Rebecca Dirks -- Web Content Editor
What am I listening to?
Getting melancholy
with Regina
Spektor’s Begin to Hope,
then bringing myself back up again with
MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular. With some
alt-rock-meets-hip-hop jams by local band
Limbs sprinkled on top.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
I got into a range of new music from Frank
Ocean, the Shins, Jack White, the Killers,
Beach House, and Frightened Rabbit, but
nothing really grabbed me as a “favorite.”
Guess it’s time to dig deeper!
Andy Ellis -- Senior Editor
What am I listening to?
Los Straitjackets,
Jet Set. Twangy, reverb-drenched
instrumentals
infused with growling baritone, shivering
wang bar, and weedy Farfisa. Viva ’60s surfspace-
spaghetti-spy guitar!
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
It’s a tie: Michael Landau’s Organic
Instrumentals and Rick Holmstrom’s Cruel
Sunrise. Landau’s chimey voicings and
tripped-out solos and Holmstrom’s stinging
riffs, dusky grooves, and haunted lyrics
push all the right buttons.
Shawn Hammond -- Editor in Chief
What am I listening to?
Bad Brains, Into the
Future. The inimitable
masters of hardcore
return with a 14-song set chock-full of
stomping, lock-step rhythms augmented by
reggae/dub stylings, jazzy interludes, electro
effects, and wild, metal-ized solos.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
Alberta Cross’ Songs of Patience, Bad Brains’
Into the Future, Baroness’ Yellow & Green, Dot
Hacker’s Inhibition, Early Graves’ Red Horse,
Field Report’s self-titled debut, Floratone’s
Floratone II, and Ponderosa’s Pool Party.
Tessa Jeffers -- Managing Editor
What am I listening to?
Instrumental fusion,
drummer/guitarist
duo El Ten Eleven,
Transitions. It’s a refreshing trifecta of compositional
prowess, intricate riffage, and
experimental pop melodies.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
For my musical multiple personalities:
Smashing Pumpkins’ Oceania and its
throwback epic-rock feel, the in-yo-face raw
passion of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s
Meat and Bone, and Yeasayer, Fragrant
World, which speaks to the overarching
freak in me.
Chris Kies -- Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
West End Motel,
Only Time Can Tell.
Mastodon’s Brent Hinds’
showcases his softer side with country-tinged
guitar riffs drenched in reverb and
delay. I imagine Hinds writing these songs
while on acid and cruising dirt roads in
northern Georgia, trying to avoid bat country
as Pink Floyd plays in the CD player.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
Jack White’s Blunderbuss, Nas’ Life Is
Good, Every Time I Die’s Ex Lives, and the
Sword’s Apocryphon.
Rich Osweiler -- Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Tamaryn, Tender
New Signs. Not bashful
with the reverb by
any stretch, this duo drops a trippy batch
of haunting pop that’s perfect for a long
session of levitating. With standout tunes
like “Transcendent Blue” and “Heavenly
Bodies,” this is lo-fi space rock at its finest.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
The Sea and Cake’s Runner has been getting
a ton of play, but I’m going with Jens
Lekman’s I Know What Love Isn’t for my
fave o’ the year.
Andy Timmons -- Andy Timmons Band, guitarist
What am I listening to?
The Ventures (live
albums), new Aimee
Mann, Dean Martin, David Bowie, Rush,
Joe Walsh, and Adele.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
The Adele record, 21, is one of the few recent
releases that moves me. I want her phrasing
and tone! The new Mike Stern is also getting
a lot of spins—the ballads are sublime!
Charles Saufley -- Gear Editor
What am I listening to?
Fushitsusha, Hikari
to Nazukeyo. Keiji
Haino delivers a mindscrub
agent of Coltrane Om-level potency.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
Six Organs of Admittance’s Ascent, Rangda’s
Formerly Extinct, Baird Sisters’ Until You Find
Your Green, White Fence’s Family Perfume
Vol. 1 & 2, Ty Segall’s Twins, Chris Robinson
Brotherhood’s Big Moon Ritual, Fushitsusha’s
Hikari to Nazukeyo, Allah-Las’ S/T.
Jason Shadrick -- Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Kurt Rosenwinkel,
Star of Jupiter. He is
simply pushing the
boundaries of modern jazz guitar with this
great album full of inventive improvisation,
unique compositions, and that signature
Rosenwinkel falsetto.
What are your favorite albums of 2012?
Jimmy Herring’s Subject to Change Without
Notice, Anders Osborne’s Black Eye Galaxy,
Umphrey’s McGee 6/8/12, and Zac Brown
Band’s Uncaged.
