Best Albums of 2013

It's back! My annual top albums of 2013 list! I've expanded my usual list of 10 to feature 12 albums. Enjoy...and feel free to comment below if you agree, disagree or just feel like voicing your opinion on some random topic.

#12 - Mutual Benefit - Love’s Crushing Diamond

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#11- Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

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#10- Autre Ne Veux - Anxiety

There’s nothing on this album that should work. Let’s list the things it has working against it. The artist is 30+ year old, Master Degree’d white guy from New York. Strike. This album is a throwback to 1990’s R&B. Strike two. The guy sings with the confidence of a Motown legend, but doesn’t quite have the voice to back it up. Strike three. So why does this album work? I have no idea...but it does and it's good.

     



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#9 - Foxygen - We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

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#8 - Pearl Jam - Lightening Bolt

It’s been 19 years since the release of the album Vitalogy which was Pearl Jam’s last good album until this year’s Lightening Bolt. And while I wish the band would have pushed a little further into the rawness and imperfections that made their early work great (see Parquet Courts), this latest album has some true gems in it. And it starts with the track Sirens which should go down as one of the best Pearl Jam lyrics ever written—a song that ponders how we all so gracefully move through life when it can slip through our fingers so instantaneously; and how it the people we love and cherish are what makes life truly meaningful.

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#7 - Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg/Shangri La

Releasing two albums this year, this young brit has the work ethic and talent to someday make incredible masterpiece albums.....once he learns how to fully craft his lyrics. Until that time, we can all enjoy the "early work."

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#6 - Boogarins - As Plantas Que Curam

This group is made up of a couple guys from the middle part of Brazil who like to channel great 60 psychedelic rock. Go ahead and read that again. It’s a small world after all. And lucky for all of us that we get access to this well-crafted songwriting. 

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#5 - Civil Wars - Civil Wars

The alternative folk band has the sort of countrified grit that is reminiscent of Johnny Cash. This album was released with swirling rumors of an eminent band break up. That friction shows in the songwriting and pays off by producing darker lyrics and tones.




















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#4 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Too often, we criticize bands for not stretching outside of their branded sound and experimenting with something new. Arcade Fire have proven that with this album, the risk of leaving a trademark sound can pay off—especially when you have a song-crafting guru like James Murphy producing your album.

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#3 - Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt

A poetic, intimate and stripped down work from a talented voice—Katie Crutchfield takes you on visual journeys that keep you engaged. Reminiscent of early Liz Phair.

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#2 - Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold

Sometimes great rock music is sloppy and full of attitude—and these New York garage rockers have both. They're as cool as Larry Bird's 70's mustache.

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#1 - Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

An excellent album with wonderfully smart and thoughtful lyrics, Vampire Weekend have released their best album to date. Whether it’s the track “Obvious Bicycle” with lyrics that plead with somebody to keep believing in their talent and dreams and stop accepting mediocre, thankless corporate paycheck-earner jobs or the Old Testament-referencing song “Ya Hey” that expresses aloud doubts about religion, the music tackles subjects in an honest, inquisitive and respectful way. But all that would be moot if not for the fact Rostam Batmanglij is a gifted musical composer who knows how to make really good pop music. In a world often plagued by an abundance of cynicism and sarcasm, VW stands out as a band that knows how to make earnest and smart cool again.




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 Most Overrated: 

Kanye West - Yeezus

 Best Single on an otherwise terrible album: 

Jay Z - Tom Ford

 Most Disappointing: 

Phoenix - Bankrupt!

Best Albums of 2012

10. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz

The critics dismissed this album as a group trying too hard to be commercially successful. As somebody who was not fan of their often inaccessible earlier works, I found the shift to more traditional, pop-based song structures and melodies to really expose the band’s talent as it is more difficult to create within a structure. While some songs on this album miss, others rank up there with the best the band has created.

9. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

This album pays homage to Kurt Cobain and the 90’s Sub Pop Seattle-era sound. Yet, the band do so in a unique way that doesn't sound like a bad parody. Moody, hard-rocking at times and melodic, but also well-crafted and catchy.

8. Sigur Rose – Valtari

Two Icelandic groups on one list? What are the odds? Known for lyrics created from a made-up language, many overlooked this album as more of the same layered, cosmic, operatic sounds. But it is a patient and beautiful album.

7. The Walkmen – Heaven

A band that consistently makes great albums, I first found Heaven a little hard to embrace. I wanted to hear a band looking to expand its repertoire. But after another few listens, this album grew on me and made me appreciate artists working with a sound they have perfected.

6. Willis Earl Beal - Acousmatic Sorcery

This album is the equivalent of walking down a city street and encountering a street musician that is mesmerizing and brilliant. As lo-fi as any album I have ever heard, but genius in its simplicity. Part blues artist, part Jimmy Hendrix, but in whole a unique, creative artist.

5. Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal

The best thing out of Iceland since Bjork and Sigur Ros, this delicate little album is a fun, playful listen. They are a happy, chipper version of Arcade Fire. 

4. Alabama Shakes - Boys  & Girls

If you haven’t heard or heard of Alabama Shakes by now, you’ve been living under a rock. Anybody who loves Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Al Green knows that singing with true, heart-wrenching soul is not something that can be faked or mimicked. You have to have that God-given talent. And lead singer Brittney Howard has it.

3. Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits

Super groups almost never work. Many times, you get artists who collectively compromise their sound. But this combo of Britt Daniel of Spoon fame and Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade joined forces, we got a group that knew how to capitalize on that talent. You get strong essences of Spoon and Wolf Parade in this album, and that’s a very good thing.   

2. Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action at a Distance

What makes this album so great is that it doesn’t sound like a guy fighting to get a single on the radio, yet each song is so elegantly and expertly crafted, you want to listen over and over again. With simple lyrics complimenting well-crafted melodies, this is a must own work.

1. Tame Impala – Lonerism

An album that harkens back to the days of 60’s and 70’s rock, yet has a sound all of its own.  Perhaps I have a soft spot for Aussie rockers, but these guys take more from the psychedelic-era Beatles than they do AC/DC. 

MOST OVERRATED ALBUM: Frank Ocean

MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUM: Bloc Party

Best Tracks of 2012 (in no particular order)

Hey Jane – Spiritualized

Song for Leigh – The Walkmen

Reagan – Killer Mike

Dauoalogn – Sigur Ros

I’m Shakin – Jack White

From Finner – Of Monsters and Men

You Ain’t Alone – Alabama Shakes

Open Your Heart – Men

Myth – Beach House

Thinkin Bout You – Frank Ocean

It’s Only Life – The Shins

The Full Retard – El-P

Applesauce – Animal Collective

Octopus – Bloc Party

The Salton Sea – Divine Fits

I Bought My Eyes – Ty Seagall Band

Evening’s Kiss – Willis Earl Beal

Races – Glen Hansard

Elephant – Tame Impala

No Future/No Past – Cloud Nothings

High Water – Trampled by Turtles

Laura – Bat for Lashes

Best Albums of 2011

Better late than never, here is my best of 2011 Album List. 


10. The Bewitched Hands – Birds and Drums
These French rockers come from the small town of Reims--which is known more for producing champagne than it is for producing bands. And The Bewitched Hands bring a sound that is unique, playful and melodic music that is quite original.




9. Cults – Cults
Listening to this album makes me think about the Jackson 5 of the 70's. Happy, optimistic music with a certain level of reverence to Motown melodies. It's hard to argue that Go Outside wasn't one of the best songs of the year.





8. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
TV on the Radio has quickly emerged as one of the best bands from the United States. While critics did not embrace Nine Types of Light as much as their earlier albums, I feel this was a highly-underrated work and solid from start to finish.






7. Jay Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne
Typically, I do not add many rap albums to my best-of list, but my number 7 and number 6 on the list feature two rap albums. Jay Z and Kanye West turn in some of the best singles of the year with this album. And despite spending too much time bragging about their wealth, it's apparent that their talent has earned it.





6. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Ishmael Butler leads this rap group and you can hear elements from his days with Digable Planets. This is one of the most creative rap albums I have heard in quite some time. There is an innovate, jazz-based sound that draws you in.
 



5. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo
I am very late to the Kurt Vile bandwagon--and bought this album only after seeing it on my friend's best of 2011 list. And it's a shame that I found this album so late as it is a gem. Vile is a new breed of Lou Reed or Bob Dylan. Yet, his album is one that is from a guy who isn't trying to hard to fit into any specific formula.





4. Eddie Veddar – Ukelele Songs
While my days of believing Pearl Jam can do no wrong are long gone, this simple album by Eddie Vedder was such a pleasant surprise in 2011. Just Eddie and a ukulele. And the combination of Vedder's baritone voice with the light and perky strum just goes together so well.




3. The Antlers – Burst Apart
After buying Burst Apart, it quickly became an album I listened to every day on loop. It's drifty, sleepy sounds grab at your ears and keep a tight grip. 




2. Portugal the Man – In the Mountain In the Cloud
This album seemed to be overlooked by virtually every music critic when assembling their best of the year list. But this is a remarkable album that does not contain one bad song and I do hope it becomes one of those albums that gets a following a year after it's release.




1. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Every year when I put together this list, I pick my number one album is the album I believe that if you had to spend any of your hard-earned money on, that it'd be worth every penny. This album is not just the best album of the year, but one of the best in the past five years. The songwriting is simple in its approach, yet the melodies are inspiring. Along with Pink Floyd-esque songs like My Ma there is a track (Die) that pays homage to 70's metal. Such a wide-range of sounds, yet it all comes together to create one heck of an addictive album.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Wilco – The Whole Love
Yuck – Yuck
Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
The Black Keys – El Camino
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

MOST OVERRATED:
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (One of the worst albums I have ever heard.)

Best Albums of 2010

10. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
This band that puts a hole in my theory that all bands from LA are terrible. Local Natives put together a wonderful debut album.

9. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Who knew that mixing one part Gnarls Barkley and one part The Shins would produce such good music. It’s a shame that this album was overlooked by so many this year.

8. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
My expectations were much higher for the first Sufjan album to be released in five years; and compared with his previous works, Sufjan’s Ade of Adz is a choppy, less refined piece of work. But the brilliance of Stevens still shines through in many of the tracks.

7. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
The previous Arcade Fire albums have landed in my #1 album of the year slots every time. While The Suburbs doesn’t quite live up to their earlier works, it’s still a very good album with several remarkable singles.

6. The Black Keys - Brothers
When bands abandon their sound to get more radio friendly, it typically backfires. However, the Black Keys made it work with Brothers.

5. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
I wanted to hate this album. The hype. The blatant foraging from the 80’s new wave catalog. But James Murphy is a master craftsman at making music and there’s no denying it; as evident by this catchy, creative album that is one of the best of the year.

4. Vampire Weekend – Contra
A band with a sound that borrows from Paul Simon’s 1986 Graceland album, it’s easy to dismiss Vampire Weekend as a guilty pleasure. But over two albums, they have rarely produced a bad track. Contra is a fun, energetic and just darn good album.

3. Jeremy Messersmith – The Reluctant Graveyard
After just one listen of this album by Minnesota native Jeremy Messersmith, I was hooked on his clever lyrics, excellent vocals and Beatles-esque song craftsmanship.

2. Sleigh Bells – Treats
This band geeks out and doesn’t give a d*mn what you think. Heavy hitting base. Distortion. And. Just. Great. Music.

1. The Walkmen – Lisbon
There are times when one’s pace is slowed because the task at hand is too difficult to grasp at faster speeds. Then there are times when the pace is slowed because—well—we want to take our time to enjoy the journey. The Walkman’s Lisbon album is in no hurry; they are taking their time to show you that they’ve mastered a sound all their own that you're sure to enjoy.

Honorable Mention:

Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

The Bewitched Hands On Top of Our Heads – Hard to Cry EP

Spoon – Transference

CocoRosie – Gray Oceans

Josh Ritter – So Runs the World Away

Sufjan Stevens – All Delighted People

Caribou – Sun

Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo

The National – High Violet

Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest

Best Singles of 2009

Here's my list of the best singles of 2009 in no particular order. Enjoy!

Roll Up Your Sleeves - We Were Promised Jetpacks
Poised and Ready - Brendan Benson
Losin Yo Head - Monsters of Folk
Kiss with a Fist - Florence & The Machine
Feeling the Pull - The Swell Season
This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case
Islands - The xx
Don't Haunt this Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
My Girls - Animal Collective
Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn & John
The Fear - Lily Allen
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Lisztomania - Phoenix
Rome - Phoenix
1901 - Phoenix
Pulling on a Line - Great Lakes Swimmers
When the Lights are Out - Cheap Trick
Oh My God - Ida Maria
I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked - Ida Maria
Anti-Orgasm - Sonic Youth
Idiot Heart - Sunset Rubdown
11th Dimension - Julian Casablancas
River of Brakelights - Julian Casablancas
You Never Know - Wilco
Said the People - Dinosaur Jr.
Breed (Live) - Nirvana
Silver Hands Trembling - Flaming Lips

Best Singles Coming in 2010
Horchata – Vampire Weekend
Written in Reverse – Spoon
Heaven Can Wait – Charlotte Gainsbourg

Top 10 Albums of 2009

Here it is. My annual list of the best albums of the year.
Up Next Tomorrow: Best Singles of 2009

#10
Artist: Great Lakes Swimmers
Album: Lost Channels


One of the many folk-pop acts that have flooded the music world over the last few years, Great Lakes Swimmers stands out from the crowd with well-crafted melodies and earnest, simple lyrics. In many ways, you can sense this band is still working at crafting their sound, but listening to them find their identity along the way has been a joy.

Listen to: Pulling on a Line


#9
Artist: Wilco
Album: Wilco (The Album)




Our Chicago darlings still have yet to match the brilliance of their Magnum Opus, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But their latest self-titled album certainly does take a cross section of all the sounds the band has embraced over the last decade and puts on display all of the wonderful musical talents of one of the greatest bands of our time.

Listen to: You Never Know


#8
Artist: Flaming Lips
Album: Embryonic



Channeling Pink Floyd through a distortion-filled, sometimes overly-gimmicky filter, the Flaming Lips latest album, Embryonic, is like a great infomercial. At first, you’re not sure why you’re giving it any attention, but after 10 minutes, you’re fully sold.

Listen to: Silver Trembling Hands


#7
Artist: Julian Casablancas
Album: Phrazes for the Young




Perhaps I miss the Strokes too much, but I couldn't’t help but fall for many of the tunes on this debut by Casablancas. From a Motown-inspired tune to an electro-synth pop song, the album is certainly ambitious—and certainly a good substitute until we can all hear the next Strokes album.

Listen to: 11th Dimension

#6
Artist: Nirvana
Album: Live at Reading




Nirvana brought an energy that nary any other band has ever brought to the stage—and is fully apparent from the very first moments of this album all the way through to the last smash of a guitar. Yes, Kurt Cobain is still missed. But listening to his band at its peak of success will lend some pause to that longing.

Listen to: Breed

#5
Artist: Ida Maria
Album: Fortress ‘Round My Heart



Some music is just meant to be fun: a hot mess of punk, youthful rebellion and energy. And with songs like “I Like You So Much Better (when You’re Naked), Ida Maria fits squarely into this category. With punk-pop, influences and a sometimes raspy, Rod Stewart-esque voice, this Swedish vixen brings a style that seems borrowed but still comes off as new.

Listen to: I Like You So Much Better (when You’re Naked)


#4
Artist: Sunset Rubdown
Album: Dragonslayer




Spencer Krug’s lyrics are those of a cryptic poet—engaging but confusing, melodic yet disjointed, calming but chaotic. And somewhere in the middle of the mess came this great album that harnesses Krug’s talents just enough to make for an accessible sound, but not so much as to smother the creativity. After all, sometimes it’s beautiful when we color outside the lines.

Listen to: Idiot Heart


#3
Artist: Dinosaur Jr.
Album: Farm



This is the greatest album that Pearl Jam never made: a collection of melodic guitar solos, heavy-hearted vocals and song craftsmanship that many a great band used to start the grunge movement (and many a horrible band went on to poorly copy and destroy the movement…yes I’m looking at you Creed.) J Mascis is a master at guitar solos and this album shows his skills off with three tracks that are well over five minutes long.

Listen to: Said the People


#2
Artist: Animal Collective
Album: Merriweather Post Pavilion




A collage of accessible electronic psychedelic tunes that borrows from the Beach Boys, Grateful Dead and African tribal beats, Merriweather Post Pavilion is Animal Collective’s finest album by a great margin. Previous works by the band were too ambitious in my opinion, and lacked a cohesive melody and structure. This album is proof that just because you have a plethora of colors on your palette, you don’t need to use every one of them to make a great piece of art. And Animal Collective have done just that, crafting songs that are addictive, ecclectic and toe-tapping good.

Listen to: My Girls


#1
Artist: Phoenix
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix



For much of the year, I liked to think of Phoenix’s latest album as my secret treasure of an album. But then something happened. The rest of the country discovered them and soon they could be heard on radio stations and Cadillac ads. And for good reason. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is an album that accomplishes a rare feat: every track from start to finish is really good. Many highly rated albums—even on my list—have the occasional one to three tracks that are “skipable,” or just not on par with the rest of the album. Using a combination of electronic and pop rock sounds, they’ve created the best album of 2009.

Listen to: Lisztomania