It’s that time again — list time, that is. (In addition to holiday party time, tacky sweater time, prepping for vacation time…) So, we’ve gathered all the intel and put together the list below of Orchard artists selected in these editorial beasts’ top albums, songs, artists, labels, and more… in 2012.
We got nods in a ton of revues and editorial outlets, including Billboard, iTunes, Pitchfork, Spin, Stereogum, Paste, Consequence of Sound, Forbes, Gorilla vs. Bear, NPR, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New Yorker… and all the other folks below.
Congratulations to all the artists who made awesome music this year! We’re looking forward to a great year to come in 2013, with lots of exciting releases from new bands, favorite artists and those we don’t even know about yet.
Cheers!
Best World Album — Antibalas: Antibalas [Daptone Records]
Best World Reissue – Tim Maia: World Psychedelic Classics 4: Nobody Can Live Forever – The Existential Soul [Luaka Bop]
Best Metal Album – Testament: Dark Roots of Earth [Nuclear Blast]
Best Jazz Vocal Album – Gregory Porter: Be Good [Motema Music]
#160 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
#15 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
Uncharted Artists (MySpace and Next Big Sound chart)
#22 — The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 [Dim Mak Records]
#32 — Com Truise [Ghostly International]
#36 — Datsik [Dim Mak Records]
#30 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
#47 — Testament: Dark Roots of Earth [Nuclear Blast]
#45 — Colt Ford [Average Joe's]
#6 – Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
If music were an Olympic discipline, TESTAMENT would definitively have finished neck and neck with Michael Phelps on the medals standings. Despite the slight difference in years and ounces of hair between the young decorated swimmer and the Thrash Metal legends TESTAMENT, the latter is not ready to retire just yet… And why would they?
Their latest release, Dark Roots of Earth, has recorded the band’s highest first week sales since the inception of SoundScan, and the highest first week for any Nuclear Blast artist to date! Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Clearly TESTAMENT‘s new album is seducing audiences around the globe. From stellar press reviews to strong fan excitement, the entire music stratosphere seems to be smitten. We caught a taste of some of the buzz following the successful social media Webdoc campaign we led for the band, where thousands of fans viewed and shared their TESTAMENT experiences, but nothing quite prepared us for this!
“Polish the crown because 2012′s thrash kings have been crowned!” – Terrorizer (UK)
“Numerical groupings be damned, perennial underdogs TESTAMENT are the best thrash band still standing.” – Decibel Magazine (US)
“Those of us who consider ourselves TESTAMENT die-hards will probably die holding tightly to this album.” – Blabbermouth.net
Who said that turning 50 meant imminent retirement? [We dare you to speak up!] With this success, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that TESTAMENT is here to stay and they haven’t finished surprising us…
Hats off gentlemen!
Remember that song “Kiss Me” that seemed like it was in every chick flick? Well the chart-topping group responsible for it, Sixpence None The Richer, is back after their decade-long recording hiatus.
The band will celebrate the release of their new LP Lost In Transition with a performance at Mercury Lounge on August 7th. This will be the band’s first NYC show since 2008.
While their standout track “Sooner Than Later” may not be as upbeat as “Kiss Me,” the song is definitely memorable and strikes a chord. Singer Leigh Nash tells Billboard that the song, which you can stream here, is about her father who passed away in 2007:
“That’s a relationship and something I don’t mind at all baring for the world to see. The pain of losing a parent, a lot of people can connect with that,” she says.
Another album highlight, “Radio,” was championed by Perez Hilton as a “jewel of a track.” Perez has also just featured the music video for “Sooner Than Later” on his site and shared his unbridled excitement at the band jamming together again. After that kind of review from the celeb blogger, we can only expect more silver screen attention…
The event details for the Mercury Lounge concert are posted below.
Who: Sixpence None the Richer
Where: Mercury Lounge — 217 East Houston Street Manhattan, NY 10002
When: Tuesday, August 7th — Doors: 6:30PM/Set time: 7:30PM
Tickets: here!
Happy Friday, Freeloaders! This week we have a lot of free stuff for you, so get excited! You can stream tracks by Sixpence None The Richer and Menomena. You can also listen to Eternal Summers‘ entire album and watch videos from Antibalas, Crocodiles, and Ramona Falls.
Fridays don’t get much better than this one!
Enjoy!
Sixpence None The Richer: “Sooner Than Later” via Billboard and “Radio” via Perez Hilton
Lost in Transition out August 7 on Sixpence LLC
Crocodiles: “Endless Flowers” music video via Noisey
Endless Flowers out now on Frenchkiss Records
Eternal Summers: Correct Behavior via Hype Machine
Correct Behavior out July 24th on Kanine Records
Ramona Falls: “Fingerhold” music video via YouTube
Prophet out now on Barsuk Records
Antibalas: “Dirty Money” music video via Spin
Antibalas out August 7th on Daptone Records
Menomena: “Heavy Is As Heavy Does” via Pitchfork
Moms out September 18th on Barsuk Records
It’s hard to have missed them… And they’re impossible to ignore… If you’re not already on the MESHUGGAH roller coaster, get your tickets now!
Their latest release, Koloss, came out last week on Nuclear Blast and blazed its way to the top of all the charts. Currently #17 on the Billboard Top 200, the album sold over 18,300 albums in its first week – 31% of which was digital! That’s pretty impressive for a band that’s been together since 1987…! It just goes to show, when you’ve got chemistry like these guys, there’s no other way but up.
Indeed, with that debut on the Top 200 and spots like #2 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, #3 on the Current Hard Music Albums chart, #3 on the Top Hard Music chart, #9 on the Current Rock chart, and #16 on the Top Current Albums chart, the shy, elusive musical geniuses from Sweden secured the highest first week sales and Billboard debut positions in the history of Nuclear Blast USA.
They also conquered Canada at #24 on the Canadian Top 200 chart and #4 slot on the Hard Music chart, and Europe, where they experienced a career first on the German album chart: a debut at #48.
Needless to say, Nuclear Blast and the band were very excited — exclamation points don’t lie – “Great news!! Guess all the efforts, the covert sessions, and painstaking, soul-numbing seances performed to reach the souls of former chart toppers – now in the life beyond – have finally come to fruition!! We thank them and we thank you, our fans!!! We just made an album. You guys put it on the charts!!!”
Catch MESHUGGAH on their “SCION A/V PRESENTS: The Ophidian Trek” tour, for which you can win two tickets for each show on the tour thanks to this awesome giveway! And be sure to also check out their Spotlight Playlist on Spotify, as well as other specialty Nuclear Blast playlists.
