Chris
has asked me to write a review of my “10 Best Albums of ‘13”. I don’t
blog as a rule and I’m pretty sure I haven’t bought 10 new releases this
year so this might be a challenge! Instead what I will do is write a
few words about some of the albums that I have parted with hard earned
for this year, no matter when they were released. Here goes then, in no
particular order, my choices.
First and foremost a special mention must go not to an album, but to a phone app: Soundhound. Without its witchcraft I would have missed out on a lot of great music. One of the gems it found me is:
Wash the Sins Not Only the Face - Esben and the Witch (2013)
The
inlay has “How long do you mean to be content” written across it, which
gives an idea of the emo claptrap involved. Don’t be fooled though,
lots of really strong guitar based tunes here and the singer has a cute
voice. If your band is looking for reverb, its too late, they have
stolen it all and used it on this album.
Holy Fire - Foals (2013)
Stumbled
across Foals when the BBC used them in a trailer for Outcasts. That
song, Spanish Sahara, was the outstanding track from the first album,
the rest of which was a bit meh. No single outstanding track here,
instead the whole album is good with not much in the way of fillers.
Rollasoc says they sound like an unsigned band - this is a good thing,
right?
Vehicles and Animals Live - Athlete (2013)
This
year marked the 10th anniversary of the debut album and to celebrate,
the band came out of semi-retirement to tour the album live. I was lucky
enough to see them in both Brighton and Birmingham, this is a recording
of the Birmingham gig. I also nicked the set list from the stage in
Brighton :). Buy this, because Athlete!
Clockwork Angels - Rush (2012)
Rush
have always been a guilty pleasure for me, the uncoolest band in rock.
Try and see them every time they tour and buy all the albums. If I’m
honest I prefer the stuff from 20 years ago but old habits die hard. If
you like them you will have this, if you don’t like them then you are
not likely to change your mind.
Black Reindeer 1 to X1 - Stephen Jones. (2013)
Black
Reindeer is the latest reincarnation of the huge songwriting talent of
Stephen Jones (xBabybird, DotN). Everyone has heard of You’re Gorgeous
yet the man remains a brilliant unknown. This year has seen him release
an instrumental album roughly once a month. The quality is variable and
the music sometimes challenging but always interesting. Do your ears a
favour and check him out on bandcamp.
Free 20 track album sampler
Saturdays = Youth - M83 (2008)
An
interesting mix of dance, ambient, and jangly indie, I really like
this. They are French so it is all a bit odd, naturally. They have
become a bit of a favorite with TV producers and their music turns up on
all sorts of programmes and adverts.
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