It's been another fascinating year of music that saw some of my favourite bands return along with the discovery of some excellent new artists.
I always find the journeys many albums make over the course of the year in relation to my final list quite interesting. They all begin their journey at different times, some immediately race away into the lead only to fade over time, others retain a consistent position towards the top of the list over a period of months, while others force their way into the reckoning late on, occasionally unexpectedly.
I always find the journeys many albums make over the course of the year in relation to my final list quite interesting. They all begin their journey at different times, some immediately race away into the lead only to fade over time, others retain a consistent position towards the top of the list over a period of months, while others force their way into the reckoning late on, occasionally unexpectedly.
I didn't get round to listening to some albums released late in the year that would have otherwise made the list (Nils Frahm, Trouble Books, Dalglish), possibly didn't give enough time to other albums I would have expected to feature (Neko Case) and couldn't quite get into certain albums despite trying (Julia Holter).
If you don't want to wade through the 6000 words below (and I wouldn't blame you) you can view the 100 albums in a simple, text-free list.
Otherwise, here goes...
100) Trilok Gurtu
– Spellbound (Moosicus)
One of many albums I reviewed for musicOMH this year. Read my review here.
99) Pan-American –
Cloud Room Glass Room (Kranky)
A set of beautifully drifting, organic soundscapes from
ex-Labradford man Mark Nelson (assisted here by fellow Labradford member Robert
Donne and drummer Steven Hesse).
98) Ólafur Arnalds
– For Now I Am Winter (Mercury Classics)
97) Olan Mill –
Hiraeth (Preservation)
Another album of heavenly ambient excursions from Olan
Mill. It arrived quite late in the year which possibly accounts for its
relatively lowly position in this list but it undoubtedly confirmed the talent
that Alex Smalley has for creating distinctive and original pieces.
96) Various
Artists – Collision/Detection (Long Division With Remainders)
95) Bibio – Silver
Wilkinson (Warp)
94) Rachel Musson,
Mark Sanders & Liam Noble – Tatterdemalion (Babel)
I saw saxophonist Rachel Musson play as part of a
(different) trio at the Intersect festival at Cafe Oto in December but this
album of improv-jazz with drummer Mark Sanders and pianist Liam Noble arguably
at times captured an even more impressively uncompromising, raw and jarring
sound.
93) Iron &
Wine – Ghost On Ghost (4AD)
92) Midlake –
Antiphon (Bella Union)
The departure of singer Tim Smith provided the context to
Midlake’s fourth album and it signalled a return to the more melodic sounds of
The Trials Of Van Occupanther, albeit without the emotional highs of that
record. In particular, the title track
with its Mercury Rev style guitar outro was fantastic, one of my favourite
tracks of the year. There also seemed to be a little bit of revisionism going on
in the reviews/features I read this year on Antiphon’s predecessor The Courage
Of Others. I’m sure at the time it was viewed positively but now seemed to be
held up as an example of Smith’s perceived negative influence over the band.
It’ll be interesting to see what he comes back with/how he responds but for now
Antiphon saw the other members of the group re-assert their credentials and
provide fleeting reminders of why they have become such a loved band for many.
91) Jupiter &
Okwess International – Hotel Univers (Out Here Records)
It’s fair to say that Jupiter Bokondji has led an
interesting life. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo he spent much of his
childhood in Berlin before returning to the Congo to look for new sounds. He
more recently became involved in the Africa Express project led by Damon
Albarn. Hotel Univers is the first international release by Okwess
International, the band he formed in the 1990s in Kinshasa and it boasts a
rich, bustling sound that draws on rock, funk and blues. I’ve never been to
Kinshasa but I imagine that the sounds featured on Hotel Univers project the
essence of the city that helped make it.
90) Debashish
Bhattacharya – Madeira (Debashish Bhattacharya)
I think I first heard this album by Indian musician
Debashish Bhattacharya on Radio 3 – most probably either on Late Junction or
World On 3. Bhattacharya has attracted attention for the three lap slide
guitars he has designed himself (and plays here) and the five ragas performed
on Madeira with tabla player Subhasis Bhattacharya offered a subtly atmospheric
and entrancing listen where the music revealed itself at a patient pace before
setting off towards frenetic peaks.
89) John
Vanderslice – Dagger Beach
Dagger Beach was funded through a successful Kickstarter
project. I didn’t always find it a particularly easy listen, especially
compared to some of John Vanderslice’s other releases and you got the
impression that JV had to work hard to make this come to fruition. It doesn't
hit the heights of Pixel Revolt or Emerald City but still showed his strengths
in terms of lyrical detail and musical experimentation.
88) Masayoshi
Fujita – Stories (Flau)
87) Jyotsna
Srikanth – Call Of Bangalore (Riverboat)
I discovered this album by South Indian violinist Jyotsna
Srikanth through the excellent Songlines Magazine. It was the distinctive sound
of her violin that grabbed my attention – immediate and pressing and full of intensity
- and alongside the two strands of percussion it resulted in a highly engaging
listen.
86) Barbarossa –
Bloodlines (Memphis Industries)
I actually saw James Mathe play live on four occasions
during 2013 (supporting Pure Bathing Culture once and Low three times) and this
exposure gave me the opportunity to really get to know the songs that made up
Bloodlines. Sort of like a slightly damaged, hurting modern soul set against an
electronic backdrop it recalled Scritti Politti and early Talk Talk.
85) A Hawk And A
Hacksaw – You Have Already Gone To The Other World (LM Dupli-Cation)
84) Warm Digits –
Interchange (Distraction)
A concept album centred on the Tyneside Metro system,
Interchange provided an evocative journey of its own, fuelled by motorik
percussion, building synths and hard-wired guitars.
83) The Garifuna
Collective – Ayo (Cumbancha)
Watina, the album released back in 2007 by Andy Palacios
and the Garifuna Collective was quite an important album for me personally in terms
of revealing just how powerful and joyful world music could be so I approached
Ayo with anticipation. Pleasingly, it showed their vocal harmonies to be just
as soulful and enriching as on Watina. Hopefully they’ll play WOMAD next year!
82) Forest Swords
– Engravings (Tri Angle)
Engravings demonstrated an element of continuation from
Matthew Barnes’ excellent debut EP of two years ago but it also showed how his
dubby, deteriorated sound had also been subtly developed and broadened.
81) Tindersticks –
Les Salauds (Lucky Dog)
From a Tindersticks perspective focus in 2013 centred on
Across Six Leap Years, their album of reworked, career-spanning material but
this soundtrack to the Clare Denis film slipped by relatively unnoticed. If
you were to ignore the opening and closing tracks that featured the vocals of
Stuart Staples however you would struggle to identify this as a Tindersticks
album. Entirely electronic in sound, it showed a real versatility to their
music as they ventured outside their usual musical boundaries, confirming them
as experts in the art of soundtracking.
80) Lubomyr Melnyk
– Corollaries (Erased Tapes)
79) Cigdem Aslan –
Mortissa (Asphalt Tango)
I was introduced to the genre of rembetika during some
pre-WOMAD listening – a form of Greek/Turkish traditional music that arrived
straight from the heart, dripping with emotion. At WOMAD it was the music of
Mavrika that introduced me to the genre but this album from London based
Turkish singer Cigdem Aslan was just as striking a listen.
78) Emiliana
Torrini – Tookah (Rough Trade)
Emiliana Torrini’s
sixth album Tookah showed signs of musical progression but as always it was her
enchanting voice that was the most striking aspect. It’s still one that I could
listen to endlessly, so euphonious and delicate and fragile.
77) Jaipur Kawa
Brass Band – Dance Of The Cobra (Riverboat)
Whenever I go to India one of the highlights is stumbling
by chance upon a wedding party progressing along the street. They are nearly
always soundtracked by a brass band similar to the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band. This
album captured the energy, zeal and power of this form of music perfectly.
76) Felicia
Atkinson – Visions/Voices (Umor Rex)
Visions by French artist/musician Felicia Atkinson seemed
to be pieced together from a similar sound palette to that used by Liz Harris
on her Grouper albums. It sort of suggested itself as an album for those who
prefer their female-led ambient to be more shaded, more longform and more opaque
than the relatively clear-minded approach demonstrated so well by the likes of
Julianna Barwick.
75) Deptford Goth
– Life After Defo (Merok)
I enjoyed this album of openly emotional, vulnerable,
song-based electronic music from south London based Daniel Woolhouse. The
sounds were soft, inviting and accessible and it seemed to settle into its own
little niche in the musical landscape of 2013.
74) Yo La Tengo – Fade
(Matador)
It’s always a slightly odd feeling when one of your favourite bands releases a slightly below-strength album (even more so when the reviews elsewhere are generally quite positive). The second half of Fade was actually very good – tracks like Cornelia & Jane, The Point Of It and Two Trains would all make the cut in any best of Yo La Tengo playlist I’d make but the other tracks didn’t quite do it for me, in some cases sounding like watered down versions of ideas executed much better on previous albums. Their show at the Barbican in March was probably my favourite of the year however and proved they are still the best at playing consistently different, brilliant live shows. Georgia’s version of Take Care by Big Star that night was just one of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced at a gig for many years.
73) Hecq – Horror
Vacui (Hymen Records)
Ben Lukas Boysen has built up a reputation over the years
for releasing music that switched back and forth from different sub-genres. He
has worked more in film soundtracking of late, using his own name for releases,
moving away from his harder, IDM sound reserved for his Hecq alias. Horror
Vacui was another excellent album of glitchy, contorted electronics layered
over ambient synths.
72) Arp – More
(Smalltown Supersound)
71) Directorsound
– I Hunt Alone (Second Language)
Directorsound is the name adopted by Dorset-based
musician Nicholas Palmer and his fourth album I Hunt Alone possessed a baroque
simplicity and pastoral softness that recalled the likes of Virginia Astley or
an instrumentally-focussed Vashti Bunyan.
70) Grumbling Fur
– Glynnaestra (Thrill Jockey)
Another album that defied easy categorisation,
Glynnaestra seemed to have one eye on the future and one on the past. I enjoyed
its predecessor Furrier a lot (and on balance still prefer it to Glynnaestra).
On this album Daniel O’Sullivan and Alexander Tucker integrated the sound of
pulsating synths/percussion into vocal-led tracks that (improbably) on occasion
bore a passing resemblance to early Depeche Mode.
69) Ralfe Band –
Son Be Wise (Highline Records)
Ralfe Band’s post-Gorky's mix of eastern European
flavoured instrumentation, slanted leftfield folksong and lyrical
eccentricities may not have been quite as pronounced as it has been in the past
but third album Son Be Wise still showed them to be on fine form.
68) Greg Haines –
Where We Were Saw (Denovali)
I’ve followed
Greg Haines since hearing his debut album Slumber Tides back in 2007 and he’s
proved himself a consistently brilliant player-composer. Last year saw him
reach something of an emotional, elegiac peak in the lushly orchestrated
panoramas found on Digressions but Where We Were Saw him change focus, moving
away from the comparative bleakness and sadness to a more shaded, darker sound
that embraced dissonance, electronics and beats.
67) The Memory
Band - On The Chalk (Our Navigation of the Line of the Downs) (Static Caravan)
Amongst other things The Memory Band have recently played
shows where they play the music of The Wicker Man soundtrack and On The Chalk
was drawn from a similar kind of unusual, outsider-folk to Paul Giovanni’s
original album. The inclusion of field recordings and samples worked really
well and alongside lesser-heard instrumentation made for an interesting,
involving listen.
66) Josephine
Foster – I’m A Dreamer (Fire Records)
It may have been recorded in 2013 but the music on I’m A Dreamer seemed to be directly transported in from a different era, totally unconcerned with any modern trends or references. I guess her nearest contemporary would be Gillian Welch and Foster’s music seemed just as raw and deeply steeped in history, including hints of the early vocal jazz of the likes of Billie Holliday.
65) Debruit &
Alsarah – Aljawal (Soundway)
I discovered this fairly late in the year but it was an
excellent example of artists combining interesting personal backgrounds and
individual elements of regional music and re-homing them in a different musical
setting. In this case Sudanese vocals (courtesy of singer Alsarah) were placed
alongside the effervescent electronic environment created by French producer
Debruit to wonderful effect.
64) Barn Owl – V
(Thrill Jockey)
The music of Barn Owl has always evoked the sounds and
imagery of the galaxies but this was refined and serene and quietly powerful.
63) Tim Hecker –
Virgins (Kranky)
I first listened to Virgins on a morning commute to work
and I struggled a little to fully appreciate the scale and depth of sound.
However, on second listen and with no distractions, it sounded transformed.
Hecker’s early albums will always be important records to me but Virgins showed
he was still capable of creating powerful, impactful pieces of work.
62) Black Hearted
Brother – Stars Are Our Home (Sonic Cathedral)
61) Sigur Rós –
Kveikur (XL)
Kveikur had much more weight and heft to it than its
predecessor, and it felt like the band decided to make a conscious return to
the impact and melodic immediacy found on earlier albums (especially compared
to last year's ultra pared down Valtari). Seeing them at Brixton Academy was a
reminder of what a brilliant band they are and how transcendent their live
shows can be.
60) These New
Puritans – Field Of Reeds (Infectious)
Field Of Reeds continued in a similar vein to its
predecessor Hidden, as was similarly acclaimed. It contained plenty of
beautiful moments, most notably Fragment Two, V (Island Song) and Organ eternal
but I’d be quite interested to see them really go more strongly in a more
experimental, challenging direction. They clearly have more vision and ambition
than most of their contemporaries and I could see them putting out something
really defining over the next few years.
59) Moon Wheel –
Moon Wheel (Not Not Fun)
Australian musician Olle Holmberg delivered an album of
intriguing, oscillating electronic textures on this understated self-titled
release.
58) CFCF – Music
For Objects (Paper Bag)
Montreal producer Mike Silver has covered differing
ground on his releases to date and pushed this further with Music For Objects,
an eight track album inspired, as the name suggests, by everyday objects. It
initially seemed a little too heavily indebted to the likes of Steve Reich
& Phillip Glass but as the album progressed this influence became more
fleeting and less entrenched, revealing itself to be a beautiful, luminescent
collection of pieces.
57) William Ryan
Fritch – The Waiting Room OST (Lost Tribe Sound)
To begin with this reminded me of Godspeed You! Black
Emperor / A Silver Mt. Zion in its heavy sense of sadness. Elsewhere it maybe
fell into a more orthodox strings-based cinematic sound, but it was still a
beautiful piece of work.
56) Phosphorescent
– Muchacho (Dead Oceans)
There were times when Muchacho, the sixth album from
Phosphorescent, felt like the musical equivalent of a well thumbed book,
slightly tattered around the edges but possessing a real beauty and power
within the pages. In a way it was also an album of contrasts - the inclusion of
synths and programmed beats on the opening tracks lent the album a certain
freshness before the raw, emotive Americana was gradually re-asserted.
55) Tal National –
Kaani (Fatcat Records 130701)
54) L. Pierre –
The Island Come True (Melodic)
On The Island Come True Aidan Moffat proved he was
equally capable in constructing abstract instrumental sound collages as
wringing emotion and poignancy from life’s less salubrious episodes.
53) Nosaj Thing –
Home (Innovative Leisure)
Light, brisk and spacious Nosaj Thing's follow up to the
excellent Drift was a highly listenable release, full of trademark electronic
inflections and soft clipped beats.
52) Haiku Salut –
Tricolore (How Does It Feel To Be Loved)
I saw Haiku Salut play most of this beguiling album a
show at the Buffalo Bar in March that I reviewed for musicOMH.
51) Califone –
Stiches (Dead Oceans)
The number of Califone
releases now approaches double figures, showing how enduring a musical force
the Chicago-based four piece have become, albeit one still very much happy to
exist on the periphery of alternative rock. Stitches showed off all of their
qualities – strong songwriting and wide-ranging, accomplished playing allied to
a gritty, exposed aesthetic.
50) Euros Childs –
Situation Comedy (National Elf)
49) Mark Kozelek
& Desertshore – Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (Caldo Verde)
2013 was a highly prolific year for Mark Kozelek, this
being his third album of the year (that is if you discount the many live
records he’s also released). It was good to hear his voice alongside electric
guitar and drums (contrasting from the classical acoustic guitar heavy albums
he’s concentrated on in recent years). I saw him play an emotional show at
Union Chapel in October (on the night Lou Reed died) that focused on tracks
from this album, his collaboration with Jimmy LaValle (more of which later) and
forthcoming Sun Kil Moon album Benji. He seemed to suggest that these songs
were knocked out fairly quickly but I didn’t really pick this up when listening
to the album. As usual, some beautiful moments – Sometimes I Can’t Stop, Katowice
Or Cologne, Don’t Ask About My Husband and the superb You Are Not My Blood all
standing out.
48) Sam Amidon –
Bright Sunny South (Nonesuch)
47) Piano
Interrupted – The Unified Field (Denovali)
I first became aware of Piano Interrupted earlier in the
year by discovering Two By Four, the album they released last year. The Unified
Field wasn’t hugely different, still showing them to be skilled in integrating
traditional instrumentation with electronics although it was possibly a little
more studied, cerebral, minimalist and curtailed than its predecessor.
46) Nadia Sirota –
Baroque (Bedroom Community)
The name of this album only gave the listener an idea of
the starting point of the music of violist Nadia Sirota. It did less to convey
the forward-thinking outlook that informs it. Over the course of six tracks the
music here is expanded beyond the parameters of the genre of the title, pushed
into unexpected places and incorporating unanticipated sounds.
45) Roddy Woomble
– Listen To Keep (Reveal)
Listen To Keep was ex-Idlewild frontman Woomble’s fourth solo album and one that got a little unfairly overlooked throughout the year. It saw him continue to explore the worlds of alt.county and modern folk (whilst continuing to relay hints of Michael Stipe in his voice). The likes of The Last One Of My Kind meanwhile also proved his ability to write free-flowing, melodic tracks had not deserted him.
44) John Beltran –
Amazing Things (Delsin)
I heard of American producer John Beltran for the first
time this year but a glance at his back catalogue reveals a long and varied
career. Amazing Things was a rewarding marriage of melodic electronica and lush
strings that recalled the likes of the Cinematic Orchestra. I’ll be
investigating his other albums in 2014.
43) Volcano Choir
– Repave (Jagjaguwar)
They may be a band in their own right but it hard to look
past Justin Vernon when it comes to Volcano Choir. His voice is still
heartfelt, exposed, poignant but paradoxically many of the tracks on Repave
sounded shot through with a sort of melancholic, rousing euphoria.
42) Hacker Farm –
UHF (Exotic Pylon)
Noise, dark ambient and mutant electronics were all
rolled together into one hugely immersive ball of sound on UHF.
41) The Haxan
Cloak – Excavation (Tri Angle)
Excavation offered another glimpse into the subterranean,
blackened soundworld of The Haxan Cloak. The music was fractured and
foreboding, conveying a strangely alluring sense of unease.
40) Autechre –
Exai (Warp)
39) Mike Cooper –
White Shadows In The South Seas (Room40)
I was really pleased to discover the music of Mike Cooper
this year. He’s been making music for over 50 years, starting off in the field
of folk/blues before moving on to take in everything from soundtrack work to
electronic and improvised music and more. The esoteric, fascinating music on
White Shadows In The South Seas fell between genres, referencing everything
from winding guitar lines, lightly percussive groove-based workouts and
birdsong-embellished exotica.
38) Petrels –
Onkalo (Denovali)
It’s fair to say that Haeligewielle, the debut album by
Petrels (musician Oliver Barrett) blew me away somewhat unexpectedly last year.
Onkalo may not quite have matched the heights of its predecessor but it was
still a powerful work. Filtered, distorted sounds rushed through the album and
the incorporation of vocals into the mix added an emotional dimension not
always witnessed in the genre of dark ambient.
37) Daniel Bjarnason
– Over Light Earth (Bedroom Community)
Moving melodic
flourishes, glossy sweeping strings, powerful impactful peaks. Over Light Earth
by Icelandic composer-player Daniel Bjarnason proved that modern classical
could contain all of these qualities, sounding complex yet still totally compelling.
36) Jerusalem In
My Heart – Mo7it Al-Mo7it (Constellation)
For me, this release by JIMH was one of most interesting
records of the year. Essentially a project led by Lebanese musician Radwan
Ghazi Moumneh, Mo7it Al-Mo7it offered a spellbinding mix of traditional Arabic
music and experimental avant-rock, the layering of exclamatory, impassioned
vocals over the extended guitar drones resulting in a uniquely powerful listen.
35) Oddisee – The
Beauty In All (Mello Music)
The Beauty In All was another fluid, highly listenable
blending of sharp beats, samples and melodic motifs from Maryland producer
Oddisee.
34) Esmerine –
Dalmak (Constellation)
I came to this album late in the year but I’m so pleased
I finally got round to listening to it as for me it is the best Esmerine album.
Recorded in Istanbul with a group of Turkish musicians it showed the band to be
re-energised, delivering what I’d say is their strongest album to date, hinting
at the dynamism of GY!BE but also retaining their neo-chamber origins.
33) Splashgirl –
Field Day Rituals (Hubro)
32) Grouper – The
Man Who Died In His Boat (Kranky)
31) Julia Kent –
Character (The Leaf Label)
The third album by New York cellist Julia Kent had a real
density of sound and expansive scope and registered as one of the most
immersive and satisfying modern classical releases of 2013.
30) Aaron Martin
& Christoph Berg – Day Has Ended (Dronarivm)
Woven Tides by Aaron Martin (under the From The Mouth Of
The Sun name) was one of my favourite modern classical releases of 2012 and a
similar beautiful richness flowed through his collaboration with Christoph
Berg.
29) Bill Callahan
– Dream River (Drag City)
Dream River was a superbly executed (and typically
Callahanian) exercise in wryly observed, reflective lyrics and unhurried,
understated arrangements. Definitely an album to slow down and pause to. I’m
looking forward to seeing him play at the RFH in February.
28) A Sun Amissa –
You Stood Up For Victory, You Stood Up For Less (Gizeh)
You Stood Up For Victory, We Stood Up For Less consisted
of two tracks, each approaching twenty minutes in length. They marked A-Sun
Amissa out as one of the most successful 'new' bands to take post-rock and
develop and refine it in interesting ways (as seen at their show at Cafe Oto in February).
27) Amor De Dias –
The House At Sea (Merge Records)
I heard Gideon Coe play the title track from The House At
Sea on his 6music show at the start of the year and was immediately captured by
its warmth and beauty. Much of the album was delicate and gentle, reminiscent
of Neil Halstead/Mojave 3/Ella Guru but as the albums progressed hints of a
broader sound were unveiled.
26) Solar Bears –
Supermigration (Planet Mu)
25) Vieux Farka
Toure – Mon Pays (Wrasse Records)
There was some mesmerising, absorbing playing on Mon Pays
which ultimately helped it stand out in a year that boasted several
high-quality African guitar-based albums.
24) Jon Hopkins –
Immunity (Domino)
Immunity was Hopkins’ attempt at soundtracking the ascent
and descent of a night out and he accomplished it in masterful, seamless and
elegant style. The closing title track was particularly poignant – reminiscent
of his work with King Creosote on Diamond Mine.
23) Múm –
Smilewound (Morr Music)
I’ve loved Múm since discovering their wonderful debut
album Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Was OK. Their sound has progressed in a
poppier direction ever since and this was another Icelandic confection of
glitch, sugary sounds, unruly electronics, and wispy, waif-like vocals. There
was an enlightened playfulness and a controlled quirkiness to tracks like
Candlestick not found elsewhere this year. Set against this backdrop the
occasional use of strings felt like a genuinely enhancing addition rather than
the default option many bands resort to.
22) Veronica Falls
– Waiting For Something To Happen (Bella Union)
I’d never really paid much attention to Veronica Falls
until by chance I heard Teenage being played in H&M (thanks to the Shazam
app). It pretty much instantly converted me to their music – melodic,
girl-fronted, indie-pop perfection. I reviewed their show at Islington AssemblyHall for musicOMH.
21) Rabih Beaini –
Albidaya (Annihaya)
This album by Lebanese musician Rabih Beaini stood out
primarily due to the unusual and varied set of sounds it was drawn from -
strangely configured electronics that seemed to mimic the natural world (Ya
Shater suggested the sounds of birdsong and flowing waterfalls), loosely
experimental and at times aleotoric-sounding instrumentation, weird vocal
references, jazz-informed percussion. An invigorating and rewarding listen.
20) The Necks –
Open (Rer Megacorp)
The fact that I still
haven’t seen Australian trio The Necks play live remains a source of
frustration (although one I hope to overcome in 2014). Their improvised live
shows always attract huge praise and it’s not difficult to see how the music
featured on albums like Open could translate so well in that environment. The
album’s name was particularly telling – there was such a heightened sense of
space on Open, with rustling percussion and mirage-like piano ensuring an
understated, absorbing listen.
19) Benoît Pioulard
– Hymnal (Kranky)
18) Rokia Traoré – Beautiful Africa (Nonesuch)
Beautiful Africa possessed a real vitality and composure
not to mention superb musicianship and captivating vocals – all qualities
reflected in her performance at WOMAD (read my review of the festival here).
17) Mountains –
Centralia (Thrill Jockey)
Probably the Mountains album I have enjoyed most to date.
On Centralia their longform, immersive synth-based pieces crystallised into
something perfectly-formed, transporting and (like much of the best instrumental
music) acted as a facilitator to escapism, especially on stand out tracks like
Tilt. The map on the album cover art seemed appropriate - there's always been
something richly topographical to their music.
16) William Tyler
– Impossible Truth (Merge Records)
I was struck by the beauty and sheer technical skill on
Impossible Truth early in the year but when listening on headphones during a
journey from Leeds to London it seemed to make even more sense as the greens,
ochres and maroons of the English countryside in autumn flashed by the window.
A natural, organic, unfiltered quality flowed quite beautifully through the
winding, deviating paths of Tyler's guitar playing.
15) Oneohtrix
Point Never – R Plus Seven (Warp)
On R Plus Seven Daniel Lopatin continued his journey
through the outer reaches of progressive electronic music in impressive
fashion, juxtaposing cut up fragments alongside moments of serenity to present
what could be seen as the musical representation of a glittering, multi
dimensional, many sided shape. He
improves with each release and is slowly moving towards establishing his own
post-digital musical language.
14) Mark Kozelek
& Jimmy LaValle – Perils From The Sea (Caldo Verde)
I enjoyed this album more than MK’s collaboration with Desertshore
mainly due to the strength of the songs and lyrics as opposed to the electronic
backdrops they were intelligently set against (although they were wonderful
also). Tracks like Caroline, Ceiling Gazing, You Missed My Heart and the calm, reposed
closer Somehow The Wonder Of Life Remains were classic Kozelek – effortlessly
despatched with a resolute ability to remain lodged in your head and heart for
long periods of time. Among The Leaves by Sun Kil Moon was my favourite albumof 2012 and his music continued to play a rewarding, cathartic role for me in
2013.
13) Magic Arm –
Images Rolling (EMI)
Another really strong album from Manchester musician Marc
Rigelsford that was not particularly easy to place or accurately describe. In
places it contained hints of The Beach Boys, Panda Bear and possibly even Badly
Drawn Boy whilst also having some of the finesse of mid-period Mercury Rev. Put
Your Collar Up was one of my favourite tracks of the year and really deserved a
bigger audience. The instrumentation was broad but assured – strings, piano,
synthesisers and guitar sat alongside each other cordially. When during final
track The Flood Rigelsford sings “you don’t have to belong” it almost sounded
like a succinct lyrical condensation of his music. I saw him play a great show
at St Pancras Old Church in May.
12) Anais Mitchell
& Jefferson Hamer – Child Ballads (Wilderland Records)
Anais Mitchell has already proved herself a fine
interpreter of both traditional and modern folk music and this collaboration
with New York singer-songwriter Jefferson Hamer on this short collection
further reinforced this view. I hadn’t heard of Hamer before this but he was
actually responsible for some of the most beautiful moments on the album. I’ll
definitely be investigating some of his solo work in 2014.
11) Goldfrapp –
Tales Of Us (Mute)
I first listened to Tales Of Us on my way to work one day
in September and it was eminently suitable morning listening, unobtrusively
infiltrating my sleepy consciousness. I love this side to their music – so
discreet and deliberately underplayed (traits also present on their last album
Seventh Tree). There were moments on Tales Of Us such as Ulla where most bands
would have ramped up the orchestral backing but the fact that Goldfrapp chose
to proceed with such restraint seemed to make the music even more powerful. It
was one of a few albums this year that made me think of the Cocteau Twins
albums but this was definitely the album that came closest to matching the
mystery and beauty of those records.
10) John Grant –
Pale Green Ghosts (Bella Union)
I used to think that it was unlikely that John Grant's
solo music would ever quite have the same impact on me as that of his previous
band The Czars but Pale Green Ghosts rather emphatically persuaded me
otherwise. Musically bold and lyrically confrontational, funny and poetic, it
was no surprise to see this personal reinvention of an album top several end of
year charts (including that of musicOMH).
9) Laura Cantrell
– No Way There From Here (Spit & Polish)
The return of Laura Cantrell with new, original material
was one of the undoubted highlights of 2013. Her voice remained crystal clear
and her songwriting was as strong as ever. Her version of Jennifer O' Connor's Beg Or Borrow Days was one of my favourite
tracks of the year. Quite simply one of the best modern country singers around.
8) Holden – The
Inheritors (Border Community)
James Holden may not attract the same level of attention
as other names that operate in the realm of electronic music but The Inheritors
stood out as one of the year’s most interesting releases. It was stylistically varied and dense yet
brilliantly cohesive – it touched on drone, free jazz, techno and esoteric (and
frequently complex) electronica without ever sounding contrived. It’ll be
fascinating to see what he follows it up with.
7) Laura Veirs –
Warp & Weft (Bella Union)
I’ve loved Laura
Veirs’ music for a long time now and this was another very strong set of songs.
The purity and warmth of her voice, confident songwriting and subtly
progressive musical arrangements all combined to impressive effect on Warp And
Weft.
6) Pure Bathing
Culture – Moon Tides (Memphis Industries)
I first heard Tom Ravenscroft play Pure Bathing Culture
on 6music. I loved the beautiful Cocteau Twins-meets-Beach House dreaminess of
Moon Tides and its balancing of musical introspection and literate, melodic
pop. I saw them play most of the album at a show at The Waiting Room in Stoke
Newington.
5) Boards Of
Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest (Warp)
It arrived with a huge level of anticipation but
Tomorrow’s harvest didn’t disappoint. I love the sense of scale and
completeness that comes with Boards Of Canada albums. It’s tempting to focus on
the stand out, electronic melodies of Reach For The Dead, Cold Earth and
Nothing Is Real but as always the quieter, shorter, more abstract pieces like
Transmisiones Ferox and Uritual were just as important in preserving the flow
of the album and linking the pieces together.
4) Julianna
Barwick – Nepenthe (Dead Oceans)
Nepenthe was another album of celestial, ethereal sounds
from Julianna Barwick, all loops and layers, but under the surface lay real
emotion and clarity. It presented a firm challenge to Eluvium’s position as my
favourite ambient release of the year. It also possessed some of her most overt
references to melody to date. I missed her show at Cafe Oto but really hope she
returns to London soon.
3) Eluvium –
Nightmare Ending (Temporary Residence)
Eluvium albums always have such a human quality to them,
in some ways belying their instrumental nature (if you disregard Similes that
is, his one vocal-based album to date). There’s something joyous and almost
overwhelming about the sheer emotional saturation found within Matthew Cooper’s
music. From the poised elegance of the piano based tracks to the blissful,
engulfing exhalations of the hazier ambient pieces he always manages to
maintain a delicate balance between consonance and dissonance. I love how each
track makes its own particular contribution to the album whether it be the
backwards pull of Unknown Variation, that seemed to be retracing former
emotional ground, or the static-drenched columns of Chime.
2) Low – The
Invisible Way (Sub Pop)
I’ve already written and tweeted quite a bit on Low this
year (probably boring many people in the process) so I’ll try to keep this brief.
I think it is by no means their best work to date (Secret Name & Trust
still lead the way on this front) but The Invisible Way was an excellent album (but
I would say that I guess) and as always contained some spine-tingling moments –
Amethyst, So Blue, Holy Ghost, Four Score and To Our Knees ranking alongside
some of their best songs.
Slightly excessively, I saw them play five shows in 2013
- in Gateshead, London, Cambridge, Sheffield and Leeds. Tracks from The
Invisible Way dominated the first two shows in April and still hadn’t
diminished in anyway by the time I saw them 6 months later.
Oh, and I also wrote a long blog post on the twenty times I’ve seen them play.
Oh, and I also wrote a long blog post on the twenty times I’ve seen them play.
It held the top spot for much of the year before being
pipped on the line by...
1) Caitlin Rose –
The Stand-In (Names Records)
As always the album that claims number one spot in my
list is the one I’ve listened to most during the year. Indeed, my inability to
stop listening to The Stand-In around late November/early December put
finishing this rather long blog post at serious risk.
I knew it was pretty special on the first few listens but
it then just grew and grew and grew over the year for me. It was just a
brilliantly accomplished set of highly melodic and soulfully shaded
alt.country-referencing songs. It was also perfectly paced as well - both in
terms of track sequencing and long-term appeal (over the course of the year I
think my favourite track changed about 6 or 7 times). Ultimately I think Only A
Clown was my favourite and most listened to song of the year (check out the sweet and funny video here).
I like a lot of different types of music but sometimes I
just can’t get past a girl with an amazing voice singing beautiful, affecting songs.
Thank you Caitlin!
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