The countdown of our favourite albums of the year continues...

Firstly, Sorry...

Drowned in Sound would like to apologize if our album of the year list - approximated from the votes of 45 different members of our writing staff - does not cohere with the individually penned reviews of certain records. This is an annual collective effort, which is different to the day-to-day opinioneering. Thankfully, we do not do our reviews 'by committee', we just let our writers blurt.

An Apology

I would also like to take this opportunity to personally say SORRY to everyone who is upset that their personal album of the year, is not also The Drowned in Sound Album of the Year, especially if your very favourite can be found 'languishing' outside of the top 25. However, I would perhaps suggest if you are terribly upset about it, that you spend a few minutes thinking about the real problems in the world... if you still think the somewhat arbitrary ordering of a heap of records released within a 12 month period is THAT IMPORTANT, perhaps you should seek therapy or at the very least register a domain and start a website that is far better than this one. Good luck to you, bro.

Artists We <3 Who Feel a Bit Irked by Your Positioning

Sorry. We do love you. You probably have biggers things to worry about than the ordering of this list tho...

TO: Everyone Else

HELLO, good to see you again, how have you been? Jolly good! Hopefully you will find something amongst our yearendageddon that you haven't had chance to check out or that you didn't really give much chance to first time around, in which case you may need to invest some more time with the record over the festive break.

Note: If you click on the writer names after each of these review fragments, you can read the full-length reviews.

Let's get on with it...

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50) Bloc Party Four

"...the bleepy bloopy band that made Intimacy has buggered off- this is Bloc Party: rock band (Roc Party?) Producer Alex Newport brings shades of former charges Death Cab for Cutie, and especially The Mars Volta and At The Drive-In to the table, there's also a debt to Queens of the Stone Age, an occasional nod to post-hardcore and grunge and some epic balladeering. Sometimes it's like they've accidentally made a Biffy Clyro album, but for the most part it's good. Very good." - Marc Burrows

49) How to Dress Well Total Loss

"...I should concede that I might need more time with Total Loss (though iTunes tells me I’m on my twelfth listen), because thus far it seems incapable of competing with 2010’s Love Remains. That collection of heartbroken suicide letters was overwhelming in its tender bleakness, its devastating candour. Although austere r&b is the ‘in’ thing nowadays (see The Weeknd, Frank Ocean), Love Remains was unlike anything else around, a mystical distillation of broad influences and samples, a self-contained world – disturbing at times in its darkness, but astounding in its realness. I came back to it again and again, submitting each time before its wretched wasteland because whenever I stooped down to pick at the charred soil I found beneath it a fertility of emotion, endless fragments of ideas. Total Loss isn’t weaker in any single sense, but I’m not sure it if it builds on its predecessor either." - Darren Loucaides

48) Echo Lake Wild Peace

"...Oh sure, there are lines of influence here. Jarvis’s fallen-choirgirl-in-a-rainstorm vocals may hint at Bilinda Butcher’s softer moments, while the music swirls around with an M83/Beach House dream-state innocence, underscored by the treble and reverb-heavy crunches of Galaxie 500 and The Jesus and Mary Chain (also evident in their clear love of classic Phil Spector/Brian Wilson song arrangements). But that’s where the comparisons need to cease, as they serve little further purpose when considering an album that stands perfectly straight and tall upon its own bedrock. Because despite influences, Echo Lake have an approach that states that the song comes first, and the music complies and dances to the underlying tune." - David Edwards

47) Yeasayer Fragrant World

"...The de-nerdification of Yeasayer has been a strange and rewarding trip, one that’s possibly closing on its end end with the trio’s third set, Fragrant World. They’ve never exactly been uncool, but certainly debut album All Hour Cymbals’ overt world music-isms and proggy live shows marked them out as just that bit less sexy than then-peers like No Age, HEALTH and Time New Viking. Odd Blood’s r’n’b textures and bona fide classic lead single ‘Ambling Alp’ more or less changed that, but despite the tidal wave of goodwill it issued in, the album didn’t quite live up to the single, strokes of genius like ‘The Children’ rubbing up against some comparatively pedestrian balladry. To say Fragrant World is the album where Yeasayer get it ‘right’ would be kind of unfair to previous records..." - Andrzej Lukowski

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46) Scott Walker Bish Bosch

"..." - Coming Soon

45) Muse The 2nd Law

"Pretty much every song on The 2nd Law sounds like a concept track, based around re-imagining a genre. This is less an album, and more like a mixtape filled with mini meditations of musical movements. It’s like they had some rapid-fire brainstormed ideas for the concept of the album, and threw it all in there for Generation: I Like a Bit of Everything, I Do. There’s the prog-lounge ‘Animals’ which goes a bit Jeff Beck. The haha-we-trolled-everyone-on-the-internet-LOLZ ‘Unsustainable’ with its deliriously hideous Skrillex + strings (Stringexx?). ‘Madness’ is a Gaga muh-muh-ma-ing sci-fi re-write of Limp Bizkit/George Michael’s ‘Faith’. There’s the ‘Can’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ Belgian-boyband-funk of ‘Panic Station’, which goes a bit Darkness prancing around on a lit-up disco-floor to Abba (you can imagine Russell Brand walking onstage to this tune looking all presidential and cod-serious). Meanwhile, ‘Save Me’ sounds exactly like one of those songs when the other band members who’ve never really sung before, step in and sing a number... actually, it’s quite good. ‘Liquid State’ on the other-hand sounds exactly like Three Colours Red/every band playing in Camden in the post Brit-rock years, just before the triple whammy of XTRMNTR, Kid A and The Cooper Temple Clause’s debut album came along and gave the British Music Scene a ruddy hard kick in the derriere." - Sean Adams

44) Grizzly Bear Shields

"Any mention of Shields being slightly more up front and rougher around the edges is not to say that isn't still beautiful. It's a warm-blooded record, beholden to analogue gear and flawless mastering — one destined to fit snugly on a turntable rather than to live as ones and zeros on your iPod. Daniel Rossen's cavernous, reverb infused guitar, the occasional, vivd synth flourishes and the odd orchestral inflection are all present and correct, but here it's presented in black-and-white terms. Especially, it must be said, the vocals — those honeyed, inverted Beach Boys harmonies of bygone days have been replaced with something raspier and more genuine." Sam Cleeve

43) The Maccabees Given to the Wild

"...At times it's hard to believe this was the same band that churned out the sprightly pop of 'Latchmere' or 'First Love', with most of the arrangements on Given To The Wild focussing on complex layers and brass segments while mostly clocking in at the four-and-a-half minutes mark or longer. When singer Orlando Weeks recently described the album as having 'a soundtrack quality' he wasn't talking in jest. Bold in intent and ambitious by way of execution, The Maccabees cannot be accused of resting on their laurels or taking the easy option, both of which should be commended." - Dom Gourlay

42) Japandroids Celebration Rock

"Japandroids simultaneously epitomise and critique the act of being in a wicked awesome cult rock band. It’s an approach that’s about a billion times more appealing – not to mention relatable – than some twat from the Seventies squawking about what a brilliant time he’s having. Perhaps the highest praise anyone can offer this band is to say they make worrying about rock'n'roll sound like the most rock'n'roll thing, ever." - Andrzej Lukowski

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41) Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan

"The difficult second album is often a fine measure of a band’s mettle. That The Getty Address, the second album proper credited to Dirty Projectors, took the form of an opera about The Eagles’ Don Henley spoke volumes about frontman Dave Longstreth’s penchant for esoterica and high concept. Now, the breakthrough success of 2009’s Bitte Orca has placed Longstreth under the weight of expectation once more, but Swing Lo Magellan sees him taking a different tack entirely. In order to escape external pressures, Longstreth decamped to a remote house in Delaware County, NY and began rattling off the backlog of new songs that had been forming in his mind during months stuck in the tour van. It sounds a liberating process, and the end result is an album unburdened by knotty theory. 'It’s an album of songs,' Longstreth has stated, 'an album of songwriting.' Sure enough, Swing Lo Magellan is full of straightforward song structures and – whisper it – considerable pop sensibility." Dan Cooper-Gavin

40) Lana Del Rey Born to Die - Paradise Edition

"With the closing days of 2012 rapidly drawing into sight, where do we stand now on Lana Del Rey? The general thinking prior to - and continuing after - the release of Born to Die appeared broadly split into two camps: those considering her to be exhibiting a bruised, seductive movie-star persona with a series of deliciously dark pop tracks from the unlit side of the Hollywood sign. And those that considered her a cynical piece of record label fodder and dolled-up industry window dressing. Or in failing to concoct anything so articulate, uttering something appertaining to the shape of her lips. This polarisation became one of 2012’s defining pop music opinions – it became remarkably difficult to predict who fell for the charms and who turned away in distaste. Lana Del Rey - the Marmite artist of 2012. As for me? I hate Marmite. Loathe the stuff. But I’ve a genuine love for Born to Die..." - David Edwards

39) Blood Red Shoes In Time To Voices

"...this is an album so texturally complex that there is simply no space to consider what it might, or might not, be missing. It’s exciting to hear that, while Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter have developed with frightening speed as musicians, they still haven’t let go of their punk-tinged roots. In Time to Voices is aggressive, it is irreverent, yet also very ambitious. Carter’s vocals seem to have developed a softer more mature edge, which fill the room on songs such as ‘Night Light’ and the title track. In fact, there is no aspect of musicianship on this album that is not considered, sparing, focused. The duo have clearly thrown themselves into this project and managed to deliver what Carter promised to be 'a really ambitious record, not something which reflects our live show but something which is only limited by our imaginations'." - Ruth Singleton

38) LV Sebenza

"..." - Review Coming Soon (this record has had "mad love" on our messageboards all year)

37) Grimes Visions

"...Visions is a cyclical cat-fight between style and substance and leaves you feeling needy and desperate. Guess that’s part of the charm, though, because it leaves you wanting more Grimes. Above all and aside from the frustrations, the album is a well-crafted beast, beautifully constructed. Boucher’s vocals – as long as you don’t try to grasp them too tightly – are uplifting. They deliver emotion without meaning, floating over a kaleidoscope of sounds, skimming the surface of feeling like a sketch." Hayley Avron

36) Field Music Plumb

"...Plumb is an album made by youngish men trying to work out what they’re doing in their particular worlds; passionate about politics, culture and their local community, but not sure what exactly they can do to make a difference." Aaron Lavery

35) Crystal Castles iii

"Sure, you can read between the lines and hear this album as yet more playing hard to get. A game of prodding and poking that only makes us love them more. You can hear them cackling and screaming “can you hear us? Does anybody hear us” (on stand out track ‘Wrath of God’) as if they’re finally asking us to justify our blog love, whilst putting just enough thudding and squalls of noise (and slo-mo thunderclaps) into the mix to separate themselves from an older, wiser, stuck up bunch of music snobs, looking on and gawpin’ into their world, expecting to find some pretentious art, when all they ever wanted to do was have some fun, and if anyone loved to hate them, it was a bonus..." - Sean Adams

34) The Lost Rivers Sin & Lostness

"Containing ten individual pieces of noise-infused melodrama and clocking in at just under an hour, it represents arguably the most devastating collection of songs to shake the shoegaze scene's foundation in years." - Dom Gourlay

33) Metric Synthetica

"..." (This wasn't reviewed due to DiS' previous label involvement with the band, but they got several votes from staff and nods from our readers throughout the year, so...)

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32) Actress R.I.P.

"...no Actress record thus far has stuck to any kind of a template, and R.I.P. once again treats us to a smorgasbord of tones, stylistic lurches and criss-crossing ‘genres’. What marks R.I.P. is that these are amongst the record’s most striking successes, rather than diversions for the sake of diversity. The music-box electronica of ‘Jardin’, a stiffly turning mechanical ballerina, echoes some of the work from contemporary and sometime colleague Zomby on his recent major label debut: a classical turn from a modern electronic artist. But where Zomby grafted a piano piece wholesale onto the end of his record, Cunningham prefers to treat even his classical source material with the same rigour as the rest of his tracks, cutting minute slashes of static through a delicate, meandering melody." - Phillip Bloomfield

31) Efterklang Pirimada

"...Topping each of their previous records – in particular the more melodious and orchestral-pop styled Magic Chairs – might not have necessarily have been at the top of their 'to do' list when setting out, but upon deciding to travel to the Norwegian Arctic to gather field recordings and create some of their own, it became a rather grander and more ambitious beginning than anything before it. They ended up with over 1000 field recordings and samples following their nine-day stay in Pyramiden and many of those recordings are scattered throughout the album, whether providing a skeleton to a track or embellishing on a large or small scale. That percussive introduction to album opener ‘Hollow Mountain’ is comprised of strikes of a fuel tank. There are many other instances of those 'found sounds' in each track, some being more integral than others - some skirting the edges, others more bold and prominent in their location. Though that back story is one of profound importance and is an element which no doubt enhances and ramps up the intrigue for every sound on the record, it is not what proves its weight. " - Luke Slater

30) Cloud Nothings Attack On Memory

"With rock music again supposedly on its death knell, along comes Ohio's Cloud Nothings with Attack On Memory, their third and most abrasive album to date. Once bringers of breezy pop-punk, this new release finds the foursome sounding serious and conflicted – imagine The Get Up Kids caught in an existential crisis, glumly thrashing out their upset in bursts of power chords and strained vocals. Then crank the volume several dials. Sparking elements of Nineties emo, art-rock and grunge, Attack On Memory is an exhilarating listen..." - Al Horner

29) Melody’s Echo Chamber Melody’s Echo Chamber

"'Quand Vas Tu Rentrer?' takes Prochet's voice on a multi-dimensional journey akin to Laurie Anderson's on her 1981 single 'O Superman', while the distinctive tones of lead single 'Endless Shore' straddle the similarly electronic yet decidedly different territories of Kraftwerk and M83 with salient grace. By the time 'Be Proud Of Your Kids' brings the record to a close, its happy-go-lucky charm brought to life by the sound of a child laughing uncontrollably, there's an unerring sense of closure in Melody Prochet's intentions with this record, yet also a distinct reminder that the future possibilities for her and Melody's Echo Chamber are endless. Whatever happens next, she can rest assured safe in the knowledge that together with her beau they've conjured up one of 2012's - or any other year in recent memory - finest debuts. Bravo!" - Dom Gourlay

28) John Talabot ƒin

"...the requisite cross-over hit of the year, following in the footsteps of Caribou's Swim and Pantha Du Prince's Black Noise. James Holden, whose journey from techno's most recent hey-day in 2006 has followed a similar path to Talabot's, was once quoted as saying "genre music generally tends towards a bucket of effluent about a year after a journalist first puts a name to it", and it is this desire to avoid pigeon-holes which sets great artists apart from their peers. One of the most enchanting things about Fin is the manner in which it encapsulates melancholy, foreboding and joy all at once." - Alex Baker

27) Errors Have Some Faith in Magic

"In many ways, Have Some Faith in Magic helps Errors secure their place atop the UK's shagpile of bleep-making behemoths. This is the sound of a band taking stock. A band more measured than ever before. There are no stray movements, no wayward throes. Every note is considered, mulled, strangulated. Yet, it's surprising just how non-manipulated it feels. Somehow, amidst all the rigid architecture, Errors have conjured up something utterly organic in nature, but skin-tight in direction." Billy Hamilton

26) Yppah Eighty One

"..." - Coming Soon (every time this album gets mentioned on the DiS boards, about 20 people fall in love with it. Think: CocoRosie making a gorgeous electronica album.)

Drowned in Sound's Albums of the Year: 26-100

26) Yppah Eighty One
27) Errors Have Some Faith in Magic
28) John Talabot Fin
29) Melody’s Echo Chamber Melody’s Echo Chamber
30) Cloud Nothings Attack On Memory
31) Efterklang Pirimada
32) Actress R.I.P.
33) Metric Synthetica
34) The Lost Rivers Sin & Lostness
35) Crystal Castles iii
36) Field Music Plumb
37) Grimes Visions
38) LV Sebenza
39) Blood Red Shoes In Time To Voices
40) Lana Del Rey Born to Die
41) Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan
42) Japandroids Celebration Rock
43) The Maccabees Given to the Wild
44) Grizzly Bear Shields
45) Muse The 2nd Law
46) Scott Walker Bish Bosch
47) Yeasayer Fragrant World
48) Echo Lake Wild Peace
49) How to Dress Well Total Loss
50) Bloc Party Four

MORE: DiS' Favourite Albums of 2012: 100-51

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Sampler Playlist

DiScuss: Why isn't [insert the name of your personal album of the year] DiS' album of the year? Are you stupid or something?

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Related: Lost 12 of '12 // DiS Staff #1s of 2012 // Vote: 2012 DiS Reader Poll // DiS albums of the year - compiled