Below are 13 favorite 2012 releases from Austin bands from this year, in no particular order. The records are worth buying, of course, and these acts are worth seeing live in Austin clubs in 2013.

Bobby Jealousy

“A Little Death”

(self-released)

Bobby Jealousy, which consists of core members Sabrina Ellis (also of A Giant Dog), Seth Gibbs and drummer Adam Harlow (third member Mark Stoney left the band earlier this year), made a mark on the Austin music scene with the release of their debut album at the beginning of the year. An appealing mix of soul, Beatles pop, and larger-than-life arena rock (and the best use of “whoa-oh-oh-ohs” in town), “A Little Death,” even in its darker moments, bursts with joy. Ode to love “Earthquake: Ballad to Jon and Mitra” is one of the best songs to come out of Austin this year and portrays a sense of unquenchable yearning — one so strong not even the end of the world could snuff out.

Crooked Bangs

“Crooked Bangs”

(Western Medical Records)

Leda Ginestra, lead singer and bassist for trio Crooked Bangs, sings more than half the songs on the band’s debut album in French. It adds a nice bit of mystery to the music while highlighting their ability to write great songs — even if you don’t have an idea what Ginestra is belting out, tracks including “Be Young/Sois Jeune (Et Tais Toi)” and “Evil Eye/Le Mauvais Ceil” will occupy your brain. And it’s by no means just the lyrics — Ginestra, Samantha Wendel (guitar) and Philip Gonzalez (drums) demand attention with their sharp, gloomy, surf-inspired rock.

Crooks

“The Rain Will Come”

(self-released)

Crooks lead singer/songwriter Josh Mazour offers a take on outlaw country populated by familiar tales of whiskey and hard lessons, avoiding cliche in part through his background in rock, which reveals itself throughout. While there is nothing on here that even begins to approach the world of “country rock,” the music’s loud and sometimes noisy approach hints at a rock ‘n’ roll pulse beneath the banjos, mariachi horns and nods to Ennio Morricone spaghetti western soundtracks. Plus, Texas accordion legend Flaco Jimenez guests on “Heart Achin’ Town.”

Dana Falconberry

“Lelanau”

(Antenna Farm Records)

On her new album, singer-songwriter Dana Falconberry drew on her memories of the Michigan peninsula where she spent summers as a child for inspiration. A collection of songs punctuated by short interludes (Falconberry calls them “songlets”), “Leelanau” brims with the poignant images of nature — a river runs, rain falls, birds sing. “I definitely wanted to make it bigger,” Falconberry said earlier this year. “I wanted it to be a stark contrast to things I had done before.”

Dikes of Holland

“Braindead USA”

(Screamers Records)

The Dikes of Holland sing and shout at you, not to you, and they do it fast, sometimes in unison, taking breaks in between to throw down gnashing rock riffs. The followup to 2010’s “Dikes of Holland,” “Braindead U.S.A.” finds the band a bit more focused while retaining the variety that comes from having more than one songwriter. Closer “We Gotta Go” is a fantastic two minutes that sums up a lot of what is great about the band – a tipsy, super-catchy organ line, the whole band throwing in some vocals, a NSFW chorus.

A Giant Dog

“Fight”

(Tic Tac Totally)

A great big full-length from a great Austin garage rock quintet. Lead songwriters/singers Andrew Cashen and Sabrina Ellis, along with Graham Low (bass), Orville Neeley (drums) and Andy Bauer (guitar), rage and howl against the routine in 15 tracks that hover around two minutes each. “Yeah I wanna get drunk,” Cashen and Ellis sing on “Cowboy,” which takes off to space and back, while “Hunted Down” growls dizzily with a quiet scream in the background plucked out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

The Golden Boys

“Dirty Fingernails”

(12XU)

“I have spent time thinking they were one of the best bands in Austin. I am now thinking they might be the best — period,” American-Statesman writer Joe Gross wrote of the Golden Boys earlier this year. His inspiration was partly the band’s often amazing live performances, but also their fifth full-length. Fiery keys light up the title track; “Didn’t I Tell Ya Babe” is at once funny and oddly heartwarming; the head-on rock ‘n’ roll charge of “Curtains” is hard to beat.

Holy Wave

“Knife Hits”

(self-released)

Holy Wave, a group of friends that grew up together in El Paso and reconvened in Austin, have emerged over the last couple years as a great live band. “Knife Hits” captures that — pop living amid a thick fog of interference from guitar and keyboards. To dismiss them, however, as another gloomy psych band would be wrong — Holy Wave supplements their keen sense of song with plenty of bright, blissed-out moments.

John Wesley Coleman

“The Last Donkey Show”

(Goner)

In addition to the “Dirty Fingernails,” Golden Boys member John Wesley Coleman released a solo album this year, “The Last Donkey Show.” If you like Coleman’s contributions to the Golden Boys, then you’ll like this too, filled with songs like the weird and kind of sinister “A Clown Gave You A Baby.” Elsewhere, “Don’t Waste My Time” shines bright with horns and Coleman’s rock ‘n’ roll yawp; the title track begins with keys out of an old-timey radio play.

Nazi Gold

“A Message of Love”

(Super Secret Records)

Quin Galavis (who also plays in a folky solo project and the Dead Space), Jeremy Steen (The Flesh Lights) and Thor Harris (Swans) formed this band last year, and recorded their debut album in the spring. As in his other projects, Harris’ drumming stands out, a combination of power and distinct flourishes. “Criminal” creeps along like a grim tale out of lawlessness from the wild west with foreboding guitar and crashing drums.

OBN IIIs

“OBN IIIs”

(Tic Tac Totally)

The OBN IIIs, one of the more popular bands in Austin right now, follow-up 2011’s “The One and Only” with another strong record. Lead singer and songwriter Orville Neeley is as unforgiving as ever on tracks such as “No Way To Rock and Roll,” which finds him talking about how he really just doesn’t give a (expletive) over a head-shaking guitar riff. Elsewhere, there’s strung-out blues on “Stick and Move” and the paranoid, vaguely psychedelic and crashing “Driving Dream,” in which Neeley frets, “I’m being followed.”

The Young

“Dub Egg”

(Matador)

The Young, fronted by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Hans Zimmerman, traveled to the west Texas countryside to record the follow-up to their 2010 album “Voyagers of Legend.” The result was something very different than that record, which Zimmerman described as something of a wintertime recording. In place of the cold the band offered often bright, wide-ranging guitar explorations, including the charging groove of “Don’t Hustle For Love,” where a quick pulsing riff converses with a meandering lead.

The Zoltars

“Should I Try Once More”

(Sundae Records)

The full-length debut from the Zoltars, led by lead singer/songwriter Jared Zoltar, is drenched in strange and dreary sounds. The record begins with the dizzying, Alice-falling-down-the-rabbit-hole “Lost from Long Ago,” with vocals delivered in hypnotic style. Similarly, closing track “Dying House” is a pop gem hidden inside a haunted mansion, with Zoltar warning of impending collapse as ghostly sounds swirl overhead.