Best Albums of 2013

Ho ho ho! Happy listing season!  It's that time of year again, Christmas lights glow in the dark cold, mobs of people swarm the local malls, families reunite, and everyone adds a nice layer of fat to keep them warm through the winter.  Also it's the hatching season for gift guides and best of the year lists.  These have the potential to raise questions like "Why would anyone buy that?" or "Why have I never heard of this?" or "Where does the time go?"  Other times lists that look back can reinforce memories, heighten appreciation, or add understanding by capsulating ineffable experience into a tidy little list.  So without further ado, here is a collection of some of my favorite sounds of 2013.


Honorable Mentions:


Daniel Avery - Drone Logic
The Range - Nonfiction
FaltyDL - Hardcourage
DJ Rashad - Double Cup
Machinedrum - Vapor City
These electronic artists offer a variegated selection of electronic genres and sounds. There's the hard-driving pulse and progression of Daniel Avery and The Range, the colorful chill of FaltyDL, the crunked up Chicago footwork of DJ Rashad, and new possibilities for D'n'B on Machinedrum's Vapor City. Innovation is central to each of these artists' philosophies, and all are masters of their craft.

Party Supplies - Tough Love
Camera Obscura - Desire Lines
The Blow - The Blow

Pop music is about creating simple yet memorable melodies with rather rigid rules. These artists illustrate different approaches, Party Supplies with a feel-good 80's party vibe and Camera Obscura with achingly beautiful love songs.  The Blow can be more experimental with their electronics, but at their core is pure pop joy.

The Flaming Lips - The Terror
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Mind Control
Noisem - Agony Defined

The Flaming Lips are in a dark place right now, and continue to experiment freely with completely new forms. The Terror contains some haunting and beautiful drones, but ultimately leaves a slightly bitter taste.  Give it up for Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, with the best band name, and for their hazy Black Sabbath-esque jams which can be epic. I haven't listened to a lot of metal this year, but had to take notice of some local Baltimore teenagers channeling Slayer in the form of Noisem.

Mister Lies - Mowgli
Fuck Buttons - Slow Focus
Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven

Don't give credence to the title of 'Ambient' for these guys. Mister Lies provides the most chilled out tunes in this group, on an introspective journey of transcendental grooves. Fuck Buttons have forged an environment of monumental sounds filling great spaces that are disturbing and revelatory.  And Oneohtrix Point Never, aka Daniel Lopatin, remains one of the most creative talents of sound engineering and provides the widest range of sonic colors.


Top Albums

25. Mountains - Centralia

Mountains is a descriptive name, and even though Centralia is ambient it also looms large. Guitar strings limn elegant shapes over a bedrock of murmuring synth in the foggy land of Centralia. These cinematic compositions are long and patient to develop, so it's worthwhile to slow down and take a close listen.


24. Classixx - Hanging Gardens

Welcome the feel-good dance party of the year, brought to you by Classixx. Funk-infused disco-house is back in style and Classixx are not afraid to embrace some of the old cliches and cheezy lyrics, epitomized on the blindingly simple yet expertly produced 'All You're Waiting For' and 'Holding On.' What's in a name? In the case of Classixx, they do theirs justice.


23. of Montreal - Lousy With Sylvanbriar

On their best album in years, of Montreal shake things up by jettisoning their usual electronic augmentation and recording in classic 1960's psychedelic style making what sounds like a Bob Dylan record at times, that is, if it weren't for the paranoid neurotic lyrics we've come to know and love from Kevin Barnes. The lyrics are not such a departure from anything done previously, and Barnes' rambling is tempered by the slower-tempo songs that are really quite beautiful, especially 'Obsidian Currents' and 'Amphibian Days.'


22. Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

There are some instant classics just begging to be blasted here, especially 'New Summer,' which contains the lines "let's go for a ride / with the windows down and the stereo loud." This song and others here create an ethereal space reminiscent of M83 circa Saturdays = Youth.  Catherine McCandless sings with a Siren-like lilt creating visions of half-remembered dreams and nights you'll remember your whole life.

21. Alunageorge - Body Music

Take some sultry Estuary English from Aluna and some very posh of-the-moment production from George, and there you have it. There's no shortage of hits here, even if two were released in previous years (the best two—"You Know You Like It" and "Just A Touch). The formula used here is damn near perfect, which is a double-edged sword. Obviously the fact that it can be described as formulaic derogates from the depth or scope of the album, but did I mention how perfect-sounding it is? Every cut is a pleasure.


20. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt

I've sort-of taken to referring to Waxahatchee as Rilo Kiley, Jr., even though it's really not fair to either of them. There are striking similarities however. Katie Crutchfield's understated sing-song delivery can't help but remind you of Jenny Lewis and although stripped down, the light and airy pop chord progressions are also held in kind. Waxahatchee also struggles with personal relationships, though you get the sense she has less optimism than Rilo Kiley, which along with those stripped down arrangements I just mentioned give the album a darker feel. The cover art evokes drowning, adding a somber tone to the lyrics about trying to find one's place in the world and stumbling.


19. Surfer Blood - Pythons

Since 2010's sleeper hit Astro Coast, Surfer Blood have remained focused on what made that album great: buoyant choruses with old school surf-guitar riffs.  The musicianship is consummate on the guitar, so crisp it sounds plucked from decades past.  Distortion is used, but with such unrushed straightforward transparency it shines like it's under glass in a museum.  The lyrical tone has changed significantly since Astro Coast, some of the carefree thrill-seeking is lost, and the words struggle to gain stability with a desperate lilt only glanced on the last album.  This transition can feel strange and at times melancholy, but it takes multiple listens to glean these changes, the primary effect is just that of great playing and great songs.


18. Iron & Wine - Ghost On Ghost

Sam Beam is back with the next Iron & Wine album, with more of his tender crooning and lush sexual metaphors. Since Iron & Wine started out as a purely solo acoustic project, Beam had started to use larger and larger ensembles for the last couple records, culminating in 2011's Kiss Each Other Clean. Ghost On Ghost, while still trying to experiment with new styles of instrumentation, strikes a little more laid-back balance, harkening back to 2007's The Shepherd's Dog. The back-up vocals are soft and airy, and much of the accompaniment jazzy and breezy; everything is applied with a light touch. Ghost On Ghost is ethereal in its instrumentation and in its lyrical memory of enchantment and exploration.


17. Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe

Reverb-washed saxophone suffuses Cupid Deluxe, providing a retro soft rock vibe à la Destroyer's Kaputt from 2011 . Blood Orange's work has almost the same sonic texture as Destroyer, with a little more dub. The biggest difference between the two is the sincerity from Blood Orange. Destroyer was basically ironic and cynical, while BO is more sentimental and sympathetic. Guest vocals from Chairlift's Caroline Polachek add further sweetness to this nostalgic gem. David Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors also contributes, along with a handful of others.  Truly a warm embrace of a record.


16. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady

The Arch Android is back, aka Cindy Mayweather, aka the Electric Lady, aka Janelle Monae. She certainly has a lot of aliases for such a young gal, but Ms. Monae seems to be able to use this panoply of personas to her advantage. The Electric Lady is the crowning achievement in a short but so far impressive rise to stardom. The orchestral suites return to link these songs to her previous work, in a progression of evolving style that incorporates funk, soul, R&B, pop and hip-hop. The conceit of the robot world as political allegory comes across as a little hokey in between-song skits, but the music is fantastic. My favorite songs include "We Were Rock and Roll" and "Primetime," featuring Miguel (I know, so sappy). Ms. Monae has also gathered a distinguished assemblage of guests comprised of Prince, Esperanza Spalding, Erykah Badu, Solange, and of course Miguel.


15. Major Lazer - Free The Universe

It's probably important to remember that Major Lazer is a cartoon in more ways than one. Not just in the dreadlocked mercenary that graces all their releases, but a sort of cartoonish rendering of international dancefloor anthems. It's an animated take on a diverse field of music, and the result is usually a rompish good time. It seems like there are dozens of collaborators, including Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, Bruno Mars, and Wyclef Jean, just to name a few notables. Early on 'Get Free,' with Amber C of Dirty Projectors feels a little out of place, due to its lack of a dance beat, and this song was released about a year before the rest of the album, but it is really one of ML's finest compositions. The stakes are low, the artists stay well within their comfort zones, but helmsman Diplo offers consistently stimulating beats and what you're left with is a really great party album.


14. Special Request - Soul Music

Another exquisitely descriptive album title!  How heartening it is to hear Paul Woolford (the man behind the controls) breathe new life into well-worn sounds.  Not since Zomby's Where Were U In '92? has the 90's rave throw-back felt so fresh.  Zomby imagined, as many innovative artists do, the music that inspired his youth refracted through the prism of experience into something else.  Akin to that re-envisioning of early 90's rave culture, here we get drum 'n' bass and early house and acid deliquescing and coagulating with elements of dubstep and 21st century bass music.  A heady blend indeed!  Soul Music is a long trip, containing remixes of most of the tracks on the back half, and clocking in at over 2 hours.  Bring the Molly for this trip, and don't forget to hydrate, this stuff is hot.

13. Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob

Simple pop magic is what you'll find on this lovesick journey of love and rejection. More than any other album on this list, young love is captured sublimely by this twin sister duo. They throw themselves without hesitation into their lovers' arms, head over heels, and suffer crushing heartbreak when it doesn't work out. It may sound juvenile for a pair of thirty-ish women, but for all their apparent naiveté, there is underlying wisdom, in the music and lyrics both. Musically the style here is closest to typical Top 40, but whether you actually enjoy Top 40 or just have a guilty pleasure or two, there's plenty to enjoy here.

12. Drake - Nothing Was The Same

Drake continues to offer us his unique take on the "this is how we live" hip-hop trope, with unprecedented self-reflection and even self-consciousness. His openness is endearing, his willingness to admit and explore his faults is still exceedingly rare in the genre (even if his outsized ego is not), and his lyrical skills have not deteriorated in the least. His flow is long-winded, coherent and intense. His swagger is still plenty intact and balances out his insecurities, and the beats reflect this contrast of hard and soft. Most of the tracks contain sparse percussion and long, drawn-out bass tones with maybe a little keyboard embellishment. Single 'Hold On We're Going Home' stands out for its straight 4/4 kick and simplified structure which make it decent Top 40 fodder. It would be hard to match the impact of 2011's Take Care with that album's rawness (there won't be another 'Marvin's Room') and hooks (Jhené Aiko is no Rihanna, no offense), but NWTS is a worthy next chapter in the saga of one of the most successful rappers of our day.


11. Disclosure - Settle

High-energy funk and house anthems with big hooks characterize this audacious debut from two brothers in England. Guest spots from Aluna Francis of Alunageorge and Jessie Ware add some star power to the mix in this endlessly enjoyable ride that doesn't let up for a moment. Ideal music for crowded dancefloors, where the intensity of the dancing can match that of the tracks. Easily the best dance record of the year.


10. Bad Religion - True North

After 34 years together, you may think Bad Religion would relegate themselves to the sad fate of so many other aging rockers: trotting out their old hits to an aging fan base that sees them as much for nostalgia as anything else, but you couldn't be more wrong. Not only have Bad Religion not slowed down, they've made some of the best music of their career in the last decade. While True North doesn't rise to the awe-inspiring heights of 2004's The Empire Strikes First, it is their best work since then. The drums are fast, clear, and pounding, and the songwriting here strikes a perfect balance between the harmonic pop harmonies that are characteristic of the group with the fast heavy punk style that they seemed to have forgotten through most of the 90's. On a related note, they released a Christmas album this year. It seems a bit out of character for the guys, even if it's not their first foray into traditional music (Cold As Clay this is not).  But True North is pure vintage.

9. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels

The new mixtape from long-time collaborators Killer Mike and El-P is even faster and meaner than before the new moniker. Here are the first couple lines of the mixtape, on the eponymous opener:
"Oh dear what the fuck have we here / these motherfuckers all thorn no rose / egads what a bad dream better not sleep, take a no-doz, do some blow." The speed and precision with which these lines are delivered is full of confidence.  Killer Mike's first lines: "Cowering like cowards cowering on concrete showers in Riker's Island / victims, we the wolves thats whylin / we often smile at sights of violence / acting brave and courageous ain't advantageous for health and safety." Quite a tongue twister. Even when the lyrics border on silly (which is often), RTJ delivers with such a powerful flow that it's easy to get swept along in it and just enjoy the lyrical gymnastics.  El-P's production is solid, with booming bass and thrumming synth.  RTJ can feel like one long battle-rap, but somehow it transcends its narrow subject-matter to come across as a thrilling ride and a lot of fun.

8. Jon Hopkins - Immunity

Immunity doesn't waste any time. It starts digging a deep groove on opener 'We Disappear' that eventually moves from the underground to the interstellar over the next two tracks, 'Open Eye Signal' and 'Breathe This Air.'  Always pulsing, throbbing, this is deep electronic music that is highly progressive, with many peaks and only the good kind of lows. Perfect music for night driving, it is a journey that visits many strange places; rich, warm, bucolic, or dark, cold, spacey; cosmic and industrial, urban and pastoral, the palette of sound here is extensive. JH's work has vision that is absent in much current electronic or instrumental music. What other techno could so perfectly evoke an ocean sunrise as 'Sun Harmonics'? He expresses a singular personality in a genre that is often derided as repetitive and homogenous. If you want renewed faith in techno, listen to Jon Hopkins.

7. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

'Give Life Back to Music' is the first track on Random Access Memories, easily the most-hyped album of 2013, and that seems to be an accurate mission statement the duo has chosen for themselves.  In a nice example of Golden Age thinking (i.e. things were so much better back in the day), they have gotten fed up with electronic music for losing touch with the physicality of real instruments, the loss of feeling and the bland abundance of uninspired schlock. It's hard to tell whether they are referring to music at large or their 2005 disaster-piece Human After All.   Either way, RAM delivers on its boast. Daft Punk have done what all great musicians do, that is filter the influences of their youth into a vision of the future, and in this case it belies their age (a hair's breadth from 40). The primary influences are proggy jazz-rock and disco, There's more Steely Dan and David Bowie than Kraftwerk audible here.

Besides being the most-hyped, RAM was also probably the most expensive to produce album of the year, as DP brought in an army of studio musicians to record RAM on multiple continents over 2+ years.  Every lick is produced to perfection, and there are no loops or samples here, just good old-fashioned jamming.  This freedom to make an album however they want also translates into the length of 75 minutes, which comes across less as epic than self-indulgent. But aside from the 8-minute slog 'Touch', the group sounds reinvigorated and they retain the anthemic pop sensibility of Discovery with hits like 'Get Lucky,' while exploring all sorts of new ground with collaborators from Pharell to Panda Bear to Giovanni Giorgio. Few artists have the courage to throw out what made them successful to follow their inspiration, and fewer have the opportunity, but Daft Punk have carefully made the most of their position, and we can all reap the benefits.


6. Kanye West - Yeezus

The opening sound on Yeezus is a squelching and distorted synth blare, assaulting yet wavering, proudly announcing itself before being subsumed by the song's equally distorted beat and the opening lines: "Yeezy season approaching, fuck whatever y'all been hearing." If you're looking for subtlety or modesty this is not the album for you.  West's infamously large ego is on full display, most repellently in 'I Am a God,' with absurd imperatives to hurry up with his massage, his menage, and his croissant. But the power of Yeezus does not lie in its lyrical wordplay, which often seems intentionally awful ("black girl sipping white wine, I put my fist in her like a civil rights sign" is one notorious example), rather it lies in the way the swagger of the music and lyrics combine synergistically in their assault on convention.  As always, West's music is divisive, and I freely admit to being a hater of nearly all his previous material.   Yeezus is different because West has found a musical voice that complements his lyrical brashness. This album sounds like nothing else West has done before, and like nothing else anyone has done before.  West has indicated in interviews that he was tired of adhering to the Top 40 radio format and wanted to create entirely new sounds birthed from his imagination. For all his pretention and grandiosity, Yeezus is that album.

West worked with a cadre of avant-garde electronic collaborators to make his vision a reality. There are scratchy ancient vocal samples juxtaposed with wild analog synths and big bass. Album highlight 'Blood on the Leaves' samples Billie Holliday's Strange Fruit to tell a vindictive break-up story ('We coulda been somebody"). The dark subject matter of the original is marginalized by West's huge ego, and somehow it works. With so many reasons not to like Yeezus, it stands as a defiant tribute its creator's status in pop culture.


5. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

All of Vampire Weekend's music has a highly focused energy or verve to it that makes it extremely likable from first listen to where it's hard to imagine ever getting tired of hearing it.  This is remarkable, and almost paradoxical if you consider the contrasting qualities at play.  The group is often thought of as very intellectual for their rich vocabulary, clever wordplay (take for example the treatment of time on 'Hannah Hunt') and Ivy League sensibilities, but they cherish utter simplicity when it comes to pop songcraft or just plain rocking.  Their erudition is contrasted with their populism: Ezra's voice, the most dynamic instrument in the band, establishes such casual intimacy with the listener that it's hard not to think of him as an old friend.  The simplicity of many of the melodies belies the wide range of influences that give them their unique sound, most notably tropical rhythms.  Equally astounding is the range of lyrical subject matter, which tirelessly and gracefully explores the workings of the world like some great piece of literature.  This is the third Vampire Weekend album and the first over 40 minutes and with more than 10 songs (12 songs, 43 minutes). The band is more comfortable, confident and mature than ever, although they've laid claim to these attributes before.  There are so many great songs here, from opener 'Obvious Bicycle' which patiently consoles and encourages over a sweet and tender dirge that unfurls in wavering harmonies, to the carefree atheist love song 'Unbelievers,' the live-fast-die-young recklessness of 'Diane Young,' and further exploration of religion and exile in 'Ya Hey.' 'Step' and 'Hannah Hunt' continue to reinforce the band's cosmopolitanism, name dropping far-flung locales.  All the songs are great in fact, everything clicks for these guys and they make it all look so easy when it's anything but.

4. Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe

The most exciting new band of 2013 exploded onto the scene with big synth-pop hooks and a plucky lead singer, diminutive in stature but with assured stage presence. This band of course is Chvrches, who after releasing a small trickle of songs on the internet earlier in the year, have fully arrived with their debut album.  The band has an uncanny ability for creating earworms, with lead singer Lauren Mayberry soaring over intense synth-based production.  Some exciting tension is created with Mayberry's delicate soprano and the driving electronic pulses.  Mayberry always sounds in control though, rising above the storm of sound and riding high on a crest of creative power.  The hits on The Bones Of What You Believe are numerous and memorable, the first track and single 'The Mother We Share' breaks away from the usual romantic subject matter of pop music to tackle personal demons, while tumultuous romantic relationships figure prominently in other songs like 'Recover,' 'Tether,' 'Gun,' and 'Night Sky.' Following in the footsteps of bands like Passion Pit, who offered up confessional indie songs but wrapped them in big bright electronic robes, Chvrches are a bright new star on the indie map. Keep your eye on these young Scots.

3. Kurt Vile - Wakin' On A Pretty Daze

Breezy is a good word to describe Wakin' On A Pretty Daze in a couple ways. The songs have room to breathe and never rush along.  Many of the tracks are quite long, letting an idea develop freely, jamming a little, utilizing elegant string arrangements, all with seeming effortlessness.  The lyrics are full of casual observations and quirky epigrammatic wordplay that also seem effortless, delivered with a sleepy matter-of-fact lilt.  There is also a lot of dark humor in the wordplay, but ultimately the impression is optimistic in the face of tragedy. Many lines have the power to stick with you and elicit wide ranges of thoughts and emotions.  The final track, 'Goldtone,' is my favorite, and contains a line that could be part of KV's manifesto "concentrate my hurt into a gold tone." All this breeziness is supported by beautiful guitar playing, usually three at a time in glorious harmony, and long instrumental interludes that leave you wishing they wouldn't end.  That's also why the opening track is the shortest 9 minute song this reviewer has ever heard.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, give it a listen.  Finally the breeziness is what makes Wakin' superior to Kurt Vile's older music, which is a tad more dense and gloomy.  Kurt Vile is clearly at a creative peak on this album, firing on all cylinders: guitar-playing, arranging, lyrics, song-writing, and that is always a beautiful sight to see.


2. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Reflektor is in many ways an ideal work of art.  It explores the boundaries of its medium and transcends them, while incorporating the roots of its artistic and musical lineage.  There is the classic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice reimagined in a 21st century world where the lines between the digital and the real are becoming increasingly blurred.  The lyrics achieve a sublime openness or ambiguity, for which it is hard to imagine any equal.  They (the lyrics) are both timeless and contemporary, classic and avant-garde, playful yet deeply resonant.  All of these qualities wouldn't add up to jack-squat without the music to carry them.  Nearly every song could be a single here, even with many of the tracks at 6+ minutes.  There is a driving rock pulse to the album that keeps the tension and energy high, avoiding the slouching doldrums of some of AF's older stuff.  Arrangements are masterfully dynamic, providing a wide range of colorful atmospheres without becoming cluttered or bumptious.  Credit is due to some new collaborators, namely producer James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem fame) and Colin Stetson (bass sax virtuoso) for his horn arrangements. The overall effect is one of immersion in a world where you can't be sure of much, and all you can hold onto are memories; memories of love, loneliness, and music, all filtered into an ideal state that only exists in your mind, and on this album.


1. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap

Na na na na na, na na na na na. Not since 'Hey Jude' have these syllables rung so true. Chance the Rapper, a Chicago teenager, confessed in an interview with Rolling Stone that he's not even interested in making a proper album (the Acid Rap mixtape is available for free).  But this mixtape is as much a statement of arrival as any album, hip-hop or otherwise.   It's a tour de force, with its melodic na's and exuberant "IGH!"'s punctuating a deeply personal, wildly playful, journey through Chance's world.

Chance has a way with words, to say the least; his skills with internal rhymes and assonance (not a dirty word!) are unmatched.  Take these example lines from early single 'JUICE': "Wonder if I wrote this, cuz it's so crisp, / the most brokest cold stock broker winter solstice, / I could win an Oscar, Russian accent husky, / acid addict, costly avid actor Kevin Costner."

On other tracks the maturity of Chance's lyrics are stunning.  Perhaps if you try to think of non-gangster postures in rap you think of "enlightened" or intellectual rap that focuses heavily on wordplay.  In many cases however the substance may be lacking, or worse, it can come off as preachy with its "rise above"-ness. Chance takes an honest look at the darkest elements of his life and hometown with wisdom that belies his age. As noted before however, that's not to say the album doesn't have its fun.

There is incredible range of style, subject and mood on Acid Rap. Whether fast or slow, joking or serious, boastful or humble, the beats are fresh and Chance's vocal acrobatics don't disappoint. The music is eclectic, with some hometown Chicago footwork style, most evident in the 'Good Ass Intro.'  I can't praise this album enough: the energy, the beats, the rhymes, the persona, all make Acid Rap the best of 2013.