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Year in review: DFW.com's best local albums of 2012

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By Preston Jones

DFW.com

Posted 8:34pm on Monday, Dec. 24, 2012

Looking back over the last 12 months of activity in the local music scene, it becomes difficult to conjure enough superlatives.

In short, the bar was raised yet again, and 2013 is already looking as though it might surpass 2012. If you rarely turned your ears to the music emanating from the bedrooms, living rooms, clubs and recording studios in North Texas, here's what you missed this year -- the best albums our homegrown talent had to offer.

10. Oil Boom, 'Gold Yeller'

It's a rare band that can effectively make small changes to its debut record, and not seem like shameless recyclers. Oil Boom lightly updates what worked about its 2010 debut, Black Waxy, adds a new bassist (Steve Steward), swirls in some downright infectious melodies and punches out more raw rock goodness to fantastic effect. Be careful, though: Gold Yeller can become seriously habit-forming.
(1 of 10)
9. Dru B Shinin', 'All-American'

Hip-hop had a banner year across North Texas, and in particular, Fort Worth was almost always neck and neck with Dallas. Cowtown has plenty of top-tier MCs, but none embrace the live aesthetic as much as the man born Andrew McCullough. For his first LP since 2010's Dirty Money Painting, Dru B Shinin' and producer EyeJay the Boy mix smart samples with appealing hooks and Dru's rapid-fire rhymes. With the new SM
(2 of 10)
8. Derek Larson, 'Blood on Blood'

The boundaries between country, folk and rock are particularly blurry in Texas, not that singer-songwriter Derek Larson particularly minds. His sharply rendered songs wander all over the map, but are united by his captivating voice, a weathered instrument betraying his relative youth. The Burleson tunesmith can brood with the best of 'em, but Blood on Blood leaves its indelible mark thanks to Larson's crack backing band, the Leavers.
(3 of 10)
7. Pinkish Black, self-titled

"Heavy" doesn't seem to be a word large enough to convey the sonic heft created by Daron Beck and Jon Teague. On this self-titled debut, the Fort Worth duo, carrying on in the wake of former bandmate Tommy Atkins' death, blend drums, synthesizers and eerie vocals to create something utterly original. Standout track Bodies in Tow sets the tone, and the two musicians make you feel every ounce of their fury and skill -- Pinkish Black will leave you flattened, dazed and ready for more.
(4 of 10)
6. Preteen Zenith, 'Rubble Guts and BB Eye'

This year was a hectic one for Tim DeLaughter -- the Polyphonic Spree was roused from its slumber, produced its first Christmas album, and took its Yuletide extravaganza on the road for a brief tour. Back home, he reunited with Tripping Daisy bandmate Phil Karnats for Rubble Guts and BB Eye, the debut LP from Preteen Zenith. Songs originally conceived as demos for the Spree -- echoes of the beloved symphonic pop collective are evident here -- were tweaked to fit this riotous, explosive duo, who pushed DeLaughter's idiosyncratic style in exciting directions.
(5 of 10)
5. Sarah Jaffe, 'The Body Wins'

Singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe first turned heads with her affable, elliptical folk-pop, but for her much-anticipated sophomore effort, sunshine was the last thing on her mind. The Body Wins is a bold piece of work, if only because the Denton musician firmly rejected the idea of making a record identical to her first. Hard to argue with the results, however, full of ominous space and Jaffe's penchant for percussion -- love, after all this time, remains a bitterly contested battlefield.
(6 of 10)
4. Kevin Aldridge & the Appraisers, 'The Viper Sessions'

The beauty of any Kevin Aldridge song is that if you eliminate the music, it's still a compelling piece of work. With a novelist's skill and eye for detail, Aldridge sketches lives of little hope, persistent love and grand despair. In a state with no shortage of talented singer-songwriters, Fort Worth's Aldridge stands apart from the pack, yet, bafflingly, manages to fly under the radar. In a just world, The Viper Sessions would be lodged in every CD changer from here to Amarillo.
(7 of 10)
3. Blackstone Rangers, 'Into the Sea'

This Dallas trio burst onto the scene in a big way this year, thanks to the strength of this five-track EP, released by taste-making website Dallas Distortion Music. Tagged as "distorto-pop" by the band, Into the Sea blends insistent melodies and jagged, abrasive guitars to fantastic effect, making cuts like Mutiny at Toho Bay or Hollyglen irresistible. Where Derek Kutzer, Ruth Smith and Daniel Bornhorst go from here is wide open, and if we're smart, we'll all be paying very close attention.
(8 of 10)
2. The Phuss, self-titled

It's fitting that the Toadies' Vaden Todd Lewis produced this sophomore effort: The Fort Worth rockers are an audible influence on the Phuss. But that's not to suggest Josh Fleming and his bandmates are simply rehashing the past -- this is loud, clean rock 'n' roll laced with melody, distortion and Fleming's live-wire yowl, relying on simmering tension rather than pile-driving the listener into submission. A seriously thrilling record, and proof the Fort still knows how to rock with the best of 'em.
(9 of 10)
1. madràs, 'Things Can Change'

No other local album made as profound an impact in 2012 as this gorgeous, delicately rendered collection created by brothers (and TCU alums) Jeevan and Mathew Antony, with help from Secret Ghost Champion's Ben Hance. In the aftermath of romantic devastation and acute homesickness, Jeevan Antony spills his heart and soul into striking, almost haiku-like lyrics and wraps them all in exotic, spacious soundscapes. It's impossible to listen to these songs and not feel moved, perhaps even cleansed, by the artistry on display.
(10 of 10)