Well, welcome to the official first update of Psychobabble 2012. I have not finalized my song list, but everything else is done, so we're going to start there.
#15: Coexist - the xx
OK. So this was not quite the follow-up that I was hoping for. It is still a solid album though. My favorites are Angels and Reunion. I saw the xx at the end of October, and I must say, it really increased my appreciation of the album. However, Hurricane Sandy arrived basically the next day, so by the time I had power back, I had lost interest. I still don't know all of the song names, which is kind of the beauty of the xx. They just sounds so much more coherent when listened to as a full album. That's probably why the album made my year-end, while only one song from Coexist will appear on the Top 50.
#14: Bloom - Beach House
Speaking of bands who continued with the sound of their debut album, but evolved it a bit. Beach House would be one of those bands. Bloom is such a rich album, and it is amazing to listen to. The album art is also fantastic. My favorites from Bloom are Lazuli, Wild and Myth. I know for a fact that we will be seeing two of these songs on the Top 50, one might even make the top ten. For those of you who don't know Beach House, they are spectacular, and the tone of Legrand's voice is just superb.
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#10: IO Echo
This band is on my 'ones-to-watch list' for 2013, and they should be on yours too. I have loved everything they have released this year, a lot of which is old material, but is being released for the first time as they only inked their deal with IAMSOUND Records (Florence + the Machine, Charli XCX, MS MR) this spring. Their sound is like Florence meets Enya meets China. It's absolutely superb, and they are channeling such a cool vibe. Hailing from Los Angelos the pair consists of Ionna Gika and London native Leopold Ross. My favorites are When The Lilies Die, Shanghai Girls, Eye Father and Carnation (duet with the Drums). Seriously check them out, you will not regret it.
I've only heard Coexist in full once, and it didn't leave a big impression. Sometimes it felt like more of the same from the last album. I'm sure I'll give it another listen soon!
Nice start! I've got some songs by Beach House and IO Echo in my playlist. In fact, I think I've discovered IO Echo because you've been posting their videos here! LOL. I'm glad to see Coexist here too! As you said, it's a solid album and it sounds much more coherent when you listen to it as a full album. There are not many albums like this one nowadays.
Seeing that I finally finished my song charts, this is going to be a continuation of UPDATE 01. But this will just include songs.
#50: Midnight City - M83
Although this song was released in 2011, it made it onto this year's countdown because though I owned it last year, this year was when I finally got into Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. And although that is a great album, this will be M83's only appearance on this year's chart. I love this song because of that never ending instrumental bit that starts out in the beginning. To me it sounds like an elephant trumpeting, but my friends tend to disagree. Anyway, this song is really superb, and I went to watch M83's set in Central Park this summer, but we only stayed for the first few songs.
#49: Tongue Tied - Grouplove
When I first heard this song earlier this year, I was really not that big of a fan. However, when it actually began to cross over on to Top 40, I became accustomed to it, and it's really quite an addictive track. And it is so catchy... "take me to your best friend's house..." But anyway, I listened to the album, and it was alright, but like M83, this is Grouplove's only appearance on Psychobabble this year.
#48: Myth - Beach House
Well, we have already seen Beach House on the album, chart, and this is their first appearance on the song chart. Myth is the lead single from the album Bloom, and though I had downloaded their first album, I had never really given it many listens. Probably a mistake, but whatever, I'm lazy. Anyway, when I saw Myth pop up on iTunes one day, I decided that I was going to commit myself to this era. Myth reminds me of the spring, before the album was released. Because once I heard Lazuli, this song was toast.
#47: Sutphin Boulevard - Blood Orange
Though some of you may have never heard of Blood Orange, you will probably recognize some of the tracks he has been a part of; Solange's latest album and Florence's Lungs. I originally discovered Blood Orange from a free playlist from Urban Outfitters, but I also was introduced to him this year when he was Florence's opener for her spring tour in the U.S. Coastal Grooves, the album which Sutphin Boulevard is from is really a nice album. If you are intrigued by Blood Orange, I recommend checking out Forget It and Champagne Coast. Sutphin Boulevard is my favorite because of its amazing beat!
#46: Bullets - Rebecca & Fiona
This pair of Swedes are one of my favorite finds of this year. I have to thank electroheart for introducing them to me. They have a really nice sound, it’s dance, but it’s not grating on your ears. I don’t really have much more to say about them, but they’re also very attractive, so I recommend watching the music video for this song which I have included below.
