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2013 Album of the Year Voting Thread - Voting ends Sunday 1/19
- Thread starter Servbot24
- Start date
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FunkeeFresh
Member
1 | Cloudkicker | Subsume
Listened to this A LOT since its release. Beautifully orchestrated, wonderfully cohesive with a tonne of weight to top it off.
2 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
I hadn't listened to rap in the past few years so I wasn't up to speed with Killer Mike and El-P. I just downloaded it because it was free. I was drawn to how focused the album was, just straight rap. No gimmicks, unnecessary hooks, skits or interludes. Just hard beats and great rap.
3 | This Town Needs Guns (TTNG) | 13.0.0.0.0
I didn't think much of this band's earlier work, thought it a bit bland and over technical. While this album still maintains the band's abilities, I feel they have added it in the right places while creating a solid rhythm section to frame it. There's some great lyrics and singing on this too.
Listened to this A LOT since its release. Beautifully orchestrated, wonderfully cohesive with a tonne of weight to top it off.
2 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
I hadn't listened to rap in the past few years so I wasn't up to speed with Killer Mike and El-P. I just downloaded it because it was free. I was drawn to how focused the album was, just straight rap. No gimmicks, unnecessary hooks, skits or interludes. Just hard beats and great rap.
3 | This Town Needs Guns (TTNG) | 13.0.0.0.0
I didn't think much of this band's earlier work, thought it a bit bland and over technical. While this album still maintains the band's abilities, I feel they have added it in the right places while creating a solid rhythm section to frame it. There's some great lyrics and singing on this too.
Ain't you a cool person now Servbot
i have popular albums on my list, it's not a cool thing, it's an ideological thing
Derivative, middling, no voice of its own, no teeth, no soul (ironically this is very common for modern "neo-soul" type music), trend-riding without comprehending the trends, self-pleased without having accomplished anything, background music for coffee tables. It's actually offensive that Jaar thinks he can get away with this shit.
01 | Týr | Valkyrja
02 | After the Burial | Wolves Within
03 | The Dillinger Escape Plan | One of Us Is the Killer
04 | Soilwork | The Living Infinite
05 | Killswitch Engage | Disarm the Descent
06 | Trivium | Vengeance Falls
07 | Suidakra | Eternal Defiance
08 | Skeletonwitch | Serpents Unleashed
09 | Hagstone | Ancient, Majestic - EP
10 | Finntroll | Blodsvept
There might be something better I listened to but have now forgotten
Valkyrja is by far my favourite album from last year. Just about every song in it is amazing, have got a couple of friends hooked on to them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqiD8Ge8RDw
02 | After the Burial | Wolves Within
03 | The Dillinger Escape Plan | One of Us Is the Killer
04 | Soilwork | The Living Infinite
05 | Killswitch Engage | Disarm the Descent
06 | Trivium | Vengeance Falls
07 | Suidakra | Eternal Defiance
08 | Skeletonwitch | Serpents Unleashed
09 | Hagstone | Ancient, Majestic - EP
10 | Finntroll | Blodsvept
There might be something better I listened to but have now forgotten
Valkyrja is by far my favourite album from last year. Just about every song in it is amazing, have got a couple of friends hooked on to them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqiD8Ge8RDw
Johnlenham
Member
Haha you are so salty about that album.
Just got to come to terms with the fact not everyone is into crazy whacked out groundbreaking future stuff all the time.
I just picked it up on vinyl yesterday.
Johnlenham
Member
Why dont you post in the electronic thread much? You list is varied as fuck, in a good way.
beato_angelico
Member
you are right about the coffe tables bit. I still liked it though.
HAHAHAH how did you write that with a straight face?
lastflowers
Banned
1) The National - Trouble Will Find Me
2) Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone
3) The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
4) Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
5) Phosphorescent - Muchacho
6) Bob Dylan - Another Self Portait (Yeah, shut up, I don't care if its a 'bootleg' release)
7) Rhye - Woman
8) AlunaGeorge - Body Music
9) Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe
10) Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Yeah, this year wasn't that impressive for me despite Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend and The National coming out with albums.
2) Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone
3) The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
4) Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
5) Phosphorescent - Muchacho
6) Bob Dylan - Another Self Portait (Yeah, shut up, I don't care if its a 'bootleg' release)
7) Rhye - Woman
8) AlunaGeorge - Body Music
9) Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe
10) Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Yeah, this year wasn't that impressive for me despite Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend and The National coming out with albums.
it's utterly tepid and on long-trodden ground. yet it is sickeningly content. what is strange about my statement.
It's such a fucking lame criticism for an album. Like, what does that even mean?
Explain to me how it is sickeningly content?
You have to admit production is great though.
the transformers movies have great production
skrillex albums have great production
who gives a shit
Well, production on Reflektor for example was a little disappointing to me. It's my top album of the year but it sounds muddy at times.
Darkside sounds phenomenal. All these sounds are great.
Just don't argue with Servbot. If he thinks it's shit, it's shit.
you are welcome to post opinions as well
btw aoty 2014 are likely to be actress, coldplay and mew
You have a strong opinion to put it mildly and you're shitting on popular list choices for two pages now. I'm not intending to waste anymore time on this subject.
Don't know how I missed this thread.
01 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
02 | King Krule | 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
03 | Anna Von Hausswolff | Ceremony
04 | Melt-Banana | Fetch
05 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
06 | Savages | Silence Yourself
07 | Blood Orange | Cupid Deluxe
08 | Tennis | Small Sound EP
09 | Phosphorescent | Muchacho
10 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
11 | A Hawk and a Hacksaw | You Have Already Gone to Another World
12 | Courtney Barnett | How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose EP
13 | Kanye West | Yeezus
14 | Rhye | Woman
15 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
16 | Parquet Courts | Light Up Gold
Didn't really sweat the order after the first five. Biggest surprise for me was probably Melt-Banana. Never was really into them but that album is crazy.
01 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
02 | King Krule | 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
03 | Anna Von Hausswolff | Ceremony
04 | Melt-Banana | Fetch
05 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
06 | Savages | Silence Yourself
07 | Blood Orange | Cupid Deluxe
08 | Tennis | Small Sound EP
09 | Phosphorescent | Muchacho
10 | Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampires of the City
11 | A Hawk and a Hacksaw | You Have Already Gone to Another World
12 | Courtney Barnett | How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose EP
13 | Kanye West | Yeezus
14 | Rhye | Woman
15 | Arcade Fire | Reflektor
16 | Parquet Courts | Light Up Gold
Didn't really sweat the order after the first five. Biggest surprise for me was probably Melt-Banana. Never was really into them but that album is crazy.
You can always spice things up by doing it in four posts spread over four days.
Oh and to respond to your obviously jokingly thing about 2014 AOTY, a real early contender stood up already. Damien Jurado's album is magic.
what was joking about it
But but Actress is textbook pitchfork music, Coldplay is coldplay and well Mew is cool then
now you are the one who is joking
I was just categorizing them in an extreme way. I actually like early Coldplay. And all of Actress and Mew
Though it's hard for me to imagine that Coldplay might ever come with a good album again. That last one was a disgrace.
Extra Sauce
Member
Not a huge year for me. I discovered a ton of music, but mostly from previous years. Still, I was able to round up this Top 10:
01 | Power Glove | Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
02 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
03 | Haim | Days are Gone
04 | CHVRCHES | The Bones of What You Believe
05 | Lazerhawk | Skull and Shark
06 | Blood Orange | Cupid Deluxe
07 | Various Artists | After Dark II
08 | Perturbator | Sexualizer EP
09 | Dance with the Dead | Out of Body
10 | The Dillinger Escape Plan | One of Us Is the Killer
actress is the antithesis to p4k. let that be known.
i hated mylo xyloto at first too but it had the most dramatic upswing of any album since ok computer
it's probs his worst but still very good.
Wow you're serious. I like early Coldplay too but there's no way they'll be voted AOTY here even if they miraculously release a good album again. NeoGAF hates them.
well of course gaf isn't going to vote for them. i doubt gaf has ever voted for the actual best album.
Finally finished. I wrote most of the blurbs in a sleep-deprived haze, so I apologize if they don't make sense. I linked sample tracks on YouTube where I could, but if I couldn't find one I linked to Bandcamp or Spotify or whatever the easiest alternative was. I'll only provide links for the top 50 because I'm lazy.
01 | Julia Holter | Loud City Song
Julia Holter has upped the ante on the breathtaking beauty of her previous album, Ekstasis, this time moving out of the bedroom and into the studio and working with a wider range of instruments and influences. The beginning of the first track, "World," is about as minimalist as can be, with only Julia's beautiful voice echoing through the silence before the more complex arrangements present themselves, effortlessly blending dream pop, ambient, funk, and baroque/chamber pop and fashioning a cohesive whole out of all of these disparate parts. The album traverses a whole range of moods, from happiness and playfulness, to aggression, to wistful sadness, to amusing sardonicism, but always in an intelligent and self-aware manner that never takes itself too seriously, to form a compelling and poetic critique of early 20th century high society (the album is loosely based on the musical Gigi).
In the Green Wild
Maxim's II
This Is a True Heart
02 | My Bloody Valentine | m b v
They did it. After more than 20 years, MBV released a new album that isn't just good, it's incredible. I was prepared for a solid shoegaze album at best, and I'll admit that the first track didn't really disprove that expectation, but the way the album evolves from beginning to end is simply breathtaking, starting with the low-key, classic shoegaze sound of "She Found Now," then adding new ideas and defying the listener's expectations with each track. The decidedly un-shoegaze "Is This and Yes" serves as a sort of dividing point before the really new and intriguing ideas begin to appear. The pop masterpiece "New You" ranks right up there with "When You Sleep" in terms of sheer catchiness, and the album gets wilder and wilder from there with the surprisingly aggressive "In Another Way" and "Nothing Is" before ending with the explosive "Wonder 2," a cacophonous drum and bass influenced track made out of jet engine sounds. m b v defied and exceeded all of my expectations and while I can't say that it's on par with Loveless, it's about as close as it's possible for an album to be without being Loveless.
03 | Colin Stetson | New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
This might be Colin Stetson's craziest album yet, and when it comes to Colin Stetson that can only be a good thing. The sounds this guy makes with his saxophone have to be heard to be believed, and it's made even more impressive by the fact that he records every track in a single take, with multiple strategically placed microphones to achieve a much more expansive and busy sound than you would think possible from a single person; only the vocals, provided by Justin Vernon, are overdubbed. Furthermore, and perhaps most impressive of all, Stetson is the only person I know of who can make Justin Vernon sound interesting. I had no idea he was capable of something like "Brute."
Hunted
Who the Waves Are Roaring For
04 | Chelsea Wolfe | Pain Is Beauty
Chelsea Wolfe's brand of goth-doom-folk-rock-pop reaches a gorgeous new high on Pain Is Beauty. Her music is as dark as ever, while retaining a striking sense of beauty in both the music and the vocals, which I suppose makes the album title very fitting. The fusion of dark and sensual with ferocious and and visceral sounds lends the record a striking contrast, making it alternately snarling and scintillating. And while many tracks are serious with pounding drums and soulful vocals, Wolfe also isn't afraid to lay down a cool rock track like "Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter," which features a super catchy riff and aloof vocals with compelling harmonies, or a beautiful folky track like "They'll Clap When You're Gone," which shows incredible restraint before building to a gorgeous climax.
House of Metal
Kings
05 | The Flaming Lips | The Terror
The Flaming Lips have always been excellent at consistently changing their sound and keeping things fresh and interesting over their decades-long career, and The Terror is no exception. Don't expect anything remotely like the upbeat pop melodies of The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi; this is by far the bleakest album the Lips have ever recorded, so much so that you really have to be in sort of a specific mood to listen to it. The sound of the album focuses on noise and repetitive krautrock rhythms, with Wayne Coyne's voice taking on a ghostly quality.
Look...The Sun Is Rising
The Terror
You Are Alone
06 | Melt-Banana | Fetch
This is easily Melt-Banana's most accessible album yet; while many of their previous albums contained undeveloped, balls-to-the-wall, noisy, less-than-one-minute-long noise rock freakouts, here the band takes more care to develop actual songs, and even cleans up the sound a bit from their previous noisy lo-fi quality, but despite all of that, they remain just as frenetic and unpredictable as ever. One of my favorite parts of the album is the final track, "Zero," which is practically a dance track; long-time fans might get their panties in a twist over this, but for a band known for their unpredictable sound, what better way to end their latest album than a dance track of all things?
Candy Gun
My Missing Link
Schemes of the Tails
07 | Lady Lamb the Beekeeper | Ripely Pine
This might have been my biggest surprise of 2013. I discovered Aly Spaltro's work while absent-mindedly browsing related artists on Last.fm and went into this album expecting run-of-the-mill girl with a guitar folky singer-songwriter stuff, and while that element is certainly present, the album seems to almost deliberately subvert it; halfway through the first track, she drops the low-key act and breaks out into a powerful rock and roll tune, before ending the song just as quietly and calmly as it began. The rest of the album maintains this sense of unpredictability, often switching styles suddenly and without warning in the middle of a song, yet managing to make it sound totally natural. The arrangements are fantastic, ranging from simple acoustic guitar to strong baroque arrangements full of strings and horns, reminiscent of artists such as Van Dyke Parks. Finally, perhaps the linchpin of the entire album is Spaltro's breathtakingly powerful voice, which is at various times subdued, soulful, and aggressive.
Bird Balloons
Aubergine
Crane Your Neck
08 | These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
This band is sort of difficult to describe. If pushed, I'd say maybe baroque post-punk? In any case, Field of Reeds is fantastic, featuring an impressive variety in its instrumentation, including piano, horns, woodwinds, strings, and mallet instruments ("Organ Eternal"), as well as electronic elements. Despite the almost classical nature of its instrumentation, however, it doesn't shy away from traditional rock stylings using those instruments, complete with a solid rhythm section, making for a very interesting sound. The solemn vocals complement the tracks perfectly. The harmonies and the dynamics, which have an enormous range, give the album a huge, beautiful sound. And while the harmonies are often beautiful, there's plenty of dark dissonance as well, as in "The Light in Your Name," which reminds me to some extent of This Heat's "Not Waving."
Fragment Two
09 | Suuns | Images du Futur
Fantastic post-punk, minimalist, dissonant, sometimes noisy, full of off-kilter rhythms, dark infectious grooves, and electronic flourishes. The tracks progress in really interesting ways. The vocals are at times frantic and tense and at other times mumbly and lethargic. Very reminiscent of Clinic and Liars in the best way possible, without feeling derivative.
2020 (seizure warning)
Edie's Dream
Bambi
10 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
While Street Horrrsing is still my favorite Fuck Buttons album, I've really enjoyed seeing them develop their style. The noise that they are known for is still there, but this album is more danceable than their previous work, while avoiding the pitfalls that many artists encounter when they take their work in a more "accessible" direction. I strongly recommend that any fans of this album also listen to their previous work as well, because it's all great.
The Red Wing
Sentients
11 | Julianna Barwick | Nepenthe
This might be Barwick's most complete, rich, lush work yet. She makes use of a wide variety of instruments as well as a girls' choir to create a sound that can only be described as heavenly. There is, however, a significant sense of melancholy in this album as well, as suggested by its title. Tracks like "One Half" convey a fascinating sense of intense sorrow and yearning; I read that Barwick was mourning the recent loss of a loved one while writing and recording Nepenthe, and that definitely comes through in the music.
Pyrrhic
Adventurer of the Family
12 | Sleep In | Cluster Headaches
This wonderful lo-fi outing makes use of a startling variety of musical styles, ranging from electronic ambient to folk to drone to noise to noise rock to metal to industrial, sometimes switching between these genres in a single song, sometimes fusing them together in interesting ways. Despite this startling range, however, the huge variety of sounds never feels forced. The closer, "Summerscreen," is perhaps my favorite track because of its groovy bassline and its stunningly intense climactic freakout that closes out the album perfectly.
Bandcamp
13 | Esben and the Witch | Wash the Sins Not Only the Face
The album begins with a beautiful, dreamy blast of noise, perfectly setting the stage for what follows. There's a sort of ebb and flow between quieter, dream pop moments featuring Rachel Davies's beautiful voice, and more intense, noisier parts, and many tracks begin calmly and progress to a grand climax, perhaps most evidently in "When That Head Splits" and in the final track, "Smashed to Pieces in the Still of the Night." There's a dark, enchanting, fairy tale quality to the music, as you might expect from the band's name.
Iceland Spar
14 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
The production here is top-notch, both on the quirky light-hearted tracks and the darker, more serious ones. The beats are consistently interesting, and the album doesn't overstay its welcome, despite its 96 minute runtime. Even the 20-minute ambient track "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" just feels like it fits and doesn't get old or boring, nor does it detract from the focused intensity of the album as a whole. Fever Ray's vocals are, as always, a pleasure to listen to.
A Tooth for an Eye
Without You My Life Would Be Boring
15 | Glasser | Interiors
Glasser is certainly an apt name for this project. The production has a very smooth, glassy, shimmering feel to it, and beyond the electronic elements there are some other great additions, such as strings ("Landscape"), vibraphone ("Keam Theme"), saxophone ("New Year"), and various percussion instruments that provide fascinating sounds. Cameron Mesirow's beautiful vocals complement the music perfectly, giving it a strange, quirky, soulful feel.
Shape
Keam Theme
New Year
16 | Jenny Hval | Innocence Is Kinky
The title of this album is very apt. It features beautiful arrangements and vocals, but at the same time, Hval isn't afraid to get messy. The first words she utters on this album are "That night, I watched people fucking on my computer," which gives the listener a pretty good idea of where the album is headed. The often extremely sexual lyrics don't seem to be solely for shock value, however; they're delivered in a matter-of-fact manner that accepts them as facts of life rather than as taboo subjects. In addition to the lyrics, the music often phases between "innocence," with a more beautiful and dreamy sound, and "kink," with a more noisy and aggressive sound. The fact that Hval is able to reconcile these sounds and themes is pretty good evidence that the claim set forth in the album title has merit.
Innocence Is Kinky
Renée Falconetti of Orléans
Amphibious, Androgynous
17 | Heliotropes | A Constant Sea
A raucous, energetic rock album featuring strong riffs without overindulging in guitar wankery or entirely foregoing subtlety. The album is full of jams, with a strong percussion section, but it also has a few "breather" tracks that are actually quite beautiful, such as "Everyone Else" and "Unadorned." The final track, "Christine," is a pleasant combination of the two extremes, fusing the beauty and noise of the previous tracks.
Quatto
I Walk Upon the Water
18 | Factory Floor | Factory Floor
The minimalism is strong with this one. Most of the tracks begin with a single beat, then build on it in unexpected ways, crafting a progression of cold and austere, yet incredibly danceable, syncopation-filled electro that brings to mind New Order and Throbbing Gristle in equal measure. The improvisational approach the group takes to composing their tracks gives the sense of a futuristic, electronic drum circle.
Turn It Up
Two Different Ways
19 | Candy Claws | Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time
My number two shoegaze album of the year after m b v. While most shoegaze bands are content to simply imitate MBV's sound with varying degrees of success, others have genuinely intriguing ideas that actually contribute something new to the shoegaze genre; Candy Claws falls firmly in the latter category. While they've been dabbling in their lush, tropical brand of shoegaze since their inception, Ceres & Calypso marks a real cementing of their style and a greater confidence in terms of songwriting and production than on their previous albums. If you need more incentive to listen to this album, just imagine a shoegaze rendition of the Zora's Domain music from Ocarina of Time.
Pangaea Girls (Magic Feeling)
Transitional Bird (Clever Girl)
20 | Crystal Stilts | Nature Noir
A really beautiful post-punk album that combines slick grooves, classic rock stylings, and melancholy ballads. Musically it's less dark than their previous album, In Love with Oblivion, but the lyrics are still plenty depressing, and the music certainly isn't bright and happy either. All in all it's a really solid album that I find myself coming back to again and again.
Star Crawl
Future Folklore
21 | Marnie Stern | The Chronicles of Marnia
The most notable thing about this album is the absence of Zach Hill, who played the drums on Stern's three previous albums. Hill's drumming is very distinct and very infectious, and so one might understandably be concerned that he was not involved in this album. However, this is Marnie Stern's project, not Zach Hill's, and Chronicles gives her a chance to prove it. While the songs are still very energetic, the drumming takes on a less significant role than on Stern's previous work, which allows Stern's songwriting, guitar skills, and catchy vocals to shine through all the brighter. And so, while Chronicles may not be as immediately grabbing as In Advance, This Is It, or her s/t, there is just as much enjoyment to be had from it.
Year of the Glad
Proof of Life
22 | Solex | Solex Ahoy! The Sound Map of the Netherlands
This album really does feel like a journey. It includes a broad range of musical styles/genres, as well as field recordings occasionally overlayed in the music; there's even the sound of a car motor at one point a la Kraftwerk's Autobahn. Solex Ahoy sounds almost nothing like Solex's previous work, so if that's what you're expecting you might be disappointed, but if you go into expecting something new and interesting, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Spotify
23 | にせんねんもんだい [Nisennenmondai] | N
This is an odd one. The entire album, composed of three long tracks, is driven by constant sixteenth notes, played at various times on guitar, drums, or both, accompanied by pounding bass and guitar drones. The repetitive structure is sort of hypnotic in nature, and eerie effects-laden guitars soar over the pounding rhythm, lending a more ethereal feel to the music's driving rigidity.
Spotify
24 | Blanche Blanche Blanche | Breaking Mirrors
Breaking Mirrors is unapologetically lo-fi, with a strange, aggressive pop flair that will get the songs stuck in your head for days despite their initial strangeness. It's full of strange noises and sudden tempo changes, making it thoroughly unpredictable despite its simplicity. While BBB's previous output is more synth-driven, Breaking Mirrors relies much more heavily on guitars, while maintaining the same basic feel of their older material. Wooden Ball, the other album they released in 2013, sort of foreshadows this shift, but it is primarily a rehash of what came before it, while Breaking Mirrors introduces a significant change in their aesthetic, one which in my opinion is for the better.
Spotify
25 | Jackson Scott | Melbourne
A short but sweet album of dreary, hazy, hypnagogic pop / rock. Scott's light, androgynous vocals give an interesting and unique sound. The songs evoke a childlike sense of wonder, but also a dark tinge due to some of the chord progressions and the eerie, dreamlike quality of the production. It's an interesting dynamic, with the up-front innocence and pop harmonies along with the nightmarish qualities creeping in. It feels like the kind of music you could easily fall asleep to (in a good way), but in reality it's probably too loud for that, save for the beautiful ambient interludes.
Evie
That Awful Sound
01 | Julia Holter | Loud City Song
Julia Holter has upped the ante on the breathtaking beauty of her previous album, Ekstasis, this time moving out of the bedroom and into the studio and working with a wider range of instruments and influences. The beginning of the first track, "World," is about as minimalist as can be, with only Julia's beautiful voice echoing through the silence before the more complex arrangements present themselves, effortlessly blending dream pop, ambient, funk, and baroque/chamber pop and fashioning a cohesive whole out of all of these disparate parts. The album traverses a whole range of moods, from happiness and playfulness, to aggression, to wistful sadness, to amusing sardonicism, but always in an intelligent and self-aware manner that never takes itself too seriously, to form a compelling and poetic critique of early 20th century high society (the album is loosely based on the musical Gigi).
In the Green Wild
Maxim's II
This Is a True Heart
02 | My Bloody Valentine | m b v
They did it. After more than 20 years, MBV released a new album that isn't just good, it's incredible. I was prepared for a solid shoegaze album at best, and I'll admit that the first track didn't really disprove that expectation, but the way the album evolves from beginning to end is simply breathtaking, starting with the low-key, classic shoegaze sound of "She Found Now," then adding new ideas and defying the listener's expectations with each track. The decidedly un-shoegaze "Is This and Yes" serves as a sort of dividing point before the really new and intriguing ideas begin to appear. The pop masterpiece "New You" ranks right up there with "When You Sleep" in terms of sheer catchiness, and the album gets wilder and wilder from there with the surprisingly aggressive "In Another Way" and "Nothing Is" before ending with the explosive "Wonder 2," a cacophonous drum and bass influenced track made out of jet engine sounds. m b v defied and exceeded all of my expectations and while I can't say that it's on par with Loveless, it's about as close as it's possible for an album to be without being Loveless.
03 | Colin Stetson | New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
This might be Colin Stetson's craziest album yet, and when it comes to Colin Stetson that can only be a good thing. The sounds this guy makes with his saxophone have to be heard to be believed, and it's made even more impressive by the fact that he records every track in a single take, with multiple strategically placed microphones to achieve a much more expansive and busy sound than you would think possible from a single person; only the vocals, provided by Justin Vernon, are overdubbed. Furthermore, and perhaps most impressive of all, Stetson is the only person I know of who can make Justin Vernon sound interesting. I had no idea he was capable of something like "Brute."
Hunted
Who the Waves Are Roaring For
04 | Chelsea Wolfe | Pain Is Beauty
Chelsea Wolfe's brand of goth-doom-folk-rock-pop reaches a gorgeous new high on Pain Is Beauty. Her music is as dark as ever, while retaining a striking sense of beauty in both the music and the vocals, which I suppose makes the album title very fitting. The fusion of dark and sensual with ferocious and and visceral sounds lends the record a striking contrast, making it alternately snarling and scintillating. And while many tracks are serious with pounding drums and soulful vocals, Wolfe also isn't afraid to lay down a cool rock track like "Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter," which features a super catchy riff and aloof vocals with compelling harmonies, or a beautiful folky track like "They'll Clap When You're Gone," which shows incredible restraint before building to a gorgeous climax.
House of Metal
Kings
05 | The Flaming Lips | The Terror
The Flaming Lips have always been excellent at consistently changing their sound and keeping things fresh and interesting over their decades-long career, and The Terror is no exception. Don't expect anything remotely like the upbeat pop melodies of The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi; this is by far the bleakest album the Lips have ever recorded, so much so that you really have to be in sort of a specific mood to listen to it. The sound of the album focuses on noise and repetitive krautrock rhythms, with Wayne Coyne's voice taking on a ghostly quality.
Look...The Sun Is Rising
The Terror
You Are Alone
06 | Melt-Banana | Fetch
This is easily Melt-Banana's most accessible album yet; while many of their previous albums contained undeveloped, balls-to-the-wall, noisy, less-than-one-minute-long noise rock freakouts, here the band takes more care to develop actual songs, and even cleans up the sound a bit from their previous noisy lo-fi quality, but despite all of that, they remain just as frenetic and unpredictable as ever. One of my favorite parts of the album is the final track, "Zero," which is practically a dance track; long-time fans might get their panties in a twist over this, but for a band known for their unpredictable sound, what better way to end their latest album than a dance track of all things?
Candy Gun
My Missing Link
Schemes of the Tails
07 | Lady Lamb the Beekeeper | Ripely Pine
This might have been my biggest surprise of 2013. I discovered Aly Spaltro's work while absent-mindedly browsing related artists on Last.fm and went into this album expecting run-of-the-mill girl with a guitar folky singer-songwriter stuff, and while that element is certainly present, the album seems to almost deliberately subvert it; halfway through the first track, she drops the low-key act and breaks out into a powerful rock and roll tune, before ending the song just as quietly and calmly as it began. The rest of the album maintains this sense of unpredictability, often switching styles suddenly and without warning in the middle of a song, yet managing to make it sound totally natural. The arrangements are fantastic, ranging from simple acoustic guitar to strong baroque arrangements full of strings and horns, reminiscent of artists such as Van Dyke Parks. Finally, perhaps the linchpin of the entire album is Spaltro's breathtakingly powerful voice, which is at various times subdued, soulful, and aggressive.
Bird Balloons
Aubergine
Crane Your Neck
08 | These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
This band is sort of difficult to describe. If pushed, I'd say maybe baroque post-punk? In any case, Field of Reeds is fantastic, featuring an impressive variety in its instrumentation, including piano, horns, woodwinds, strings, and mallet instruments ("Organ Eternal"), as well as electronic elements. Despite the almost classical nature of its instrumentation, however, it doesn't shy away from traditional rock stylings using those instruments, complete with a solid rhythm section, making for a very interesting sound. The solemn vocals complement the tracks perfectly. The harmonies and the dynamics, which have an enormous range, give the album a huge, beautiful sound. And while the harmonies are often beautiful, there's plenty of dark dissonance as well, as in "The Light in Your Name," which reminds me to some extent of This Heat's "Not Waving."
Fragment Two
09 | Suuns | Images du Futur
Fantastic post-punk, minimalist, dissonant, sometimes noisy, full of off-kilter rhythms, dark infectious grooves, and electronic flourishes. The tracks progress in really interesting ways. The vocals are at times frantic and tense and at other times mumbly and lethargic. Very reminiscent of Clinic and Liars in the best way possible, without feeling derivative.
2020 (seizure warning)
Edie's Dream
Bambi
10 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
While Street Horrrsing is still my favorite Fuck Buttons album, I've really enjoyed seeing them develop their style. The noise that they are known for is still there, but this album is more danceable than their previous work, while avoiding the pitfalls that many artists encounter when they take their work in a more "accessible" direction. I strongly recommend that any fans of this album also listen to their previous work as well, because it's all great.
The Red Wing
Sentients
11 | Julianna Barwick | Nepenthe
This might be Barwick's most complete, rich, lush work yet. She makes use of a wide variety of instruments as well as a girls' choir to create a sound that can only be described as heavenly. There is, however, a significant sense of melancholy in this album as well, as suggested by its title. Tracks like "One Half" convey a fascinating sense of intense sorrow and yearning; I read that Barwick was mourning the recent loss of a loved one while writing and recording Nepenthe, and that definitely comes through in the music.
Pyrrhic
Adventurer of the Family
12 | Sleep In | Cluster Headaches
This wonderful lo-fi outing makes use of a startling variety of musical styles, ranging from electronic ambient to folk to drone to noise to noise rock to metal to industrial, sometimes switching between these genres in a single song, sometimes fusing them together in interesting ways. Despite this startling range, however, the huge variety of sounds never feels forced. The closer, "Summerscreen," is perhaps my favorite track because of its groovy bassline and its stunningly intense climactic freakout that closes out the album perfectly.
Bandcamp
13 | Esben and the Witch | Wash the Sins Not Only the Face
The album begins with a beautiful, dreamy blast of noise, perfectly setting the stage for what follows. There's a sort of ebb and flow between quieter, dream pop moments featuring Rachel Davies's beautiful voice, and more intense, noisier parts, and many tracks begin calmly and progress to a grand climax, perhaps most evidently in "When That Head Splits" and in the final track, "Smashed to Pieces in the Still of the Night." There's a dark, enchanting, fairy tale quality to the music, as you might expect from the band's name.
Iceland Spar
14 | The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
The production here is top-notch, both on the quirky light-hearted tracks and the darker, more serious ones. The beats are consistently interesting, and the album doesn't overstay its welcome, despite its 96 minute runtime. Even the 20-minute ambient track "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" just feels like it fits and doesn't get old or boring, nor does it detract from the focused intensity of the album as a whole. Fever Ray's vocals are, as always, a pleasure to listen to.
A Tooth for an Eye
Without You My Life Would Be Boring
15 | Glasser | Interiors
Glasser is certainly an apt name for this project. The production has a very smooth, glassy, shimmering feel to it, and beyond the electronic elements there are some other great additions, such as strings ("Landscape"), vibraphone ("Keam Theme"), saxophone ("New Year"), and various percussion instruments that provide fascinating sounds. Cameron Mesirow's beautiful vocals complement the music perfectly, giving it a strange, quirky, soulful feel.
Shape
Keam Theme
New Year
16 | Jenny Hval | Innocence Is Kinky
The title of this album is very apt. It features beautiful arrangements and vocals, but at the same time, Hval isn't afraid to get messy. The first words she utters on this album are "That night, I watched people fucking on my computer," which gives the listener a pretty good idea of where the album is headed. The often extremely sexual lyrics don't seem to be solely for shock value, however; they're delivered in a matter-of-fact manner that accepts them as facts of life rather than as taboo subjects. In addition to the lyrics, the music often phases between "innocence," with a more beautiful and dreamy sound, and "kink," with a more noisy and aggressive sound. The fact that Hval is able to reconcile these sounds and themes is pretty good evidence that the claim set forth in the album title has merit.
Innocence Is Kinky
Renée Falconetti of Orléans
Amphibious, Androgynous
17 | Heliotropes | A Constant Sea
A raucous, energetic rock album featuring strong riffs without overindulging in guitar wankery or entirely foregoing subtlety. The album is full of jams, with a strong percussion section, but it also has a few "breather" tracks that are actually quite beautiful, such as "Everyone Else" and "Unadorned." The final track, "Christine," is a pleasant combination of the two extremes, fusing the beauty and noise of the previous tracks.
Quatto
I Walk Upon the Water
18 | Factory Floor | Factory Floor
The minimalism is strong with this one. Most of the tracks begin with a single beat, then build on it in unexpected ways, crafting a progression of cold and austere, yet incredibly danceable, syncopation-filled electro that brings to mind New Order and Throbbing Gristle in equal measure. The improvisational approach the group takes to composing their tracks gives the sense of a futuristic, electronic drum circle.
Turn It Up
Two Different Ways
19 | Candy Claws | Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time
My number two shoegaze album of the year after m b v. While most shoegaze bands are content to simply imitate MBV's sound with varying degrees of success, others have genuinely intriguing ideas that actually contribute something new to the shoegaze genre; Candy Claws falls firmly in the latter category. While they've been dabbling in their lush, tropical brand of shoegaze since their inception, Ceres & Calypso marks a real cementing of their style and a greater confidence in terms of songwriting and production than on their previous albums. If you need more incentive to listen to this album, just imagine a shoegaze rendition of the Zora's Domain music from Ocarina of Time.
Pangaea Girls (Magic Feeling)
Transitional Bird (Clever Girl)
20 | Crystal Stilts | Nature Noir
A really beautiful post-punk album that combines slick grooves, classic rock stylings, and melancholy ballads. Musically it's less dark than their previous album, In Love with Oblivion, but the lyrics are still plenty depressing, and the music certainly isn't bright and happy either. All in all it's a really solid album that I find myself coming back to again and again.
Star Crawl
Future Folklore
21 | Marnie Stern | The Chronicles of Marnia
The most notable thing about this album is the absence of Zach Hill, who played the drums on Stern's three previous albums. Hill's drumming is very distinct and very infectious, and so one might understandably be concerned that he was not involved in this album. However, this is Marnie Stern's project, not Zach Hill's, and Chronicles gives her a chance to prove it. While the songs are still very energetic, the drumming takes on a less significant role than on Stern's previous work, which allows Stern's songwriting, guitar skills, and catchy vocals to shine through all the brighter. And so, while Chronicles may not be as immediately grabbing as In Advance, This Is It, or her s/t, there is just as much enjoyment to be had from it.
Year of the Glad
Proof of Life
22 | Solex | Solex Ahoy! The Sound Map of the Netherlands
This album really does feel like a journey. It includes a broad range of musical styles/genres, as well as field recordings occasionally overlayed in the music; there's even the sound of a car motor at one point a la Kraftwerk's Autobahn. Solex Ahoy sounds almost nothing like Solex's previous work, so if that's what you're expecting you might be disappointed, but if you go into expecting something new and interesting, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Spotify
23 | にせんねんもんだい [Nisennenmondai] | N
This is an odd one. The entire album, composed of three long tracks, is driven by constant sixteenth notes, played at various times on guitar, drums, or both, accompanied by pounding bass and guitar drones. The repetitive structure is sort of hypnotic in nature, and eerie effects-laden guitars soar over the pounding rhythm, lending a more ethereal feel to the music's driving rigidity.
Spotify
24 | Blanche Blanche Blanche | Breaking Mirrors
Breaking Mirrors is unapologetically lo-fi, with a strange, aggressive pop flair that will get the songs stuck in your head for days despite their initial strangeness. It's full of strange noises and sudden tempo changes, making it thoroughly unpredictable despite its simplicity. While BBB's previous output is more synth-driven, Breaking Mirrors relies much more heavily on guitars, while maintaining the same basic feel of their older material. Wooden Ball, the other album they released in 2013, sort of foreshadows this shift, but it is primarily a rehash of what came before it, while Breaking Mirrors introduces a significant change in their aesthetic, one which in my opinion is for the better.
Spotify
25 | Jackson Scott | Melbourne
A short but sweet album of dreary, hazy, hypnagogic pop / rock. Scott's light, androgynous vocals give an interesting and unique sound. The songs evoke a childlike sense of wonder, but also a dark tinge due to some of the chord progressions and the eerie, dreamlike quality of the production. It's an interesting dynamic, with the up-front innocence and pop harmonies along with the nightmarish qualities creeping in. It feels like the kind of music you could easily fall asleep to (in a good way), but in reality it's probably too loud for that, save for the beautiful ambient interludes.
Evie
That Awful Sound
26 | BRAIDS | Flourish // Perish
27 | Tim Hecker | Virgins
28 | Widowspeak | Almanac
29 | True Widow | Circumambulation
30 | Bardo Pond | Peace on Venus
31 | Dirty Beaches | Drifters / Love Is the Devil
32 | Panda Riot | Northern Automatic Music
33 | Pharmakon | Abandon
34 | Clinic | Free Reign II
35 | Spectral Park | Spectral Park
36 | The Haxan Cloak | Excavation
37 | Disappears | Era
38 | Forest Swords | Engravings
39 | James Holden | The Inheritors
40 | Laurel Halo | Chance of Rain
41 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
42 | SPC ECO | Sirens and Satellites
43 | Blablarism | Agnostodynis
44 | Cough Cool | 29
45 | Chelsea Light Moving | Chelsea Light Moving
46 | The Octopus Project | Fever Forms
47 | Jon Hopkins | Immunity
48 | Yo La Tengo | Fade
49 | K'an (坎 | Anima
50 | Jesu | Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came
51 | Doldrums | Lesser Evil
52 | Thee Oh Sees | Floating Coffin
53 | Gauntlet Hair | Stills
54 | Polvo | Siberia
55 | 東京酒吐座 [Tokyo Shoegazer] | Turnaround
56 | Waxahatchee | Cerulean Salt
57 | Wire | Change Becomes Us
58 | The KVB | Immaterial Visions
59 | Hookworms | Pearl Mystic
60 | The Field | Cupid's Head
61 | William Tyler | Impossible Truth
62 | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | Push the Sky Away
63 | Veronica Falls | Waiting for Something to Happen
64 | Deafheaven | Sunbather
65 | Burial | Rival Dealer
66 | Speedy Ortiz | Major Arcana
67 | Eleanor Friedberger | Personal Record
68 | FKA twigs | EP2
69 | Grouper | The Man Who Died in His Boat
70 | Torres | Torres
71 | Rose Windows | The Sun Dogs
72 | Whirr | Around
73 | Tricot | THE
74 | The Fall | Re-Mit
75 | Zola Jesus | Versions
76 | Joanna Gruesome | Weird Sister
77 | Fuzz | Fuzz
78 | Emancipator | Dusk to Dawn
79 | Frankie Rose | Herein Wild
80 | Still Corners | Strange Pleasures
81 | The History of Apple Pie | Out of View
82 | White Denim | Corsicana Lemonade
83 | Pity Sex | Feast of Love
84 | Lovesliescrushing | Ghost Colored Halo
85 | Bill Callahan | Dream River
86 | Blue Hawaii | Untogether
87 | Autechre | Exai
88 | Sigur Rós | Kveikur
89 | Bonobo | The North Borders
90 | Medicine | To the Happy Few
91 | Boards of Canada | Tomorrow's Harvest
92 | Machinedrum | Vapor City
93 | oOoOO | Without Your Love
94 | Austra | Olympia
95 | Daughter | If You Leave
96 | Future Shuttle | In To It
97 | Daniel Avery | Drone Logic
98 | Molly Nilsson | The Travels
99 | Minks | Tides End
100| Blouse | Imperium
27 | Tim Hecker | Virgins
28 | Widowspeak | Almanac
29 | True Widow | Circumambulation
30 | Bardo Pond | Peace on Venus
31 | Dirty Beaches | Drifters / Love Is the Devil
32 | Panda Riot | Northern Automatic Music
33 | Pharmakon | Abandon
34 | Clinic | Free Reign II
35 | Spectral Park | Spectral Park
36 | The Haxan Cloak | Excavation
37 | Disappears | Era
38 | Forest Swords | Engravings
39 | James Holden | The Inheritors
40 | Laurel Halo | Chance of Rain
41 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
42 | SPC ECO | Sirens and Satellites
43 | Blablarism | Agnostodynis
44 | Cough Cool | 29
45 | Chelsea Light Moving | Chelsea Light Moving
46 | The Octopus Project | Fever Forms
47 | Jon Hopkins | Immunity
48 | Yo La Tengo | Fade
49 | K'an (坎
| Anima50 | Jesu | Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came
51 | Doldrums | Lesser Evil
52 | Thee Oh Sees | Floating Coffin
53 | Gauntlet Hair | Stills
54 | Polvo | Siberia
55 | 東京酒吐座 [Tokyo Shoegazer] | Turnaround
56 | Waxahatchee | Cerulean Salt
57 | Wire | Change Becomes Us
58 | The KVB | Immaterial Visions
59 | Hookworms | Pearl Mystic
60 | The Field | Cupid's Head
61 | William Tyler | Impossible Truth
62 | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | Push the Sky Away
63 | Veronica Falls | Waiting for Something to Happen
64 | Deafheaven | Sunbather
65 | Burial | Rival Dealer
66 | Speedy Ortiz | Major Arcana
67 | Eleanor Friedberger | Personal Record
68 | FKA twigs | EP2
69 | Grouper | The Man Who Died in His Boat
70 | Torres | Torres
71 | Rose Windows | The Sun Dogs
72 | Whirr | Around
73 | Tricot | THE
74 | The Fall | Re-Mit
75 | Zola Jesus | Versions
76 | Joanna Gruesome | Weird Sister
77 | Fuzz | Fuzz
78 | Emancipator | Dusk to Dawn
79 | Frankie Rose | Herein Wild
80 | Still Corners | Strange Pleasures
81 | The History of Apple Pie | Out of View
82 | White Denim | Corsicana Lemonade
83 | Pity Sex | Feast of Love
84 | Lovesliescrushing | Ghost Colored Halo
85 | Bill Callahan | Dream River
86 | Blue Hawaii | Untogether
87 | Autechre | Exai
88 | Sigur Rós | Kveikur
89 | Bonobo | The North Borders
90 | Medicine | To the Happy Few
91 | Boards of Canada | Tomorrow's Harvest
92 | Machinedrum | Vapor City
93 | oOoOO | Without Your Love
94 | Austra | Olympia
95 | Daughter | If You Leave
96 | Future Shuttle | In To It
97 | Daniel Avery | Drone Logic
98 | Molly Nilsson | The Travels
99 | Minks | Tides End
100| Blouse | Imperium
Stop rephrasing and EXPLAIN.
How is it smug? Explain what makes an album smug. What identifiable things make it smug?
SaltyDoughnut
Member
01 | Evenings | Yore
02 | Julia Holter | Loud City Song
03 | Giles Corey | Hinterkaifeck
04 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
05 | My Bloody Valentine | m b v
06 | Boards of Canada | Tomorrow's Harvest
07 | Diana | Perpetual Surrender
08 | Owen | L'Ami du Peuple
09 | Toro y Moi | Anything in Return
10 | The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die | Whenever, If Ever
11 | Still Corners | Strange Pleasures
12 | Daniel Avery | Drone Logic
13 | Tim Hecker | Virgins
14 | Floex | Gone
15 | Gold Panda | Half of Where You Live
16 | The National | Trouble Will Find Me
17 | Bonobo | The North Borders
18 | Baths | Obsidian
19 | Burial | Rival Dealer
20 | Chvrches | The Bones of What You Believe
21 | Bibio | Silver Wilkinson
22 | The Field | Cupid's Head
23 | Chance the Rapper | Acid Rap
24 | Four Tet | Beautiful Rewind
25 | Darkside | Psychic
You are a god. Good stuff man.
Edit: I seem to have forgotten to list | Jessy Lanza | Pull My Hair Back
02 | Julia Holter | Loud City Song
03 | Giles Corey | Hinterkaifeck
04 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
05 | My Bloody Valentine | m b v
06 | Boards of Canada | Tomorrow's Harvest
07 | Diana | Perpetual Surrender
08 | Owen | L'Ami du Peuple
09 | Toro y Moi | Anything in Return
10 | The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die | Whenever, If Ever
11 | Still Corners | Strange Pleasures
12 | Daniel Avery | Drone Logic
13 | Tim Hecker | Virgins
14 | Floex | Gone
15 | Gold Panda | Half of Where You Live
16 | The National | Trouble Will Find Me
17 | Bonobo | The North Borders
18 | Baths | Obsidian
19 | Burial | Rival Dealer
20 | Chvrches | The Bones of What You Believe
21 | Bibio | Silver Wilkinson
22 | The Field | Cupid's Head
23 | Chance the Rapper | Acid Rap
24 | Four Tet | Beautiful Rewind
25 | Darkside | Psychic
You are a god. Good stuff man.
Edit: I seem to have forgotten to list | Jessy Lanza | Pull My Hair Back
Johnlenham
Member
Id also like to know this, just out of curiosity
you're asking me to explain something that is very intuitive. but i'll try!
it's indulgent with no driving theme behind it (i'm not talking about concept, but ideology) aside from "damn i've got an awesome studio". it thinks that it gets a free pass because it has lots of sparkly details, but they're all surface. there is no imagery in these sounds because it is so full of itself, so convinced that it is "effortless" yet interesting, when in reality it feels cursory and inconsequential. it is true wallpaper music. which is not necessarily a bad statement on its own, but it relies on context over sonic genuineness. there is no integrity. and of course the fact that it tries to be "groovy" only exasperates these issues and makes them in-your-face obnoxious and cringe-worthy
01 | Case Studies | This Is Another Life
02 | Satanic Rockers | Fu Kung
03 | Connections | Private Airplane
04 | Junkpile Jimmy | Ruins I & IV
05 | Räjäyttäjät | Awopbopaloopop Alopbam RÄJÄ
06 | Ghostface Killah | Twelve Reasons to Die "The Brown Tape"
07 | Sacred Product | Sacred Product
08 | Counter Intuits | Sheets of Hits
09 | Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch | Classic Glass
10 | Obnox | Corrupt Free Enterprise
11 | Jeremiah Jae & Oliver the 2nd | RawHyde
12 | True Sons of Thunder | Stop and Smell Your Face
13 | Constant Mongrel | Heavy Breathing
14 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
15 | Bassholes | Boogieman Stew
16 | L. Pierre | The Island Come True
17 | Michael Hurley | Land of Lofi
18 | The Resonars | Crummy Desert Sound
19 | Oblivians | Desperation
20 | The Sleaze | Tecktonik Girlz & Other Hits
21 | Life Stinks | Life Stinks
22 | Starlito | Cold Turkey
23 | Generacion Suicida | Con La Muerte a Tu Lado
24 | Angkor Wrack | Puma Punkur
25 | Sky Ferreira | Night Time, My Time
albums that would be on the list if live albums were allowed
Birds of Maya | Celebration
John Tchicai, Charlie Kohlhase, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart | Tribal Ghost
Hera with Hamid Drake | Seven Lines
02 | Satanic Rockers | Fu Kung
03 | Connections | Private Airplane
04 | Junkpile Jimmy | Ruins I & IV
05 | Räjäyttäjät | Awopbopaloopop Alopbam RÄJÄ
06 | Ghostface Killah | Twelve Reasons to Die "The Brown Tape"
07 | Sacred Product | Sacred Product
08 | Counter Intuits | Sheets of Hits
09 | Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch | Classic Glass
10 | Obnox | Corrupt Free Enterprise
11 | Jeremiah Jae & Oliver the 2nd | RawHyde
12 | True Sons of Thunder | Stop and Smell Your Face
13 | Constant Mongrel | Heavy Breathing
14 | Run the Jewels | Run the Jewels
15 | Bassholes | Boogieman Stew
16 | L. Pierre | The Island Come True
17 | Michael Hurley | Land of Lofi
18 | The Resonars | Crummy Desert Sound
19 | Oblivians | Desperation
20 | The Sleaze | Tecktonik Girlz & Other Hits
21 | Life Stinks | Life Stinks
22 | Starlito | Cold Turkey
23 | Generacion Suicida | Con La Muerte a Tu Lado
24 | Angkor Wrack | Puma Punkur
25 | Sky Ferreira | Night Time, My Time
albums that would be on the list if live albums were allowed
Birds of Maya | Celebration
John Tchicai, Charlie Kohlhase, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart | Tribal Ghost
Hera with Hamid Drake | Seven Lines
sankt-Antonio
:^)--?-<
01 | Steven Wilson | The raven that refused to sing
02 | Ephel Duath | Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness
02 | Ephel Duath | Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness
Fair enough.
Messofanego
Banned
Man, was I late! Thought albums and games of the year voting would end around the same time. Oh well, might as well post my list even if it might not be counted. Really, this was just a way to show off my physical CDs that I bought over the year.
01 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
I was watching the Glastonbury concert on TV, and was flicking through the different stages when I came across this band playing “Brainfreeze[/ur]”. I was blown away, and had to get the album the next day. I've heard plenty of electronic music this year, but nothing that is this primal, massive, and mind-expanding. It needs to be used in sci-fi movies ASAP. It helps that I get a lot of post-rock vibes from it.
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6f8gVS5jw]Stalker
02 | Bibio | Silver Wilkinson
Folk + electronica, wouldn't have expected that. The most pleasant thing I've heard all year, except for when it plunges into the gloomy depths of Wulf. I feel like hugging someone after hearing "You Won't Remember...". [urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-HBUAj-OIk]"Business Park"[/url] is very Kraftwerk-like until some post-punk jumps in and then ends on a psychedelic note.
Dye the Water Green - best song of 2013, and the bass reminds me of Twin Peaks.
03 | SubRosa | More Constant Than The Gods
I never expected doom metal (a bit post-rocky) to sound this beautiful, thanks to a wider palette in soundscapes due to the electronic violins and female vocals. My sister thought from the second half of “Affliction” that I was listening to yndi halda, which makes sense because of the violins and post-rock vibe. Much like yndi halda, it’s only 6 songs and they’re all bloody brilliant in their movements. Yes, a doom metal album is in my top 3, thanks to XANDER CAGE.
Ghosts of the Dead Empire
04 | Kinski | Cosy Moments
Listen to “Counterpointer”, if that doesn’t get through to you, then this band won’t. Very underrated and underexposed post rock/punk band and they deliver another great album. There have been other great rock albums but I keep on coming back to this most probably because of its pleasing stoner-like melodies. “Let Me Take You Through My Thought Process” is old-school rock-and-roll. They started to add vocals and have shorter songs like “Riff DAD”, which I’d say worked out great. If you like Sonic Youth, you should check them out.
A Little Ticker Tape Never Hurt Anybody
05 | Yamantaka Sonic Titan | Uzu
These Japanese-Canadian art rockers’ east-meet-west style has captivated me ever since they were featured in my favourite videogame of 2012. I love that the album tracks flow into each other, so I’d recommend to listening to this album from start to finish for a rollercoaster of musical styles. Especially the four songs from “Seasickness (Part 1) to “One”.
One
06 | Chelsea Wolfe | Pain Is Beauty
Brooding and gothic, I just bloody love this kind of atmosphere with Chelsea’s seductive voice. “Lone” so needs to be in a western movie now!
The Warden
07 | God Is An Astronaut | Origins
One of my favourite post-rock bands once again delivers a great, solid album with some shorter and catchier songs. Saw them live (recorded the whole set), and they rock out harder than the album.
Weightless
08 | 65daysofstatic | Wild Light
I had heard of them for a while, but I never bought one of their albums. I’m glad I did this time, these post-rockers are great.
Safe Passage
09 | Gary Numan | Splinter
I wasn’t old enough to appreciate this guy at his prime, but goddamn this is such a perfect dark synth/industrial album. Hearing that this was made during his darkest time of life, it comes through in songs like “”, “[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA1XlmvQkiI]Everything Comes Down to This” and “Lost” which is a particularly confessional and brutal song. Seriously, “My Last Day” would the most depressing song to play in a funeral. This is what I’ve wished Nine Inch Nails to sound like (which is interesting that he inspired them). I can’t believe Gary sounds this good at 55. If you want to know a little more about the comeback of this legend, here’s a good live performance + interview.
Love Hurt Bleed
10 | Melt Banana | Fetch
I should be more into headbanging, cutesy Japanese noise-punk so here we go. I’ve heard of them when this music video was huge in the 90s and relations to Sonic Youth, but never bought an album. So glad I did, because even if it’s only 32 min that just makes it even more replayable.
Candy Gun
11 | Young Knives | Sick Octave
Multidimensional and mental, this British indie rock outfit reinvents itself and goes for broke on all kinds of sounds (post-punk, dark synth, shoegaze, doo wop ballads, experimental, even jazz). Tons of unexpected variety. The best part is none of it is referential like most of the current revivalism. You won't be having phantom nostalgia because there is still the Young Knives stamp of dark humour and slightly abrasive sound. "We Could Blood" is a post-punk infused romantic ballad with doo wop sprinkled around. "Something Awful" sounds like it's about a modern Jekyll/Hyde with full-on robotic transformation sequence in the choruses. "Maureen" is an ode to that creepy but well-meaning neighbour who'll be that shoulder to cry on for that beautiful apartment girl, It's not much a stretch to hear it was inspired by Philip Seymour Hoffman's pervert character in Todd Solondz's Happiness (one of the best dark comedies ever). Seeing them live was a highlight of my year.
Owl of Athens
12 | Chelsea Light Moving | Chelsea Light Moving
Sonic Youth is pretty much my favourite band, so to have Thurston Moore have a new band (while SY goes through a long hiatus) rather than just a solo project and have it sound like early Sonic Youth with all the experimentation and weirdness had me so excited. It really delivers. Goes to show there isn’t really anything quite like his brand of music with not just experimental-noise guitar work (and a twingy guitar tone) but also fluctuating rhythms accompanied by his soothing voice on beat poet-like lyrics.
Alighted
13 | Darkside | Psychedelic
This is all over the place and I love it. I could describe it as techno rock jazz blues, but I don’t think that satisfies for every song.
The Golden Arrow
14 | Holy Ghost | Dyanamics
Since there’s no more LCD Soundsystem, this techno disco will do. It’s not just that, as “In The Red” would be great for a nostalgic car ride and “Don’t Look Down” shows a more emotional side that could easily be an 80s classic.
Dum Disco Ideas
15 | Agnes Obel | Aventine
Darker, melancholic piano folk is a thing, apparently.
The Curse – whe she hums, it reminds me a lot of Madonna’s “Frozen”.
16 | These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
I have no way to predict what these guys’ albums will sound. They constantly surprise. This is so freaking majestic. A good companion piece with Forest Swords.
Fragment Two
17 | Forest Swords | Engravings
Spiritual, mythic, east+west, and a beautiful marriage of the analogue and digital.
The Weight Of Gold
18 | Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog | Your Turn
I only chanced on them because I was checking which were the highest rated albums of the year on Metacritic. Mix of jazz, noise, experimental, punk ROCK that has a ton of variety. There is a pretty insane cover of Dave Brubeck's Take 5.They even have one track about music piracy (“Masters of the Internet”, which is full of sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humour. Where have these guys been my whole life?!
Prayer - Always lose my mind to this.
19 | Anamanaguchi | Endless Fantasy
Electro pop can be either love-or-hate. It can be nostalgic, easy to zone out to, or just feel good. In favour of striving for a good mood however, there can be a lack of varying instrumentation. Anamanaguchi still sounds all their own with their videogame chiptune aesthetic, and bring a ton of various moods across the albym. If you want sugary electric rock/pop goodness with a focus on danceable melodies and engaging instrumentation, this is the album. One of the most uplifting albums I've heard all year.
Echobo
20 | John Grant | Pale Green Ghosts
This is my kind of darker singe-songwriter album. Confessional, hilarious, emotionally heavy, and self|deprecating with not a lazy acoustic song in sight. It helps if you're a fan of Gary Numan's dark synths, too.
Ernest Borgnine
21 | Autechre | Exai
It’s a double album, so it’s hard to switch back and forth and I still haven’t listened to every single track. Regardless, if you want complex, cold, experimental electronica that seems to be in its own space THIS IS IT. Playing this in the car and have the family be puzzled is great. Do not miss out on the weirdness.
Irlite (Get 0)
22 | Savages | Silence Yourself
A post-punk album that just delivers on every level with some ferocious and evocative vocals from Jehnny Beth.
Waiting For A Sign
23 | Machinedrum | Vapor City
Fucking excellent dreamy, jungle synth pop that deserves more love. I was surprised to find he wasn’t from the UK. The dingy sounds of “Vizion” reminded me of Burial. Also, Eyesdontlieeyesdontlieeyesdontlieeyesdontlie.
U Still Lie – if there’s a Drive sequel, this needs be on that. Dat nostalgia.
24 | Kvelertak | Meir
I may not understand the lyrics, but goddamn is this some catchy metal.
Apenbaring
25 | Haken | Mountain
Whoah, this album knocked me for a loop. All the cool guitar/keyboard jazz and playful storytelling of prog rock without the pretentiousness.
Cockroach King
26 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
It’s as if a nature documentary was scored by robots in the far flung biodome futures.
Chrome Country
27 | Ludovico Einaudi | In A Time Lapse
I don't really follow the classical/orchestral/piano scene, but as soon as I heard "Experience", my ears had been taken through an emotional rollercoaster that was up there with Clint Mansell's The Fountain score. "Newton's Cradle" and "Life" are other highlights too.
Experience
28 | Queens of the Stone Age | ...Like Clockwork
There are a few songs that fall flat, but the highs are so damn high like the operatic “I Appear Missing”. I love the disorder and sleaze of “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”. “Kalopsia” reminds me of Pink Floyd, dreamy verses with punky choruses.
Kalopsia
29 | Clutch | Earth Rocker
Yo, this is just simply a great rock and roll album from the word go, so hear the full album.
Unto the Breach
30 | The Joy Formidable | Wolf's Law
Gotta represent these Welsh peeps, their brand of catchy arena rock is infectious.
The Leopard and the Lung
01 | Fuck Buttons | Slow Focus
I was watching the Glastonbury concert on TV, and was flicking through the different stages when I came across this band playing “Brainfreeze[/ur]”. I was blown away, and had to get the album the next day. I've heard plenty of electronic music this year, but nothing that is this primal, massive, and mind-expanding. It needs to be used in sci-fi movies ASAP. It helps that I get a lot of post-rock vibes from it.
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6f8gVS5jw]Stalker
02 | Bibio | Silver Wilkinson
Folk + electronica, wouldn't have expected that. The most pleasant thing I've heard all year, except for when it plunges into the gloomy depths of Wulf. I feel like hugging someone after hearing "You Won't Remember...". [urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-HBUAj-OIk]"Business Park"[/url] is very Kraftwerk-like until some post-punk jumps in and then ends on a psychedelic note.
Dye the Water Green - best song of 2013, and the bass reminds me of Twin Peaks.
03 | SubRosa | More Constant Than The Gods
I never expected doom metal (a bit post-rocky) to sound this beautiful, thanks to a wider palette in soundscapes due to the electronic violins and female vocals. My sister thought from the second half of “Affliction” that I was listening to yndi halda, which makes sense because of the violins and post-rock vibe. Much like yndi halda, it’s only 6 songs and they’re all bloody brilliant in their movements. Yes, a doom metal album is in my top 3, thanks to XANDER CAGE.
Ghosts of the Dead Empire
04 | Kinski | Cosy Moments
Listen to “Counterpointer”, if that doesn’t get through to you, then this band won’t. Very underrated and underexposed post rock/punk band and they deliver another great album. There have been other great rock albums but I keep on coming back to this most probably because of its pleasing stoner-like melodies. “Let Me Take You Through My Thought Process” is old-school rock-and-roll. They started to add vocals and have shorter songs like “Riff DAD”, which I’d say worked out great. If you like Sonic Youth, you should check them out.
A Little Ticker Tape Never Hurt Anybody
05 | Yamantaka Sonic Titan | Uzu
These Japanese-Canadian art rockers’ east-meet-west style has captivated me ever since they were featured in my favourite videogame of 2012. I love that the album tracks flow into each other, so I’d recommend to listening to this album from start to finish for a rollercoaster of musical styles. Especially the four songs from “Seasickness (Part 1) to “One”.
One
06 | Chelsea Wolfe | Pain Is Beauty
Brooding and gothic, I just bloody love this kind of atmosphere with Chelsea’s seductive voice. “Lone” so needs to be in a western movie now!
The Warden
07 | God Is An Astronaut | Origins
One of my favourite post-rock bands once again delivers a great, solid album with some shorter and catchier songs. Saw them live (recorded the whole set), and they rock out harder than the album.
Weightless
08 | 65daysofstatic | Wild Light
I had heard of them for a while, but I never bought one of their albums. I’m glad I did this time, these post-rockers are great.
Safe Passage
09 | Gary Numan | Splinter
I wasn’t old enough to appreciate this guy at his prime, but goddamn this is such a perfect dark synth/industrial album. Hearing that this was made during his darkest time of life, it comes through in songs like “”, “[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA1XlmvQkiI]Everything Comes Down to This” and “Lost” which is a particularly confessional and brutal song. Seriously, “My Last Day” would the most depressing song to play in a funeral. This is what I’ve wished Nine Inch Nails to sound like (which is interesting that he inspired them). I can’t believe Gary sounds this good at 55. If you want to know a little more about the comeback of this legend, here’s a good live performance + interview.
Love Hurt Bleed
10 | Melt Banana | Fetch
I should be more into headbanging, cutesy Japanese noise-punk so here we go. I’ve heard of them when this music video was huge in the 90s and relations to Sonic Youth, but never bought an album. So glad I did, because even if it’s only 32 min that just makes it even more replayable.
Candy Gun
11 | Young Knives | Sick Octave
Multidimensional and mental, this British indie rock outfit reinvents itself and goes for broke on all kinds of sounds (post-punk, dark synth, shoegaze, doo wop ballads, experimental, even jazz). Tons of unexpected variety. The best part is none of it is referential like most of the current revivalism. You won't be having phantom nostalgia because there is still the Young Knives stamp of dark humour and slightly abrasive sound. "We Could Blood" is a post-punk infused romantic ballad with doo wop sprinkled around. "Something Awful" sounds like it's about a modern Jekyll/Hyde with full-on robotic transformation sequence in the choruses. "Maureen" is an ode to that creepy but well-meaning neighbour who'll be that shoulder to cry on for that beautiful apartment girl, It's not much a stretch to hear it was inspired by Philip Seymour Hoffman's pervert character in Todd Solondz's Happiness (one of the best dark comedies ever). Seeing them live was a highlight of my year.
Owl of Athens
12 | Chelsea Light Moving | Chelsea Light Moving
Sonic Youth is pretty much my favourite band, so to have Thurston Moore have a new band (while SY goes through a long hiatus) rather than just a solo project and have it sound like early Sonic Youth with all the experimentation and weirdness had me so excited. It really delivers. Goes to show there isn’t really anything quite like his brand of music with not just experimental-noise guitar work (and a twingy guitar tone) but also fluctuating rhythms accompanied by his soothing voice on beat poet-like lyrics.
Alighted
13 | Darkside | Psychedelic
This is all over the place and I love it. I could describe it as techno rock jazz blues, but I don’t think that satisfies for every song.
The Golden Arrow
14 | Holy Ghost | Dyanamics
Since there’s no more LCD Soundsystem, this techno disco will do. It’s not just that, as “In The Red” would be great for a nostalgic car ride and “Don’t Look Down” shows a more emotional side that could easily be an 80s classic.
Dum Disco Ideas
15 | Agnes Obel | Aventine
Darker, melancholic piano folk is a thing, apparently.
The Curse – whe she hums, it reminds me a lot of Madonna’s “Frozen”.
16 | These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
I have no way to predict what these guys’ albums will sound. They constantly surprise. This is so freaking majestic. A good companion piece with Forest Swords.
Fragment Two
17 | Forest Swords | Engravings
Spiritual, mythic, east+west, and a beautiful marriage of the analogue and digital.
The Weight Of Gold
18 | Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog | Your Turn
I only chanced on them because I was checking which were the highest rated albums of the year on Metacritic. Mix of jazz, noise, experimental, punk ROCK that has a ton of variety. There is a pretty insane cover of Dave Brubeck's Take 5.They even have one track about music piracy (“Masters of the Internet”
, which is full of sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humour. Where have these guys been my whole life?!Prayer - Always lose my mind to this.
19 | Anamanaguchi | Endless Fantasy
Electro pop can be either love-or-hate. It can be nostalgic, easy to zone out to, or just feel good. In favour of striving for a good mood however, there can be a lack of varying instrumentation. Anamanaguchi still sounds all their own with their videogame chiptune aesthetic, and bring a ton of various moods across the albym. If you want sugary electric rock/pop goodness with a focus on danceable melodies and engaging instrumentation, this is the album. One of the most uplifting albums I've heard all year.
Echobo
20 | John Grant | Pale Green Ghosts
This is my kind of darker singe-songwriter album. Confessional, hilarious, emotionally heavy, and self|deprecating with not a lazy acoustic song in sight. It helps if you're a fan of Gary Numan's dark synths, too.
Ernest Borgnine
21 | Autechre | Exai
It’s a double album, so it’s hard to switch back and forth and I still haven’t listened to every single track. Regardless, if you want complex, cold, experimental electronica that seems to be in its own space THIS IS IT. Playing this in the car and have the family be puzzled is great. Do not miss out on the weirdness.
Irlite (Get 0)
22 | Savages | Silence Yourself
A post-punk album that just delivers on every level with some ferocious and evocative vocals from Jehnny Beth.
Waiting For A Sign
23 | Machinedrum | Vapor City
Fucking excellent dreamy, jungle synth pop that deserves more love. I was surprised to find he wasn’t from the UK. The dingy sounds of “Vizion” reminded me of Burial. Also, Eyesdontlieeyesdontlieeyesdontlieeyesdontlie.
U Still Lie – if there’s a Drive sequel, this needs be on that. Dat nostalgia.
24 | Kvelertak | Meir
I may not understand the lyrics, but goddamn is this some catchy metal.
Apenbaring
25 | Haken | Mountain
Whoah, this album knocked me for a loop. All the cool guitar/keyboard jazz and playful storytelling of prog rock without the pretentiousness.
Cockroach King
26 | Oneohtrix Point Never | R Plus Seven
It’s as if a nature documentary was scored by robots in the far flung biodome futures.
Chrome Country
27 | Ludovico Einaudi | In A Time Lapse
I don't really follow the classical/orchestral/piano scene, but as soon as I heard "Experience", my ears had been taken through an emotional rollercoaster that was up there with Clint Mansell's The Fountain score. "Newton's Cradle" and "Life" are other highlights too.
Experience
28 | Queens of the Stone Age | ...Like Clockwork
There are a few songs that fall flat, but the highs are so damn high like the operatic “I Appear Missing”. I love the disorder and sleaze of “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”. “Kalopsia” reminds me of Pink Floyd, dreamy verses with punky choruses.
Kalopsia
29 | Clutch | Earth Rocker
Yo, this is just simply a great rock and roll album from the word go, so hear the full album.
Unto the Breach
30 | The Joy Formidable | Wolf's Law
Gotta represent these Welsh peeps, their brand of catchy arena rock is infectious.
The Leopard and the Lung
Messofanego
Banned
Messofanego
Banned
I'm really surprised there are barely any songs from Oneohtrix Point Never's album on youtube. No full version of "Still Life", no "Americans"
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