Jaill- Traps

If you're looking for a garage rock version of The Shins, look no further. The vocals are grittier, the guitars are crunchier, the sound is overall bombast compared to the introspective, orchestral leaning of James Mercer. Traps hasn't left my disc player in two weeks, I keep finding myself going back for more.

Buy this record when you need to add a fifth teaspoon of sugar to your coffee.

www.jaillonline.wordpress.com

Cailfornia Wives- Art History

Basically, an uptempo version of American Analog Set that teeters on the edge of twee-pop innocuousness. Their sound works best on "Better Home", with a vaguely Fleetwood Mac feel: muted, pulsing guitar strumming and angelic "oh-oh-oh" background vocals, that provide the perfect compliment to a convertible car ride down Sunset Strip, or in California Wives case, a cruise around their hometown Chicago Loop's Lake Shore Drive. It's a well-produced record with some satisfying moments but ultimately elicits an anesthetized listening effect.

Buy this record if the squeaky hinge needs some oil.

www.myspace.com/californiawives

23 Best Records of 2012, So Far, That I Haven't Heard Of

23. Slivers- Something Crawls
22. Death Balls- Ride The Pony
21. The Ice Cream Clouds- Mostly Sunny With A Chance Of Sprinkles
20. Bear On A Wolf's Bidet- Derivations
19. My Asscrack- Casual Eruptions
18. The Deacon Bishops- Pawn in the Frond of a Jeweled Magic Wand
17. Bylton Clynton- Mid-Southern Man
16. Los Beer Goggles- I Pee Me
15. Ex-Girlfriend- You Fucking Ruined My Life
14. Childless Couples- Sheer Bliss
13. My Mailman- Some Days You Show Up, Some Days You Don't, What's the Deal?
12. The Bloggers- The Sound of My Own Voice
11. PPPOOPOO1122- Personal Movements
10. Kid Combine & the Tractor Trailer Assembly Line Leader- Guided By Voices
  9. Hep C- It Took An Ocean of Needles To Keep Me From Drinking
  8. Cynthia Watkins- Ripples in Tides of Pools
  7. ROTC- Not the Army: Right On Toking Corporal
  6. Kim & Kanye- The Biggest Assholes
  5. Disemboweled Kitten Fetus- This is How You Spell Evil
  4. Prentiss, Somers, & Whitbey- Aperitifs in the Study
  3. SPAzz- Irony and Detachment
  2. Foxy Lickers- Barbados
  1. Mash Up & On Your Face- Stop It

Poolside- Pacific Standard Time

A band that feels as if it's been together since the advent of dance music creates the ultimate summer record of 2012, It's particularly fitting that they're named Poolside, how has that name not been used already? It's actually two DJ/producers from LA who've conjured up this sublime slab of nu-disco, chock full of supremely digestible dance grooves, and this is actually their first proper record together. Requisite hand claps and novelty dance beats abound but there's enough heady production to keep the listener curious, and engaged.  Bonus spins for turning Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" into a stone-cold lounge classic.

Buy this record if you wanna feel what it feels like to feel good, and you like to dance.

poolsidemusic.com