Craig Hlavaty's 10 Best Houston Albums of 2012

By Craig Hlavaty Thu., Dec. 13 2012 at 9:00 AM

4. The Niceguys, James Kelley
There was nothing nice about the Niceguys' James Kelley. Burly, angry, imposing, and fucking exciting, tracks like "OVERTOAST" and "Ain't Life Grand" made Kelley an instant HOU classic. Cheers to the money gods.

3. Grandfather Child, Grandfather Child
This past year, Grandfather Child band leader Lucas Gorham told me something about his band that most other acts in town wouldn't have the stones to utter anywhere. "I like to think that when someone sees a Grandfather Child show, they are experiencing a church service devoid of religion," said Gorham. "No disrespect to religion." His band's self-titled debut made good on the promise of their long-running live shows, with nine tracks of salacious Prince- and Frank Zappa-infused stomp -- with an ever-so-light touch of twang.

2. Venomous Maximus, Beg Upon the Light
It's been a while since an album came from a Houston band that made me wanna light black candles in living room and put a druid's cloak on my dog. No telling how many times I caught myself at the gym trying to replicate Bongo's drumming on the elliptical machine. I only fell down once. All jokes aside, this was probably the best Texas metal album of 2012. This is the band's first full-length LP, coming on the heels of last year's The Mission EP, and it's a fun, riff-heavy, assaultive party album.

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jenkinshouse55

2 Like

It was a good year for Houston. Here are 16 I enjoyed hearing, watching, and photographing. Hope I'm not forgetting a favorite... - Jason Smith

16. Square and Compass – HOW TO ESCAPE

15. Grandfather Child – GRANDFATHER CHILD

14. Linus Pauling Quartet - Bag of Hammers

13. Excusemesir – WITH YOU IN MIND

12. Free Radicals – THE FREEDOM FENCE

11. Venomous Maximus – BEG UPON THE LIGHT

10. Ancient Cat Society – STAY HOME

9. From Beyond – THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE

8. Second Lovers – WISHERS, DREAMERS, & LIARS

7. Sunrise and Ammunition – TESSERACT

6. New York City Queens – BURN OUT LIKE ROMAN CANDLES

5. Bang Bangz – BANG BABGZ EP

4. Featherface – ACTUAL MAGIC

3. The Dead Revolt – A NIGHT OF NOSTALGIA

2. The Manichean – LOVERS

1. Buxton – NOTHING HERE SEEMS STRANGE

sheaserrano

B L A C K I E's GEN really just made me feel all sorts of ways about all sorts of things. So very good. The part about dancing with his mom is Christmas is undeniably moving. Everything about that specific moment is unbelievable. I want to give him all of my money.

yeep

I think this is great, and sums up the year just fine.

Haters, this is not an article on the top 100 Houston albums of 2012..

WhiteLightning

1 Like

NYC Queens may be the worst band to pop onto the scene in a long long time.

darkblueskye

Elect Trick City's EP "Vote Trick City" is on repeat on my computer since I got it in November. No female bands on the list? Shame on you, Houston Press. Shame on you.