Our Favourite Albums of 2012 - The Top 30

2012's been a fantastic year - both for us (starting up this very blog on 21st August) and for music - having been to 11 gigs this year, we've seen more live music than in any previous years! These have been some of the inspiration behind our Top 30 chart - here are the albums which have made 2012 a great year in the world of indie and alternative music.

Of course, there are several albums we would have liked to have added to the list, but we can't include everything! So if you think this chart commits a couple of music injustices, feel free to let us know what you'd change. Anyway, here's to 2012 - and let's hope that 2013 can match this year's abundance of amazing albums (though that shouldn't be difficult - with Foals, Darwin Deez, Biffy Clyro, Vampire Weekend and Everything Everything announcing comeback albums, and new talent from the likes of Splashh, Novella, Dan Croll, S O H N and Swim Deep to name a few, this is already looking promising!)

All the best for the new year,
Isabella and Felicity - On The Jukebox

Now on with the countdown...

30 - The Temper Trap
The Temper Trap

29 - Battle Born
The Killers

28 - My Head Is An Animal
Of Monsters And Men

27 - The Only Place
Best Coast

26 - America Give Up
Howler

25 - All Our Favourite Stories
Dog Is Dead

24 - In Our Heads
Hot Chip

23 - Observator
The Raveonettes

22 - 2:54
2:54

21 - Into The Diamond Sun
Stealing Sheep

20 - Port Of Morrow
The Shins

19 - Babel
Mumford & Sons

18 - Coexist
The xx

17 - Gossamer
Passion Pit

16 - Manifest!
Friends

15 - To The Treetops!
Team Me

14 - Shields
Grizzly Bear

13 - Family
The Cast Of Cheers

12 - Four
Bloc Party

11 - Come Of Age
The Vaccines

10 - Walk The Moon
Walk The Moon

9 - Endless Flowers
Crocodiles

8 - Django Django
Django Django

7 - Enjoy It While It Lasts
Spector

6 - Lonerism
Tame Impala

 5 - Life Is Elsewhere
Little Comets
Newcastle's Little Comets returned to the indie scene in October 2012 with Life Is Elsewhere. Having released an album the year before, many worried they hadn't spent long enough writing. But Life Is Elsewhere proved to be some of their best work yet!

4 - Beacon
Two Door Cinema Club
The NI-based trio returned this year with their gem of a sophomore album, Beacon. Packed with catchy choruses and energetic guitar riffs, this didn't deviate too far from the band's debut, Tourist History, but nonetheless displayed a more mature sound than in the previous album.

 3 - Oshin
Diiv
An obscure debut album from Zachary Cole Smith's (of Beach Fossils fame) new band, having received little publicity - but good ratings from music critics. Oshin celebrates guitars (which are a more prominent feature than vocals), bringing back The Cure-esque post-punk; a much needed revival.

 2 - Given To The Wild
The Maccabees

The Maccabees released their third studio album in early 2012, leaving a lasting impression on existing fans and new fans alike. A more powerful sound overall, the band have expanded on their previously more 'Indie' albums, and created 13 tracks of brilliance.  

 1 - An Awesome Wave
Alt-J (∆)
This debut album has deservedly made it to first place: it is refreshingly different to most current alternative acts. Each song tells a different story; from Breezeblocks, which depicts an obsessive relationship, to Taro, the story of a real-life photographer. This is, in our opinion, the number 1 album of 2012.

Isabella and Felicity, OTJ x

Many surprises await you, in the basement, people, in the basement

Wristbands and coffee :)

 The day began early – we woke up when it was barely light outside, in order to be in Oxford Street, London by 9am to get our hands on the entry wristbands (of which there were only 400!). We arrived with plenty of time, and excitedly put them on, whilst drinking a much needed coffee after our early start!

The actual acoustic gig didn’t start until 6pm, but we arrived at the queue outside HMV’s flagship store just after 5 o’clock, and already a big line of excited Two Door fans (unofficially known as ‘Basement People’) had formed, all armed with copies of the new album ‘Beacon’, ready to be signed by Alex, Sam and Kevin themselves. We were allowed into the shop about half an hour before it all started, and found that an area of the building had been sectioned off especially for the event, with a small stage set up against the wall. As always, the wait for a gig wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but we were waiting amongst the shelves of CDs, so at least we had some time to check out what was in stock!


Armed with merchandise!



While we were waiting, with arms full of TDCC merchandise (two CDs – ‘Beacon’ and also their debut ‘Tourist History’, a DIY T-shirt emblazoned with the band’s logo and a rather battered copy of NME magazine), we were approached by a woman who had spotted the magazine we were holding. She explained to us that she was a reporter for the NME, and began to query us about what we like about Two Door Cinema Club. When she asked who the biggest fan of the band was, Isabella instantly pointed towards me (Felicity – I’m a big Two Door fan!). In response to the journalist’s questions, I described what I felt when I first listened to Tourist History (something along the lines of “it was like my ears were exploding – but in the best possible way”... hardly eloquent, but expressing what you think about your favourite band is a lot more difficult than it sounds!)

Before long, the audience started clapping and cheering as Alex, Sam and Kevin appeared from a stage door and took to the ‘stage’ – a small area at the back of HMV which had been cordoned off. They began their acoustic set with ‘Sleep Alone’, their most recent single to date, and the first single release from ‘Beacon’, which provided the audience with the perfect beat to clap along to (see our “Top Songs of Summer 2012” post for more reference to this!) Although it seemed that many of the audience didn’t know many of the words to Sleep Alone, they soon had the chance to sing along when the band broke out into a slower, folksy version of ‘Undercover Martyn’, which was followed by ‘Do You Want It All’, two songs from Two Door’s debut album which proved very popular.

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB!

These were followed by the catchy and optimistic “Something Good Can Work”, which left a permanent smile on our faces for the rest of the evening, and guitar-based new album track “Next Year”, which may have been unknown to many of the audience, but was still enjoyed by everyone there. When lead singer Alex Trimble (who you may have seen singing at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in London this year) announced that they were to play one last song, everyone anticipated what would come next. Upon recognising the opening guitar chords of “What You Know”, the crowd descended into cheering, jumping and even screaming; this song provided the perfect end to the set.



Photo © Indscene

After Two Door had put down their guitars and stood for a few press photos, they sat down and prepared to sign albums for the ‘swarming hordes’ of fans that awaited them (anyone who owns a copy of Tourist History should get that reference ;] ). When it was our turn, we gave the band, who seemed to us like such genuinely nice people, our merchandise to sign (TDCC proving that signing a T-shirt is a lot more difficult than it looks); thanking them a little too excessively and telling them what a great gig it was. It didn’t seem real that one of our favourite bands, whose music we often play on loop, were sitting right in front of us, signing the CD that we’ve listened to many a time, casually speaking to us and complaining to each other about a broken permanent marker. I guess “surreal” would be the closest word to describe that moment.

Sam, Kevin and Alex signing our copy of Beacon!

Felicity getting a T-shirt signed by Kevin!

Isabella speaking to Alex and getting a copy of Tourist History signed!

Still in slight awe of what had just happened, we were walking out of the emptying shock, when we spotted Pete Robertson, the drummer from The Vaccines, buying 4 copies of The Vaccines’ “Come Of Age”, also released on the same day. A brief chat about the new album led to a great photo opportunity – and we soon realised that this was the second member of The Vaccines that we’ve met (the first being Arni the bassist at the Eden Sessions concert in Cornwall). We’ll never forget our trip to Oxford Street on Monday, 3^rd September 2012, that’s for sure.

A picture with Pete!