Top Ten Thursday: Best Albums of 2012….so far

It is a little over halfway through 2012 and a large breadth of music has been released in this time.  This of course means that it is time to list what, in our opinion, are the best albums so far this year.  We do this not to proselytize our readers into congratulating us on our superb music tastes, but instead to evaluate the current musical landscape.  Today’s list will also provide some loose guidelines for when we do make our end of the year list – although it is merely a predictor and not definitive on how we will feel at the end of the year.

M83 Review: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

M83

Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

Anthony Gonzalez has a flair for the melodramatic. The electronic French artist has released three ambitious electro-pop albums just dripping with the stuff, as if life and death itself hangs in the balance. Much of it is surrounding the ups and downs of youth and young love (even referencing John Hughes films like Sweet Sixteen and Pretty In Pink on his last album, Saturdays=Youth), but no matter the subject matter, M83 has created songs with plenty of skillfulness but with a heavy handed passion. Now comes his highly anticipated and even more ambitious double album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, where M83 elevates his sound to a new plain, allowing you to escape your mundane life in exchange for the wonderful musical landscape Gonzalez has carved out.