50. Black Prince Fury//Jet Black Raider – Anna Meredith
If Phillip Glass threw a synth-pop dance party...it might sound something like this.
Track Highlight - "
Orlok"
49. Reflektor – Arcade Fire
This ambitious double album has some really great tracks, and some really good grooves, but has it’s fair share of flaws. Lyrically it’s overly simplistic at times, while at other times overly pretentious. The various different genres they go into throughout the album sometimes really work well but sometimes sound inauthentic and poorly imitated. There's a few tracks that flop such as “Joan of Arc” (which has an intro that has nothing to do with the rest of the song and then goes on too long) and the song “Normal People” which has the worst lyrics I’ve heard from Arcade Fire such as, “I'm so confused, am I a normal person? You know, I can't tell if I'm a normal person, it's true”. However, there are some tracks that are so tight that it makes the album well worth a listen such as the lead track, “
Reflektor” which grooves really hard and they pull off the genres that they’re pulling from.
48. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
47. Beautiful Rewind – Four Tet
46. Acid Rap – Chance the Rapper
45. Major Arcana - Speedy Ortiz
44. Gamak – Rudresh Manthrapa
43. The Sirens – Chris Potter
Chris Potter's debut for ECM - an acoustic jazz album based on the Odyssey.
42. Julia With Blue Jeans On - Moonface
41. September – the Claudia Quintet
(check out the opening track on here)
40. The 20/20 Experience – Justin Timberlake
39. Overgrown – James Blake
One night after seeing James Blake in Boston my friend James said, “Sometimes I wish James Blake would stop being a bitch and start making dubstep again”…which pretty much sums up how I felt since his depart from his early style into him becoming more of a singer songwriter. However, this album finds a pretty good balance of the two styles, and there’s definitely some great standout tracks – especially “
Take a Fall For Me” featuring RZA of Wu-Tang. That being said, I still wish James Blake would go back to making some dope dubstep tracks, as that’s what I feel the man does best.
38. Live with Britten Sinfonia – Jaga Jazzist
37. Shaking the Habitual – The Knife
36. Obsidian – Baths
35. Sunbather – Deafheaven
34. Big Sur – Bill Frisell
32. Brooklyn Babylon – Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
31. Songs I Like A lot – John Hollenbeck
30. Cold Spring Fault Less Youth – Mount Kimbie
Music Video:
Made to Stray
29. A Love Surreal – Bilal
28. Yeezus – Kanye West
A truly ambitious album from Kanye which sees him fully embracing his messiah complex and his unrelatability. And although there are some lyrics like “Get this bitch shaking like Parkinsons” which are pretty low-brow…there are other lyrics on here where his egotism is so in your face that it’s truly comical (and I mean that in a favorable way). For example in the track “
I Am a God” where he says, “I am a god - so hurry up with my damn massage. In a French-ass restaurant - hurry up with my damn croissants”. In regards to the production on this record, it’s very Death-Grips inspired - harsh, industrial hip-hop, and although it doesn't push the musical boundaries and have the same weight as such artists that he’s drawing from – it’s the first time these underground sounds have been brought into the mainstream. And the Nina Samone vocal sample on “
Blood on the Leaves” is amazing – really well chopped. Kanye is a pretty interesting character – and this concise and ambitious album is him unrestrained…for better or worse.
27. Twelve Reasons to Die – Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge
26. Government Plates - Death Grips
25. New History Warfare Vol 3: To See More Light – Collin Stetson
24. Field of Reids – These New Puritans
23. Loud City Song – Julia Holter
22. Virgins – Tim Heckler
“Virgins” is an ambient/electronic album that is as beautiful as it is haunting. Most of it was recorded with a small group of orchestral musicians but there are still plenty of electronics on here. It draws from minimalists such as Steve Reich and Brian Eno, but texturally is extremely unique.
21. Jai Paul
After 3 years of anticipation, what everyone assumed to be the debut album from Jai Paul mysteriously dropped last April. Two days later it was removed from Bandcamp with the message from Jai Paul,"To confirm: demos on bandcamp were not uploaded by me, this is not my debut album. Please don't buy...". After this message, I tried so hard not to listen to the album as I know it’s not what Jai Paul intended on releasing…but it’s still so ridiculously good that I seriously can’t restrain from doing so. This record is so fresh sounding and so much fun…my fingers are crossed that the proper release will be coming soon – but in the meantime am thankful that I’ve at least got this much for now.
This visual album from Beyonce is the most artsy and socially conscious work of hers so far, and in my opinion her best. Some really tight beats and great production, visually really interesting, and some really tasteful dubstep influence. It's a really personal album (which makes sense since it's self titled) and there's a variety of subjects, but it works relatively cohesively. And even when the subject is sex, she makes it still artistic and a whole lot of fun (in a Prince way), like on the track "Blow". Far exceeded my expectations.
The 30 seconds on youtube don't do it justice - here's the link on
iTunes. It's only 16 dollars for both the visual and audio album.
19. Rival Dealer EP – Burial
Burial rarely gives programmatic information about his work, but he stated “I put my heart into the new EP, I hope someone likes it. I wanted the tunes to be anti-bullying tunes that could maybe help someone to believe in themselves, to not be afraid, and to not give up, and to know that someone out there cares and is looking out for them. So it's like an angel's spell to protect them against the unkind people, the dark times, and the self-doubts.” It’s got a lot of the typical characteristics of Burial’s stuff, but some real suprises – such as the title track which might be the most chaotic thing Burial has put out so far. The voice samples, which relate to the theme shared above, are used extreamlly effectively. In the last minute or so, the voice sample of the transgendered individual speaking about his or her experiences and spiritual beliefs nearly had me in tears for the first time hearing it. A big departure for Burial, and one that I welcome.
18. Traunt/Rough Sleeper EP – Burial
Since 2007’s genre-defining album Untrue, Burial has only been releasing EPs which often consist of longer more expansive tracks. However, despite these releases being EPs – to me these releases are equally important and the longer track length has allowed him to develop his style with more through composed cinematic compositions. This EP actually came out at the end of 2012, but was unknowst to me until 2013 – and since it’s showing up on other folk’s 2013 list I decided to include it as well. Really well chopped vocal samples, and some beautiful ambient sections. What I find the most interesting in this record are the complete stops on both tracks – which are really cool uses of silence, which in a way connect both of the tracks on this EP.
17. Dream River – Bill Callahan
This is my favorite release from Bill Callahan so far. It’s his most surreal and dream like (as the title might suggest) and by far his most soulful. But even as abstract as the lyrics get at times, there’s often a sense of humor in it. For example on the opening track “The Sing” the line, “The only words I've said today are beer and thank you. Beer...Thank you. Beer...Thank you. Beer...”. It’s a relatively subdued record (or at least compared to his previous release), and uses space really well, which makes it all the more effective when shit gets intense and visceral.
16. Jama Ko – Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba
Not as strong as their previous release, “I Speak Fula”, but still grooves so ridiculously hard and some amazing tunes. Definitely check this out if you’re a fan of music from Mali and desert blues.
15. Holding it Down (the Veterans Dreams Project) – Mike Ladd & Vijay Iyer
The third record from composer/piano player Vijay Iyer and poet/MC Mike Ladd which focuses on veterans of color from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s intense, thought proviking, and at times truly frightening.
My favorite release from bassist/band-leader Dave Holland in a decade (since 2003’s “Extended Plays at Birdland”). “Prism” is the first album with this new quartet featuring guitarist Kevin Eubanks, pianist/keyboardist Craig Taborn, and drummer Eric Harland. Funky and groove oriented, and some really strong compositions from all players.
13. Trouble Will Find Me – The National
Accessible, emotionally charged, and subtly intricate. This is their most subdued record so far, but there are some higher energy tracks as well such as “
Sea of Love” and “
Graceless”. The lyrics on this record are really dark, often relating to existential anxiety and death, but at times truly funny as well with lines such as, “You didn't see me I was falling apart. I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park”. Bryce did a really tight job with the tracks he orchestrated – but Nico Muhly’s orchestration on “
Don’t Swallow the Cap” definitely stands out as the best orchestrated. “Trouble Will Find Me” is a significant step up from their last release “High Violet” and well worth checking out for any fan of the National’s previous work or indie-rock in general.
12. Foolhardy - Lage lund
Guitar player, Lage Lund is definitely one of the most interesting up and coming jazz dudes right now. This album was hyped up a ton for me – and it exceeded all of my expectations. It’s composed of six originals and three covers – which are relatively stylistically “straight-ahead jazz”, but extremely modern sounding.
11. Tomorrow’s Harvest – Boards of Canada
After being silent for 8 years, BoC return. They still maintain their signature sound – but this album is truly their most apocalyptic, remote, and desolate sounding. It often evokes the feeling being alone in some desert landscape, and is cinematic (could easily serve for a soundtrack for some older sci-fi movie), and often haunting.. The drone sounds are texturally really rich, at times reminiscent of classic new age artists (such as Steve Roach). An essential listen for any BoC fan as well as any fan of ambient electronic music.
Music Video:
Reach for the Dead
10. Hesitation Marks – Nine Inch Nails
My favorite thing that Trent Reznor has released since 1999's "The Fragile". An extremely diverse, groovy, and reflective record that is more subdued than his other releases (with the exception of 2008's "Ghosts"). It's a very psychedelic, and even as poppy as it is, there are some pretty crazy experimental things going on under the surface.
9. Apocalypse – Thundercat
“Apocalypse” continues the direction that Thundercat began with in his debut “The Golden Age of Apocalypse” with groovy, soulful, psychedelic R&B. He definitely shows a lot of influence from Jaco Pastorius and his bass lines are insane on some of the tracks on here like on “Seven”. His harmonic vocabulary really stands out on a lot of tunes, but even as harmonically rich as some of these tunes are, he never sacrifices his melodic pop sensibility. Flying Lotus’s production is top notch on here and make some of the more accessible tracks on here such as “Heartbreaks and Setbacks” interesting with repeated listens.
8. Functional Arrythmias – Steve Coleman & the Five Elements
Steve Coleman is one of the pioneers of M-Base (short for "macro-basic array of structured extemporization"), which began in the 80s, It isn’t exactly a style but rather a way of thinking about creating music. It incorporates elements from the traditional music of the Africa and other cultures with musical ideas influenced by ancient metaphysical concepts and patterns found in nature. Seeing Coleman at the Newport Jazz Festival this year not only got me into this genre, but was literally a life changing musical experience as for around 2 and a half hours I witnessed this spontaneous music evolve and grow. Arrythmia takes the rhythms of the human body and uses them as compositional building blocks, playing with the rhythmic interaction between the circulatory, nervous, respiratory, and other biological systems. Some of these compositions were precomposed and recorded, some improvised (such as some of the tracks that start with him playing the saxophone as he simultaneously beats out rhythms to direct them band), or a combination of both. Coleman has said “All of the activities of the human body are connected in a miraculous fashion, like a giant musical composition that is constantly and spontaneously changing based on interactions with its environment.” “Functional Arrythmias” perfectly illustrates this concept in a way that is intense, visceral and simultaneously cerebral, and stands as strong as anything in Coleman’s catalog.
(From the Newport Jazz Festival)
7. Immunity - Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins mix of acid techno and “ambient music” (reminiscent of artists such as Brian Eno) which uses digital electronic sounds, acoustic instruments, and field recordings is beautiful and hypnotic.
“Hydra” continues the direction he has been going with his previous couple of releases, “Excavation” and “Oceana”, with many of the same musicians on these records. This record is more beautiful and mysterious than anything he’s ever released, such as with the opener “
Elysium” and gets even more intense and mind bending than any of his stuff - such as with the 24 minute title track and the 15 minute “Tredecadrome” which sounds like math metal on acid.
5. Bright Sunny South – Sam Amidon
Folk artist Sam Amidon kills it on his fourth record – which features him singing and on banjo, fiddle, and guitar. For the most part, it’s a more stripped down than his previous couple of records (which Nico Muhly had orchestrated) – but still all reimaginings of old folk tunes (and one Mariah Carey tune and one Tim Mcgraw tune), and equally as awesome.
When it comes to the world of electronic music – Autechre are like mad scientists…their music making seems methodical and rarely communicates emotion that seems human. It rather has a more cold/machine like feeling. Autechre’s music is generally extremely cerebral and dense. So needless to say this 120 minute, 17 track, album that’s pressed on 4 records is quite a lot to digest – and I’m still in the process of doing so. But with each repeated listen I’m finding more and more in this album. And at times it’s really quite a mind-fuck…or as Anthony Fantano said “it’s like this never ending puzzle. It brings this constant sense of intrigue to the listener”. In a way it’s a culmination of many different styles that they have gone through. Some extremely interesting things going on with the timbres they create, and the beats on here. And the variety and detail on here is what makes this album such a big accomplishment for Autechre. Some real stand outs are "
irlite (get 0)", and the closing track "
YJK UX". Definitely not a good first listen for those who are new to Autechre, or avant-garde electronic music – but for those dig Autecre and extremely cerebral music it’s really remarkable.
This jazz quintet from Brooklyn draw from many different styles (ranging from hip-hop, rock, and electronic music) and composers (ranging from Radiohead to Charles Ives). Their fourth major release, “The line”, features some great compositions from all the members of the group and finds them grooving as hard as they ever have.
2. mbv –My Bloody Valentine
After a 22 year wait, the follow up to My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 album, “Loveless” dropped in February this year. It kind of starts where “Loveless” left off, with the gorgeous “She Found Now” – and then begins to explore new territory harmonically and texturally. Then the last few tunes are much more experimental with rhythm. This is a comeback album that feels absolutely necessary for the world of rock music and that I’m sure will greatly influence many artists as their previous releases did.
1. Without a Net – Wayne Shorter
Wayne’s first Blue Note recording since 1970…and one of his best recordings of his 54 year solo career. In Dave Douglas’s words, “Without a Net presents a side of Shorter we haven't heard before on record--there's a new freedom and flight of imagination, as well as a crucial re-imagining of the meeting of composed and improvised music.” Both times seeing Wayne this year were both the best shows I’ve seen this year – and both among the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life. This album is comprised of recordings from the quartet’s 2011 tour (with one exception which includes the Imani Winds and recording at Walt Disney Concert Hall). This quartet with Wayne, Danillo Perez, John Pattitiucci, and Brian Blade communicate on a telepathic level - operating under coherent collective thinking. And it’s often what Wayne doesn’t say that says so much…Sometimes these compositions are sublime, meditative, and deeply spiritual, while others are joyous, celebratory, and explosive. To put it as simply as I can – Wayne is a master of his craft, and this album perfectly captures him on his A game.
Opening Track -
Orbits
Here is my honorable mentions for 2013
And in case you missed it -
here is the album the band I'm a part of, Koala, dropped this year.
Thanks for reading and hope you find something you dig!
.JPG)
