The Fashionably Late Top 50 of 2012: #36 - Merchandise

When it comes to year-end lists, y'all know I don't mess around. I don't post my picks from the previous year for weeks after the next year has started. In 2012, there was a bounty of music that entered the world that made me deliriously happy to be blessed with the sense of sound. So I pondered, marinated, and contemplated for weeks. Music from 2012 has been digested for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And now, friends, it's time. Time to share with you what I consider the cream of quite a crop indeed. You might see things omitted here that you think should be on a Best Of list. This list isn't what I think you want to read. This list is what I feel about last year. If it's not here, I either didn't spend enough time with it or just didn't love it enough. A big thank you to all of the artists who created the music that I fell in love with last year.

WHO: Merchandise

WHAT: Children of Desire

WHEN: February 2012

WHERE: Katorga Works

WHY: Confession time, y'all. Before last year, I'd never heard of Merchandise. Better late than never, I'd say. These Tampanians have made six songs that sound less like Florida and more like golden era Manchester. Children of Desire is brooding, throbbing, and definitely dark, a wonderful cacophony of noise from gleeful bleeps to delightful distortion to churning fuzz and just about everything in between. And heck, the vocals even sound a bit Manc at times. Definitely one of last year's most wonderful surprises, it's a grower that hasn't yet stopped getting under my skin, and there's not a weak song to be had. Visit the band's site for tons of music, an added bonus. 

MY JAMS: "Time" "Become What You Are" "Roser Park"