Jenny Charlesworth

Looking at my scattershot list, I feel as though I’m pulling a Kanye, going off on bizarre tangents that my handler (Mike Usinger, in this case) will have to apologize for in the morning while I’m crashed out with one hand on a stripper’s butt. Cheers to another discombobulated year in music.

Deerhunter
Halcyon Digest
With hazy, blissed-out melodies and hypnotic percussion, Halcyon Digest waltzed right into my psyche and stayed. Journey into a den of psychedelic textures and throwback flourishes as you soak up tripped-out gems like “Revival” and “Helicopter”.

Listen to "Helicopter" by Deerhunter.

The Black Keys
Brothers
This record will pull wallflowers from the darkened corner of any room, thrusting them onto the dance floor in one sexed-up fell swoop. It’s hard to imagine that such ass-shaking rhythms and bluesy bravado come by way of two unassuming white boys from Ohio.

Listen to "Howlin' for You" by the Black Keys.

Matmos and So Percussion
Treasure State
Maybe you have this favourite band, and maybe the guitarist rips like the second coming of Stevie Ray Vaughan, but let’s see him make music with cactus needles. It’s their love of such found objects that makes Matmos and So Percussion so awe-inducing. The breezy soundscapes here render something as unremarkable as a guitar solo completely passé.

Listen to "Needles" by Matmos and Soul Percussion.

Black Mountain
Wilderness Heart
Although Wilderness Heart isn’t as heavy or apocalyptic as some fans might have hoped, there’s no need to get snippy about the East Van rockers’ sunnier demeanour. Now your mind doesn’t have to be quite as uh, expanded to appreciate their rollicking grooves—which, for those of us who don’t ring in at 4:20 p.m. daily, is actually a relief.

Listen to "The Hair Song" by Black Mountain.

Shad
TSOL
Yes, I’ll admit to getting a wee bit emotional when TSOL came up short at the Polaris Music Prize ceremony this year. Shad and I pretty much went steady all summer long, whether it was an epic bike ride or a late-night beach adventure.

Listen to "Rose Garden" by Shad.

Duffy and the Doubters
Scriptural Studies
Next time someone local unleashes an album such as this, I’d like a little bit more warning so I can plan a parade. A stone’s throw from the work of Ladyhawk (no surprise, since Duffy Driediger also fronts that band), these bummed-out tunes hit you where it counts.

Dum Dum Girls
I Will Be
Far from the only lady slugging it out in the realm of lo-fi pop, chief Dum Dum Kristen Gundred taps into something more visceral than her contemporaries (looking at you, Best Coast). Sure, it’s got the same fuzzed-out girl-group flavouring, but I Will Be makes a deeper impression.

Listen to "Oh Mein M" by Dum Dum Girls .

Arcade Fire
The Suburbs
While the term “orchestral rock” gives me the heebie-jeebies, the pure enjoyment I get from The Suburbs is well worth the discomfort. This is epic pop from an epic band that deserves every iota of acclaim it’s garnered.

Listen to "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire.

Roots Manuva Meets Wrongtom
Duppy Writer
Spirited, inventive, and propulsive, Duppy Writer sees U.K. producer Wrongtom let loose on classic Roots Manuva fare. Reggae, dancehall, and dub-heavy rollers rumble straight to your brain.

Listen to "Dutty Rut" by Roots Manuva Meets Wrongtom.

Beach House
Teen Dream
So achingly beautiful are the songs on Teen Dream that even Chuck Liddell and his testosterone-jacked UFC cronies would melt upon hearing the whimsical dream pop. The Baltimore duo will turn anyone into a sentimental Sally with its gorgeous indie lullabies.

Listen to "Norway" by Beach House.