Wednesday Bears: Albums of the Month - March 2012

Albums of the Month - March 2012

After hitting a snag in January and seemingly going through the motions last month, March exploded. Quality albums from big names like Odd Future and Tanlines, alongside some unknown entities really made gave a lot of optimism for the remainder of 2012. Number one may not be a surprise for some of you, but the month gave us a lot of unexpected gems. Here are my favorite three.

3.) The Men - Open Your Heart

Distilled and aggressive, Open Your Heart (Insound) spills out half chaotically, half practically. The New York four-piece's sound goes through like aging punk veterans, still stout enough to seem destructive, but fluid enough to displace garage punk's DIY side. It's hard not to love The Men here, who find a median to blend all the laborious elements of clever alternative rock without flipping over a boring pass. In effect, the record sounds like it could be from anywhere between 1987 to 1995, but maybe that's part of the brilliance here - reverence without falling over itself trying to sound like Husker Du.

2.) Chromatics - Kill For Love

Luckily, we were able to hear all of Kill For Love a little before the month actually ended, so that qualifies it for the list. Blippy and atmospheric, Chromatics find their niche in Euro post-wave, with subtle instrumental effects coursing over harmonizing romanticism. It's what gave the band a good amount of hype long, long ago in 2007 with Night Drive. The long delay, however, allowed the group to create a huge amount of material - 90 minutes in fact on the new double-album - full of bright, electric, indie pop that remains startlingly consistent.

1.) The Shins - Port of Morrow

If you follow me on Twitter, this can't be a surprise. There wasn't any album scheduled for release before April of this year that had nearly as much of hype as The Shins return after a five-year absence, especially after the release of the heavy favorite lead single "Simple Song." The reformed James Mercer project sounds affectionate, although slightly less experimental than the group's previous three albums, but is so perfectly crafted and polished that there isn't any desire for it. Mercer sounds more genuine than he ever has on Port of Morrow (Insound), crafting blissful harmony between his usually impeccable song-writing. Particular cuts like "It's Only Life" stand out, and will be one of the sweetest damn songs you'll hear all year. The delay may have been too long for original material, but if all that time means we get something this good, then it'll always be worth it.