2012 was a great year for records. This un-obvious collection is listed in order of appearance. They are all current, "relevant" bands who demonstrate to my ears the magical ingredient of Sonic Vision. Each of these gets better with listening and aren't about to fade from the Ford Flex shuffle mix. They all play like records. Some are concise, and others sprawl. Please enjoy.

Galactic - Carnivale Electricos (Feb 2012)
Best and most cohesive of their modern-day N'Awlins travelogues. #rawk solid, funky, danceable and possibly 2012's most-listened-to at our house. Still the best mirror ball band in the business, especially on this tour with Corey Glover (Living Colour) handling the vocals. Track that should be a hit: "Out In The Street".

Japandroids - Celebration Rock (June 2012)
Fuzzy garage pop with sonic vision. Great cover of Gun Club's "For The Love of Ivy". The secret is out on these guys… deservedly made many year-end lists.

Place To Bury Strangers - Worship (June 2012)
They've mined 80's / early 90's heavy/industrial/fuzz/psychadelia and made it better so you don't have to.

The Hives - Lex Hives (June 2012)
Swedish garage revivalists return to form with self-produced record. Unapologetic indytude. Essential track: "I Want More."

Giant Giant Sand - Tucson (June 2012)
Howe Gelb added an extra "Giant" to the latest from his long-running desert bard project. Music to make westerns by.

Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits (Aug 2012)
This Britt Daniel side project is trademark Spoon minimalism with an 80's new wave aesthetic, complete with a cover of "shivers"… that culminating track from the dogs in space movie. My favorite track: "Would That Not Be Nice"

The Heavy - The Glorious Dead (Aug 2012)
Heavy Soul with irresistible hooks AND sonic vision. You already hear a lot of The Heavy's riffs in movies and commercials (i.e. "How Do You Like Me Now"). This is their 3rd LP… all must-haves. Side B is especially stupendous (get it on vinyl!)

Kid Koala - 12 Bit Blues (Sept 2012)
I know a gentleman who is old-school blues and jazz who argus that the turntable is not an instrument. He argues no longer. The legendary turntablist somehow takes all of these pieces of vintage blues and constructs new compositions that are layered with sonic brilliance with nothing but high regard from the source material. Vinyl kit comes with digital download card and a cardboard cutout make-your-own turntable. Kid Koala is super genius and this might be the last "blues" album I ever need.

Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II
Along with Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees are leading a San Francisco garage/psych revival that is catching on world wide. I'm just getting started with this band but I've really been enjoying Putrifiers II on vinyl. Nice balance of heavy fuzz and lush arrangements.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Meat and Bone (Sept 2012)
An impressive return to form for JSBX. This one came out fully baked. Clocks in at 30 minutes and available on vinyl.

Deerhoof - Breakup Song (Sept 2012)
If King Crimson made danceable bubble pop fronted by Yoko Ono maybe it would sound like this? They keep ramping up their genius and are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Crafty compositions for music lovers. Clocks in at 30 minutes. Available on WHITE vinyl!

Calexico - Algiers (Sept 2012)
This is my favorite Calexico album since 2003's "Feast of Wire." Available on vinyl!

Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes (Oct 2012)
This guy is on the level of Amon Tobin with cut-and-paste electronica that **gets** jazz. … Exotic cut-n-paste freakout music.

Ty Segall - Twins (Oct 2012)
This is the THIRD album from Ty Segall this year.. the prolific garage-psych guitar/singer/songwriter from San Francisco. Big fuzz and lush hooks. He might be my favorite newly discovered artist heading into 2013.

How To Destroy Angels - An Omen EP (Nov 2012)
Nine Inch Nails for grownups.

Soundgarden - King Animal (Nov 2012)
Another impressive return to form.

There were some other impressive return-to-form albums in 2012, including Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" and Bonnie Raitt's "Slipstream." Looking forward to 2013 releases by the likes of Queens of the Stone Age (!!!), TRUCKFIGHTERS (family fave fuzz rawkers from Sweden), Camper Van Beethoven, and Rogue Wave (Oakland's finest.) We're also expecting the sequel to Deltron 2030 but we've been hearing that for a while. Happy New Year and remember.... music is STILL the best.