Pure Funk's Top 10 Albums of 2012

Pure Funk's Top 10 Albums of 2012

2012 was a great year for music.  Almost every year is.  Sure, the haters were once again claiming the death of every genre from Hip-Hop to Techno to Rock (which has been declared dead every year for the last 30 years).

Contrary to popular belief, Hip-Hop had an extremely fruitful year.  From the quirky East Coast rappers (Le1f, Mykki Blanco), to rapid-fire females (Angel Haze, Iggy Azaelea), from Chicago (King Louie, Chief Keef) to London (Tnght), everybody was finding new ways to approach the genre.

R&B (another yearly candidate for death) was back with a vengeance, with R&B/Dance backing up another great year on the charts, and new hybrids appearing every month (Frank Ocean, Jeremih, Miguel).

Dubstep still ruled the festivals, Tiesto and co were taking residencies in Vegas for obscene amounts of cash and Beiber was getting props from the critics.  Yes it was an odd year, but seriously, when is it not.  That's what makes music and music culture fascinating and fun.

As always, we've focussed our attention on the the Hip-Hop, R&B and Dance releases that got us psyched in 2012, and there were more than a few.  Don't take this for gospel, there's a lot of stuff I didn't get time to listen to. 

However, if you haven't heard any of these albums, you're in for a treat.  Enjoy.

Bob

1. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City

It’s a coming-of-age story, capturing a tumultuous time in a young man’s life.  It’s a commentary on life in general as it exists in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles made famous by  many rappers over the years, but also a poor suburb beset by violence.

It’s a west coast Hip-Hop album, in both production (overseen by Compton’s greatest export Dr Dre), and in its reverance of the history of Californian rap (appearances by MC Eiht, references to Ice Cube lyrics).

It’s about the power of family to influence decisions and to ultimately save.  It’s about the temptations in the broader society that test those same familial bonds (drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure).

Kendrick Lamar’s new album is about many things, as most great albums are.

Never was the term 'West Coast Classic' more appropriate.

2. Passion Pit – Gossamer

Michael Angelakos’s problems are all over this album.  Whether it’s addressed directly (‘Constant Conversations’) or indirectly (the bi-polar dynamic of sad lyrics and ebullient music), the despair of fighting within ones own head and the consequences thereof informs every song on here.

The cynicism of faded love comes through on ‘Love is greed’ and ‘Its not my fault, Im happy’, whilst the paranoia and reality of the financial crisis provides the backdrop for ‘Take a walk’. 

All this emotion and polemicism would count for nothing if the music wasn’t up to par, but the Pit have upped the ante from their debut.

‘It’s Alright’ is a chaotic rocket blast and one of the best tracks of the year, whilst the haunting ‘Constant Conversations’ could’ve easily been an R&B hit, if the lyrics weren’t so sobering.

By exploring the battle with his own demons, Angelakos has crafted a hopefully and optimistic classic, albeit one that highlights how hard being hopeful and optimistic can be.

3. EL-P – Cancer for Cure

EL-P is a rappers rapper, the kind of guy that starts his own label and releases his own music, the kind that never follows trends or makes commercial concessions.  2012 was the year that the rap world finally caught up with EL-P and he responded to the challenge by unleashing a nuanced, abrasive yet rallying opus that trades in dirt but transcends through strong narrative.

‘Request Denied’ kicks off the album, its high-tempo electronica sounding like the best track The Prodigy never recorded.  That EL-P can accentuate that track with organ flourishes and wah-wah guitar, without losing pace or power, is a testament to his ability.  That he can also deliver a dexterous verse over the top leaves you dizzy, and that’s just the first track!

‘The Full Retard’ takes its name from a Tropic Thunder quote, but it’s a whole lot more than a one note joke. Dystopia is a favourite EL-P topic, and ‘Drones over Brooklyn’ uses darkly comedic lyrics to make a point through the paranoia.  Danny Brown and Mr Muthafuckin Esquire stop by for ‘Oh Hail’, and neither misses the chance to rip over the blazing beat, laying waste in fine fashion.

El-P has nailed this ambitious album, creating not just an atmosphere of fear, but also articulating it in a subversive fashion.  Hip-Hop never sounded so gloriously pessimistic.

4. Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music

EL-P didn’t just kill his own shit, he also layed down 12 tracks of east coast perfection for Southern MC Killer Mike, resurrecting and re-energising Mike’s career, while Mike used the template to bitch-slap a host of cultural pinatas.

First and foremost was the former president Ronald ‘Reagan’ who gets taken to task not only for lying in the Iran-Contra arm deals of 1986, but also his zero tolerance drug policies designed to target young black men for lengthy jail terms, a policy that is still an issue to this day.

Unlike El-P’s album, Mike is more of a populist rapper, looking to explore the edges of good and evil instead of taking sides.  Whilst ‘Don’t Die’ holds him up as a touchstone for every black person who’s been harassed by cops, ‘Jo-Jo’s chillin’ find him story-telling about about a dude who gets away with drug running and airplane sex.  In Mike’s world, being a good man is complicated.

Like his kiler opening track, Mike is a ‘Big Beast’ who can’t be tamed.

5. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

Up until now, the sometime Odd Future crooner had been restricted to releasing mixtapes and straight-to-youtube oddities.

Nobody knew what to expect from Ocean, and he lived up to those unexpectations.

Channel Orange was big in scope, and nostalgic in sound.  There were comparisons to Stevie Wonder (‘Fertilizer’) and Prince (‘Pilot Jones’).  He indulged in 10 minute long strip club anthems with tasteful John Mayer guitar solo’s (‘Pyramids’) and he recorded with the Neptunes (‘Sweet Life’).

He gave the music space, beckoning us to stay with him for the long ride and rewarding the patient listener.  He also gave us his idea of love, a complicated menagerie of feelings, like the love of co-habiting with your drug-dealer or dealing with the fact your missus is a stripper. 

Ocean may have been a headline creator with his personal life this year, but more notable was his music, a wealthy piece of work that never feels less than lived in.

6. Lone – Galaxy Garden

London Producer Matt Culler, better known as Lone, gave us the best rave-inspired dance album in 2012.  Don’t get it twisted though, this is no retro snooze.  Lone’s music has always sounded like no-one elses, even when his sound is tenuously connected to more commercial dance music sounds. 

Dance has been skewing maximal for a while, with Skrillex and the Swedish House dudes destroying speakers with familiar sounds, but while Lone also likes to be ‘loud’ and ‘busy’, he plies his trade in more original ways.

‘Crystal Caverns 1991’ does sound like eerily like something you may have heard in that year, only it’s heavier and more complex.  For all its ravey aspirations ‘Raindance’ is positively transcendant, whilst ‘Lying in the reeds’ rushes forward surrounded by the marimbas and 808’s.

If anyone was able to capture the past, present and future of dance music in 2012 it was Lone.

7. Actress – R.I.P.

Another London artist, Actress is the moniker of Darren Cunningham, who has also been plying his trade for years in the underground, perfecting his own brand of sub-techno.

Heavy on the bass and light on the drums, R.I.P. is a lesson in persistence as Actress jettisons the classic four/four kick drum and finds ways for the music to drive the beat.

‘Ascending’ rises in this fashion, skipping along without so much as a snare, but yet it still remains undeniably hypnotic.  The big beats finally arrive on the sub-bass anthem ‘Marble plexus’, but even then they’re muted, like you’re standing outside the club whilst the gig inside is in full swing.  ‘Jardin’ sounds like Actress’s attempt at Aphex Twin’s ‘Avril 14^th’, but again the sombre ballad couldn’t be mistaken for anyone elses song.

R.I.P. doesn’t offer itself up willingly.  Listeners might find that you will have to live with this record for two or three listens to fully appreciate the pace and structure of this truly unique style.  

A dance music album without drums, what’ll they think of next.

8. Miguel – Kaliedoscope Dream

After a lacklustre major-label debut and several buzz-building EP’s, Kaleidoscope Dream dropped and showed how promise and potential can be harnessed into a cohesive, sexy, mature R&B album without relying on R&B cliches.

‘Adorn’ leads the album off strongly, an ode to the one you love that sounds sincere and yet also gets your feet moving, not an easy task.  As it sounds ‘The thrill’ uses multi-tracked vocals to highlight the rush of doing something bad, whilst ‘Candles in the sun’ quotes Notorious BIG to emphasise the drama of poverty-stricken streets.

Miguel takes some well-worn musical paths, and then purposely strays from them to produce something altogether familiar and foreign, yet ultimately funky.

9. Tnght – Tnght

Two UK bass luminaries, Lunice and Hudson Mohawke, teamed up over a love of Hip-Hop. Typically these ‘superstar’ collaborations are disasterous, resulting in the musical equivalent of the four-assed monkey.

These two transcended their genres and styles and delivered the most trunk-rattling tracks of the year.  ‘Goo’ sounded like trap music performed by an orchestra of killer bees.   The unique blend of ever-changing pitches and sounds made for music that never got repetitive, and whilst the sparse melodies caught some maximalist fans off guard, it just made the dick-punching drums hit all that much harder.

‘Higher Ground’ and ‘Bugg’n’ were so good that Lunice was tapped to produce for Kanye West.

10. (TIE) Four Tet – Pink

Four Tet’s (Aka Keiren Hebden) last album ‘There is love in you’ was borne out a need to have people dance, and it’s driving percussion was focus-grouped to death in London’s ‘Plastik People’ club nights as part of his residency there, the heaving crowds a sturdy barometer of dancefloor success.

Pink compiles a bunch of singles released this year following an unusual streak of creativity.  There are dusty breaks galore and heavy wobbling bass on the strong opening track ‘Locked’, but this sound is discard on ‘Lion’, which rides a 4/4, beat more remisnicent of his last album.

‘Jupiters’ find Four Tet in his element, delivering complex beat patterns and sounds would be a mess in a lesser producers hands but are still danceable here.  Less thematic than previous albums, you can get your heavy bass and house fix with ‘Pyramids’, while also chilling out with the beatless blips and bloops of ‘Peace for Earth’. 

‘Pink’ is a tight and taut selection of eclectic dance tunes that reference dance musics past, whilst still remaining confidently in the present; a rare feat indeed.

Hot Chip – In our heads

Hot Chip has been a reliably eclectic dance-pop band for almost a decade, and while they never stray too far from what they do best, they still find ways to create relevant and emotionally connected music.  The fact that you can also dance to most of their stuff is just a bonus.

The first two tracks ‘Motion Sickness’and ‘How do you do’ show off most of the facets that make Hot Chip as enjoyable as they are.  4/4 beats, gliding synth lines and Alexis Taylor’s gorgeous (and waveringly vulnerable) falsetto all combine for a juicy, danceable confection with a hint of sadness and nostalgia behind it.

90’s R&B and 80’s pop have always been key influences in the attitude and song structure of their music and ‘Don’t deny my heart’ is a perfect example of both.  Sounding like a lost Whitney Houston instrumental, Taylor imbues the happy synthesizers with a sombre longing that leaves the song triumphant and sad all at one.