Late last year I did a 2 part feature (here and here) regarding my most anticipated albums expected to come out sometime in 2012. In said feature I gave you fine people my most anticipated releases and gave a percentage chance of success for each release.
A lot can change in 7 months, and it turns out that a 2012 wishlist made in December of 2011 is nowhere near satisfactory to fully cover this topic. What follows is part 2 of a 3 part series on what I'm looking forward to RIGHT NOW. You can read part 1 here.
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Animal Collective - Centipede Hz
Of all the bands out there with a massive following, the most unlikely of which has got to be Animal Collective. It's quite amazing to me that a band that used to put out albums in the vein of Campfire Songs (it sounds as if they put a tape recorder at the bottom of a well) has had the popularity and longevity that they've had. Believe it or not this upcoming release is their 9th album in their 12 year existence. Over the course of their discography we've seen the band be everything from delightfully poppy ("Chocolate Girl"); to gorgeous and life affirming ("Winter's Love"); to terrifyingly ambient ("Loch Raven"); to abrasive ("For Reverend Green"); and to the dance floor ("Summertime Clothes"). The only thing I'm positive about the sound of Centipede Hz is that it will be both uniquely Animal Collective and yet somehow unlike everything they've done up to this point.
I fell in love with the band back in the Sung Tongs era and their rise to being one of the biggest bands in indie rock has been nothing short of miraculous to me. Merriweather Post Pavilion is just one of those records I guess... Animal Collective has managed to have broad appeal without really trying for it in any discernible way. They've got a lot to live up to with this newest album and I can't wait to see if they keep their winning streak alive.
(note: this album will stream on Animal Collective's radio show on Sunday night and this post will be released after that has already occurred. As of this writing I have NOT heard Centipede Hz.) --85%--
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Menomena - Moms
Since the release of their under-appreciated 2010 release Mines Menomena has lost multi instrumentalist and inventor Brent Kompf to his solo project Ramona Falls. For those of you who aren't aware, Menomena is a bizarre band in that they conceive songs by sending ideas to each other and fleshing songs out over time over email. This creative process is only possible because of the Kompf developed computer program called Digital Looping Recorder (or DEELER).
Because the band relies so heavily on their unique process, seeing them attempt a new album without the man who conceived it is both interesting and could possibly be a recipe for colossal failure. Irregardless the band now has to change in ways that I've felt they've been resistant to over their career, and for a long-time fan like me that can only be exciting. I would probably be very down on Menomena overall, but the fantastic and cathartic experience of "Heavy Is As Heavy Does" is still so fresh in my mind. They don't sound in this song like a band that's been handicapped in any way really; they still sound like Menomena... and that's a good thing. --70%--
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Lightning Bolt - 6th album (TBA)
I'm fairly certain that Lightning Bolt has a nearly completed album ready based on an interview of Brian Chippendale I read last year. So while no new material has been formally announced as of yet (let's hope for the apple model!), Brian's expected release window of late 2011 to early 2012 has already been shattered. In that interview Brian also says that the new material is lighter in tone than 2009's Earthly Delights and that the band is incorporating more vocals into their sound. A lot of you are probably wondering why an album of throbbing bass and sporadic drumming is both a.) exciting to me ; and b.) taking so long; to this I say shut up and go listen to your boring ambient albums or whatever it is you people listen to.
read more "LIST: Kyle's UPDATED 2012 Wishlist pt 2"
