feature: Favorite Albums of the First Half of 2012

2012 started off a bit slow, but it's been picking up. August and September are going to make the year. Here's 25 albums that I've been loving so far, no particular order, with links to listen when possible. There's indie rock, rap, garage rock, electronic, synthpop, folk, psych rock....a little something for everybody.

Row 1: Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan; Ty Segall/White Fence - Hair; Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse; El-P - Cancer4Cure; King Tuff - King Tuff
Row 2: Death Grips - The Money Store; Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music; Schoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions; Lil B - God's Father; Bear in Heaven - I Love You, It's Cool
Row 3: The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends; Beach House - Bloom; Grimes - Visions; Father John Misty - Fear Fun; Conveyor - Conveyor
Row 4: Liars - WIXIW; Oh No - Ohnomite; SpaceGhostPurrp - Mysterious Phonk; Jack White - Blunderbuss; Black Bananas - Rad Time Xpress IV
Row 5: Diamond Rugs - Diamond Rugs; Gucci Mane - Trap Back; Ab-Soul - Control System; Pond - Beard, Wives, Denim; Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

video: Gangrene - Vodka & Ayahuasca

Gangrene - the rap duo of The Alchemist & Oh No - have a hallucinatory new video to go with the psychedelic stew of music they've been putting out. They're both better known as producers rather than rappers, but on their Gangrene project they share the rhyming and beat-making duties equally. The result is a druggy, psychedelic mess of a record which is pretty damn enjoyable if you enjoy the brand of stoned bangers that Stones Throw Records specializes in. It's no surprise that Oh No is Madlib's little brother -- and if you enjoyed some of big brother's collaborations like OJ Simpson or Champion Sound, this might be the album for you. Listen to Vodka & Ayahuasca, as well as their debut Gutter Water, on Spotify.