December 30, 2013
Face it – 2013 was a lame year. But there were still gems:
| 20 | Polvo Siberia Though perhaps not as stunning as their first reunion album In Prism, this new record from the pioneers of math rock is a masterpiece of layered guitars and prog rock sounds. |
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| 19 | The Icarus Line Slave Vows Slave Vows somehow pulls off being The Icarus Line’s loosest and most focused album in a decade. If it’s fair to continue comparing them to The Stooges, then this is their Fun House. Read review |
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| 18 | Poltergeist Your Mind Is a Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder) Echo & The Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson head out into space. |
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| 17 | Camper Van Beethoven La Costa Perdida No band can be as complex, confusing, and enjoyable as Camper Van Beethoven. Read review |
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| 16 | Dawes Stories Don’t End Subtly brilliant folk rock. |
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| 15 | British Sea Power Machineries of Joy Founders of history rock go outdoors. Read review |
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| 14 | Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Specter at the Feast Black Rebel Motorcycle Club rarely surprise you, but they are very effective. Read review |
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| 13 | Arcade Fire Reflektor The indie luminaries took some heat for going disco but, hey, good enough for a Bowie cameo is pretty damn good. Read review |
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| 12 | Washed Out Paracosm This is what chillwave should be, should aspire to. Read review |
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| 11 | Noah & The Whale Heart of Nowhere Instead of changing, Noah & The Whale just simply improve. Read review |
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| 10 | David Bowie The Next Day First new David Bowie album in a decade. Is there any way it couldn’t be great? Read review |
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| 9 | Sebadoh Defend Yourself After 14 years, Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein, a.k.a. the geniuses of ‘90s lo-fi and DIY indie-rock, are finally back, proving that after almost three decades of music they can still writing amazing songs in that vein, sounding as nostalgic as fresh. Read review |
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| 8 | Sigur Rós Kveikur This is the album that these Icelanders have been building up to for a long time. It is edgier and more intense than any album they have released and it really works well. Read review |
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| 7 | Daft Punk Random Access Memories A bit of a departure from their techno-dance albums of yesteryear, Random Access Memories employs ‘70s disco so tastefully that every song stands on its own. Read review |
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| 6 | Local Natives Hummingbird After a beloved debut, there is anything but a sophomore slump for Local Natives. Read review |
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| 5 | Queens of the Stone Age …Like Clockwork This was another highly anticipated album for 2013. At first it didn’t feel like it lived up to all the hype it received but after listening to it a few times it’s easy to fall in love with. Read review |
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| 4 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs Mosquito Instead of falling into the trap of being a fashion band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs stay ahead of the curve. Read review |
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| 3 | The Black Angels Indigo Meadow The kings of contemporary psychedelia are back with their fourth album, which while still revolving around the same formula of heavily reverbed guitars, dark analogue organ sound and spacey vocals, is the band’s most consistent album as yet. Read review |
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| 2 | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Push the Sky Away The iconic iconoclast somberly pushes to the sky. Read review |
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| 1 | The National Trouble Will Find Me The National somehow find a way to even further perfect their epic tragedy. Read review |
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