Well here we go for another year!!
2013 for me has been a good one with heaps of music coming through, most of which being very decent. It’s funny for me to say, but over the course of this year alone, I added 146 albums to my iTunes library, plus a number of EP’s and singles – so I think narrowing it down to my 10 favourite albums should have been a lot harder than what it was!!
2013 for me has been a good one with heaps of music coming through, most of which being very decent. It’s funny for me to say, but over the course of this year alone, I added 146 albums to my iTunes library, plus a number of EP’s and singles – so I think narrowing it down to my 10 favourite albums should have been a lot harder than what it was!!
This year I gained more of an interest into some psychedelic
and early pop music perhaps due to last years well deserved flogging of Tame
Impala’s Lonerism, but mainly due to
a link that saw me fall in love with The Zombies. In short, the link came about
when I was looking at Foxygen’s influences and one of them was The Zombies,
which happened to be already a favourite of my cousins - we subsequently
flogged their best album Odessey and
Oracle that night, and the rest is history. Needless to say this got me
into The Beatles, and allowed me to then appreciate the likes of Unknown Mortal
Orchestra’s II and to some extent
Cloud Control’s Dream Cave.
The traditional things I enjoy in music such as harmonies
and multi- instruments again were predominant in albums I ranked highly. Also,
a solid guitar hook is just about the most crucial thing for a decent song in
my books and scattered throughout my top albums and singles, there is a
plethora of great hooks.
Writing a blog this year has been interesting for me too.
Its altered how I look at music, in terms of being able write about why I like
a song, instead of just telling someone ‘hey this song is good, you
should listen to it.’
So the albums…..
Top 10 Albums of 2013
10. Birds of Tokyo - March Fires
March Fires round
out the top 10. Been an interesting auditory journey I have had with this album
from one of my old favourites Birds Of Tokyo. Initially the emotional power
behind each song hit me and I was wowed, however I went through a period
thinking it was a bit dull (depressing almost). But I have gone back to it, and
once you take this album on its merits (hard to do sometimes I know!) it shows
its true character. Again, a very worthy album….
Surfer Blood earned themselves a spot with just some
flawless guitar and a very consistent style of music which I like. Their lead
singer annoyed me a fair bit when I saw them play in July, however this is a
very ‘stable’ album – not many ups and down, but each song is genuinely
enjoyable. Will be interesting to see what they do next.
Little Green Cars were a support band to Daughter at the
Corner also in July. They were such an odd mix of musicians, but all came
together and had a beautiful sound. It was strong, but so perfectly
orchestrated. Some say they are this years Of Monsters And Men – a reasonable
comparison I believe. The album has a lot of great tracks including ‘Big Red
Dragon’, ‘The John Wayne’ and ‘My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me’
however nothing is better than ‘Harper Lee’ – a track that will sure put you in
a great mood whatever the situation!
The Tealeaves have delivered after what seemed like an
eternity of waiting!!! A great album that is the sort of music you play whilst
lounging round home on a Sunday morning doing nothing. Paul Davies has some
awesome guitar parts throughout the album, and there is a few beautiful
harmonies…..
Unknown Mortal Orchestra are again in the psychedelic
Beatles-esqu vibe and similarly I thoroughly enjoyed their live show during the
year. Initially I was very reluctant to give II a crack because I hated the name Unknown Mortal Orchestra (very
lame I know!!) but the reviews kept drawing me to this record and I have been
rather impressed. A very unique sound and one that I can’t believe is created
by a 3 piece – in addition to this, the front man is an absolute freak on guitar
and plays some of the most intricate pieces….have a listen if you haven’t already!!
Please friends get your hands on this and listen to it. I
will be seriously so surprised if you don’t also love it to. I know a few of
you like it a lot already. It has such simple elements to it – not much
layering and nothing technical, but everything is simple, catchy and unheard of
in a non-complicated way. These guys are fucking awesome and maybe in a couple
of months time this could have been my number 2 album!!
The History of Apple Pie have been on consistent rotation
since January when I got their album!! And looking back I probably should have
hounded a few of you to get into it…..it has grungy guitar, and a bit of a
low-fi rock influence, with a very delicate female vocalist. It’s an album I
listen to a lot just on my own doing nothing – give it a crack…
No frills, psychadelic indie-rock at its best. From the
outset I loved this record and have continued to do so as the year went on. Has
gained some very worthy critical acclaim and publicity – lets hope we have no
more meltdowns from Foxygen, and some more psyched-out music!!
Human Spring has
been so steady in my books all year too. Just about every song could have made
a spot on the singles list and I rekon each month I had a different favourite
track off the album. Again, live they are exceptional. Buchanan appear like
they are an incredibly hard working band and I know as a fact that their fans
appreciate what they do. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another LP from them
within the next 12 months and hopefully they gain some more well deserved
publicity and recognition for the exceptional music they produce.
From the outset, Dream
Cave was never in threat of losing the top spot. It just hit me and I was,
and still am, completely absorbed by the album. Seeing them live was amazing
too and I can’t wait to see them at Laneway after almost 12 months of them
touring and hopefully mastering the album (even more so) in the live setting.
This is now 2 cracking albums from Cloud Control – yes I’m a big big fan!!
Top 10 Singles of
2013
1.
Cloud Control – Dojo Rising
2.
Little Green Cars – Harper Lee
3.
Tigertown – What You Came Here For
4.
Emma Louise – Pontoon
5.
Boy & Bear – Southern Sun
6.
Iron & Wine – Grace For Saints And Ramblers
7.
The Head And The Heart – Another Story
8.
Velma Grove – Paper House
9.
Camera Obscura – Do It Again
10.
Buchanan
– Temperamentally
These speak for themselves. A slight surprise here with Iron
& Wine making the cut and I hope Tigertown release an LP next year….Also
‘Another Story’ by The Head and The Heart was the only song this year that I
loved fully from the first chord!!
Top EP’s of 2013
1.
Sleepy Tea – The Place Where We Lay
2.
Tigertown – What You Came Here For
3.
Best Coast – Fade Away
Unlucky Albums
-
Camera Obscura – Desire Lines
-
London Grammar - If You Wait
Unlucky Singles
-
Daughter – Human
-
Guards – Silver Lining
Thanks everyone for the support this year, have a safe and
happy 2014.
See you in January!
Cheers
LF
Cheers
LF
Little Green Cars only #8 in the albums cuz?
ReplyDeleteMost surprising...are you sure you didn't get 2 & 8 mixed up??
Good wrap up overall though....and will you pass on the Tealeaves to me at some stage FFS....