As exciting as it is to discover new talent each year (we chose some of our favorite 2012 debuts HERE), it’s often that our old standbys are the ones that bring us spectacular new records and remind us why we fell in love with them in the first place. The following six artists all released new albums this year. For some, it was their sophomore effort; for others, it was their eighth or ninth studio release. No matter the depth of each bands’ creative arsenal, their 2012 releases were excellent. Have a taste below…

Animal Collective
Hometown: Baltimore
Label: Domino
Album: Centipede
Sounds like: Brian Eno, The Beach Boys [Pet Sounds], Everything Everything
Top tracks: Wide Eyed, Rosie Oh, Applesauce, Today’s Supernatural, Moonjock

Hot Chip
Hometown: London
Album: In Our Heads
Label: Domino
Sounds like: Simian Mobile Disco, Todd Terje, Azari and III, The 2 Bears
Top tracks: Flutes, Don’t Deny Your Heart, Night and Day, Look at Where We Are, How Do You Do?

Clinic
Hometown: Liverpool
Label: Domino
Album: Free Reign
Sounds like: Allah-Las, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Pink Floyd
Top tracks: You, Miss You, Seamless Boogie Woogie, See Saw, King Kong, Misty

Dirty Projectors
Hometown: Brooklyn
Label: Domino
Album: Swing Lo Magellan
Sounds like: Field Music, Villagers, The Magnetic Fields, Tune-Yards
Top tracks: About to Die, Gun Has No Trigger, Just From Chevron, The Socialites, Maybe That Was It, Offspring Are Blank, Impregnable Question

Eugene McGuinness
Hometown: London
Label: Domino
Album: The Invitation to the Voyage
Sounds like: Miles Kane, Ian Brown, Alex Turner, Dan Croll
Top tracks: Harlequinade, Thunderbolt, Shotgun, Lion, Videogame, Sugarplum, Japanese Cars, Joshua

Wild Nothing
Hometown: Blacksburg, VA
Label: Captured Tracks
Album: Nocturne
Sounds like: Real Estate, Beach Fossils, Craft Spells, Washed Out
Top tracks: Shadow, Paradise, Only Heather, Nocturne

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WRITTEN BY – Emmy our Ad Sales Account Manager and Music Aficionado