Major international tastemakers have begun releasing their lists of the best albums of 2012 – and a host of Canadian musicians are standing toe to toe with some of the world’s biggest acts.
Several Canadian albums made the cut for NME’s much anticipated 50 Best Albums of 2012 list, including Purity Ring’s Shrines (#50), which the British major music mag called “a euphoric treat in its own right, made all the more thrilling by its heady potential” and the fast-rising Mac Demarco’s 2 (#29), which they called “Suburban, slacker, bratty but charmingly so… Ferris Bueller with a guitar, basically.”
Landing even higher up the list at #5 is Crystal Castles’ (III). “The message, still, is that the world is a cruel and f--ked-up place," reads the NME entry. "But being doomed seldom sounded so beautiful.”
But just shy of the top spot at #2 is Grimes’ Visions, which the site raves “has it all, and seems to resonate with all who hear it. Yet Boucher made it look like she didn't even have to try.”
Grimes also landed high on Uncut’s list (#17), whose Canadian content included veteran crooner Rufus Wainwright’s Out of the Game (#72), Japandroids’ Celebration Rock (#45), and a double dose of Neil Young and Crazy Horse with Americana and Psychedelic Pill coming in at #43 and #9 respectively).
Vancouver’s Japandroids also were the only Canadian act to make Forbes’ Best Albums of 2012 list for Celebration Rock, which the writer described as “the album that allowed me to finally discover the fierce joy I looked for in The Hold Steady but never found. Happy music at its best.”
Montreal’s recently reunited Godspeed You! Black Emperor also earned spots on multiple lists, landing at #40 of the first round of the Guardian’s Best Albums of 2012 for 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! ("It's beautiful, thrilling and exhausting," reads the entry. "The Godspeed ethos of wordlessly eliciting universal truths is remains as devastatingly effective as ever") and at #44 of Paste’s Cancon-heavily list, which also features Grimes (#50), Stars’ The North (#43), Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas (#39), John K. Samson’s Provincial (#27) and Rufus Wainwright (#19).
Lists from other music mags including Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork have yet to be released.
So which Canadian beat out Bob Dylan, Jack White, Frank Ocean and Bruce Springsteen for Uncut’s very top year-end honour? Landing at #1 on the long-running British mag’s list is none other than Leonard Cohen with his album, Old Ideas.
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