13 Best of 2013... So Far.
Friday, June 21, 2013
*Fair warning: I read an article a while back chastising the use of double spaces following punctuation (apparently it's a holdover from the typewriter days and supposedly should be regarded as obsolete). Since then, I can't seem to commit to either single or double spacing. So if you feel nauseated after reading this, you'll know why. Apologies in advance.
Well, it's been a while (where "a while" = 2 years). Life has shifted into ludicrous speed with 3 little ones, and I've taken to sharing most of my musings single serving-style on Twitter. But I've got a few more hours to work with now that summer break has arrived, and I feel like I need some more square footage for this, so here we are.
Anyway, there's not much debating that 2013 has a strong shot at ending up one of the best years of music in at least half a decade. This really isn't news; indeed it seems like pretty much the entire internet recognizes it. And while it's debatable how much of this is due to what I've found to be a pretty subpar output over the last couple years, it's very difficult at this point to deny the strength of what's been released recently. In fact, I think you'd probably have to total up the best releases from the past 3 or 4 years just to even hold a candle to those from the the past 5 months.
Yeah, it's a bandwagon move on my part to write when there's a lot of great stuff to write about, but it is what it is I guess. I've been looking for a reason to write something, so I figure I better go with it while I've got the inspiration (and I'm in between diaper changes, feedings, bath times, etc.). So without further ado, here are my top 13 albums of 2013... so far. They're sans rankings due largely to the fact that some of these albums have been released very recently and I just haven't been able to give them the same listening attention as earlier releases. Hopefully I'll have time for an end of year list, and we'll rank it out then. Hopefully.
After releasing the epic Low Level Owl I & II back in '01, these guys were one of the first to be labeled "America's answer to Radiohead". After straying in a couple different directions (albeit enjoyable ones) over the past decade, they've finally released what I think is the truest follow up to their masterpiece. Not that I'm selling this as being as good as LLO, but it delivers on that promise more than the rest of their output since, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
Daft Punk have forever been "the band that influences all the bands that take over the world". Now they're "the band that has the biggest album on Planet Earth." Tons of tracks with guest vocalists (my faves are Julian Casablancas and Panda Bear) and the entire thing just grooves like crazy.
Bit of a departure from the sugary, retro, reverb pop that Bradford Cox has been releasing for the last 5 years. It's a rowdy record, and the more you turn it up, the better it sounds. [Insert Spinal Tap joke here.]
Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon & Red House Painters) and Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf) do the Postal Service thing. Trust me, though; despite similarities in the blueprint, this isn't some redundant ripoff. LaValle's brand of lap pop is much more ambient than Jimmy Tamborello's, and Kozelek's voice is one of the most unique out there. This is not the sugary pop that Gibbard and Tamborello produced, but it comes close to canceling out Owl City on their list of descendants. I'm sure they can appreciate that.
Somehow these guys managed to successfully follow up one of the most influential albums in modern music - an album that was supposed to be impossible to follow up. And it only took them 20 years to do it.
These guys are in the running for my favorite band over the past 5 years. They are just so consistently good, and they somehow consistently keep getting better. They're not gonna knock you over with innovation, and their songs won't suck you in with gimmicks or huge hooks. They just settle into your brain, establish camp, and stay there. And they are very good at what they do. Debatable whether or not it's as good as their last (High Violet), but if it isn't, it's right there.
Phoenix didn't fair quite as well as MBV at following up a huge album, but this is still a very enjoyable rock record. In fact, about the only major complaint about it is that it's not as good Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Which isn't much of a complaint, considering there's only been about 10 records released since then that are as good. Don't compare, just listen and enjoy.
Just getting into this album, but I can already tell I'm going to wear it out. These guys have managed to maintain their edge over all these years, and they're still making the most melodic, goth-y alt-rock out there.
Prototypical indie pop/rock band releases a prototypical indie pop/rock record. Don't hear any "Lake Michigan"-type standouts here, but they've obviously made a conscious effort to get back to what made them so good to begin with, and it's probably their best overall record since Descended Like Vultures.
Another return to form after a couple years of releasing not-so-great music. Think it's pretty well the internet consensus that this is the most under-appreciated album of 2013 at this point. Lead off track "Tap Out" contains one of the best chorus melodies they've ever produced, and there's plenty more to go around afterwards. I keep trying to put this album away so I can move on to other things, but then it just sucks me back in, and it sounds better every time I go back to it.
Mike Kinsella (American Football, Owen, Cap'n Jazz, Owls) has a new side job: playing drums with these dudes. Personally, I think it's every bit as good as anything that he's been involved with since American Football. Really takes me back to the days of the legendary Polyvinyl releases at the turn of the century. And "Concession Speech Writer" is straight up lightning in a bottle.
After releasing their most immediate (and, I think, enjoyable) album in 2008, they dropped an album last year that was probably the most ambient, abstract, and boring of their career. Didn't take them long to bounce back, though. Kveikur seems almost hyper-focused for them, and it's the most percussion-driven and immediate album they've ever produced. Particularly "Ísjaki", whose only peer in their catalogue in terms of immediate catchiness is "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur". Finally, a Sigur Rós album you can listen to in the car!
Stereogum named this album the best of the year so far. I don't know if I can say that's true, but I definitely can't say that it isn't, either. Much like The National, they just continue to refine and improve what they do. And, also much like The National, they're an acquired taste. But regardless of what you like, it's hard to deny that these guys are very smart and very good at what they do. It was easy to see them as potential one hit (and one note) wonders when they first came onto the scene, but based on what they've produced here, they're probably not going away anytime soon.
Honorable Mention
Atoms for Peace - Amok
Junip - S/T
The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
The Little Ones - The Dawn Sang Along
Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
Pretty ridiculous that it was actually that difficult to pick out a top 13 in June. But it was just that. Let me know what you think and share your own lists below! Read more...
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