Balarama Music

The world’s gonna end in December, but who cares? Certainly not the bands & artists putting out this great music. Here are our picks of the best albums of 2012 so far. We’ll update throughout the year so make sure to keep checking back!

1. Baby – Tribes



Grandoise, textural, bombastic, subtle, introspective, boisterious. Few debuts are this cluttered with sounds & thoughts, but few debuts are as strong and fresh as this. They are the unlikely grunge/garage heroes. Somehow they learned how to capture the sound in the studio and really mix the best bof both worlds.

Key Track: Walking In The Street


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2. Attack On Memory – Cloud Nothings



With their third album, Dylan Baldi’s makeshift misfits finally deliver that undoubtedly great album. The lyrics display a sense of anxiety of identity as they procalim “I thought I would be more than this,” but the delicate tweaking of the lo-fi sound shows that the band is more than this. So much more.

Key Track: Stay Useless


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3. Given To The Wild – The Maccabees



Adding an electronic ting to a rock soul, the London quintet carefully tiptoes the line between stadium & indie sound. Evoking memories of bands like Arcade Fire & Kings Of Leon, they succeed by still sounding fresh & unique. The Maccabees deliver strong here with their best album yet to kick of 2012 right.

Key Track: Pelican


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4. A Flash Flood Of Colour – Enter Shikiri



Dripping with a distinct political message, the alternative metal troupe shows off its versatility to deliver that message as poiginantly as possible. Frivolous & solemn, beautiful & horrific, anxious & brave; all these describe pieces of the message that gets sernaded & shouted to us in each song.

Key Track: Meltdown


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5. Future This – The Big Pink



With a big debut to follow, The Big Pink deliver a much more mature & versatile collection of electro-rock. From ambient to fist-pumping, the songs fit just as perfectly in the club as they do in your car on the way to work. They still sound nothing like their namesake, but I think The Band themselves would approve of this work.

Key Track: 1313