Who to watch in 2012
Azealia Banks
All it takes is one song. After two years of swimming around in relative obscurity Banks released 212 in September and within weeks Kanye West was proclaiming her as the future of rap. Although flexing her rap skills, her vocals and her ability to lace a rap with absolute filth on 212, other tracks such as Licorice prove Banks is no one trick pony. {Watch}
Azealia Banks plays Whelans on February 6
moths
Jack Colleran’s alter-ego moths is one of the brightest new Irish artists to emerge in the last year. In the months following his Leaving Cert he was already doing official remixes for the likes of Interpol. His deep, chilled out electronica is yet to get an official release,
but we hope to see an EP or album launch in 2012.
Preview of what’s coming in 2012 by MMOTHS
A$AP Rocky
Bringing hip hop back to its roots, Harlem’s A$AP crew and their unofficial ringleader A$AP Rocky have been touted as an east coast equivalent of Odd Future. Although that kind of weightless hype mongering is groan inducing, A$AP Rocky is certainly worth a look. His laid back, street corner style of rapping is a definite grower, and producer Clams Casino who features on his LIVELOVA$AP mixtape is destined to shine just as bright in 2012. {Watch}
Youth Lagoon
Although Trevor Powers released his debut last September, it went largely unnoticed and didn’t pick up much of the credit it deserved. The lo-fi bedroom-recorded The Year of Hibernation, is a delicate, echoey evocative blend of the likes of Ariel Pink, Elliot Smith and Galaxy 500. With any luck, Youth Lagoon will make a festival appearance in 2012. {Watch}
Alabama Shakes
The southern American states haven’t gotten much love in the past number of years in the world of alternative music, as it is mainly void of the self awareness and posturing that indie bands hold so dear. It is for exactly this reason that the Alabama Shakes are so refreshing. Good old fashioned rock n’soul sang by what could be described as the female counterpart to Otis Redding. There’s no gimmicks here, just pure talent. {Watch}
Albums
05. WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
Releasing an album as big as its titular mountain, these enigmatic Manchunian’s debut jumps from euphoria to despair to nostalgia effortlessly.
04. Nicola Roberts – Cinderella’s eyes
While all eyes were on the teary Geordie and the blonde in rehab, Roberts snuck up on pop music and brought out an irresistible album that’s both playful and wistful in equal measure.
03. James Blake – James Blake
The devil is in the detail as they say, and every detail in the prolific Blake’s first full length is so expertly crafted that each listen provides a new experience.
02. M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
It’s a risky manoeuver, releasing a double concept album, but a thoroughly worthwhile one if done right. Anthony Gonzalez’s journey into the dreams of a brother and sister is as awe-inspiring as it is heartbreaking.
01. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Justin Vernon finally made it out of the cabin in the woods that was For Emma, Forever Ago and out into the open on his second LP. Bon Iver possesses a peculiar sprawling quality yet simultaneously retains the intimacy of Vernon’s debut. I’m not fond of the term ‘instant classic’ but here I’ll make an exception.
Films
05. Bridesmaids
The first real female addition to the Apatow school of blockbuster comedies, and a long overdue one. Writer, producer and star Kristen Wiig’s performance is both human and side splittingly funny.
04. Super 8
JJ Abrams’ third full strike as a director is admittedly Spielberg porn, but this kids with cameras tale set in 1970′s America possesses all the elements that are missing from Summer blockbusters nowadays: coming of age, friendship and that elusive sense of adventure.
03. Attack the Block
Joe Cornish tale of a council estate block of flats versus an invasion of aliens is a welcome twist on a formula we know all too well. With a young cast of unknowns and a small budget, Cornish managed to make the best sci fi film of the year.
02. The Guard
“Y’know I can’t tell if you’re really motherfuckin’ dumb, or really motherfuckin’ smart” says Don Cheadle in an early scene of the Guard, and as you begin to watch Brendan Gleeson’s extraordinary performance as Sergeant Gerry Boyle you immediately understand what he means. A hard drinking existentialist with a ‘penchant for hoo-ars’, Sergeant Boyle is either a dim-witted Garda or the biggest bad ass in the west of Ireland.
01. Drive
The best film of the eighties that wasn’t made in the eighties. Nicholas Winding Refn’s film is effortlessly stylish, cool and has the soundtrack of the year. Ryan Gosling’s near mute Driver is the modern day counterpart of the man with no name, helping out a mother and son who get entangled in the seedy underbelly of LA crime. It’s a simple tale, but is perfectly executed, with just the right amounts of dark humour and violence to keep the audience captivated.
Robert McDonald
