This has been another terrible year for rock and roll. There is no excuse for bands like Linkin Park and 3 Doors Down, for all these stale, terrible, torturous nitwits putting rock and roll on life support so they can breath out the last bucks from its death rattle corpse.HOWEVER…
This is about three great rock albums, and one great rock EP, all released in 2012… in descending order
4. The Moms Viva EP -this young punky poppy band have a better sense of rhythmic, not to mention harmonic, arrangements than people with ten years under their belt. "Train Station" is one of the most original and thrilling songs I've heard all year.
3.Major – Fang Island – Fang Island are the indie rockers indie rocker right now and this album steers so close to the noise field that it comes as a shock how it keeps pulling back from the edge and emerging as a powerful purveyors of rock chewiness.
2. Celebration Rock – Japandroids – This is old fashioned the way Superchunk are old fashioned, it is turn of the century modern rock, tense vocals over calamitous drums and it is one of the most popular bands among other rock and roll musicians. It is what Fucked Up would sound like if they didn't love hardcore, what Wild Flag would sound like if they were women. This is a huge album and I am sorry I missed em on stage.
4.Shake My Head – Spider Bags – I am still getting a handle on the album but it may well be the best album of the year, it is almost definitely the best rock album of the year. From punk to country, drunker revved up blues jams to garage trashed ravers to. Plus a James Brown cover. And an instrumental. And is all rock and roll genius.