Top 100 Albums of 2013

      2013 turned out to be a very, very good year for albums. I actually had to cut a couple albums off of this list to make it an even 100, it was truly an embarrassment of riches. There were a good variety of genres all of which are well represented here. From hip hop (Pusha-T’s “My Name is my Name”coming out on top), DJ mixes (DJ Koze's album “Amygdala” is one of the best instrumental DJ albums since DJ Shadow's classic 1996 LP "Entroducing"), Dance (Disclosure made the best straight ahead dance album in a long time with their near-perfect “Settle”), metal (Deafheaven’s “Sunbather”takes elements of black metal with shoegaze and transcends definition making a dreamy yet entirely frightening masterpiece), punk ( I can’t say enough good things about Pissed Jeans or Savages), electronic (The Knife, Dirty Beaches, Boards of Canada), neo classical (These New Puritans) and music that defies a simple one word tag (emotionally charged masterpieces by Majical Cloudz and Autre Ne Veut). All the while old favorites like Nick Cave, My Bloody Valentine, David Bowie, hell even Depeche Mode (!) made some of their best works in years.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending the last 12 months being fully engulfed in all of these works, sometimes with a critical ear, other times desk or car dancing (thanks Daft Punk) all the while appreciating the challenging as well as catchy. For anyone doubtful on the future of music, there is something for pretty much everyone to appreciate somewhere in these 100 great records.

Previously I used to write small reviews for each album, I just simply do not have the time to do so now. I have been doing these lists for almost a decade now and they seem to keep growing every year as my taste and thirst for new music grows. So I only wrote reviews for my 5 favorites. As time moves on more reviews may surface.

Looking through this list it is hard to believe how many great albums are so close to the bottom 100, I actually spent a good deal of time making sure the order was representative of what I thought of each record in comparison to the others. It was a challenging job but I am happy with the outcome and extremely confident in every choice made here. There were a lot of new faces this year as well which makes me even more hopeful for the future. Also keep in mind these are all full length studio albums, there are no compilations, EPs, or singles listed here. This is important to notate as every passing year I hear how the album is a dying medium yet here I am celebrating 100 more fantastic works of art that were just released in the past 12 months. As stated above not all of these are going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I pride myself on my diversity, plus I have one of the most polarizing figures on here (hi Yeezus). It is still fun to turn people onto new sounds as well as have arguments/disagreements/discussions about album placements.

100.Danny Brown – Old

99.Touche Amore – Is Survived By

98. Blood Orange – Cupid Deluxe

97.Smith Westerns – Soft Will

96.Earl Sweatshirt – Doris

95.Yuck – Glow and Behold

94.Chvrhes – The Bones of What You Believe

93.Flaming Lips – The Terror

92.The National – Trouble Will Find Me

91.Wire – Change Becomes Us

90.Haxan Cloak – Excavation

89.Future Bible Heroes – Partygoing

88.Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito

87.Crash of Rhinos – Knots

86.Speedy Ortiz – Major Arcana

85.No Age – An Object

84.Thundercat – Apocalypse

83.Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin

82.Juliana Barwick – Nepenthe

81.Holy Ghost! – Dynamics

80.Cults – Static

79.Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge – Twelve Reasons to Die

78.Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks

77.Forest Swords – Engravings

76.Tim Hecker – Virgins

75.Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven

74.Jim James – Regions of Light and the Sound

73.The Field – Cupid’s Head

72.Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady

71.Tyler, The Creator – Wolf

70.Depeche Mode – Delta Machine

69.Doldrums – Lesser Evil

68.David Bowie – The Next Day

67.Wavves – Afraid of Heights

66.Phoenix – Bankrupt!

65.Grouper – The Man Who Died In His Boat

64.Action Bronson/Party Supplies – Blue Chips 2

63.Cakes Da Killa – The Eulogy

62.Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap

61.Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob

60.Iceage – You’re Nothing

59.Baths – Obsidian

58.James Blake – Overgrown

57.The Men – New Moon

56.Queens of the Stone Age – Like Clockwork

55.Johnny Marr – The Messenger

54.No Joy – Wait to Pleasure

53.Mazzy Star – Seasons of Your Day

52.Eleanor Friedberger – Personal Record

51.Heliocentrics – 13 Degrees of Reality

50.Yo La Tengo-Fade

49.Cut Copy – Free Your Mind

48.Los Campesions! – No Blues

47.DJ Rashad – Double Cup

46.M.I.A. – Matangi

45.Ty Segall – Sleeper

44.Sigur Ros – Kveikur

43.Julia Holter – Loud City Song

42.Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt

41.Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels

40.Mikal Cronin – MCII

39.Kelela – Cut 4 Me

38.Jon Hopkins – Immunity

37.Bill Callahan – Dream River

36.Dismemberment Plan – Uncanney Valley

35.Darkside – Psychic

34.Atoms For Peace – AMOK

33.Kanye West - Yeezus

32. Death Grips – Government Plates

31.Pusha T – My Name is My Name

30.Youth Lagoon – Wondrous Bughouse

29.Fuck Buttons – Slow Focus

28.Mutual Benefit – Love’s Crushing Diamond

27.Washed Out - Paracosm

26.Arctic Monkeys – AM

25.Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight

24.DJ Koze – Amygdala

23.Phosphorescent – Muchacho

22.Foxygen-We are the 21^st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

21.Haim – Days Are Gone

20.Deafheaven – Sunbather

19. Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest

18.Dirty Beaches – Drifters/Love is the Devil

17.Kurt Vile – Waking on a Pretty Daze

16.Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away

15.Cass McCombs – Big Wheel and Others

14.Superchunk – I Hate Music

13.Savages – Silence Yourself

12.Autre Ne Veut – Anxiety

11.Majical Cloudz – Impersonator

10.The Knife – Shaking the Habitual

9.Arcade Fire - Reflektor

8.Disclosure – Settle

7.Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

6.These New Puritans – Field of Reeds

5.Deerhunter – Monomania

Scaling back from the grand experiments made on the excellent “Halcyon Digest”, the unbelievably consistent Deerhunter decided to make a dirty rock record. While this is surely fuzzy and abrasive in spots you do get some genuine moments of beauty as one has come to expect from this band. Guitarist Lockett Pundt included one of his very best songs on the gorgeous “The Missing” following up on the promise he made on last year’s excellent Lotus Plaza album “Spooky Action at a Distance” one of my favorite albums from 2012 that I still play regularly. Elsewhere the blues influenced “Pensacola” is easily one of my favorite songs of the year, a chill inducing travelogue set to a scuffed up Bo Diddley backbeat. The dichotomy of sounds throughout should make for a non-cohesive frustrating listen but the entire thing holds together perfectly. As soon as you think these songs are going to fall apart they are not only held together but completely succeed in the assumed chaos. While I obviously missed some of the sheer beauty of the now classic “Halcyon Digest” and “Microcastle” initially, this album actually matches those in terms of sheer bombast and ambition. I’ve said it before but Deerhunter may be the single greatest rock band on the planet right now and as evidenced here rather than rest on their laurels they actually made a left turn and continued to succeed beautifully making another instant classic.

4.Pissed Jeans – Honeys

Taking the best aspects of 90s noise rock (Shellac/Fugazi/Jesus Lizard) and melding it into something completely their own, these Philly guys hit the mark perfectly here on their fourth album. This is a perfect angst ridden record for the mid 30s office worker raised on Black Flag’s “My War” and Amphetamine Reptile Records compilations (shocking that I relate to and adore this record so much). Guitar player Brad Fry is slowly becoming one of my favorites at this very moment, he is simply on fire throughout this entire record and his riffs compliment Matt Korvette’s sometimes hilarious lyrics about the mundane existence of us working stiffs. Check out the sludgy “Cafeteria Food” and the all out aural assault of “Health Plan”for just two examples, the latter of which has one of the best lines on the record “You want to know my secret? I stay away from doctors yeah that's how I stay fit”. All the steps forward this band made on their excellent previous album“King of Jeans” are perfectly executed here resulting in possibly their most satisfying album yet. Not for the faint of heart, but for anyone who wants to relieve some stress and maybe have a good laugh this album should be in regular rotation.

3.Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City

If one ever had any doubts of this band’s potential or was turned off by the initial hype surrounding them, this album should surely alleviate any doubts of what a monstrous force Vampire Weekend truly have become. By far their best album to date, it starts with one of the most gorgeous album openers heard in years and follows that up with my favorite song of the year, the tearful yet joyous “Unbelievers”. When this track is heard on its own it is a life-changing experience but in the context of his incredibly perfect album it only makes it better. This record basically consolidates all of VW’s many strengths. There are fun harpsichord tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Wes Anderson film; there are beautiful ballads all of which are all executed with a newfound maturity and completely with over the top literary lyrics that demand/reward re-listening. It is always exciting to watch a band grow but this meteoric rise has to be one of the most impressive in recent times. This album also shows a remarkable range of styles from upbeat spiritual singalongs like “Ya Hey” or the mellow mood piece “Hudson”, it all comes together astonishingly in one of the most impressive releases of the year.

2.Laura Marling – Once I Was an Eagle

Deceivingly simple yet incredibly ambitious, Laura Marling’s fourth album, is easily one of this year’s very best. The opening suite of songs flows together effortlessly, her finger picking guitar style sometimes reminiscent of Nick Drake or Elliot Smith. Folky but forward thinking, the Joni Mitchell comparisons are somewhat unavoidable yet absolutely nothing about this record seems derivative. There is an almost Zeppelin esque hugeness to some of these songs, the same way Pink Floyd made the acoustic “Fearless” sound like herd of elephants stampeding in your ears. The mellow moments are just as effective but equally all consuming, an impressive feat for a 23 year old. While her previous work was more focused in British folk, this album shows more of a fanfare for 70s west coast singer/songwriter territory. Not to say this album is one sided, as it shows many facets of this courageous artists vision, but the newfound pacific coast highlights add a shimmer to an already impressive batch of songs. Incredibly visionary, extremely cohesive, Marling has made a insta-classic that will probably remain a constant favorite for years to come.

1.My Bloody Valentine – MBV

It was a cold Saturday night last February, there were rumors throughout the day that after a 22 year long wait, the long-awaited follow up to one of the 90’s most treasured albums My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless” will finally be heard. I was skeptical of course but it seemed more likely with every passing twitter/facebook update I was getting from all of my music related news sources that it could finally happen. I knew there was no possible way it would even come close to the majestic glory that is “Loveless” or even the previous album, the excellent “Isn’t Anything”but still just to be able to hear Kevin Shields guitar with Bilinda Butcher’s barely audible yet haunting vocals on anything new was enough to send shivers up my spine in pure anticipation. Then it happened, after numerous site crashes it was finally unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Whenever I speak of My Bloody Valentine I tend to warn the uninitiated that they are a “grower” band, meaning that it takes a few listens to really recognize the genius and beauty of their music behind the multiple layers and walls of sheer sonic force. Surprisingly what hit me almost immediately with this record was that its beauty was evident on the very first listen. I thought I was letting my excitement overshadow the music, that there was no possible way what I was hearing was actually this good. After a good 50 listens during the first couple of days alone I knew that my contentment and ultimate satisfaction were in fact completely warranted as this album was every bit the masterpiece of their previous work. The album is only 9 songs in 46 minutes, but seems to fly by in half that time. It is sequenced rather bizarrely, almost sounding like three separate EPs played back to back rather than a cohesive long playing album. Somehow this sequencing benefits the album greatly, taking you on a sonic journey complete with towering peaks and valleys. The fact that this record sounds like it could have been released a year after “Loveless” but still sounds completely contemporary in today’s musical climate shows just how truly timeless this work is. It is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece that probably won’t be topped until they decide to release another album, hopefully we won’t have to wait as long this time.

Various Other Favorites from 2013:

Compliations/Reissues (in no order):

Rilo Kiley – Rkives

Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information

Bob Dylan – Another Self Portrait

Belle and Sebastian – The Third Eye Centre

Peter Jefferies – The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World

Robbie Basho – Visions of the Country

Four Tet – Rounds

Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas

Songs:Ohia – Magnolia Electric Company

Top 5 shows:

5. Deafheaven – The Barbary. Philadelphia, PA.July 1^st2013

4. Quicksand – Riotfest. Chicago, IL.September 15^th 2013

3. Pissed Jeans - Pitchfork Music Festival. Chicago, IL. July 20th 2013

2. TNGHT – Pitchfork Music Festival. Chicago, IL. July 21^st2013

1. The Replacements– Riotfest.Chicago, IL. September 15^th2013

Top 5 Songs:

5.Majical Cloudz – “Silver Rings”

4.Daft Punk featuring Panda Bear –“Doin it Right”

3.My Bloody Valentine – “New You”

2.Deerhunter – “Pensacola”

1.Vampire Weekend – “Unbelievers”