Now that the year 2012 is coming to a close us here at WKNC look back at our top five albums of the year once again. Although we might not always agree on what is the most amazing, the love of great music not only kept us excited throughout 2012, but we look forward to the amazing music that it will bring as well. Take a gander at what are a few of the albums we loved throughout this year, as chosen by WKNC DJs. See you in 2013!

 

Sarahnade

1. Caspian – Waking Season
2. El Ten Eleven – Transitions
3. Spider Bags – Shake My Head
4. Pinback – Information Retrieved
5. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

 

C. Deuce

1. Yeasayer – Fragrant World
2. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
3. Hundred Waters – Hundred Waters
4. Sweet Valley – Eternal Champ
5. Miike Snow – Happy to You

 

CMYK

1. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
2. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
3. Beach House – Bloom
4. The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
5. Oceanics – Bright People

 

JKG

1. Dan Deacon – America
2. MAKE – Trephine
3. The Album Leaf – Forward/Return
4. Dads – American Radass (this is important)
4. El Ten Eleven – Transitions

 

Zaps

1. Father John Misty – Fear Fun
2. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
3. Bowerbirds – The Clearing
4. Lost In The Trees – A Church That Fits Our Needs
5. Jukebox the Ghost- Safe Travels

 

Seagull

1. DIIV – Oshin
2. Tame Impala – Lonerism
3. Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse
4. Mac Demarco – 2
5. Beach House – Bloom

 

DJ DiGiorno

1. Howler – America Give Up
2. Beach House – Bloom
3. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
4. Father John Misty- Fear Fun
5. Dr. Dog- Be The Void

 

DJ GRZA

1.  Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes
2.  Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
3.  Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
4.  Kendrick Lamar – good kid, M.A.D.D city
5.  Alt-J – An Awesome Wave

 

The Mattador

1. Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song (Released 2011)
2. Dr. Dog – Be the Void
3. Passion Pit – Gossamer
4. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
5. Supreme Cuts – Whispers in the Dark

 

DJ Smitty

1. The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past
2. Red Collar – Welcome Home
3. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
4. Murder By Death – Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon
5. Hop Along – Get Disowned

 

DJ Ones

1. Andrew Bird – Break if Yourself
2. Tame Impala – Lonerism
3. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
4. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
5. Grizzly Bear – Shields

 

DJ Salinger

1. The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
2. Grimes – Visions
3. The XX – Coexist
4. Toro y Moi – June 2009
5. Oberhofer – Time Capsules II

 

Muta

1. GRiZ – Mad Liberation
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. Submotion Orchestra – Fragments
4. Badbadnotgood – BBNG2
5. XXYYXX – XXYYXX

 

May Day

1. Beach House – Bloom
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. The Walkmen – Heaven
4. The Helio Sequence – Negotiations
5. Oberhofer – Time Capsules II

 

Billy

1.Stripmines – Crimes of Dispassion
2. Oiltanker/No Tomorrow – Split LP
3. The Sword – Apogryphon
4. High On Fire – De Vermis Mysteriis
5. Mob Rules – The Donor

 

Walter-Ego

1. Dan Deacon – America
2. Death Grips – The Money Store
3. Spider Bags – Shake My Head
4. The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
5. Dr. Dog – Be The Void

 

DJ Sweet D

1. Grimes – Visions
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
4. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
5. Grizzly Bear – Shields

 

Major Tom

1. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
2. Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
3. Tame Impala – Mind Mischief
4. The Shins – Port Of Morrow
5. Beach House – Bloom

 

DJ ACORN

1. Micachu & The Shapes – Never
2. Daughn Gibson – All Hell
3. The Music Tapes – Mary’s Voice
4. Schoolboy Q – Habits & Contradictions
5. Murder by Death – Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon

 

Anastassia

1. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
2. Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse
3. DIIV – Oshin
4. Grass Widow – Internal Logic
5. Grimes – Visions

 

Spaceman Spiff

1.  Chromatics – Kill for Love
2.  Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
3.  Wild Nothing – Nocturne
4.  Grimes – Visions
5.  Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

 

DJ CJ

1. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill
2. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Leaving Eden
3. Steep Canyon Rangers – Nobody Knows You
4. Trampled By Turtles – Stars & Satellites
5. Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back To Virginia

 

ALASKA

1. Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra – Theatre is Evil
2. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
3. White Lung – Sorry
4. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
5. La Sera – Sees the Light

 

DJ Mason

1. Lost in the Trees – A Church That Fits Our Needs
2. Beach House – Bloom
3. Death Grips – The Money Store
4. Grimes – Visions
5. Here We Go Magic – A Different Ship

 

It’s a firmly held belief for me that Haw River Ballroom is the finest venue in the state, and each show I attend at the gorgeous venue drives that point further and further home.  Between the fine gas station dining of the Saxapahaw General Store (it’s not at all what it sounds like, incredible food with a diverse menu!) and the breath taking aesthetics of the ballroom, there’s nothing to dislike about this place.  The crowd got surprisingly wild for a Monday night, but when you’ve got an incredible act like Dr. Dog on the bill the date is really irrelevant…it’s gonna be a party either way.  Throwing in old favorites and plenty of gems from their latest album Be The Void, Dr. Dog had a little bit of something for everyone on Monday night.

Cotton Jones was the opening act, and while the band put on a great performance they suffered from a heart breaking condition that has been sweeping the nation for decades, OBS, or Opening Band Syndrome.  When you’ve got an act like Dr. Dog headlining it takes a lot to maintain the attention of a packed crowd, an opening act has to be bursting with energy to become a memorable part of the evening when you’re opening for a powerhouse.  While Cotton Jones’ folk pop tunes from Maryland blend rustic goodness with vivid lyricism, they lacked the presence needed to be anything other than an opening act.  In any other setting their charm may have shone through brighter, with a one man brass section playing tuba and trombone, the band certainly had the potential to be an incredible opener.  However, once Dr. Dog took the stage Cotton Jones’ laid back folk songs took a backseat to the raucous live act.

Allow me to preface this by saying I’ve already had a failed attempt at seeing Dr. Dog this year when I was stuck in a traffic jam on I-40 on my way to see the band at Music on the Mountaintop back in August, so my excitement for this show was through the roof.  Haw River was the PERFECT venue for this band, with fantastic acoustics and a wide open room the ballroom perfectly housed the heart warming sounds of Dr. Dog.  From open to close, Dr. Dog lead the crowd in a joyous singalong with a fantastic career spanning set.  While the bulk of the set came from Be The Void, with tracks like “How Long Must I Wait”, “Lonesome”, and “That Old Black Hole” standing out amongst the crowd, the band scattered in personal favorites from Fate and Shame, Shame like  ”The Breeze”, “Shadow People”, and set closer, “Jackie Wants A Black Eye”.

The band’s harmonies lived up to all of the high expectations I’d set for them, lead vocalists Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken put on dazzling performances filled with passion and energy.  While there wasn’t much stage banter, the band did plenty of interacting with the crowd, like Leaman grabbing a camera bag from the front of the stage and using their cell phone to make a phone call mid-song.  The band’s lyrical depth can easily define their music in the studio, but their live performance breathes vivacity into otherwise low-key songs.  Dr. Dog is a band like no other, they perfectly blend elements of indie rock with psychedelic folk to make for an array of beautiful textures that are perfectly suited for their devastatingly brilliant lyrics.

 

 

The Philadelphia-based psychedelic, indie rock group Dr. Dog performed a stellar show Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Cat’s Cradle. They performed a most appropriate set of songs exploring their three latest albums: We All Belong, Fate, and Shame, Shame.  The crowd was primed with the lovely set from the North Carolina group Floating Action.  They set the stage to what ended up being the best Dr. Dog show I have seen; being that it was the fourth time I have seen the incredible band. To highlight: the band entered the stage right…the crowd went wild…instruments were plugged in… sounds exploded out of those amplifiers and my mind, as well as the several hundred minds around me were filled with the sounds of AWESOME!  Toby, the bass player, said that the Cat’s Cradle is a special venue because it was one of the first venues the band had played at outside of Philadelphia, PA.

[in terminator voice], “They’ll be back!”

If you are unfamiliar with this band, some would say they sound like a modern Beatles, but I would argue they have an extremely unique sound especially on there first and second albums, Toothbrush: an introduction to Dr. Dog and Easy Beat. Easy Beat is my personal favorite album, but these guys have the Midas touch, and it is exhibited in all their art.

“Be careful of the judge inside| His gavel and his stand collide. |But he’s only guilty of what’s wrong. “  -an excerpt from Easy Beat

They are delicious and they are going FAST! (only you don’t have to pay for them… )

This week at WKNC we have some amazing giveaways we are pretty excited about. We’ve also got something AMAZING coming next week, so stay tuned (literally). Or become our friend on facebook to find out NOW.

4/6 Black Lips @ Cat’s Cradle

Bronzed Chorus @ Pinhook

4/7 Destroyer @ Cat’s Cradle

Surf City @ Kings

Movie: Hanna @ Mission Valley Cinema

4/8 Fridays on the Lawn: Midtown Dickens and Butterflies @ Harris Field (Just kidding, you can’t win tickets… its FREE for everyone!)

 

4/9 Dr. Dog @ Cat’s Cradle

 

Rotting Christ (Chainsaw) @ Volume 11

4/13 The Greenhornes @ Kings

 

Remember, you have to listen to win!

This episode Michael, Sarah, and Kirsten discuss MIA’s comments about Twilight and Lady Gaga, the rumor that Rob Pattinson will be playing Kurt Cobain in the upcoming biopic, Laura Marling’s thoughts on piracy. This week we reviewed Dr. Dog’s Shame, Shame. If you have any comments, suggestions for articles, or albums to review, email us soundoff@wknc.org and follow us on twitter @wkncSoundOff

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Here are the shows happening this week that WKNC is giving tickets away to:

Monday, October 19:
Art Brut w/ Princeton and Ben Davis & The Jetts @ Cat’s Cradle

Wednesday October 21:
Sea Wolf w/ Port O’ Brien and Sarah Lov @ Nightlight – Presented by Cat’s Cradle

Dr. Dog and Jeffery Lewis @ Cat’s Cradle

Thursday, October 22:
Cartel w/ This Providence, The Summer Set and The Bigger Lights @ Lincoln Theatre

Friday ,October 23:
NAPS (side project of Lonnie Walker) with  Tavo Carbone and Trevor Wilson @ Nightlight

The Mars Volta @ Disco Rodeo – Presented by Live Nation

Saturday October 24th:
Blount Harvey w/ Waylandsphere @ The Pour House

Electric Six w/ The Gay Blades and Millions of Brazilians @ Cat’s Cradle

The Moaners w/ The Toddlers and Weatherkings @ Nightlight

Thursday w/ Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, and Midnight Masses @ Lincoln Theatre

Be sure to listen in to 88.1 WKNC for your chance to win tickets!!