Continuing the year-end housekeeping, here's the songs that kept me going throughout 2012. Some were the singles/focus tracks...whatever the hell they're called these days, and some are deep cuts that jumped out and grabbed me, and refused to let go. There's no small amount of crossover with the previous Favorite Album List, but this is the place to explore the nooks and crannies of stand-alone tracks and EP's released during the year. For obsessive compulsives, here's the top 10:
10) "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" TAME IMPALA from Lonerism (Modular)
9) "Give Out" SHARON VAN ETTEN from Tramp (Jagjaguwar)
8) "Seaside, Lowtide" CATE LE BON from Cyrk II (Control Group)
7) "Gun Has No Trigger" DIRTY PROJECTORS from Swing Lo Magellan (Domino)
6) "Erika America" JENS LEKMAN from I Know What Love Isn't (Secretly Canadian)
5) "Star Of The Age" SHEARWATER from Animal Joy (Sub Pop)
4) "Troublemaker" BEACH HOUSE from Bloom (Sub Pop/Bella Union)
3) "Now I'm Learning To Love The War" FATHER JOHN MISTY from Fear Fun (Sub Pop)
2) "Sleepover" HOSPITALITY from Hospitality (Merge)
1) "Somewhere There's A Someone" JASON LYTLE from Dept. Of Disappearance (Anti-)
Here for your convenience on this handy dandy playlist:
On a personal note, this post marks four years of this blog. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to visit, comment, heckle, and otherwise keep the faith. There's always another show on the horizon...
(Stay tuned for the final housecleaning episode: The Year In Photos)
Soho Santa Barbara, in conjunction with Club Mercy, rose to the occasion for a second straight night, with the appearance of Jason Lytle. After a packed, and rather vocal, house for Beth Orton the previous night, this show was criminally ill-attended, and it was totally their loss. Lytle seemed to dispense with a set list, making it up as he went, and pulled off what turned out to be a very special night. The maximum number of people I counted over the course of the night was 18, but they were blessed, as Lytle gave stunning renditions of tracks from his brand new LP, Dept. Of Disappearance, the previous Yours Truly, The Commuter, as well as grabbing Grandaddy tracks from his past, and throwing in a breathtaking, (and relevant), cover of the Beach Boys "In My Room". It was nice to finally see Grandaddy back in August, and lay that particular ghost to rest. Grandaddy favorites included "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)" and "Underneath The Weeping Willow" from Sophtware Slump, as well as "I'm On Standby" from Sumday. Working with only one other player, he worked on guitar and keyboards, occasionally switching off to a piano.
To see Lytle unleash one of his finest works, and then see it performed in a small club is the veritable frosting on the cake. Rather then dwell on the town folk who couldn't get up off it for this show, I'd rather shine a light on the two youngsters who drove all the way up from LA just for this! Hopefully, their memories of the show rival mine. One of the benefits of the sparse turnout, however, was the ability to curl up at the foot of the stage, and when Lytle's keyboards were at full burble, it was like being inside your own spaceship.
Opening the show, and setting the tone for the whole evening with a heartfelt performance in front of even less people, was Sea Of Bees. The Sacramento based project is masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Jules, and onstage was joined by Amber for thrilling harmonies. "Gone" and "Take" from the current LP, Orangefarben were the highlights of the night. Next up for them is a trip to the U.K.
Jason Lytle: Dept. Of Disappearance-out now on Anti-
