Best Albums of 2013

Electronic sounds run through this year's list -- I found them irresistible.  Hip-hop may be the backbone of most pop music in 2013, but the sound of EDM (electronic dance music) is seeping in everywhere around the edges.  It's not a new sound, to be sure;  it's the metronomic beat that animated disco, the synth-y gloss of New Wave, the booming bottom of House, and the sonic wash of Eno's ambient music.

But that's not all you'll find on the list.  There's classic R&B from an old school blues hand, a dead-on album of stark alt country songs, power pop to die for, and a brand new diva.   If most of these sounds have the upbeat hum of contentment and joy, it's no coincidence.  2013 brought me much joy: health, happiness, family.  Hope there was much of that in your year, too.


1.  Rhye, Woman


This was a constant on my virtual turntable, the morning, noon and night sound of 2013: the dreamy sound of obsessive love in the unmistakable, androgynous voice of Mike Milosh.

This year, there was no better case than this for the power of albums to create s sustained musical mood.  By turns minimalist and danceable, Rhye's Woman has claimed a place alongside Roxy Music's Avalon as an enduring statement of romanticism.

"The Fall" will make clear why:

2.  Jason Isbell, Southeastern

I was not a Drive-By Truckers fan.  If there was a joke behind that band (which Isbell fronts), I never got it.   But Jason Isbell on his own is no joke.  His songs are all about exposed pain and they are as real and immediate as anything Dylan, Cash, Willie or Jerry Jeff  ever served up.  He's heir to them all.

This is spare, unadorned music about important stuff.  Pay attention.

3.  HAIM, Days Are Gone

Haim, the sister act of 2013, make the case for California pop as the perfect expression of American music. In their debut, the Eagles, Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac, the Bangles and the Byrds are all whirling around in a sonic Cuisinart.

"Days Are Gone" is a captivating confection, hopelessly overhyped and proudly unimportant -- but totally satisfying, a musical Dove Bar.  Take the wrapper off "Falling" and take a big bite.

4.  Kurt Vile, Waking on a Pretty Day

A Philadelphia story, Vile starts with the under-appreciated band War on Drugs and ends up recording a solo mash-up of Neil Young and the Kinks.  Velvet Underground undertones season this liberally. Waking on a Pretty Daze perfectly makes the case that "quiet is the new loud."

"Never Run Away" is a succinct expression of this and Vile's unique talent.

5.  Minor Alps, Get There

I came late to the Nada Surf party and now devour their output.  Smart power pop songs are nothing to sneer at and doing them well is genius.  In my book, Nada Surf is in a league with Marshall Crenshaw and Mathew Sweet.

Minor Alps is a side-project of NS frontman Mathew Caws teaming up with Juliana Hatfield.  Their voices and musical sensibilities blend beautifully and typically on "Waiting for You."

6.  Jessie Ware, Devotion

Ware's Devotion was released last year in the UK where it was Mercury Prize nominated, but didn't turn up here until 2013.  And I was waiting, believe me.

Ware is what Sade would sound like if she sang out loud.  She has an enormous voice and a great feel for R&B.  "If You"re Never Gonna Move" makes the case perfectly.

7.   Washed Out, Paracosm

Washed Out is the sound of a certain zeitgeist.  His "Feel It All Around" opens Portlandia, the wickedly funny spoof of aging hipsters everywhere.  Washed Out is Ernest Greene; evidently on the chillwave scene, you need a nom de musique other than your own. 

Paracosm sits in the "daytime disco" space that Poolside's Pacific Standard Time occupied on my list last year. Melodic, airy electronica with feet firmly rooted in R&B, it's music for millennials, as the video for "All I Want" makes plain.  Listen anyway.

8.  Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City

This was the disc that made clear these guys are in it for the long haul.  The songs are more varied and their Afro-pop is toned down.  But the lyrical and musical freshness  -- which initially, and still, win them comparisons to Paul Simon -- are here on vivid display.

There are shout outs to Modern Vampires on so many year end lists right now.  Believe them.  And if you're skeptical, listen to "Obvious Bicycle."

9.   James Blake, Overgrown

Blake is a genre-hopping wunderkind, but the texture of much of this music has the open space feel of Massive Attack's classic Protection.   There is melody here to soften the sound of longing and loss, and it's what makes this music feel so redemptive to me.

Overgrown is the only "challenging" disc on this year's list, but on  repeated listening it reveals the soul sensibility that is at the heart of Blake's music.  You could imagine Mavis Staples singing "Digital Lion" and making it her own.

10.  Boz Scaggs, Memphis

Written off for his disco-tinged '80's hits, Boz has always been a blues singer at heart.  On this return to form, he serves up an album of covers that are dripping with the sound of Al Green's classic Hi recordings (think the swampy sound of "Let's Stay Together").  We get some southern soul classics, like "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Love on a Two Way Street" that he predictably slays, and some Willy deVille songs resurrected from obscurity.  Put on this old school gem and see how long it takes for folks to recognize his unmistakable sound.

Start with his sweet version of Tryone Davis' "Can I Change My Mind."

Still to come for those with shorter attention spans, "Best Singles of 2013."