Afternoons, the – Fan Fiction : mildly interesting power-pop
Asteroids Galaxy Tour, the – Out Of Frequency : big-sound Danish r&b/pop
Ben Kweller – Go Fly A Kite : power-pop; nearly great, instead tepid
Boy Friend – Egyptian Wrinkle : mildly-interesting dream-pop
Cate Le Bon – Cyrk : folk-tinged pop; sleepy afternoon muzik
Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory : guitar-grizzled indie; needs more “pop” IMHO
Damien Jurado – Maraqopa : good mix of folk songwriting and eclectic/electric ambience
Delilahs – Greetings From Gardentown : standard-issue fem-vox alt rock; #notbad #notgood
Delta Spirit – Delta Spirit : better sound, worse songswriting
Digital Leather – Sponge : awesomely lo-fi punkish delights
Dr. Dog – Be The Void : catchy classic-rock; ALMOST hooked me, not quite
Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II : hypnotically elegant, dusty heavy-drone; awesome
Expo ‘70 – Journey Through Astral Projection : Kraut-inflected drone; awesome in the right mind-space
Ezra Furman – The Year of No Returning : quirky, well-written, shambling tunes; fun high spots, needs more rolicking
First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar : complexly sweet choral folk-rock; SWE, natch
Foxy Shazam – Church of Rock & Roll : ridiculously over-the-top power rock
Gonjasufi – MU.ZZ.LE : weirdly anti-groove psychedelic beats; not compelling
Islands – A Sleep And A Forgetting : I tried and tried, but I just got more and more bored
Joseph Arthur – Redemption City : sprawling lo-fi bohemian (mild)-rockers
Keepaway – Black Flute : somewhat interesting, not at all original
Klaus & Kinski – Herreros y Fatigas : not great indie-pop from Spain
Lambchop – Mr. M : gorgeous, downcast, ethereal, and sprawling; a whole lot of not much
Leonard Cohen – Old ideas : lyrically brilliant, musically a mess
Little Willies, the – For The Good Times : an unmitigated horror show
Mark Lanegan Band – Blues Funeral : viscerally furious, falls apart as a whole
Nada Surf – The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy : solid indie-pop; somewhat indistinct
Of Montreal – Paralytic Stalks : schizophrenic psych-pop ramblings; aka an Of Montreal record
Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom : not-horrible adult-contempo standards; #whoispaulmccartney
Pontiak – Echo Ono : well executed psych-stoner-rock
Rosie And Me – Arrow Of My Ways : soft countrified Americana
Rosie Thomas – With Love : cute ‘adult’-pop with some regrettable lyrics
Royal Baths – Better Luck Next Life : crunchy, dirty blues-rock I can really get behind
Sleigh Bells – Reign Of Terror : crunchy riffs, jump-rope beats, and a dose of pure pop; #amitooold
Summer Twins – Summer Twins : sugar-coated summer-style cutesie-pop; New Girl-indie
Tennis – Young And Old : without the buzz is there anything there?, at times interesting
Thee Brandy Hips – Raincoat : fun Spanish power/indie-pop
Ting Tings, the – Sounds From Nowheresville : kooky electro-pop genre-hopping; #toohipforme
Alabama Shakes – Boys And Girls : solid, fresh, and fun
Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
Bad Weather California – Sunkissed : groovy, fun indie-pop/rock
Badly Drawn Boy – Being Flynn OST : gentle, smooth, pleasant soft rock; welcome back BDB
Bleeding Knees Club – Nothing To Do : fun, buzzy, girl-obsessed indie beach-rock/pop
Bright Moments – Natives : cute, elegant indie-pop
Craig Finn – Clear Heart Full Eyes : s/s narratives, professional but ho-hum
Date Night, the – A Friend in Paris : absolutely fucking horrible
Dirty Three – Toward The Low Sun : big, rambling mess-o-boring
Disappears – Pre Language : punk/shoegaze + the fall + CAN
Explorers Club, the – Grand Hotel : highly enjoyable throwback 70’s pop/rock
Howlin Rain – The Russian Wilds : mildly interesting classic rock sound
Jonquil – Point Of Go : quirky indie-pop; decent
Kaiser Chiefs – Start The Revolution Without Me : crazily wide-reaching; occasionally brilliant, largely ho-hum
Little Wings – Made it Rain : lo-fi bedroom ramblers; mostly covers
Magnetic Fields, the – Love At The Bottom Of The Sea : returm to the wry synth-driven indie-pop, smart as ever
Margot And The Nuclear So And So’s – Rot Gut, Domestic : the sound of indie-rock desperately reaching
Mars Volta, the – Noctourniquet : crazy prog that ages very well; #letitmarinade
Men, the – Open Your Heart
Oberhofer – Time Capsules II : nice melody-forward indie pop; overdone
Phenomenal Handclap Band, the – Form & Control : electro disco-pop with a psychedelic bent; mostly garbage
Phèdre – Phèdre : mellow, downbeat electro-pop
Pond – Beard, Wives, Denim : shares a psych feel with it’s Tame Impala genetic cousin; adds some great variety
Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now? : hot-shit mandolin + ho-hum songs
Robert Pollard – Mouseman Cloud : guess the prose: “mostly decent, a few gems, uneven as all hell”
Shins, the – Port of Morrow : painfully bland
Slow Animal – Slow Animal : swell, buzzing lo-fi garage/surf
Terry Malts – Killing Time : fuzzy guitar-punk with a pop backbone
Treefort – Très Fort : a lovely little album of fuzzy indie guitar-pop
Wedding Present, the – Valentina : solid Gedge
White Rabbits – Milk Famous : very good “wish we were Spoon” album
Wooden Sky, the – Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun : contemplative alt-counrty; #mostlydull
Yukon Blonde – TigerTalk : solid 70’s soft(ish) rock
22-20’s – Got It If You Want It : interesting but tepid indie-rock; style-bytin’
Allo Darlin’ – Europe : sweet jangly pop
Beach House – Bloom : elegantly organic gauzy dream-pop
Black Market Karma – Comatose : awesome psychedelic rockers
Bobby Conn – Macaroni : kooky electro-dance-rock; middling
Bronx Cheerleader – Real Punks Don’t Sing About Girls : precious little indie-pop/rock songs; vwell executed
Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball : fine; classic-sound Bruce
Centro-matic – 24 Songs (2cd)
Children Collide – Monument
Electronic Anthology Project, the – Of Dinosaur Jr
Emily Wells – Mama
Flaming Lips, the – The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends
Frank and Walters, the – Greenwich Mean Time
Futureheads, the – Rant
Gemma Ray – Island Fire
Graham Coxon – A+E : “cold, hard and gritty” (+pop)
Inclined Plane – The Backward Frontier
Jack White – Blunderbuss : very fun JW tour-de-force
La Sera – Sees the Light : nice indie-pop
Lee Ranaldo – Between The Times and The Tides : thoroughly enjoyable guitar-wrapped pop songs
Lumineers, the – The Lumineers
Macy Gray – Covered : the parts that aren’t mildly interesting are god-awful
Monochrome Set, the – Platinum Coils
Mystery Jets – Radlands
Negative Nancy – The Urge
Neon Trees – Picture Show
Paul Weller – Sonik Kicks : fun, if scattered, PW; always reaching
Principles of Geometry – Burn the Land and Boil the Oceans : way more enjoyable than I would have expected
Races – Year Of The Witch
Ramona Falls – Prophet
Rocky Votolato – Television Of Saints : simple, well-recorded s-s/folk
Sleepy Sun – Spine Hits
Soundtrack Of Our Lives, the – Throw It To The Universe : that classic TSOOL sound of 60’s/psych rock
Spirtualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light : Jason lays out another glorious hazy pop album
Strawberry Whiplash – Hits In The Car : noisy, jangy indie-pop gems
Sébastien Tellier – My God Is Blue : weirdo downtempo electronic pop
Toddi Wellman – .
Trampled By Turtles – Stars And Satellites : mostly boring s/s fare
Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair : awesomely chaotic retro-rock; +chaos!!
Best Coast – The Only Place
Brendan Benson – What Kind of World : super-solid power-pop/alt-rock; not quite great
Cribs, the – In the Belly of the Brazen Bull
Dandy Warhols, the – This Machine : very, very uneven
Feeder – Generation Freakshow
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
Mind Spiders – Meltdown : rough, high-energy punk-pop
Spinto Band, the – Shy Pursuit
Unknown Valley – Humming From the Grave
Wave Pictures, the – Long Black Cars : very solid & very smart pop; awesome sonics, vox annoy
Windmills – Keep Moving : bedroom indie- folk/pop
Young Prisms – In Between : nice tunes at the intersection of shoegaze/dream-pop
-live-
Ha Ha Tonka – Agave, Avon CO 01-13
Howlin’ Rain- Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn NY 02-08
Team Genius – Glasslands, Brooklyn 02-22
Wussy – Cake Shop NYC 03-03
Heartless Bastards – SXSW 2012, Hotel Vegan, Austin TX 03-17
War On Drugs – Bowery Ballroom NYC 04-08
First Aid Kit – Live on KCRW
Mark Lanegan Band – Live In Studio Antwerp December 2011
Decemberists, the – We All Raise Our Voices To The Air
-re-release/comps/mixes-
Alex Chilton – Free Again The 1970 Sessions
R. Stevie Moore – Ariel Pink’s Picks Vol. 1 : hot mess
va – David Bash’s Top 100 Vol 1 (1-25)
va – Pop Ambient 2012
va – Mojo Presents: Power, Corruption & Lies: Covered
va – Mojo Presents: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen: Covered
va – Tribute to the Fab Four – One (the PPC best of)
Archers Of Loaf – Vee Vee (deluxe reissue)
Civil Wars, the – Barton Hollow (deluxe ed)
Belle & Sebastian: Late Night Tales vol. 2
DJ Kicks: Photek
DJ-Kicks: Maya Jane Coles
DJ-Kicks: The Exclusives
Mojo Presents 04-2012: Come On Let’s Go! A Modern Jukebox
Mojo Presents 06-2012: Pet Sounds Revisited
Record Store Day Presents Coachella
-singles/EPs-
British Sea Power – EP 1 : bbbbboring
Houseboat – Would You Rather EP
Lana del Rey – Born To Die EP
Wooden Shjips – Remixes 12″ : good, good, good, good, good
Eisley – Deep Space EP : ho-hum quiet-loud-quiet
Beach Fossils – Shallow-Lessons single
Josh Ritter – Bringing In The Darlings EP
Kills, the – The Last Goodbye EP
Mary Onettes, the – Love Forever EP : yuck
Veronica Falls – My Heart Beats EP
Animal Collective – Transverse Temporal Gyrus 12″
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II Ready To Start 12″
Beach House – Lazuli 7″
Black Angels, the – Watch Out Boy/I’d Rather Be Lonely 7″
Clash, the – London Calling [2012 Mix] 7″
David Bowie – Starman 7″ (picture disc)
Deerhoof and Of Montreal – split 7″
DZ Deathrays – No Sleep EP : fun punked-out anthems
Feistodon – split 7″
Flaming Lips/Mastadon – A Spoonful Weighs A Ton split 7″
Grass Cannons – Vet Dream EP : fantastically turbulent
Lambchop – Democracy EP
Miles Kane – First Of My Kind EP
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Songs From The Great White North 12″
Real Estate – Easy 7″
Richard Hawley – Leave Your Body Behind You single
Rosie Thomas & Sufjan Stevens – Hit and Run Vol. 1 split 7″
Santigold – Disparate Youth single
Shins, the – Port Of Morrow [Bonus Tracks]
Soap and Skin – Voyage Voyage single
St. Vincent – Krokodil 7″
Two Door Cinema Club – Acoustic EP 12″
Ty Segall & Feeling Of Love – tour split 7″
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – We Almost Lost Detroit 12” EP
Raveonettes, the – Into The Night EP : girl-group + JMC
Yppah – Film Burn CDS