Albums
of the year
2013
Every year I spend doing this list I say to myself “Why bother, no one reads all this”, and rightly so I guess? Why would anyone care what I think – and being so longwinded on top of it all? So every time I start this list I intend fully to simplify. But in the end, the complete opposite happens. And on top of it all I stress about getting it all done – over something most people don’t even read at all (are you even reading this?!) – even though I started working on this in late August, and now it’s the middle of November as I finally wrap it up. I guess it’s the excitement of sharing or something that drives me to do this? Or maybe I’m just bored. Who knows. I think it’s the former. Hopefully. And because I’m tired and actually have some other things to attend to – I am going to quote myself from last year for most of the rest of this introduction. Oh and one more thing I want to add before I get to quoting myself – my favorite songs of the year? Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’, Chvrches’ ‘Gun’ and My Bloody Valentine’s ‘New You’. What I wouldn’t give to hear MBV cover ‘Roar’, and even for Katy Perry to cover ‘New You’. That is potential brilliance right there, my friends. Ok …. quoting myself now … “So, here you go, my favorite albums of the year. I guess technically they are what I consider to be “the best”, but by saying that it means these then have to be put in some sort of order, and quantified some way. But I really can’t do that. Depending on the mood of the day, each one of these albums is “the best” at one time or another, so really out of all the albums I’ve listened to over the past year, these are my go to albums – my favorites – my “desert island discs” of sorts. I’ve shared one track from each album as well, songs that I think not only represent what is great about the entire album, but what may spark an interest in you to checking out the whole thing, because to me they are all worth your time and quite rewarding indeed. Enjoy with aloha, and as always, turn it WAY the hell up, and for crying out loud use headphones. Laptop speakers = death.”
6
Inc.
No World
If there was any justice in this world, this is the sort of R&B music that would be topping the charts. Granted, this album is not full of gigantic, driving hooks, but they are melodic, catchy all the same, and these two brothers put together quite an icy, lush, and modern atmosphere. Two record store colleagues of mine have both said No World sounds like a teen boy band if they were shoegaze and on 4AD. And though I think the music is much better than that, and far deeper and complex, a lot of that is true when I think about it. They were originally called Teen, Inc., they have voices that you can picture young girls fainting and squealing over, and yet, there they are on 4AD – the home of Dead Can Dance, Xmal Deutschland and The Birthday Party. Those not so favorable aforementioned elements are definitely strong here, but there’s an air of mystery that shrouds their music like a gorgeous misty, fog. As simple as their sound is, the production is quietly thick, almost elegant, and it’s a very smooth sound, floaty, with a darkness lying underneath it all, and I think that’s what 4AD was concentrating on when they signed these guys. It all has this late night urban feel to it, in tracks like ‘5 Days’, and those reverbed guitars (that make one think of shoegaze) make appearances on tracks like ‘Black Wings’. Then the jazzy, romantic stomping beat of ‘Trust (Hell Below)’ lifts the pace of the album beyond it’s Prince and sometimes Stevie Wonder tinged Motown neo-soul, before segueing into sexy late night slow jams via old school 4AD on tracks like ‘Angel‘, and onto the hypnotic, mesmerizing and gothic ‘Desert Rose (War Prayer)’. On first spin I thought this album was a total throwaway, but on second listen and every one after that, it’s clear this album is the second biggest surprise of the year. Cool, confident and relaxing from beginning to end, it’s a definite mood-setter, and it’s strength is it’s perfect background music for a variety of situations from dinner parties to late night city drives, to “other things”. I don’t have a lot to say about this album really, but it’s a beautiful, chilled out, immersive experience, and one of the more well executed ones I can think of, right up there with Boards of Canada’s Tomorrow’s Harvest.