Top 50 Albums 2013 Part II

This concludes the best albums of 2013. Hope you enjoy the list and get into as many artists as possible. Expect my ten favortive Singles / EP´s of this year in a few days and look forward to some albums and releases getting a full review in the future.

24. The Field - Cupid´s Head

The Field - Cupid´s Head

Dark wouldn´t necessarily be the best way to describe Cupid´s Head. In comparison to The Field´s previous work, maybe, but listening to the album in it-self, it would be very misguiding and put his style of electronic music too close to the categories of Goth and rave. Cupid´s Head is an breath-taking heady and atmospheric listen. With this said, it isn´t overwhelmingly complex or textured, but draws you in and lets you dwell in its own atmosphere. Moments like "No. No..." might fall on the sadder side, but if you take "A Guided Tour" or the title track into account, there is a very well made mixture of uplifting and moody sounds, without dragging you anywhere near a dark or claustrophobic feeling.




23. JK Flesh & Prurient - Worship Is The Cleansing Of The Imagination

JK Flesh & Prurient - Worship Is The Cleansing Of The Imagination

Loud and abrasive meets with noise and texture, or JK Flesh and Prurient succeed at bidding farewell to Hydra Head in less than 40 minutes. Worship... was the last release on Hydra Head records, the label known for being the brainchild of Aaron Turner of ISIS fame and moreover as the home for some of the best acts in experimental music elongated to the metal side of things. JK Flesh as the moniker for Justin K. Broadricks heaver side and Prurient as the noise-outlet of Domnik Fernow bring you three tracks each and built a memorial that finds its end and dissolution in the noise ballad "I Understand You". Potent stuff if you want something different and forward thinking and a great first start if you never heard anything from Hydra Head (start with Isis for what it´s worth).




22. Lorde - Pure Heroine

Lorde - Pure Heroine

For the rapid success of Lorde, releasing her debut EP in the same year as her debut album, I wouldn´t have guessed for Pure Heroine (get the world play?) being that good. In comparison, Sky Ferreira took over a year for her debut album after her big break last year and it was a disappointment with pure production, no ideas and pretty bad lyrics. Lorde took the full momentum with her and maybe had a better vision of her music with or without the success. Pure Heroine follows pretty much in the spirit of "Royals": Her strange coming of age and highly reliable lyrics paired with mostly sparse beat / bass music. But the ten tracks carry on consistently and don´t bore you one bit. May it be the trancy "Ribs", the swaying indie like "Buzzcut Season" or the energetic "White Teeth Teens", in retrospect every song could have been "Royals" somehow and this speaks for the talent and craft of a very young artist. If Lorde sticks to her great mentality (like saying NO to David Guetta and his miscarriages of club music) and builds on her craft, we will have ourselves more great pop music with character in the future. Plus: You just have to see her perform with the most creepy but still lovable movements ever made by humans.

21. Torres - Torres

Torres - Torres

As a self-releasing artist Mackenzie Scott aka Torres, could easily be put in the category of “bedroom” musicians: The ones that record stuff so lo-fi every indie blog has to cover it and goes nuts over eventually. But expanding over the normal stereotypes, what you get is really heartfelt and at times stirringly minimalistic music. Every song on here is guitar and vocal driven; only at times there are some drums, strings or a real bass to be heard. If one didn't know any better, he'd be reminded of early White Stripes (without the primal drumming of Meg White). But apart from that Torres does really care about melody and deliverance. Even if most of the time the gain is at a really “rockisch” level and the distortion stresses this, there is no screaming or crooning prevalent. If you are interested in powerful singing and splendid songwriting that is as catchy as it is intelligent, don't pass on this one. Support Torres in any way possible, for this is one of the most promising debuts of 2013.



20. James Blake - Overgrown

James Blake - Overgrown

When you go back to James Blake debut album after listening to Overgrown, you´ll get what it means to grow as an artist. The first words that were thrown around were Blake being a post-dub step artist going into the territories of soul and r´n´b and the music on his debut pretty much let this comparison be justified. You had Blakes voice working on the mind set of an soul singer intermingled with the production of recent electronic music / newer dub-step sounds. The elements mixed to getter pretty well, but you could still say, that Blake was singing over different instrumentation then usually anticipated and that he obscured his voice for the purpose of "blending in". On Overgrown you´ll get the modern soul music produced by someone who knows how to craft dub music. Here Blake´s voice almost takes center stage while working with the instrumentation and the delivery is very confident and never obscured by things such as pitch shifting gimmicks. With this, Overgrown delivers the greatest feelings of sorrow and brokenness while not going down Delta and sounding fresh and innovative.

James Blake [overgrown] from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

19.  Julia Holter - Loud City Song

Julia Holter - Loud City Song

Julia Holter has the vocal ability to draw you in with whatever she is singing and make it feel like you’re watching an opera. I don´t really know if this comes from her context of titling her first records Tragedy and Ekstasis or utilizing her voice as if singing within and for a choir, but it works every time. While Loud City starts of very much like a continuation of Ekstatsis, with "Horns SurroundingMe" you´ll get why this one is called Loud City Song. Holters music being mostly electronic or more or less inorganic, on Loud City Song there are more traditional instruments and the outcome is even more imaginative and enthralling then before. While "loud" might still be a misleading, the dreaminess of songs like "Hello Stranger" or "CityAppearing" is complemented with more energetic parts; even if they are just delivered by something as simple as a drum set.

18. Recondite - Hinterland

Recondite - Hinterland

There isn´t much that can be described as minimal techno that I thoroughly enjoy. Yet there isn´t much minimal with a greater idea behind it. Hinterland by German producer Recondite doesn´t seem to have come into existent to be played in clubs, it seems to be something that had to be done by Recondite. Hi premise was to capture his homeland Bavaria in his own way and paint the picture of the nature and it´s change through the seasons. As this is a very abstract idea, Hinterland, knowing the contexts, is very telling and a great accomplishment. The whole feeling of the album just conveys a tight atmosphere and the applied field recordings - even if they are worked in so well that you can´t necessarily tell them from true electronics - add to the experience. Before the club or in context with many other, this is a great listen in solitude.



17. Editors - The Weight Of Your Love

Editors - The Weight Of Your Love

Editors continue to be one of my favorite bands. In The Weight Of Your Love they more or less went back to making straighter rock music after the short deviation of synth heavy In This Light And On This Evening. If their doing the slow ballad stuff like "What Is This Thing Called Love?" or groovy rock songs in the way of "Sugar" their sounds is powerful and distinguishable and Tom Smith´s voice one of the best out there right now. For this project Editors left England and settled in Tennessee for recording and on some tracks you´ll get some of that southern feeling. Overall this album sounds more sophisticated that anything prior and like Muse, shows Editors stepping out of the indie / small English band category and into their world travelling and stadium filling persona.

Editors - Honesty (Official Video) from PIASGermany on Vimeo.


16. Au4 - ...And Down Goes The Sky

Au4 - ...And Down Goes The Sky

...And Down Goes The Sky was an album I was waiting for many many year. I found Au4 over some blog that doesn´t exist anymore that was pointing out everything slightly obscure, worth checking out and especially free to download! ...And this is the thing that is the greatest thing about them: They do music pretty much for the sake of it and with their second effort for their fans. On this album you´ll get creative, genre bending music that is done with attention to the detail and the inherent premise to express emotion. You´ll get electronic piece in the spectrum of trance or dream pop or even garage rock sounds, group vocals akin to heavy metal music, or the most delicate acoustic guitar and soft vocals that set your innermost feelings in motion. I´m not naming tracks because this one is a must listen from top to bottom. Be sure to download the album for free here.

 
15. Jon Hopkins - Immunity

Jon Hopkins - Immunity

Immunity is the perfect mixture of ambient and EDM. First hearing "Open Eye Signal" I knew that this was a must buy and over the course of its 60 minutes you´ll get everything from clubby exercises in pacing like "Collider" to the piano based dream pieces like "Abandon Window" or the wonderful closer "Immunity". While the tracks can be listened apart from each other, Jon Hopkins has crafted and interlocked project with much depth and a greater sonic idea in mind. It might never happen, but seeing the whole album being play in the context of a club or live might be a great reflective experience for a group of people / strangers.  The best electronic album of this year!

14. Mogwai - Les Revenants

Mogwai - Les Revenants

First: Listen to Mogwai´s Les Revenants. Second: Watch Les Revenants the French mystery series. Third: Enjoy Mogwai´s work even more. This goes not to say, that Les Revenants is an experience purely made to be enjoyed in connection with the visual work - quite the opposite. As they wrote the album before any filming for the series was done, you´ll get the expression of Les Revenants through the musical minds of Mogwai. They had the narrative at hand and transformed it sonically. As there aren´t many songs that last longer than 4 minutes, this brain child plays very fast and not as meditative as you might expect from an instrumental rock band. But this only adds to the value of atmosphere and pace of the narrative at hand. As of yet not even half of the soundtrack has been used for the actual series, so I´m looking forward to season two and seeing how the visual utilizes the aural.

Watch the opener for Les Revenants as a first impression of sound and image working together beautifully:



13. Eluvium - Nightmare Ending

Eluvium - Nightmare Ending

Grace returned in the name of Eluvium in this year. As his last album was Matthew Cooper adding lyrics to the transcendental qualities of his instrumentals, Nightmare Ending can be described as a more traditional album. This time this adjective doesn´t carry one negative connotation with it whatsoever. On these gorgeous double album lasting about 80 minutes, Cooper took everything he previously had ventured in and rounded it to perfection. You´ll get tracks that sound like earlier work or pure piano pieces like on his EP or later efforts and even "Happiness" with melancholic words song by guest Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo. If you want ambient and are searching for the feeling of the sublime pressed on a CD, Nightmare Ending is the one. And check out the artwork by Cooper´s wife Jeannie Lynn Paske here.





12. Deniro Farrar - The Patriarch

Deniro Farrar - The Patriarch

Deniro Farrar was labeled as an blogosphere rapper when I first encountered him on his Patriarch project and once again I was flustered about what this ascription actually meant. What hits you first when you start this album is Farrar´s voice in its purest form without any instrumentation giving an intro. Not only is this one of the few intros that doesn´t bore me, here you´ll get the first expression of a great voice and personality. And when the beats by various producers like Friendzone, Keyboardkid 206 or Ryan Hemsworth hit, the deal is sealed. Farrar’s delivery would fit under something like the dark production of New York´s boom-bap, but with the heavily electronic and glitch influenced beats, the Patriarch shines as a different and far greater experience. Take "Fear" for example: Two rappers had the sample of "Cherry" by Chromatics, and Farrar outdid Schoolboy´s "Man Of The Year" for his voice works much greater under the sample as it is toned not as a banger but a reflective story about the struggle of an up an coming artist. Overall every track on here shines for Farrar’s delivery and content and the beats behind him - and he is the first one to use a Mogwai sample for all I know!

11. Daughter - If You Leave

Daughter - If You Leave

Daughter´s debut album is melancholy set in motion. While they somehow adhere to the standard setup of being a rock band, their sound is never in any kind upbeat or straightforwardly loud. While the only really fast paced track "Human" comes close to those qualities, every one of those ten tracks depict some kind of majestic yearning and loss that for me come close to the feeling many post-rock bands or singer song writers convey (take for example Perfume Genius or Explosions In The Sky). Exactly this is what makes If You Leave such a great experience. The voice of Elena Tora conveys sadness vividly and the instrumentation with its glaring guitars and often epic drumming evoke a gaze towards heaven as the place of constant contemplation. By this, this album doesn´t become a totally intellectual and straining listen. You can easily put it on while keeping an emotional distance and enjoy the songs in the background - but still they might catch you and throw you into a great empathic reaction, even if only for some bits and pieces of lyrics like "Drown with me".

YOUTH - DAUGHTER from Chris Befeld on Vimeo.


10. Vondelpark - Seabed

Vondelpark - Seabed

Vondelparks blend of beat music and dream pop stands pretty much on it own. There have been comparisons to the likes of The xx but their music is only similar in the widest sense. Working as a three piece band, on Seabed you´ll get sun soaked or nocturnal vistas for letting your minds float and get lost in the muttered lyrics like "You gimme a glimpse of what I could be" or simply sweet "I´m just tripping at the sight of you". Just lean in and enjoy the dream like atmosphere created here.

09. Inc. - No World

Inc. - No World

If you want retro without the feeling of just some youngsters ripping off past heroes, Inc. are the pick in r´n´b. As many act are leaning towards the darker sounds and moods and delivering their blend within the genre that is prevalent right now, Inc. remain on the sensual and heartfelt side. Their sound is mostly organic, without any blurring bass, pitch shifting or excursions in electronic music and their lyrical content puts the focus yet again on love and relationship in the most romantic ways possible - no drugs and destructive lust involved. No World is pure and crystal clear music in every sense.

08. Graveyard Lovers - Dreamers

Graveyard Lovers - Dreamers

I´d never would have guessed that a band somehow following the traditional rock scheme had the chance to ever again strike me astonished and get as high as the top ten of this list. First and foremost Graveyard Lovers were the perfect proof for the greatness that can come from following your favorite artists and checking out their recommendations: The lead singer of Graveyard Lovers is the brother of Joel Munguia from Junius and through them I was introduced to their powerful craft. The band plays very much on the sides of blues rock, garage rock and alternative rock but their influences don´t show but transgress in a great way and the result is as powerful as it is delicate at times. Special praise goes for the lyrics of critic and defiance of the workings of the corporate world. It goes from simple things like "You and Me against the world" to the epic finale of "Is it all that you expected / Is it everything you dreamed / Will you forever you do exactly what you´re told to get the green" on closer "Working For The Company" that have the Lovers carrying a greater message then many contemporaries swinging their guitars in similar territories. Support this up and coming band and hope for even greater things to come. A physical release of the album would be a great first start.

07. Houses - A Quiet Darkness

Houses - A Quiet Darkness

This album contains a great narrative and brings together everything I love about electronica influenced music. Houses never go into anything danceable with their sound and don´t feel the need to pack their loss and sadness into something that can be mistaken for an upbeat song. Their sound is pretty much detailed understatement with many keys and synths. The vocal work touches you with its heartbroken delivery and as you get the mixture of happiness and sorrow on A Quiet Darkness there is no feeling of a downer record or the darker moods evoked for the sake of it.

06. Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Homme graced us with ...Like Clockwork again. While the previous descriptions for their albums never quiet stick as he commented on this one with "the robots are back", their sound on here feels fresh and nothing recycled - you´ll just get what is signature Qotsa rock. The thing that catches you immediately is the new found downbeat tendencies on this record. While their music was always a little more on the darker side of things, the ballads on ...Like Clockwork for the first time feel like real ballads and Homme´s voice knows when to cut back on the sexy swagger he usually applies for the conviction of these emotions. The heavier and groovy tracks still remains, but the slow jams show the true growth of one of the best bands and most creative minds today.

05. Deafheaven - Sunbather

Deafheaven - Sunbather

Deafheaven have been heavily covered this year and lauded as the best metal release this year; and for a good reason. I´d normally avoid bands with vocals akin to death metal. I really enjoy the sludgy shouts and growls, but the high pitched cat scream just isn´t for me. To add to this, most death metal bands just sound like you´re listening to their music through a tin can of a speaker and their definition of interplay seems to fall under "make as much noise as possible" (I know that this is most of the time intentional though). After checking out "Dreamhouse" for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised but not totally sold. What made me buy and listen extensively where the more delicate parts / interludes between the lengthy songs with vocals. But the whole experienced can´t be denied and Sunbather grew on me from listen to listen. In the end Deafheaven aren´t just some death metal band and the best physical proof may be their artwork and packaging of Sunbather: A sun soaked cover in red and pink with orange undertones, one lime green opaque and one bubblegum pink LP. Aurally their playing is flawless and grippingly beautiful with an aptly constructed loud/soft dynamic and while the vocals might be something to adjust to, the theme of memory throughout the album make you listen to what seems to be incomprehensible even more.

04. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap

Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap

Acid Rap takes the spot as the most creative and fresh thing in hip hop this year. You can call Chance of the strangest figures to emerge from the Internet recently. Not for his appearance like others but for his musical mind and his hilarious ad-libs. But Acid Rap is also a very accessible work for everyone searching for something that doesn´t try to be hard and obscure when it comes to rap and surely doesn´t try to sacrifice listenability for technicality or concept. Chance takes you with him on his life in Chicago delivering what can be called realness; an experience not leaning towards the solely positive and definitely not only negative. I guess with his decision no to sign to a major label even though being invited to every imprint imaginable, Chance sticks to his own ideas and ways of making and music and will grace us with more wonderful 
moments in the  future. Get it here.

03. Tim Hecker - Virgins

Tim Hecker - Virgins

Tim Hecker is a genius with sounds. There isn´t much to compare him with when it comes to creating a world of its own and sending you on a journey. His last album Ravedeath 1972 was you walking through a scarred land of ash and sorrow and Virgins sends you away from it; through the dark searching for light. Here the organic side of things, in the form of keys comes into focus far greater and reminds you of a procession playing against the noise of existence. Sonic cues pop out, many working as motives, shape shift throughout the album and give you the impression of a story being told in the most creative way imaginable. When you reach the end, you´ll might not be as bleed out as on Ravedeath, but the sensation of dread will have lingering hope inherent and replay will be the only way of getting closer to it. Read my full length review here.

02. Drake - Nothing Was The Same

Drake - Nothing Was The Same

I´m a huge fan of Drake as he was the artists to make me appreciate mainstream hip hop again and still holds his position as the first and best singing rapper showing some emotion. While this, even 4 projects in, remains to be the point of mockery and hate for Drake, his position now is undeniable and he knows that couldn´t give less of a fuck to everyone calling him weak - he holds the power, money and more importantly the craft! That being said, I didn´t know how he would top Take Care in any way imaginable. The answer for him was refinement of the formula and it worked very well. Nothing Was The Same, not counting the bonus tracks and the pre-released amount, plays through in an hour but doesn´t have any lengths Take Care did. There´s only one double track and Drake seems to have put everything into tightening the experience with its meticulous beat switches and sequencing of tracks. He also came back more sophisticated which definitely shows in the standout of "Hold On, We´re Going Home" as this joint is a throwback and most importantly a song without any rap. He may with truth proclaim that "they still play it though, cause it´s that new Drizzy Drake" but NWTS shows that Drake (maybe unlike his Young Money companions or other artists of his standing) still care about what we hear and does a good job at delivering quality without eyeing the competition. In addition, Noah "40" Shebib yet again delivered the best production work and deserves a Grammy himself!

Drake ~ Worst Behavior from OctobersVeryOwn on Vimeo.


01. Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven

Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven

I´ve been sure about the number one spot about four listens in and the following two months didn´t bring anything to doubt that decision. Comparing R Plus Seven to anything other than Daniel Lopatin´s previous work would be unjust and even his own work doesn´t suffice for what happens here. If you want to put a label on it, Avant or "unlike everything you ever heard" are the only right ones. What makes R Plus Seven sticks out even more is it´s quality of splicing the aural and the visual as if Lopatin always had a exhibition in mind. In this, I can say that I don´t really have that many artists that I´d like to talk with, about their music or in general, but Lopatin would be one of the few. As I´ve experienced it, most of the time, the music one makes is more like an inner voice and the inexplicable that comes naturally to the artists, so asking him about it wouldn´t really further the own value you as a listener are putting into it. While I wouldn´t deny Lopatin this quality, there seems to be a lot of construction and thought about his music and presentation and even getting behind his ideas of what music or art in general can and should be would be illuminating. The only advice I have for you is to abandon every conception you hold about music and put on R Plus Seven for the best experience of 2013! For further comprehension you can read my full review here and check out this great recent piece on him over at Ad Hoc.