My Favorite Albums of 2013 (11-20)

I know it's 2014 now, but I'm gonna focus on 2013 for just a couple days more. If you missed albums 21-30, you can find them here. As of this moment, a bunch of these albums can be downloaded over at Amazon for only $5, so check that out if you're looking to buy any of them. Otherwise, it's on with the list!

20) Telekinesis - Dormarion

Dormarion is the fourth full-length album released by Michael Benjamin Lerner under the name Telekinesis. By now, the Seattle native has figured out how to mix indie rock and power pop to craft songs that beg to be sung along with. The album opener "Power Lines" lulls you into thinking your speakers somehow got turned down somehow before cranking up the noise a little over a minute in. Additional fun fact: if Wikipedia is to be believed, his dad voiced Fox McCloud in Star Fox 64 game.


19) Wooden Wand - Blood Oaths of the New Blues

I wrote about Wooden Wand in my first post of 2013. As I said then, this is just a really nice americana/folk/country album. The track "Outsider Blues" shows off James Jackson Toth's knack for storytelling/song writing and is one of my favorite songs of the year.

18) Bastille - Bad Blood

Bastille are an English indie rock band that first came to my attention when I saw they had a song named "Laura Palmer" (a character from the show Twin Peaks). Their synth-heavy debut, Bad Blood, is filled with catchy, anthemic songs. "Laura Palmer," "Pompeii," "Icarus," and "Flaws" are some of my favorite tracks.


17) CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe

Number 17 is another synth-heavy band releasing their debut LP. CHVRCHES (pronounced churches) had garnered a good deal of buzz by releasing a couple tracks before this album. Fortunately, The Bones Of What You Believe does not disappoint. "The Mother We Share" and "Recover" are both exceptional songs that were released before the album, but the band has surrounded them with plenty of other enjoyable tracks. This is a band that I imagine we'll be hearing a lot more in the future.


16) Los Campesinos! - No Blues

The enthusiastic Welsh band Los Campesinos! released their 5th full length album in 2013. Time has not sapped any of their energy as No Blues is packed full of songs just bursting at the seams. The band could come off as too cute (they refer to themselves as all having the last name Campesinos!) if their songs weren't so catchy and fun.


15) Local Natives - Hummingbird

This sophomore album from Local Natives is much more dreamy and atmospheric sounding than their debut. The lyrics are largely inspired by the departure of a band member and the passing of a mother of one of the members. These two different forms of loss may have led to a less sunny sounding record than their debut, but it certainly didn't affect the quality of their music.

14) Jason Isbell - Southeastern

How the work of Jason Isbell has slipped past me to this point in my life is beyond me. My new year's resolution may have to be to better familiarize myself with his previous solo output and his work with the Drive-By Truckers because Southeastern was an album that grew on me more and more each time I heard it. The album was recorded after a stint in rehab, and Isbell's twangy guitar perfectly backs emotionally powerful lyrics about his recent sobriety. In the process of writing this, I moved the album four spots up my list. If I revisited this list in another few days it may move up even higher.


13) Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17

I guess this is the "What have I been doing?" section of the list. Despite having released several records and hailing from my home state of Minnesota, I didn't know the music of Har Mar Superstar until checking out Bye Bye 17. It turns out I've been missing out. Sean Tillman may not look the part, but this album is full of really wonderful soul/r&b/pop gems. Make sure to check out "Lady You Shot Me" and "Prisoner."

12) Volcano Choir - Repave

Repave is a gorgeous sophomore album from Volcano Choir (a collaboration between Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and members of the post-rock band Collections of Colonies of Bees). The rest of the band has done a wonderful job surrounding Vernon's voice with sparse guitar, piano, and drums throughout most of the album. Repave didn't click with me right away, but sitting here and just letting the sound wash over me now seems pretty perfect.

11) The Shouting Matches - Grownass Man

Justin Vernon may not be giving us new Bon Iver music anytime soon, but he's sure giving us a lot of other really good stuff. The Shouting Matches is a blues-rock trio consisting of Wisconsin natives Vernon,  Phil Cook (of Megafaun), and Brian Moen (of Peter Wolf Crier). The album is really enjoyable and if you've ever been curious what Vernon sounds like not singing in his falsetto, this record answers that question.




Here's a song from each of the albums so you can get a taste for yourself.



Tomorrow I'll post my top 10 favorite albums from what was a very strong year for music.

New releases from April - June 2013

The blog has gone relatively quiet lately, so I'm posting this almost two months later than I planned, but better late than never. So without further ado, my favorite albums from the second quarter of 2013:

My favorite albums released April - June 2013

 

1) Kurt Vile - Wakin On A Pretty Daze

I'll just leave this to my previous write up about the album.


2) The Postelles - ...And It Shook Me

Back in January, I posted about the track "Pretend It's Love," which was my first exposure to The Postelles. At the time, I was unsure what to expect from the album, but fortunately the rest of the album is also a ton of fun and has more than lived up to any expectations I had. The New York rock/pop band has mastered the catchy hook. If you enjoy this album, make sure to also check out their self-titled album, which you can get for $6 on their website. As for this album though, "Caught By Surprise" and "Running Red Lights" are two of my other favorite tracks. The whole thing is a great warm weather album to play loud and sing along to.


3) John Moreland - In The Throes

Switching gears a bit from the upbeat, hook heavy music of The Postelles, John Moreland has crafted an excellent americana/folk album that has grown on me more and more with each listen. "Nobody Gives A Damn About Songs Anymore" is my favorite track, but there's a ton to like here. John Moreland, along with Small Houses and Wooden Wand have made this a darn good year for folk music fans.

4) The Shouting Matches - Grownass Man

Justin Vernon is a busy man. While he is perhaps best known for his solitary retreat into the woods to write the first Bon Iver album, Vernon seems to revel in the art of collaboration. Since that album was released five years ago, he has released another EP and (a much more collaborative) full-length as Bon Iver, he released albums as part of Volcano Choir and Gayngs, he guested on several songs of Anais Mitchell's 2010 album, and he even found time to team up with Kanye West for a few songs. His latest project is a blues-rock trio called The Shouting Matches with two friends from his hometown of Eau Claire. I know some people lament the fact that he's focusing on these other things instead of Bon Iver, but I love seeing him spread his creativity as far and as wide as he sees fit and is able to. The Shouting Matches is a catchy album of blues-rock that shows another side of what Justin Vernon has to offer. If that's not your thing though, just wait around until September for another release with Volcano Choir.

5) Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17

Har Mar Superstar is the recording name of Sean Tillmann. How this Minnesota based soul/r&b singer slipped under my radar is a mystery to me. While he seems to be known a bit for his theatrics (like performing in close to nothing, and claiming that Har Mar Superstar is his twin brother Harold Martin Tillman), his songs speak for themselves. "Lady, You Shot Me" and "Prisoner" are two of my favorites from this record, but listen to the whole thing if you're at all inclined to like soul/r&b/pop.

6) Telekinesis - Dormarion

And now for the condensed versions... Telekinesis is the project of Seattle based musician Michael Benjamin Lerner. His music is driving indie rock and Dormarion, his third album (all on Merge Records), is a solid follow up to the very catchy "12 Desperate Straight Lines."

7) Charles Bradley - Victim of Love

60-something year old Charles Bradley is back with more soul, funk, and love. I haven't watched it yet, but there is a documentary about him on Netflix Instant called Soul Of America.

8) Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend keeps doing what they do well for their third album, which has received pretty universal praise.

9) She & Him - Volume 3

Also, releasing their third (non-Christmas) album is the duo movie/tv star Zooey Deschanel and indie folk musician/guitar extraordinaire M. Ward. If you liked volumes one and two, there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy Volume Three.

10) Fitz and the Tantrums - More Than Just A Dream

This final spot was a bit of a wild card, but the energetic soul/pop of Fitz and the Tantrums won out. The lead track "Out Of My League" is my favorite.

Other albums I've enjoyed (in alphabetical order)

Bradford Loomis - Into The Great Unknown (folk music)
Camera Obscura - Desire Lines (Scottish indie pop)
Cayucas - Bigfoot (sunny sounding indie pop)
Daughter - If You Leave (British indie folk/indie rock)
Future Bible Heroes - Partygoing (project of Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt)
Iron & Wine - Ghost On Ghost (embraces a bit more jazzy sound than before)
The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra - The Benevolence of Sister Mary Ignatius (old-school ska)
Ola Podrida - Ghosts Go Blind (Texas based indie rock)
Smith Westerns - Soft Will (glossy indie rock/indie pop)
Streetlight Manifesto - The Hands That Thieve (new-school ska)
Treetop Flyers - The Mountain Moves (British folk-rock, newest release from Partisan Records)


My favorite EP

Shooting Stansfield - We Know Not What We Do

This was the only EP that jumped out at me from the second quarter of the year. The indie rock band is reminiscent of their fellow Scottish countrymen Frightened Rabbit, which is always a good thing. I'll be excited to hear their debut full-length when they get around to it.


Some of my favorite songs from April - June 2013 releases

And as is tradition, here are a couple (slightly different) mixes of my favorite songs from the second quarter of 2013. Anyone should be able to play the first one (although the order will be random if you play it a second time I believe) and the second one can only be played if you have Spotify. Enjoy!

My favorite tracks from April to June 2013 from rynestonecowboy on 8tracks Radio.