Portland Exceptionalism

The best local albums of 2012.

By WW MUSIC STAFF
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Brainstorm, Heat Waves
An all-white trio playing African- and Middle Eastern-style pop could've been a disaster. Brainstorm embraced the challenge, creating something beautiful as a result. ROBERT HAM.


Chromatics, Kill for Love
A chilly soundtrack for brittle desire, Kill for Love is a perfectly sequenced synth-pop collection that proves things are most beautiful when held at arm's length. CHRIS STAMM.


Dana Buoy, Summer Bodies
A warm and vibrant debut from Akron/Family percussionist Dana Janssen that's as much an equatorial surf ride as carefully stacked digital pop album. MARK A. STOCK.

Dana Buoy's Pick: Brainstorm, Heat Waves


Gaytheist, Stealth Beats
Hyperdrive post-hardcore noise rock from guys old enough to do it as well as their heroes. NATHAN CARSON.


Laura Gibson, La Grande
La Grande finds one of Portland's quietest singer-songwriters getting loud, weird and personal—and proving again why Laura Gibson is among the smartest and most engaging voices in Portland music. CASEY JARMAN.

Laura Gibson's Pick: Pure Bathing Culture, Pure Bathing Culture.


Lost Lander, DRRT
Lost Lander's inventive debut mixes varying organic and electronic ideas, finding an enticing balance of textural tranquility and vigor to back frontman Matt Sheehy's fluctuating vocals. EMILEE BOOHER.

Lost Lander's Pick: The Helio Sequence, Negotiations.


Lost Lockets, Love Not Fear
Witchy, waltzy organ-viola-banjo gospel rock that channels David Lynch's nightmares into sexy siren songs. (NC) 

Mean Jeans, On Mars
Mean Jeans' zitty ode to shitty feelings is a masterpiece of pop-punk idiocy, a lunatic spree of heartbroken moping and heartbreaking fun. (CS)


Mirrorring, Foreign Body
Liz Harris (Grouper) and Jesy Fortino (Tiny Vipers) joined forces, bringing forth gentle, immersive waves of sound, ghostly melodies and spacious atmospherics. (RH)
 


Monarques, Let’s Make Love Come True
The long-gestating debut of Josh Spacek and friends distilled an effervescent aesthetic borne upon the sounds of pop past but made thrillingly new. JAY HORTON.


Myke Bogan, So Long, South Dakota
Bogan has a gift for capturing the concept of fleeting youth through his songs, which are built on heavy-hearted nostalgia and the intoxicated ramblings of a 20-something rapper looking for life’s bigger picture. REED JACKSON.

Myke Bogan's Pick: Black Prairie, A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart.


Onuinu, Mirror Gazer
Dorian Duvall’s moody, celestial, hyper-velvety take on dance music features pulsating homages to disco, chillwave and, nowadays, R&B. (MAS)


Radiation City, Cool Nightmare
A gorgeous masterstroke—imagine Bebel Gilberto soundtracking Logan’s Run. (JH)

Radiation City's Pick: Menomena, Moms.


Ramona Falls, Prophet
Brent Knopf builds on an explorative vision with this year’s sonically vast and meticulously produced follow-up to his 2009 debut. (EB)

 

Vice Device, Breathless EP
The two-song disc is a too-short taste of the undersung local trio's darkwave—but it does feature the strangest sax solo you've ever heard. JONATHAN FROCHTZWAJG. 

Vice Device’s Pick: Litanic Mask, Litanic Mask.


Vinnie Dewayne, Castaway 
In the age of swag and shock, the St. Johns MC’s flooring sophomore mixtape stands out for next-level storytelling that rejects embellishment. (CJ)

Vinnie Dewayne’s Pick: Mic Capes, Rise and Grind.


The We Shared Milk, History of Voyager and Legend Tripping
Calling on 10 musician friends for production help, the trio made not just a great, lightheaded psych-pop album but a de facto survey of the Portland underground circa 2012. MATTHEW SINGER. 


The We Shared Milk’s Pick: And And And, No Party 7”.

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