Liz Lawrence - Monday Morning

This is a cute song, from UK punk singer turned acoustic folk guitarist Liz Lawrence. On first listen it sounds like something that could be directed toward a romantic interest, but not necessarily so. Rather, it's a heartfelt expression of friendship and camaraderie, spoken very simply and eloquently and coated in the rich cadence of her Britishy accent. It was released as a free download on her bandcamp page. It's from her debut full length Bedroom Hero, which unfortunately you can probably make plenty of snarky jokes about. It's an okay album; most of the material doesn't really hold up to the quality of this track.

In spite of it all, I think I like this version better than the studio recording. Much more organic and refreshing.

Garage rocker Ty Segall strikes with irresistible crowd surfing tunes

Proto garage rocker Ty Segall headlined the Nashville's Dead Birthday Party at local motorcycle shop The Zombie Shop last fall, but I was a klutz and had to leave before he went on. So given a second chance to see the Bay area wunderkid, it was inconceivable to miss out again. He delivered for the sell out crowd a sound that is very sun soaked, retro, and melodic, but at the heart of it all is covered in a two inch thick coat of grime and distortion.

It all led to what surely must have been one of the most frenetic nights that Nashville's The End has seen in some time. Broken beer bottles had to be scooped off the stage before Mr. Segall made his appearance. Once he got going, there was no safe hiding place anywhere on the floor. The entire area directly in front of the stage transformed into a gigantic mosh pit.

San Francisco based rocker Ty Segall unleashes on the Nashville crowd.

Attendees were being thrust against the stage, jostled all around, and continually crowd surfing. It was like a no holds barred, anything goes melee; there was always someone climbing onto the stage, turning around, and hopping into the audience to crowd surf. At one point, a big shirtless Hispanic guy dove into the crowd right where I was standing and sent my glasses flying. Fortunately, I retrieved them in one piece.

Segall himself was in fine form. At twenty five years old he's still babyfaced, but his curly blonde mop of tangled locks hangs down into his face and obscures his eyes, making him appear positively leonine. He blistered through his set in about 30-45 minutes, kicking it off with "Thank God for Sinners," the opening cut from last October's Twins album. When the glorious clarity of its opening chords rang out, the power keg in the audience that had been primed to blow finally went off. The abundance of fuzz and the jam session style of its various guitar solos threatened at times to verge into metal, bearing similarity to the sound of Tony Iommi in Black Sabbath.

But Segall is equally proficient at driving, straight ahead, 60s drive in theater rock and roll. A few songs from last summer's Slaughterhouse, his most successful album to date, illustrate the point. "Tell Me What's Inside Your Heart" is buoyed by vibrant power chords, and filled with a joyful euphoria that for so long was noted as one of surf rock's hallmarks.

He also has a zany side that he revealed when giving some little known backstory from a couple of Slaughterhouse tracks. Setlist staple "I Bought My Eyes," he explained, is about a space alien who has his eyes ripped out and has to go to another planet to buy some more. He followed up a little later before he played "The Tongue " describing that song as being about the alien going to see his girlfriend, but she rejects him because of his new eyes. He goes mad, tears his tongue out, and gives it to her as a gift. A bit wacky, but hey.

He closed it out, fittingly, with "Wave Goodbye," during which he was much more expressive with his hand gestures, including waving at the crowd while delivering his lines. It ended with an explosive instrumental cauldron that drew inspiration from Black Sabbath, The Stooges, and Jimi Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic." After two dates here within the past six months, he also announced it would likely be the last time he'd be in Nashville for quite awhile. As much as we'll miss him, he's certainly earned a break after demonstrating himself as one of the best at delivering scorching, sweat soaked, and rollicking hard rock performances.

Memphis punk band Ex-Cult have become a top understudy of Segall.

He was preceded by a slew of opening acts, all heavily influenced by proto garage rock and punk. The problem with Ty Segall openers, demonstrated well by the Nashville's Dead party, is that they sound almost exactly identical and are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Maybe one is a little more punk influenced, or little more hardcore influenced, but it's all a wash after a couple of hours of it.

The best of the bunch was Memphis's Ex-Cult, whose 2012 self titled debut was produced by Segall and recorded in the same San Francisco studio where Thee Oh Sees and other bands of their ilk have recorded. Their set was upbeat and adrenaline charged, with lead vocalist Chris Shaw doing his best to carry on the Oi! tradition of old British punk singers. He employed an energetic, in your face style, while bassist Natalie Hoffmann blared piecing shrieks into the mic. The crowd was already starting to get nuts even at this point. Shaw's mic cord got tangled around one of the crowd surfers and he pulled on it desperately trying to yank it free, to no avail. Eventually he had to borrow Hoffmann's mic just to finish out the song.
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See also: Ty Segall - Slaughterhouse review

Toro y Moi shows flashes of brilliance on poppier Anything in Return

Love him or hate him, there's one thing you can't take away from Chaz Bundick: he's never made the same record twice. Bundick, better known under his stage moniker Toro y Moi, got his big break during the height of chillwave, a short lived movement from 2009-2010 championed by a cluster of bands dedicated to making mellow, relaxing electronic music.

Unfortunately, the scene vanished almost as quickly as it arose, leaving its adherents scrambling for a new creative direction. Bundick's debut, 2010's Causers of This, could be placed firmly within the chillwave network, yet Bundick never felt like the type of guy to get pigeonholed within it.

Appropriately, his 2011 followup Underneath the Pine took a different approach entirely, presenting itself as a pseudo Saturday Night Fever electronic funk album. By contrast, his third album Anything in Return is much more energetic than his debut, but by no means as funky or bass driven as his last album. Instead, as Bundick declares, Anything in Return represents his attempt at a pop album.

He does a fantastic job at creating intricately illustrated mental images as evidenced on "So Many Details," which takes place on a Friday night with a special lady. He masterfully portrays his tingling sensation of anticipation as his mind wanders toward undoing the locks on her door and disappearing inside with her. Yet at the same time he is still trying to be a gentleman and respect his lady. His nobler instincts win out in the end, as he declares, "save yourself tonight, tomorrow I'll get you back."

One constant on all of Toro albums is its modern vibe; as expected, Anything in Return is sleek and sophisticated. This is music for the cool kids, providing the perfect soundtrack for cruising around with your friends on the way to some hip club. Standouts "Harm in Change" and "Say That" present a playground of smoky nighttime electronica; neon shapes and textures come whooshing out of the darkness, while a dazzling progression of piano chords ignite your brain's pleasure centers. "Say That" is boosted by a mesmerizing gaggle of wordless voices. If last year's Kindred EP from Burial had been warmer and more inviting,  it might have sounded something like this.

Most of the lyrics are pretty simple, focusing on boy girl relations or just relationships/friendships in general. "Never Matter" speaks most eloquently, touching on failed relationships and isolation: "I think I let my mind go wild/ and I think I'm on the verge of crying/ It's the fact I'm not closer/ to letting anyone inside my life. Bundick's voice is plaintive, but very mellow and listenable. He comes across as likable everyman who is easily relatable.

But he begins to lose steam as the album progresses. After a while, the heavy emphasis on production begins to take away from Bundick's intention of crafting compelling pop. Despite all the elaborately structured loops and layers, it's the chords more than anything else that drive the most successful cuts. Unfortunately, that only comes to full fruition on about half the songs.

"High Living," with Bundick's stunning octave switching, is the strongest cut after the opening  one-two-three punch. "Never Matter" and "How's It Wrong" are charming and engaging, while "Cake," with its strong 80s vibe, is one of the album's most danceable cuts.

That's not to say any of the songs are necessarily bad. The weakest moment comes on Cola, a repetitive  meandering track that suffers from an overload of low end frequencies  Yet Bundick misses a great deal of potential because he forgets the first lesson of pop music: it's done best when it's kept simple.

And so it was that Chaz Bundick created another listenable album, propped up by a few fantastic singles here and there. And yet, despite his well documented penchant for genre hopping, there is one other constant connecting all of Bundick's albums: he has yet to release an album that consistently holds up from start to finish.

Score: 77/100

Bad Religion still serving as model of consistency with True North

Over the last 30 years, Southern California punk rockers Bad Religion have become an institution. They have established themselves as one of the hardest working bands, never taking more than a few years off between records. Although they hit a period of decline starting in the mid 90s, most of their work since 2002's The Process of Belief has been as sure as a smoking solo sizzling off the strings of Brett Gurewitz's guitar. True North marks their 16th full length album, and once again they've opened a tantalizing bag of tricks for their fans.

True North avoids the pitfalls that some of their weaker albums have fallen into. When Bad Religion albums go awry, it's either because they're trying to churn out an overproduced  syrupy mess for the Warped Tour crowd, or else there isn't enough melody and it gets boring. The production on their latest album is more sugary than its predecessor, 2010's Dissent of Man, though True North holds the advantage of being more consistent.

Dissent of Man was a good record in its own right but it had a different tone from most of their recent works; it felt more like a melodic rock and roll record that just happened to politically conscious. True North gets back to the business of punk rock. The closest comparison within their discography would be Against the Grain. Pushing 50, Greg Graffin and crew don't possess the same level of anger they once did, but the sonic aggression and sense of urgency on True North bear strong parallels to the band's landmark 1990 release, Against the Grain.

As usual, Bad Religion exercise their penchant for well thought out, in your face political lyrics. "Robin Hood in Reverse" sees Graffin blasting the Supreme Court for their 2008 decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which asserted that corporations are people and gave them wide latitude to make campaign contributions to political candidates.

"Past is Dead," meanwhile, takes the general public to task for their slovenly approach to education.  It discusses how people don't pay attention to history, and therefore don't have the advantage of historical precedent upon which to base their decisions. Graffin unloads: "Who can say what constitutes the most important sector of society?/ The dominant portion seek an instant gratification/ And are proud of intellectual poverty."

Yet in the same breath, Bad Religion are a band also capable of taking a much more subtle approach by speaking in thought provoking metaphor. The album's title track talks about trying to find a location on a map and using it as a metaphor for finding your own moral code. The catchy, driving and forceful delivery fully drives the point home.

Also of note is lead single "Fuck You," which basically says you don't always need a well thought out argument; sometimes you just need to say fuck you! The tempo varies throughout the song, tossing in a tasty guitar solo following a slow paced bridge.

"Hello Cruel World" is the album's sole slow tempo song, and by far the album's longest cut at just under four minutes. The slower pace allows the band to focus on their harmony section, an often overlooked component of Bad Religion's sound. It leads into a flowing guitar solo before the song's final refrain, with powerful clashes coming from drummer Brooks Wackerman near the end.

"Head Full of Ghosts," "In Their Hearts is Right," and "Popular Consensus" sound the most like old school Against the Grain or No Control era Bad Religion with their punishing and frenetic fury. "Popular Consensus" in particular is very intriguing, as Graffin seems to be modifying an old position that once seemed ironclad for him. He approaches matters from the government's position, asserting that just because the public demands something doesn't mean they are necessarily right. His claim that "popular consensus doesn't mean much to me" is evidence of dramatic development of thought for a man who once argued so forcefully for the role of citizen in government on 1987's "You Are the Government."

The biggest musical departure comes on "Dharma and the Bomb," a sun soaked retro tune which sees Gurewitz taking lead vocal, referencing I Dream of Genie and the Bhagavad Gita in his ominous lower register.

True North succeeds in all of the key areas a Bad Religion album needs to deliver, and should satisfy fans hungry for more. It presents a decided contrast to Dissent of Man, which was a much more thoughtful and mellowed out album. It would have been intriguing to see what the band could have accomplished had they pushed that sound further, though True North captures a well done take on the sound they've spent the better part of three decades championing.

Score: 82/100

A$AP Rocky shows he's not to be trifled with on major label debut

Anyone who considers themselves a rap enthusiast must be encouraged by the influx of new talent streaming in. Harlem rapper Rakim Mayers, better known as A$AP Rocky, is making a strong push toward the front of the line. He's establishing himself in the industry the way many of his brethren are: with mixtapes. Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean, most notably, have presaged highly successful albums with independently released mixtapes. Most notable is Rocky's $3 million record deal with Sony/RCA subdivision Polo Grounds Music, the fruit of which is his full length debut, LongLiveA$AP.

One thing this album does not do is try to be intellectual. In strong contrast to recent albums predicated delivering sociopolitical messages, like Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music, or albums with strong thematic elements like Kendrick Lamar's Good kid m.A.A.D. city, Rocky's record doesn't make an effort to be lyrically deep. Rocky himself puts it best on album closer "Suddenly," declaring "don't view me as no conscious cat, this ain't no conscious rap/Fuck the conscious crap, my mac'll push your conscious back."

What LongLiveA$AP does do is display Rocky's boundless skill as a rapper. His delivery is loud, forceful and clear; he is able to spit rhymes with great rhythm and flow. It also serves as a great showcase piece for the youth rap movement. LongLiveA$AP rounds up most of the key names being shouted now within the indie community (with the obvious exception of the Odd Future collective).

But it doesn't take long to find Odd Future parallels. Album opener "Long Live A$AP" is an ominous and foreboding track that shows off Rocky's sense of paranoia. He asks, "who's that looking in my window with a pistol to my curtain?" With its stripped back beat and its introspective nature, it is reminiscent of Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers." It features a surreal falsetto chorus that gets downright creepy near the end when a chorus of children's voices join in.

Lead single "Goldie" was a great choice as a teaser, as it highlights many of Rocky's critical strengths. The lyrics are not the most inventive of all time; it's mostly just him bragging. But the track succeeds not due to the subject matter, but because of how Rocky presents himself. He comes across as very focused, determined, and charismatic.It's not hard to believe he deserves the lavish praise, even though he's the one heaping it on himself. The flute beat is also great;  it gets out of the way and lets Rocky do his job but is distinctive enough to give a tangible coloring to the track. It makes Rocky feel outside the box and inventive, something many people disillusioned with the current state of rap are looking for.

Unfortunately, his penchant for unmemorable lyrics continues on the next track, "PMW (All I Really Need), which stands for pussy, money, weed. This is one of the most blatant, sexually explicit rap tracks since Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The verses have that sort of loud, in your face club quality that was best captured by Sean Paul. Schoolboy Q's guest appearance here is very effective,  as both rappers prove themselves as talented emcees. But lyrically however, there is no debating that this is one downright vulgar track.

One of the album's biggest strengths is that very few songs sound the same. On "Lvl" he mellows out considerably, slowing things down with a beat not unlike Aphex Twin's "Xtal," while "Hell" features Santigold sounding a bit like M.I.A. on the chorus hook. The song has a ravey beat, but it's slowed down and subdued to the point you wouldn't notice if you're not paying attention.It's like the record label wanted him to have a dancey club beat on a song, but he was embarrassed so he slowed it down and spliced it around hoping you wouldn't notice.

The seventh track, "Fuckin' Problems" is one of the most star studded on the album. 2 Chainz powers what is most certainly the catchiest hook on the album, while superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar join Rocky in putting on a solid but not stellar performance  All three have dropped better verses in their career, and given the collection of talent one must wonder if they were more concerned with trying to wow their audience with name brand than they were with constructing the caliber of verses that won them name recognition in the first place. Yet even despite this, the song is still an easy album highlight.

Yet no track is more star studded than "1train," an effort that features so many guest rappers it would be too much to even list them all here. There is no hook, just six minutes highlighting the best up and coming talent in indie hip hop. The piece does an outstanding job of establishing the personality of each individual rapper, and in that regard it bears great similarity to Eminem's D12 pieces such as "Purple Hills" or "Under the Influence." All parties involved do a fantastic job, but honors for best verses go to Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, and Big K.R.I.T.

"Wild for the Night," featuring the always sensational Skrillex, is about as subtle as dropping a dishwasher on the listener's head. The real highlight, though, is Rocky's blistering spitfire verses. "Fasion Killa" is easily the lowlight of the album. His penchant for being fashion conscious  a common theme in many of his interviews, comes to full fruition here. He spends the entire time name dropping top shelf designers that no one outside of the Hamptons cares about or is impressed by. The lame hook doesn't help either.

Album closer "Suddenly" is the album's most startling song. It is very surreal, reflecting on how he went from living in the hood to all of a sudden being famous. The beat is almost nonexistent. In the background you have what sounds like TV cartoons from the 1950s playing, along with a chorus of singers from the the big band era. The first verse is slow and meandering but on the second verse he starts spitting faster and the effect, contrasted with the first verse, is pretty clever. Rocky has managed to bookend the album with two very mystifying, unsettling tracks.

Thinking back to the kids in high school who listened to Lil' John and Ludacris, it isn't hard to think their seventeen-year-old selves would be into something like this. However, to blanket lump him into this category would be selling Rocky short. LongLiveA$AP often sounds like it could be played at a club, without sounding specifically tailor made for that type of environment. He shows a great deal of creative potential, demonstrating that he can spit fast while mixing it up with a slew of mid-tempo tunes, and he often intersperses mellow R&B hooks throughout. He possess great command of his flow, while doing a supreme job of establishing a sense of personality.

But there is room for improvement. His lyrics could use some work, as the best of them do little to move rap forward and the worst are downright silly and sophomoric. He also has a tendency to rely on downpitched vocals too often, and some of the album drags. Ultimately, LongLiveA$AP  does not place him at the head of the young hip hop class, but does demonstrate he's a force to be reckoned with.

Score: 74/100

Totally Unauthorized's Most Anticipated Albums of 2013

As satisfying as it is to close the page on another year, it's never too soon to start surveying what the new year will bring us. This year doesn't boast as impressive a list as the one we had at this time last year, but there are still more than a few heavy hitters primed to get music fans salivating. In no particular order:

Arcade Fire - TBA

Montreal indie rockers Arcade Fire can lay claim to having released one of the most revered albums of the previous decade with 2004's Funeral. But their contributions to the current decade are none too shabby either. 2010's The Suburbs was one of those rare albums that bridged the gap between the Pitchforky indie world and that of the mainstream, having snagged the coveted album of the year award at the Grammys in what was a colossal breakthrough for the entire independent universe. Few details have been unveiled about its encore, except that the band is aiming for a end of year release. It would be no surprise if it was an album that once again redefines the status quo.

Atoms for Peace - Amok
February 26

Radiohead's Thom Yorke has never been one to sit idly by. Following the mixed reception of 2011's King of Limbs, he's gotten back to work with a new side band, Atoms for Peace. But he's hardly the only heavy hitter involved in the project, which also includes Chili Peppers' bassist Flea and producer Nigel Goodrich. "Default," the album's lead single, indicates a very chill electronic vibe (not surprisingly), but its B-side, "Watch What the Eyeballs Did" exposes a bit more experimentation with a wall of brass horns providing a subtle mood and coloring, while an infectious bassline roars beneath. With this exotic lineup, Atoms for Peace seems primed to deliver one of the first big blows of 2013.

Nine Inch Nails  - TBA

Among the many accomplishments Nine Inch Nails's Trent Reznor can point to is that he popularized an entire genre of music and brought it to the mainstream with with a series of releases beginning in 1989 and culminating a decade later with The Fragile. He hasn't confined himself to Nine Inch Nails however. With his quality work with various side projects, as well as the praise he's garnered for his film score work, Reznor has established himself as a one of a kind mind in the music industry and cementing a place for himself within its annals. Now, it appears more NIN work is headed our way, possibly sometime around summer. It will be a point of great interest to see what direction Reznor's creative juices will flow following the band's hiatus that occurred after their supposed final tour in 2009.

My Bloody Valentine - TBA
Pretty much any day now

Remember Loveless by My Bloody Valentine? Remember how influential it was at the time, how dizzying it all was? How it summed up not just a genre, but an entire subset of a generation as a whole? Remember how they never followed it up? There's a good chance you don't. Many of today's hip youngsters weren't even born when that disc was released in 1991, but now the band is on the cusp of finally releasing new studio material. They've been deliberately opaque about an actual date or details, but perhaps that's fitting for a band that's been shrouded in the mist of history and expectations as My Bloody Valentine have been. The mastering stage is apparently complete, so it shouldn't be long before the band breaks its silence.

Steven Wilson - The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other Stories)
February 25

It takes no small level of trust to insert Mr. Wilson on this list, given that the last several releases he's been involved with are somewhat spotty, but he must be given his due. The announcement of the oddly titled "The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)" came as a bit of a surprise given that his last solo album, Grace For Drowning hit shelves just over a year ago. "The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)" will mark his third solo release in five years, and is said to focus on supernatural themes and lyrics. The 12 minute lead single "Luminol" is largely instrumental and is bolstered by a flowing infectious bassline, while offering a heavy helping of solos on almost every instrument imaginable. 

Bad Religion - True North
January 22

As a band that's been around since the Reagan era, Bad Religion have long ago cemented their principles. They helped reign in the era of pop punk that dominated the 90s and have stuck around long enough that most people aren't sure what constitutes punk today, or if it even still exists. What is certain is that the band's 2010 album, The Dissent of Man, was a tasty concoction consisting of driving melodic rock and roll complemented by politically conscious lyrics. The title song of True North has been issued as its lead single and promises more of the same.

Earl Sweatshirt - Doris
TBA

When they aren't grabbing critical acclaim they're at least grabbing headlines, and Odd Future isn't looking to let up in 2013. Since there's no telling when Tyler will deliver Wolf, or if it will be worth the wait, Earl Sweatshirt has positioned himself as Odd Future's best hope going forward. The 18-year-old rapper certainly has a lot on his mind, as evidenced by the introspective lead single "Chum." Earl's emergence has signified an infusion of new blood into hip hop, and his ideas are already shaking up the scene.

Autechre - Exai
March 4

Out of all their IDM contemporaries, Autechre have always been the most experimental, dissonant, and challenging. Often described as being heavily influenced by computers and technology, Autechre's output has often sounded like something you would physically have to be a computer to enjoy. However, the British duo have typically found a way to extract method from the madness, and the crackling cacophony tends to morph itself into something beautiful. There is no other artist on earth who does anything quite like Autechre and they'll be doing plenty of it in 2013, given the announcement that Exai will clock in at an astounding 2 hours.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - TBA
Spring 2013

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been through quite an evolution. They started off with a very grimy, low key indie rock sound with an obvious Brooklyn flair, before morphing into the shimmering electro-pop found on 2009's It's Blitz! Not may details are known about their upcoming fourth full length album, but if Karen O is successfully able to work her magic once again it will be an extravaganza you won't be able to take your eyes off of.

A$AP Rocky - Long Live A$AP
January 15

The hype for A$AP Rocky has been building since his high profile signing with RCA in 2011, and has been riding the mixtape circuit while his fame and fanbase increases every day. He possesses a veteran presence and savvy on the mic that belies his youth, and his debut LP features plenty of today's best and brightest stars. Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Skrillex, and Big K.R.I.T. are but a few guest stars he's brought along. Add to that the hype Long Live A$AP has already garnered, including a best new music tag from Pitchfork, and it appears certain that this will be the first key release of 2013.

Orphaned Land - TBA
TBA

For Orphaned Land, it's been a long journey from their dusty black metal roots to progressive metal. For their fans, it's usually a long journey from one record to the next, as the acclaimed Israeli metal outfit usually takes about five or six years between albums. This time around, though, they appear to be bucking the trend, as recording has already commenced on the followup to 2010's The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR. That album snagged this site's album of the year award that year. The new album will be the first since the departure of guitarist Matti Svatizky, who left last year for what he termed as personal and professional reasons. Orphaned Land is aiming for a midyear release.

Totally Unauthorized: 2012 Album of the Year Awards

After such a mind blowing year for music, the only appropriate action to is to try to make sense of it all. After a pretty meh musical year in 2011, the past year has provided so many outstanding releases that it's hard to know what to do with them all. Many of those albums were released by artists that rank as personal favorites, and many artists have been added to that roster.

2012 will be remembered as the year of Frank Ocean. The Odd Future hookmaster released a statement confirming his homosexuality before dropping Channel Orange, one of the most highly esteemed albums of the year. Whether you see Ocean's statement as a heartfelt message of encouragement to the LGBT community, a ploy to boost hype for his album, or somewhere in between, one thing cannot be denied: Channel Orange is one of the year's most highly acclaimed albums. It has been sweeping album of the year awards from various publications and may well score top honors from the Grammys in February. Ocean is unquestionably one of  2012's top winners.

2012 will be remembers as a year of loss. 92-year-old Sitar legend Ravi Shankar died on December 11. He had not only become the pride of India's music scene but had emerged as an icon the world over. Audiences were endeared by his dizzying play on the sitar, an instrument many had never heard of before Shankar's emergence. Jazz piano impresario Dave Brubeck died on December 5 at the age of 91. Brubeck established himself as one of jazz's top bandleaders during the bebop era of the 50s and 60s, delighting the public with shuffling tunes such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk." Also tragic was the death of Natina Reed from 90s R&B pop stars Blaque, who was hit by a car in October. Reed was 32.

2012 will also be remembered as a year of comebacks. British rave legends Orbital released Wonky, their first album since 2004, released to warm critical applause. Less noticed was the return of country/western/rockabilly artist Dwight Yoakam, whose 3 Pears was a ravishing return to the fore after a seven year break.

But most of all, 2012 will be remembered as the year of Pussy Riot, the courageous Russian female punk band who was jailed in March for speaking their convictions about Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Their case involved the music world but also transcended it, raising questions about freedom of expression and what rights we are entitled as pleas for the band members' release grew to a fever pitch.

And yes, lest we forget, there was a ton of great music worth detailing. Here is Totally Unauthorized's Top 12 albums of 2012, preceded as always by a few miscellaneous categories.

(Top songs of the year and live acts of the year have been moved to their own separate posts, found here and here).

Comeback Album of 2012
Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth

2012 marked itself as a year of heavy commercialization of the genre. Reggae stalwarts Rebelution's Peace of Mind was an uplifting but decidedly pop-based reggae record, while Matisyahu descended further into a dancefloor techno funk. Heck, even Snoop Dogg went reggae. But full marks go to reggae's elder statesman, Jimmy Cliff, who succeeded in giving us a record that rings true.  It had only been eight years since his previous album, but seems like it's been much longer than that since the authentic sound of Jamaica crackled through our national consciousness the way Rebirth has.

Best Bandcamp Album  
Koi. - Malestrom

Bandcamp is one our most overlooked and underrated resources for unearthing new music, even though there is a surprising amount of great material hidden there. Koi. has produced an album full of pulsing electronic music that is exuberant, cheerful, and evokes images of a warm summer day. There really isn't much else to say other than just listen to it.

Biggest Disappointment of 2012

Best Coast - The Only Place

Best Coast's debut Crazy For You took a great concept and executed it in a great way. The sunny, lo-fi presentation had been done before, but Bethany Cosentio's sense of personality manifested the style in a way it had never been done before. The Only Place, by comparison, is over produced, oversanitized, and in the process reveals something about Bethany that the murkiness of the debut helped cover up - the girl can't write. If nothing else, it could have been a fun, feel good pop record, but Cosentio's constant whining and emo lyrics ruin even that. Her career seems to be in a tailspin, and a tour with pop punk retreads Green Day doesn't seem to be the elixir needed to lift Best Coast out of their funk.

Totally Unauthorized's Most Viewed Post of 2012
Goatwhore - Blood for the Master

Seriously, what were people searching for? Originally posted to this site in March, this review of the blackened death metal outfit's fifth album Blood for the Master was more effective in generating traffic for the site than any other piece posted this year. This was a nice album which is worth revisiting from time to time, but ended up falling off my radar screen due to the lack of innovation. That didn't seem to bother the denizens of the Internet, who gorged on Goatwhore and kept coming back for more. I am not sure what to think about this.

Most Overrated Album
Japandroids - Celebration Rock

Credit them one thing -- the writing on this disc is excellent. Celebration Rock brilliantly sums up that beer spilling, out of control period of youth where you're crazed to live it all up while you still have the chance. It reminds us well that sooner or later the clock's striking midnight and these opportunities will be lost forever. What hippy cliques like Pitchfork failed to grasp, however, was the fact that the band itself leaves much to be desired. A layer of fuzz tries, but fails to cover up the fact that the singer can't sing, and he can't shout loud enough to distract us from the damning lack of imagination in the music composition itself. The result is like Longfellow writing on a napkin: a poetic message delivered in a format not built to last the test of time.

Best New Artist
Purity Ring

This came down to Frank Ocean and Purity Ring. Unlike Purity Ring, Ocean already had a full length release in Nostalgia Ultra. He also recently announced he may not release a followup to channel ORANGE. So Purity Ring represents the best hope for the future. This Canadian synth pop duo fascinates with their deep, low frequency electronic backing tracks, while the angelic voice of Megan James provides a nice counterbalance. With lyrics that are sometimes grotesque, sometimes abstract, their debut album Shrines has often been compared to taking a trip through a warped enchanted forest, or journeying through a twisted gingerbread house.

12. Katatonia - Dead End Kings

Anyone surprised by Katatonia's mellow direction on Dead End Kings hasn't been paying attention the band's recent trajectory. Since establishing themselves as one of Sweden's top doom inspired metal acts, Katatonia have progressively gotten softer and more atmospheric on each passing record. Dead End Kings now presents a band with a sizable cadre of tricks. Their method resembles a thoughtful craftsman reaching into his toolkit, always retrieving the right utensil for the job. When needed, they can pull out mesmerizing female backing vocals to complement their dreary effect; they can pull off flawless piano ballads, craft tracks that capture an atmospheric beauty of a driving rainstorm. And yes, they can even pull out the metal when needed. "Buildings" contains one of the band's sickest riffs ever, on what is supposedly Katatonia's "mellow" album. They haven't gone soft, they've just learned to play to their strengths. As Dead End Kings proves, they have plenty of them. 

11. The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now

The release of Kristian Matsson's third full length gave the Swedish singer/songwriter some new toys to play with. Specifically known for conjuring a trail blazing folk ethos with nothing more than his guitar and scratchy voice, on There's No Leaving Now Matsson begins to diversify instrumentally with light flourishes of electric guitar, woodwinds, and forays into multitracking. Yet the core values remain the same. The addition of new dynamics never diverts attention away from Kristian or his accomplishments with pen and guitar. He retreats from the white hot urgency presented on his previous works, which causes the album to lack some of the impact that The Wild Hunt and Shallow Grave had. Still, it's hard to shrug off the quiet introspection of "Revelation Blues," the high spirited frontier journey of "1904," or the ravishing success of Matsson's piano ballad on the album's title track. 

10. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

Dylan Baldi got started with a proclivity toward making bedroom punk, but his ambitions have led to much more. Kicking around in the suburbs outside Cleveland, Baldi crafted roughly an album and a half worth of pop punk that was sunny and bright although miserably produced. That changed after teaming up with famed producer Steve Albini. The sound presented here represents a cold and icy nature, most notably so on the album's centerpiece, "Wasted Days." It advocates a bleak, suffocating outlook while awing the listener with its cacophonous post punk instrumental section. But the band also demonstrates proficiency in bouncy pop punk, slow droning anthems, and technical offbeat drum rhythms. The songwriting on the album's second half doesn't feel as fleshed out as some of the early cuts, but not a single track on Attack on Memory misses the mark.

9. Tame Impala - Lonerism

Lonerism is unquestionably one of 2012's most colorful releases. Frontman Kevin Parker has crafted a vibrant album full of wonder, and totally smattered it with seventies psychedelic synths. Lonerism favors keyboards to guitars, in contrast to their previous album, Innerspeaker.  Bu they go much farther than simply pulling from the classic age of rock; they make it seem as though these sounds were invented yesterday. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" owes a debt to the era of Motown soul, while demonstrating the strength of Parker's songwriting chops. It should speak powerfully to anyone who's ever been stuck in a rut, no matter the situation. If that doesn't convince you, look no farther than mind expanding keyboard work on "Enders Toi," a track title that roughly translated, urges you to let yourself be hypnotized. If Lonerism doesn't do it, there's not much chance anything will.

8. Iamamiwhoami - Kin

Kin, the first full length album from Iamamiwhoami, certainly represents a move to the center for the experimental electronic duo. Jonna Lee, known in Sweden for her mainstream pop albums, along with Claes Björklund, crafted god tier production work and an alien like vibe on a slew of singles released in 2010 and 2011. Kin is clearly much less bizarre, but still captures the key elements that made the project great. There is a focus on crafting pop based electronic songs that are much less experimental than what we've heard from her in the past. But Kin covers a lot of ground. "Play" is a seductively sexy love ballad fit for Silent Hill, while "In Due Order" showcases Lee's industrial edged rancor. "Kill" showcases some implacable backbeats,  "Goods" is the penultimate futuristic dance tune,  and "Good Worker" even offers social commentary on the role of woman. Yet the ultimate essence of Kin can be found in those beats -- those sublimely captivating, hypnotizing and otherworldly beats. 

7. Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE

Frank Ocean could have taken it easy on channel ORANGE. He's a young man with plenty of time to forge his legacy, and Tyler had a monopoly on all the Odd Future headlines at the time, so what's the rush? Fortuantely Frank decided not to do that, and we're all better off for it. His debut solo album is true tour de force, brimming with some of the year's most memorable songwriting. "Thinkin' About You" gives him the chance to wow us with the raw power of his voice, while "Super Rich Kids" weaves a stunning portrait of upper class urban decadence. "Sweet Life," an ambiguously cynical look at beach house extravagance, is built around a slick Neptunes beat while Frank sets our mind's eye racing with his peaches and mango imagery. And there is the two for the price of one "Pyramids," which is essentially a techno soul song that gives way to progressive R&B, two styles of music no one even knew existed before Frank. channel ORANGE loses a few points for being slightly bloated; it could have benefited from a little editing, but Frank's creative process is up there with almost anyone right now.

6. Grizzly Bear - Shields

Indie folk heroes Grizzly Bear reached new heights in their career with 2009's Vecktamiest, but if there was one caveat it was that the album was a bit too pristine. Any band with a name like Grizzly Bear had rightfully ought to try to present some ruggedness into their sound. Shields is characterized by magnificent sing alongs, wonderful harmonies, hypnotic guitar playing, splashes of psychedelia, and the much welcomed emergence of Christopher Bear as a thunderous and dynamic drummer. Daniel Rossen's "Sleeping Ute" sounds like a romp though an abandoned forest, while "gun-shy" showcases the year's most spellbinding harmony arrangements  The band even shows they can play outside their normal formula on the ambitious and experimental closer "Sun In Your Eyes." The only main downfall is the minimized role of the dynamic Ed Droste; had he been more prominent, Shields could have ranked even higher.

5. El-P - Cancer 4 Cure

With Cancer for Cure, Brooklyn rapper El-P has crafted the prototypical young man's angry rap album. Every moment is soaked in intense vitriol and aggression. His rapping is smooth, free flowing, and always hits hard. Even the beats sound like they want to start a knife fight with you. He never skirts confrontation; in fact, he goes to great lengths to make it a central theme of the record. On "Tougher Colder Killer," he declares," To the mother of my enemy, I've just killed your son/ He died with his face to the sky and it cannot be undone." Later on the album, he plays the role of interrogator, declaring that he will do whatever necessary to extract information from you. So what's his problem, exactly? He's just doing a great job getting the listener pumped up and energized. Like the musical equivalent of Red Bull, Cancer For Cure finds itself doing what metal once did: affirming the masculinity of its audience, and whipping them into a frenzy.

4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Alleljuah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

Anyone's who's invested considerable time into this record can attest to the fact that it will ring through our collective consciousness for some time. As a fully instrumental tale told over the course of four distinct movements, Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is no ordinary piece of music. The heart of the album is built around two tracks -- "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire" -- that clock in at 20 minutes apiece. Over their duration they run the gamut of almost every conceivable emotion, from fist pumping exuberance to dewy eyed catharsis. They are different from one another as they can possibly be while still sounding like part of a collective whole. But there is also a strong element of apocalyptic doom, reinforced by a pair of eerie and unsettling drone tracks. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is so effective in establishing the sound of the endtimes that when the crescendos come crashing down, it isn't unreasonable to wonder if this is the last sound you will ever hear. 

3. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

R.A.P. Music is hardly the first album to confront race relations. But while many of those albums take a confrontational, us vs. them approach, Killer Mike instead focuses on painting a compelling image of black America, summarized by the acronym he presents in the album's title - R.A.P, or rebellious African people. With his arms defiantly crossed on the album's cover, there is no secret what type of attitude is being espoused. The album's title track paints a moving portrait of the musical and cultural history of African Americans, while the bitter and biting "Reagan" illustrates effects of the drug war instigated against inner city inhabitants. Killer Mike is acerbic, caustic and full of venom, but it makes his social commentary all the more illuminating and unforgettable. From a musical perspective, R.A.P. Music succeeds because it boils rap down to its most core essentials. In a time where the genre is too often diluted by dubstep, dance music, or other elements, this is a much needed gesture.

2. Beach House - Bloom

If anyone out there is still asking the unfortunate question if we really need another album from this band, then take this as your cue to kindly shut the **** up. Guitarist Alex Scally noted during a Pitchfork interview his indignation at this assertion he claimed people were actually making. The Baltimore duo's fourth LP Bloom provides all the repudiation to that theory one could ever need, along with a whole lot more. What impresses so much about this band is how they have gotten deeper and more captivating with every album. The basic framework of each song is well constructed but simple pop music, it's what's behind it that makes this music special. Alex Scally is like the pied piper, mesmerizing listeners with his dreamy tremolo solo at the end of "Myth" or with his instantly memorable playing that can be found on any track of the album. Victoria Legrand does her part with her booming, majestic voice, while subtly coloring each composition with her deft keyboard work.

 1. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

Where to begin with this album? The songwriting, the structure, the lyricism, the raw emotion and passion found here; it's all something that's wonderful and captivating and terrifying all at once. The full scope of each song on The Idler Wheel is so awesomely complex, yet at the same time is eminently presentable and accessible. In the most basic interpretation, it is a singer/songwriter album predicated heavily upon piano and possessing a very homespun texture. Yet there are idiosyncrasies that can exist only on an album like Idler Wheel. Fiona Apple is a very bizarre woman, prone to erratic and irreconcilable behavior. These attributes appear in full force on Idler Wheel, but the profession of music proves to be the perfect canvas for our star crossed starlet. 

Her writing takes on a free flowing, poetic nature, best evidenced on "Every Single Night" and "Daredevil," while "Left Alone" features an almost hip-hop style flow; Apple possesses a command of her delivery not unlike that of a slam poet. She does, however, excel at pop based song structure that is more conventional (at least by her standards). "Werewolf" cleverly uses metaphor to characterize her feelings toward a romantic interest she is not destined to have, while "Valentine" presents a strikingly detailed imagery: a dinner plate at a high end restaurant stained with teardrops. There are plenty of other examples, but what is important is that Idler Wheel rejects anything we've come to expect from modern music. Apple's constant bending and tinkering with the rules injects a new sense of vitality in music that has been sorely lacking, and one that is necessary to the sustained well being of the art form.