Our Friends' Favorite Albums of 2012

The best part of running this whole website is getting involved with other people whom love music too. It’s been an incredible year of traveling, meeting awesome people and enjoying music with old and new friends alike. Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum and I, for one, learned a hell of a lot more about new tunes from others all through 2012. Moreover, we’ve been super fortunate to have a number of great contributors this year. On that, we’ve put together a list of our friends’ and contributors favorite five albums each from 2012. Moreover, they gave some info on why they loved said records.

Thank you to everyone involved with Apes on Tape for making 2012 a year to remember, Cheers.

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Eric Gilbert | Boise, ID
Director of Treefort Music Fest, Bandmember of Finn Riggins

1. Au | Both Lights: Absolute favorite album of 2012.

2. Delicate Steve | Positive Force: Instrumental, pop mastery, guitar shreddery.

3. WHY? | Sod In The Seed EP: In love all over again…

4. Tropical Punk | Ends Of The World: Cigarettes, rock-n-roll, leather jackets pop.

5. Wooden Indian Burial Ground | Wooden Indian Burial Ground: Sweaty, garage reverb dance party.

Radiation City | Portland, OR
“Portland’s Best New Band“

1. Chairlift – Something

2. Tame Impala – Lonerism

3. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

4. Abadabad – The Wild EP

5. Opossom – Electric Hawaii

David Helman | Los Angeles, CA
Director

1. Good kid Maad City (Kedrick Lamar): Bitch don’t kill my vibe

2. 1999 (Joey Bada$$): Big ups to Brooklyn

3. Channel Orange (Frank Ocean): Cyanide in my styrofoam cup

4. D.R.U.G.S (Flatbush Zombies): Hip-hop’s dead, Zombies for prez

5. Animal Furnace (Hannibal Buress): ‘I’m taking it one day at a time’ you know who else is? Everybody. Because that’s how time works

Ryan Campbell | Hood River, OR
Writer & Photographer

1. Dr. Dog | Be the Void: Touring antique american rock album
2. Delicate Steve | Positive Force: Feel good space shredding experience
3. The Antlers | Undersea: Mellow blue wonder floating
4. Alabama Shakes | Boys n Girls: Power-full awesome american soul
5. Dirty Three | Towards the Low Sun: Full range of human emotion

Heidi Petty | San Francisco, CA
Videographer

1. Donnie & Joe Emerson | Dreamin’ Wild: Unearthed gift for the future.
2. Frank Ocean | channelORANGE: Mainlined to save my life.
3. Beach House | Bloom: It’s a jungle out there.
4. Chromatics | Kill for Love: Sex beats on my mind.
5. Kendrick Lamar | Good Kid MAAD City: You are the perfect thug.

Kithkin | Seattle, WA
Psychedelic, forest fury, Apocalypse-ready rock band

1. Goat | World Music: Swedish tribe with witchee vibes.

2. Ty Segall | Slaughterhouse: Transcendent shred and wizardy grime.

3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor | ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!: Headlong journey through End Times.

4. Tame Impala | Lonerism: Psych-tastc sojourn of the mind.

5. Metz | Metz: Shady Canadians, dark riffs intertwined.

Alan Densmore | Oakland, CA
Host of Missing Memoirs, Writer & Photographer

1. Of Monsters and Men | My Head is an Animal: Catchy, Icelandic, pop harmony eruption.
2. Delicate Steve | Positive Force: Dancy, soulful, instrumental sex wave.
3. Band of Skulls | Sweet Sour: Still in Satan’s CD player.
4. Tencious D | Rize of the Fenix: Kage still brings the thunder.
5. Bonaparte | Sorry, We’re Open: Psychotic Berliners making art noise.

Tom Roth | Writer & Photographer | Seattle, WA

1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis | The Heist: Seattle rap’s on the map.
2. Imagine Dragons | Night Visions: Anthems, anthems, and more anthems.
3. Purity Ring | Shrines: Dubstep? Maybe. Deceptive hipster threads.
4. Nas | Life Is Good: King of New York: King of NY waxes philosophical
5. Kendrick Lamar | Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City: Just see B.E.T. Cypher video.

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Darrick Thompson | Chicago, IL
Singer/Songwriter/Performer

1. Panoramic and True | Wonderlust: Haunting pop jams that will suck you in, and spit you out a better person.

2. The Demos | Lovely: Fresh, dreamy tunes reminiscent of an exultant Elliot Smith.

3. Frank Ocean | Channel Orange: Great hype around the release, and an interesting venture from Nostalgia, Ultra.

4. Young Hines | Give Me My Change: This album runs the gamete emotionally, and exudes a grittiness

5. Allen Stone | Allen Stone: Gotta Love the hometown hero going out and killin’ it! Super tight/polished nerdy white dude soul music – I love it!

Ian Ware | Knoxville, TN
Large Mammals of the West & Arbor Expert

1. Tame Impala | Lonerism: Brilliantly composed conceptual psychedelia
2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor | Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!: I mean come on, it’s Godspeed…
3. Animal Collective | Centipede Hz: Technically dense return of Deakin.
4. Thee Oh Sees | Putrifiers II: The OCs are still quietly releasing garage gold.
5. Mac Demarco | 2: My favorite new artist of 2012.

Jace Gobble | Portland, OR
Writer & Photographer, Drummer of Exploring the Depths & Jacen Magnolia

1. Moonface with Siinai – Heartbreaking Bravery
2. The Antlers – Undersea
3. Dr. Dog – Be the Void
4. Menomena – Moms
5. Porcelain Raft – Strange Weekend

Aaron Phillips | Austin, TX
Part-time blogger, part-time DJ, full-time materials procurer

1. Groundislava | Feel Me: Coming straight out of LA’s next generation of beatsmiths known as the wedidit collective, Groundislava’s 2012 release “Feel Me” is my favorite of the year for it’s tasteful melodies and intricate poly-rhythmic beats.
2. Para One | Passion: Para One diverges from normal club-fair and delves deep into psychadelic pop with pleasant results.
3. Tame Impala | Lonerism: The bible of the stoner/loner american teenager in 2012.
4. Scuba | Personality: Scuba flexes his muscle and seamlessly mixes together his favorite genres.
5. Kindness | World, You Need a Change of Mind: A great album from beginning to end with all the right twists and turns.

Austin Mell | Spokane, WA
Presumed father of the “crusty” movement, Jordanian desert hash deal witness, writer/performer as Clusterfuck.

1. The Seer | Swans: Not a word, just listen.
2. Takers & Leavers EP | Kithkin: Psychedelic induced tribal dance music.
3. Neil Young & Crazy Horse | The Psychedelic Pill: Neil Young = a fucking legend.
4. Moonface & Siinai | Heartbreaking Bravery: Anything that Spencer Krug touches= genius.
5. Godspeed You! Black Emperor | Alejuah Don’t Bend! Ascend!: GY!BE… back! weirder than ever.

The Autonomics | Portland, OR
Hardcore make out music making rock band

1. Titus Andronicus | Local Business: Punk Rock existentialism from Philly.
2. Divine Fits | A Thing Called Divine Fits: Just don’t call it a supergroup.
3. Jack White | Blunderbuss: Saw him play a laundramat.
4. Japandroids | Celebration Rock: One drumkit, three guitar amps.
5. The Men | Open Your Heart: Garage hardcore with a trist.

Matt Dalley | Boise, ID
Press Director of Treefort Music Fest

1. Why? | Sod in the Seed EP: Sonically Fertile, Lyrically Obscure Jingles.
2. Sharon Van Etten | Tramp: Equal Parts Depressing And Awesome.
3. Woods | Bend Beyond: Cozy Cuts For Fall/Winter.
4. Black Moth Super Rainbow | Cobra Juicy: Mega Juicy Roller Derby Jams.
5. Four Tet | Pink: The soundtrack of extreme productivity.

Michael Sinodis | Phoenix, AZ
Rock guitarist

1. The Caretaker | An empty bliss beyond this world: Moonlight carpet on the ocean.
2. The Smashing Pumpkins | Oceania: Fuck age and public perception.
3. Flying Lotus | Until the Quiet Comes: Drippy love sounds in air.
4. Tame Impala | Lonerism: Fizzy candy pop for children.
5. Led Zeppelin | Celebration Day DVD: Rock music’s sex lives forever.

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Our Friends’ Favorite Albums of 2012

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