Nothing is Pure - Placeholder (Better Days/Kat Kat, 2012)
Here is yet another record that brings me back to high school. Placeholder sound like a darker and heavier version of those New Jersey emo-y pop punk bands from the early 2000s like Saves the Day and The Stryder. The production on Nothing is Pure is pro. The guitars are beefy and the drums are big. The vocals may be a little too ridiculously intense, but that can be overlooked when the overall sound is so nostalgic and the songs so good. "Give Up" and "Stay Correct" are real jams.
Choreography - Weird Dreams (Tough Love, 2012)
Weird Dreams is a UK band that I came across pretty randomly. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't ignore their review on Pitchfork, but, I'm glad I didn't, as their debut LP, Choreography, was a pleasant surprise. These songs are a nice mix of 80s jangle pop (with those chimy, jangly, chorus-y R.E.M./Smiths guitars we all love) and early 90s brit pop. For the most part, Choreography is upbeat and high energy, with a few moody pieces here and there. Nothing new or original here, but that doesn't matter when an old style is performed so well. "Suburban Coated Creatures" is an obvious standout.
Nocturne//Nowhere 7" - Wild Nothing (Captured Tracks, 2012)
2012 has been a great year for Jack Tatum, the wunderboy behind Wild Nothing. The Nowhere 7" was released early in the year, and it showcased where Tatum's songs could go with big, professional production. The title track is a huge, gorgeous midtempo pop song that surely ranks among his best. B-side "Wait" is solid, though a little boring. Tatum's true triumph in 2012, though, is obviously his sophomore full length, Nocturne, just released at the end of August. Both releases are huge steps forward in production, and probably even songwriting, and "Nowhere," retrospectively, may be the icing on the cake, but there is no shortage of excellence on this year's LP. Admittedly, there are no standouts to the degree that "Summer Holiday," "Chinatown" or "Our Composition Book" were on Tatum's 2010 debut, Gemini, however, the consistency on Nocturne is staggering. We've still got the dreamy Cure and New Order (sorta) thing going on here, but less goth and injected with some Fleetwood Mac drum sounds (yes, those are real drums) and especially Tango in the Night synths. Though Tatum will probably never bring about the same effect in me that he did with Gemini, every song on Nocturne is at least good. Most are excellent. I was so pumped for this record, and I most definitely was not let down. I know I said there weren't really any standouts per se, but I still must list which songs come the closest: "Shadow," "This Chain Won't Break" and most notably "Only Heather" with its chimy Johnny Marr guitars and the best drum fill in a pop song since Maritime's "Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts."
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