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Best Songs of 2012: The Tallest Man on Earth - "To Just Grow Away"
Adam King
December 16, 2012
If Bob Dylan's Tempest didn't click with you this year‚ but rather left you pining for something more akin to his work as a younger man‚ then I assure you this Swedish singer-songwriter will have you melting five seconds in. Kristian Matsson seems to have found the hidden secret of simplicity‚ and is able to craft simple folk that transcends both time and pretentious preconceptions. "1904" falls an extremely close second to being the most amazing track on There's No Leaving Now‚ but "To Just Grow Away" is the one you'll be playing the most on your back porch in 40 years.



Best Songs of 2012: moe. - "Downward Facing Dog"
Mike McKinley
December 15, 2012
I was a bit stunned when my girlfriend accused me of loving "Dad Rock" while we were painting the living room and blaring moe.'s WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LA LAs. First Wilco, now moe.? It wore off rather quickly… shit, I'm painting the living room on a Saturday morning. Plus when you've been seeing a band for close to twenty years the "young and hip" days seem ancient in roll 'n' roll time. Yeah, we're still keeping it real though. It's called longevity, broseph.

"Downward Facing Dog" sounds comfortable sitting next to all the hits coming out of your local Classic Rock station. It's just as massive sounding as it is familiar - with big riffs, slide guitar, pounding drums, cowbell, slightly bleeding overdriven vocals, nothing is understated and it works. But it's the chorus' big, fist-pumping hook that really brings you home: "And in the end/I'm going down swinging/standing out in the pouring rain/All of our friends will be singing/while the band plays 'Long Black Veil' again." Classic. It will sound just as good twenty years from now.




photo by Alexandra Valenti Best Songs of 2012: Dan Deacon - "Call Me Maybe Acapella 147 Times Exponentially Layered"
Adam King
December 13, 2012
Deacon released a brilliant album this year with America, but his most shining moment of 2012 was this utterly mind-melting attack of the year's biggest pop hit. Have you ever needed to explain to someone what peaking on mushrooms feels like? Well, just strap on some headphones and watch the nervous twitch in their eye appear if they're able to make it all the way through this track. You'll either consider this repulsively annoying, or the most brilliant production of the past decade.



Best Songs of 2012: Liars - "Brats"
Ryan Lowell
December 13, 2012
After the schizophrenic range of 2010's Sisterworld‚ this year's WIXIW sounded medicated and sedated by comparison. But "Brats‚" the album's penultimate track‚ offers a gratifying boost of adrenaline for those patient enough to stick around through the album's alienating A side. "Brats" is brought to life by a doomy‚ rave ready beat that channels Liars' chaotic tendencies into something you can dance to. Far and away the best of the indie rock outfit's electronic experiments‚ "Brats" is less a hint at what could have been‚ and more a snapshot of what was‚ if only for three sweaty‚ glow stick waving minutes.



Best Songs of 2012: Snarky Puppy - "Binky"
Jim Murray
December 12, 2012
This nearly thirty-man fusion collective from Denton‚ Texas has just got IT. Founded by bassist Michael League‚ the band is comprised of a core group as well as session players for many major acts. Their talent is otherworldly. Take 2012's groundUP‚ which like its predecessors‚ was recorded live in front of a studio audience for both album and DVD. Talk about confidence. Here's "Binky‚" a snapshot of what these guys are capable of: dynamic melodies built atop the tightest of pockets‚ each man contributing a small part the great swell of sound. And the end sounds like an ambient Trent Reznor collaborating with Chronic-era Dr. Dre. This stuff may knock your socks off.

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