Popa's Picks Best Rock Albums of 2012

Genres are the new Thesaurus.

10) Isle Of Rhodes - All Rivers and Oceans


"From opener 'Oceans' to the stomping 'Eyes Like The Sun,' Farren paints a world of surf and sand where one experience melts into the next, and innocent pleas against change get washed away with the next tide. Wherever Isle of Rhodes take you, it's usually an elevated place to match the screeching alto Farren has mastered." The Deli Magazine


9) Fistful of Beard - Until We Know Better


Dirty geetars, bigfoot drum beats, anthemic rhythms and vocals with attitude. There is no pretense with these guys, they wear their hearts on their sleeves and pour their souls into the music. Popa's Tunes


8) The Ugly Club - You Belong To The Minutes

“The Union County-based band has excelled at crafting psych-pop melodies with a punchy funk beat.” – Paste Magazine

7) Black Water

”Jersey City’s Black Water is a tasty stew of funk, garage, indie, rock and punk simmered slowly and served hot!” - Popa's Tunes

6) Steel Toed Slippers


Steel Toed Slippers— a band that can best be described as The Spin Doctors, Drive By Truckers, and Little Feat dancing in the forest— are here to stay and grow, much like the Redwoods that surrounded their youth.  - Ryan Monk


5) Tipi Valley - In The Woods

 fuzzy psych flavored 60's groovyness - Popa's Tunes

4) The Owsley Brothers - Colbolt

Remember when The Black Keys were big, loud and dirty as hell? When they were still recording in basements and closed down factories? Ever wonder what they would have been like had they not abandoned that sound as they matured? - Ninebullets 

3) Blackfoot Gypsies - On The Loose

Blackfoot Gypsies churn out ’70s-inspired, blues-infused rock ’n’ roll with abandon. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Matthew Paige — formerly of Vancouver’s Love Trucker — and drummer Zack Murphy possess Stonesy range. - Nashville Scene

2) Ruby The Hatchet - Ouroboros

Sounding like a cross between Fu Manchu and The Dead Weather, Ruby the Hatchet split their talents between heavy stoner rock numbers and spooky late 60's influenced psych, proving equally adept at both. - Real Gone Rocks

1) The Dead Exs - Relovolution


“What happens when you take the rawness of Howlin' Wolf, the power of Led Zeppelin and the craftiness of Ray Wylie Hubbard? You get the Dead Exs.”
Chris Martin - Examiner.com