Albums of the year 2013, part I

First of all, happy new year to everyone!

Since every respectable magazine has already revealed its end of the year lists long ago, it's my turn now. Looking at the last year's list, it got me thinking, which albums of those twenty stood the best the test of time? Which ones did I come back to this year? Well, as far as can I remember, I did spin Lonerism and Battle Born a couple times, but due to the sheer quantity and quality of the new releases, and due to my ongoing obsession with the 1960s, I haven't had the time nor the opportunity to go back to any other older albums. But I'm not complaining.

This year turned out to be very competitive, many great bands graced us with many fanstastic records. I guess it goes without saying that I haven't heard nearly as many of them as I would like to, and I haven't spent enough time with those that deserved it. Hopefully, there are still many waiting for me to discover. For example, I haven't listened to Donald Glover's or Chvrches' new albums yet...

Without further ado, here's the first part of my albums-of-the-year list, I hope You'll enjoy reading it and that You'll find it at least somewhat relevant, despite the fact that *SPOILERS* neither Beyoncé nor Kanye made the cut.

#40 Burials AFI
#39 Loud Like Love Placebo
#38 Comedown Machine The Strokes
#37 BE Beady Eye
#36 Sequel to the Prequel Babyshambles
#35 Real to Reel Sound City
#34 Anthems Pure Love
#33 Pythons Surfer Blood
#32 Static Cults
#31 Dear Miss Lonelyhearts Cold War Kids
#30 Conduit Funeral for a Friend
#29 Sempitermal Bring Me the Horizon
#28 Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action Franz Ferdinand
#27 MGMT MGMT
#26 Volume 3 She and Him
#25 Days Are Gone HAIM
#24 Desire Lines Camera Obscura
#23 New Paul McCartney
#22 Where You Stand Travis
#21 The Next Day David Bowie

#20 MCII
Mikal Cronin

These are some catchy tunes. Mikal Cronin churns out pretty melodies and heavily distorted riffs, creating an irresistible wall of sound on an album, that is over too soon and leaves you craving for more.

#19 Lysandre
Christopher Owens

I was spinning this album non-stop for a good few weeks during February and March. Running just shy of 30 minutes, it is the shortest concept album I might've ever heard. Powered by a beautiful central melody, it could just as well be a soundtrack to any Wes Anderson movie. (My review)

#18 Junip
Junip

This swedish band was completely unbeknownst to me prior to the release of their sophomore album. Then I heard the song Line of Fire, and today, they are one of those few psychedelic indie rockers I will keep a close eye on in the years to come. The self-titled album is a rewarding listen, refreshing in its subtlety, with songs that take time to truly unfold.

#17 Bankrupt!
Phoenix

To be honest, Phoenix's follow-up to the highly succesful Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix wasn't among my anticipated albums and it left me quite cold upon its release. The first time I got into it was after watching Now You See Me, which had the leading single Entertainment featured in its closing credits. I loved the movie and fell in love with the song as well, and it eventually made me appreciate the whole album. What a ride.

#16 ...Like Clockwork
Queens of the Stone Age

You know it's been a competetive year when QotSA are all the way down at #16. I always had an ambivalent relationship with the band's music. While I loved half of their songs, the other half was just "meh", and the albums as a whole were therefore pretty much disqualified from repeated listens. ...Like Clockwork is not the case, though. For me, it works on every level, it's their first record I like front to back.

#15 Modern Vampires of the City
Vampire Weekend

All these years, I had no idea what the fuss over Vampire Weekend was all about. Then the band released their newest record and it finally hit me. This was the kind of revelation Some Nights had been a year ago. It's pure pop, but it's not dull. It actually couldn't be further from that. And it's really fun.

#14 Holy Fire
Foals

Yeah, I didn't understand the appeal of Foals either until their latest album dropped on the shelves. Thankfully, they finally ditched that math-rock thing and moved to a more accessible sound, while still managing to maintain their indie credibility. Anyway, just listen to Inhaler, that song alone should win the album a spot on any list this year.

#13 Kveikur
Sigur Rós

...and I could say pretty much the same thing about Sigur Rós. Compared to their previous efforts, Kveikur is a lot less ambient, a lot more melodic, and an open arms invitation for any new fan who couldn't get involved the last time around (or the last six times for that matter).

#12 Tape Deck Heart
Frank Turner

Fantastic album. My favourite music to mow the lawn to. I know that doesn't say much, but it's kind of a big deal for me.

#11 We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Foxygen

Every year, there's at least a handfull of bands trying to win the Beatles comparisons. This year, none has been more succesfull at that than Foxygen. Of course, it would be useless if the songs themselves weren't any good. Which, luckily, they are. If you're not sure enough whether to check them out, just start with the incredibly addictive San Francisco. If that doesn't win you over, than I don't know what will.

Best of 2013 so far

The first half of 2013 is coming to an end, so I think it's time for a little recap. I've never kept exact statistics of how many records I heard each year, but I'm pretty confident when I say, that this year would surpass all of them. I don't really know where this eagerness to check out new music suddenly came from, but the fact is, I've already listened to 50+ new albums in the past six months, and that's almost as much as in the entire last year.

There have been much anticipated releases from Biffy Clyro, Tegan and Sara, She & Him, The National and, of course, Jimmy Eat World, which I've covered a lot on the blog, and I've also praised the new albums from Christopher Owens and especially Daft Punk, but there are literally dozens of other great records which I haven't had the time to write about yet. So here's at least a brief summary.

Britpop came back with Suede's first album in eleven years. Although it was pretty much my first encounter with the band, I loved it instantly. The same story happened with Frank Turner's sweeping personal epic Tape Deck Heart, Kurt Vile's fifth solo album, the Swedish psych rockers Junip and the new indie rock sensation Foxygen.

Foals released released their third studio album, and it was the first time I truly got into them. Holy Fire received lots of praise from critics and fans alike, and I couldn't help but to agree. In a similar vein, last week saw another career peek of the Icelandic post-rock now trio Sigur Rós. Their newest effort Kveikur is perhaps the most straightforward and mainstream they'll ever get, but the fact doesn't hurt it one bit. If you ever doubted whether you could become a fan of their enigmatic ambient soundscapes, now is the perfect time to finally find out.

Unfortunately, apart from a few songs, Fall Out Boy's highly anticipated comeback fell a little flat with me. David Bowie's, on the other hand, surprised positively almost everyone, including myself, and so did Comedown Machine by The Strokes. I am not quite sure yet what to think about the new QotSA album, but one thing is certain, ...Like Clockwork is definitely the most accessible album of their entire career.

 

On a heavier note, Bring Me the Horizon released another critically acclaimed and largely enjoyable album. Who would've guessed after Suicide Season? Funeral for a Friend continued the journey to their hardcore roots, but unfortunately, Conduit, while not bad by any means, didn't end up being as memorable as their previous efforts. Frank Carter, formerly of Gallows, went exactly the opposite way, releasing a surprisingly poppy album under the moniker Pure Love. Another notable albums were released by the indie acts Cold War Kids, Dawes, Mikal Cronin and Camera Obscura, and let's not forget the last ever album of My Chemical Romance, released over the span of five months from November to March.

Overall, this has been an amazing year in music, and there's still lots of releases to look forward to. Placebo, Travis, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire and many more will be releasing new records later this year. Which albums have rocked your world in 2013 and which ones that are yet to come out are you most excited about?