and smacks you around this way. There’s something about these afropop-inspired polyrhythms combined with Merrill Garbus’s balls-out singing style that just gets under my skin.
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
PJ Harvey has been making music for years and is still totally on top of her game. This album is really top-notch.
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Yes, Fleet Foxes. Folky harmonies, sweet melodies, beards. I’m not made of wood, people.
Grace Jones – Hurricane (Play It Again Sam)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Thanks to a long-delayed US release, I get to put this album on this year’s top ten despite having had a copy myself for two years. I can tell you it stands the test of time; I still listen to it often.
Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Dengue Fever has been doing more or less the same thing for a while (and doing it well). With Cannibal Courtship, they finally break the mold, with excellent results.
John Vanderslice – White Wilderness (Dead Oceans)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I love John Vanderslice, but for me his albums have always hovered at about 11 on my end-of-year list. But on White Wilderness, he teams up with the Magic*Magic Orchestra and really kicks his game up a notch.
Daniel Knox – Evryman for Himself (Chicago Independent)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Basically, sardonic piano cabaret music. I love this guy. (If the description “sardonic piano cabaret music” doesn’t pique your interest then I don’t know what to say to you.)
Jens Lekman – An Argument with Myself (Secretly Canadian)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Oh Jens. Everything you do is so enjoyable.
The Mast – Wild Poppies (Channel A)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Like Dead Can Dance with Guitars, and fantastic drumming that propels it along.
Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I would think that by now Radiohead would have worn out their ability to make this kind of music so well—you know, said everything they can say? Anyway, they haven’t.