With the year 2012 coming to a close, not a whole lot of music is coming out. BUT I still managed to dig up a few noteworthy albums. See the latest from Tulisa, Ke$ha, Big Boi, Bruno Mars, T.I., and Angels and Airwaves after the jump:

December 3

Tulisa, The Female Boss

British singer Tulisa released her first album The Female Boss earlier this month. She’s known in the UK not only as a singer but as a judge on The X Factor, where she mentored girl group Little Mix (we featured them last month!). Check out her single “Young”:

December 4

Kesha, Warrior

First off, I’m typing Kesha’s name normally because I cannot be bothered to stop and peer at my keyboard for the dollar sign every time. Oh, Kesha. Many write her off as another bizarre pop act milking the public’s attention. Which is true in a way…but there’s more to it. Unfortunately she didn’t find success with her traditional pop approach at the beginning of her career. Believe it or not, Kesha is smarter than she seems and gave her persona and music a lot of thought when she remade herself. Even that dollar sign serves a purpose:

“…to me, it’s not about the money. That’s the whole reason I have (the dollar sign), ’cause it’s ironic. Like, I don’t care. I was so happy being broke. And I’m happy not being broke. It doesn’t really affect me either way. I care about taking care of people that have taken care of me — that’s important to me. But to be honest, I’m kind of repulsed by the gluttony and excesses of a lot of people in the limelight.”

She may be misunderstood by non-fans but she doesn’t care a bit. I simply can’t bring myself to hate on this lady. Listen to her song “Thinking of You”:

December 11

Big Boi, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors

I was already intrigued when Big Boi described his upcoming album as electro funk. Then enter the single “Mama Told Me.” I think I’ve listened to it 100 times over the past few days. On the album version, Kelly Rowland appears as the guest vocalist and the original song features its co-writer Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon. Rowland has a solid, R&B diva presence in her version, while Nagano’s voice blends in with the melody and groove in hers. I can’t pick a favorite because they’re equally catchy. Grab a free download of the Little Dragon version and compare while you dance in your seat:

Bruno Mars, Unorthodox Jukebox

Many of the songs from Bruno’s first album have been beaten to a pulp by now so when I heard the news about Unorthodox Jukebox I wasn’t very excited for yet another album full of songs to be beaten to a pulp. I’m not tired of “Locked Out of Heaven” yet and “Young Girls” is still relatively new to my ears so I’m happy to say that I’m okay so far. Below is another track to listen to: “Moonshine.” This one is definitely Michael Jackson-inspired, which continues the ’80s influence that Unorthodox Jukebox seems to be following.

December 18

T.I., Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head

T.I. recorded over 120(!) songs for Trouble Man but only 16 made the cut. Though he stated in an interview with radio station Power 105 that he wanted out of the rap game, the surplus of music he had recorded may possibly end up on a sequential album. The track listing for this latest album includes guest spots from a bunch of heavy hitters: A$AP Rocky, Meek Mill, Andre 3000, Lil Wayne, R. Kelly, and even P!nk. T.I.’s “Hello” featuring Cee Lo Green officially dropped today:

Angels & Airwaves, Stomping the Phantom Brake Pedal

I personally haven’t heard anything from the Tom DeLonge-led band Angels & Airwaves since I-Empire in 2007 so imagine my surprise when I saw they were still making music. When I read that their new double EP is billed as space rock, it confused me at first. After giving their older stuff a quick listen, I remembered that space/progressive rock has indeed been their sound this whole time. Their latest single “Diary” is epic, slightly haunting, and, well, spacey. If you click on the video below to listen to it, I’d advise you to lie on your bed, close your eyes, and just let the whole thing play since the song doesn’t start until about 2 minutes in: