Hi y’all!
So we know we kept y’all in the dark on what we though were our top favorites of 2012. To be honest, we took a bit of a respite that year, so what we’ve compiled is a very, very brief list. In fact, it’s only technically a list, one with two entries. What were they?
After a year of listening, we have to give our primary kudos to this guy:

Pocket watch, anyone?

The folksy, Dylanesque singer-songwriter who took it all to Chicago to record his first EP, Nation of Heat, and hasn’t looked back since. His 2012 full-length, The Great Despiser, is one of those rare gems that spans so much – war veterans, a world in turmoil, and a cover of “Deep Dark Wells” – with such depth and grace, that we have trouble believing he’s really 30. The songs are aged, his voice spot-on, and the stories he composes compelling; The Great Despiser, while a shade off from his debut EPs, is an album that is easy to cherish in its simplicity and beauty. Check out the opener, “Ours,” or just about anything on this album, as they are all fantastic.
(And let us say we also look up to his marketing techniques – giving away EPs, selling tickets directly. Mr. Pug is a listener’s musician, first and foremost.)

Now on to our number two:

Lilies? You can’t kick butt with them, can you?

Who ever said Canadians can’t rock? We could say ripping vocals from Caitlin Dacey is what this band is about, but then we’d be forgetting the slashing guitar, those power-pumped arrangements, and the kind of pulse you’d expect from those Olympic weightlifters whose veins jut out at odd angles when they life 2.3 thousand pounds. This band does just the same: they lift 2.3 thousand pounds of pure, awesome rock. Add to that the fact that they also had been giving their music away for free (sorry, not anymore!) but suffice it to say, this will be the best five dollars you’re going to spend this year. We love their music, they’re personally very personable, and they’re working on a new album, too, which we hope kicks Holy Crow‘s arse (which, itself, already kicks some serious arse). They’re for fans of classic smash-your-guitar-and-possibly-head kind of rock, and if you’re into Zeppelin or anything that takes no prisoners, then this is your kind of rock.

That’s it for our 2012 wrap-up! Sorry it was so brief and late! Catch us this week for the top albums of 2013!
-Mgmt.

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