The Holiday Crowd are heading overseas to Germany, Italy, France and the UK.

Finally had a chance to finish this up. Have to say 2012 was a challenge to commit to a solid list. I especially found it difficult to exclude all Shelflife releases. Albums by Burning Hearts, Dylan Mondegreen and The Garlands would surely be in the mix for my top 5. The pains of being unbiased …

But top honors this year is still no real surprise. Violens “True” was an easy love affair. A sound that just defines “wheelhouse” for me. The first three tracks on the record are my most played songs of the year and fittingly so. “Der Microarc” is perhaps one of the best songs written in the past twenty years!

To keep up the podcast tradition, you’ll find my top 20 tracks below. Enjoy and happy holidays!

Top 10 releases of 2012

1. Violens “True” (Slumberland)
2. Ice Choir “Afar” (Underwater Peoples)
3. Frankie Rose “Intersteller” (Slumberland)
4. By The Sea “By The Sea” (The Great Pop Supplement)
5. Toy “Toy” (Heavenly)
6. Wild Nothing “Nocturne” (Captured Tracks)
7. Pop Singles “All Gone” (Vacant Valley)
8. Jim Ruiz Set “Mount Curve Avenue” (Korda / Mystery Lawn)
9. Man Without Country “Foe” (Lost Balloon)
10. Motorama “Calendar” (Talitres)

Top 5 EPs of 2012

1. RxGibbs “Futures” (Cascine)
2. Epic 45 “Fragment #3″ (Monopsone)
3. Violens – Fragment #1 (Monopsone)
4. Bart and Friends “There May Come A Time” (Matineé)
5. Cocoanut Groove – Colours (Fraction)

Podcast #6 – Top 20 songs of 2012
(in no particular order)
1. Pop Singles – All Gone
2. Violens – Der Microarc
3. Toy – Left Myself Behind
4. Wild Nothing – Shadow
5. The Fresh & Onlys – Presence of Mind
6. Young Prisms – Runner
7. Letting Up Despite Great Faults – Postcard
8. Lightships – Sweetness In Her Spark
9. Man Without Country – Puppets
10. Epic45 – Defeat
11. By The Sea – Waltz Away
12. Motorama – Image
13. Pale Lights – Boy of Your Dreams
14. Jim Ruiz Set – Young Mr. Ruiz
15. Bart and Friends – There May Come A Time
16. Liechtenstein – Strange Ideas
17. Beach House – Wild
18. Ice Choir – A Vision Of Hell, 1996
19. RxGibbs – Futures
20. Frankie Rose – Pair Of Wings

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Listen to the Shelflife Records podcast: Subscribe using iTunes or subscribe to the feed.

Download the new Dylan Mondegreen single for “Come Tomorrow” for free!

Includes the full album version of “Come Tomorrow” featuring the lovely Maria Due sharing vocal duties with Børge, as well as two exclusive remixes: “Keeper of Secrets” by the legendary Ian Catt (producer of Saint Etienne, The Field Mice, Northern Picture Library, Trembling Blue Stars, etc) and “The Heart Is A Muscle” by our good friends Invisible Twin (Mario and Rose from Shoestrings).

Dylan Mondegreen’s self-titled album is still available on LP, CD and digital formats via Shelflife Records in North America, Division Records in Europe and Fastcut Records in Japan.

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Here’s the official video for Everything Goes Quiet in the End taken off the fab new Bart and Friends EP It’s Not the Words That You Say released today! The video was directed by Claude Cardenas and features Paisley Fried and Janet Sanchez.

You can stream the entire EP below:

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Airiel are hitting the road today and heading east. Don’t miss your chance to see them!

8/16 @ P.A.’s Lounge – Somerville, MA
(w/ Soccer Mom, Kestrels, 28 Degrees Taurus)

8/18 @ Cake Shop – New York, NY
(w/ Screen Vinyl Image, The Stargazer Lilies, Luxa)

8/19 @ Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
(w/ Screen Vinyl Image, Dead Fame)

8/20 @ Black Cat – Washington, DC
(w/ Screen Vinyl Image, Dot Dash)

“Open Arms” is the first single from The Garlands upcoming self-titled LP coming this fall!

Download it for free!