My Favorite Albums of 2013 (21-30)

With 2013 coming to a close, I've compiled another favorite albums list. Last year I published my 50 favorite albums and made note that I kept making my list longer every year. This year I've consciously decided I need to show just a small amount of restraint, so I'm limiting myself to "only" 30 albums this year. I think there's a pretty good variety on here, so hopefully there's something everyone can enjoy. Without further ado, onto the list...

30) Charles Bradley - Victim Of Love

Charles Bradley's second album finds him belting out love songs with an energy few 60+ year olds possess. My knowledge of the soul genre is limited, but he's one of my favorites and his story is as good as any you'll find. A few weeks ago he released a really cool cover of a Black Sabbath tune too that I recommend checking out. You can find that one here.

29) Great Apes - Thread

Great Apes are a punk band from San Francisco fronted by Hanalei singer/songwriter Brian Moss. I've written before about my love of Hanalei. While the music of Great Apes is decidedly different from the folkier Hanalei, Moss' influence and voice are still present and "Thread" is a very solid punk record. It's well worth checking out if that's your kind of thing.

28) The National - Trouble Will Find Me

The National seem like a pretty divisive band. Some people love their music and other people think it's boring and that the people who love it are crazy. I side closer to the former. They aren't my favorite band in the world, but Matt Berninger's baritone voice can be intoxicating at times. If you've enjoyed one of the band's previous five albums, I imagine you'll enjoy "Trouble Will Find Me" as well.

27) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

"So Good At Being In Trouble" is one of my absolute favorite songs released this year. Throughout the year, the song's chorus has repeatedly just popped into my head out of nowhere. The album's lo-fi/psychedelic indie rock took me a bit longer to get into than some albums, but I've definitely come around on it. Plus any band that can write a song as good as "So Good At Being In Trouble" has my attention.

26) Lady Lamb The Beekeeper - Ripely Pine

I saw Maine native Aly Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb The Beekeeper) open for Kaki King a couple months before her album came out. At the time, I was intrigued by how well she could fill up a room with sound using just her voice and a guitar. The album does a really good job of showcasing her talents while adding a few more instruments to the mix. It is a fantastic debut, and I look forward to seeing what she can do with her career.

25) Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

Foxygen sounds a bit like a band out of place in 2013. Their music has a clear 1960's sound. The Velvet Underground is the biggest comparison I hear, but that's probably because I'm more familiar with them than other artists. I've seen some criticism from people claiming the band is just copying other bands before them. However, I feel like all bands do that to an extent, and Foxygen is at least really good at it. If you go into the album with an open mind, it's a pretty enjoyable 40 minutes of music.

24) Mikal Cronin - MCII

Following up his self titled debut with "MCII", Mikael Cronin is giving labelmates She & Him a run for their money for least creative album titles. Fortunately, Mikal Cronin is just another in a long line of really good artists releasing music on Merge Records, and everything else about the album is pretty good. I've actually listened to this album less than most of the other albums on here, but each time I have, I've found myself nodding along to his blend of pop/rock.

23) Hey Marseilles - Lines We Trace

Seattle-based Hey Marseilles first introduced the world to their orchestral folk/pop on their debut album in 2008. We've had to wait a long time, but 2013 finally brought the follow up to that album and it does not disappoint. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 5 years for the third album.

22) Kevin Devine - Bulldozer

A quick look at the blog archives indicates that I've somehow only written about Kevin Devine once on here. That's a real shame because he's one of my favorite lyric writers. One day I'll have to dedicate a post to him. This year, he ran a Kickstarter campaign that was funded in less than one day. The product of that campaign is this solo album as well as an album with his backing band. Both albums are really good, but I found myself coming back to the solo one a bit more.

21) Streetlight Manifesto - The Hands That Thieve

I don't listen to much ska music anymore, but I've got a real soft spot for it (dating back to my days of playing saxophone for a ska band in high school) that is likely never going to go away. Streetlight Manifesto was always one of my favorite bands, and "The Hands That Thieve" is a good indication of why that is. It's pretty close to physically impossible for me to listen to their horns without whistling along. Combine the catchy horns with Tomas Kalnocky's singing, and I'm hooked. If you want something with a lot of energy that's gonna get your foot tapping and your mouth whistling, then look no further.


I should be back tomorrow with albums 11-20. Until then, you can sample each of the albums from this portion of the list with a song below.

Bob Dylan makes coolest music video ever

Bob Dylan, apparently not content to rest on his laurels as one of the greatest songwriters ever, decided to make one of the coolest music videos ever. The video, for "Like A Rolling Stone," allows the viewer to surf through 16 different channels while the song plays. You can watch sports highlights, shopping shows, cartoons, The Price Is Right, or a number of other things, but the catch is that regardless of which channel you turn to, the people are mouthing the words to the song. The video doesn't appear to be embeddable, but you can click here to watch it. Enjoy!

A bit of new music from the interwebs

It's been a little while since I've been able to post, but I had a chance to poke around a bit the last couple days, and I discovered some new songs I thought I'd share.

First off, Charles Bradley continues to make fantastic soul music as evidenced by a new song called "Ain't It A Sin." The weather has gotten pretty cold here in Iowa the last few days, but some nice soul music can sure warm up a room. I may have to return to Charles Bradley pretty often this winter. If you're interested in Charles Bradley, there was a documentary made about him called "Charles Bradley: Soul Of America" that was really interesting. He's had a pretty incredible life, and it's a good thing he was finally able to share his music with the world. The documentary is streaming on Netflix, so check it out there if you have access.



Hospitality put out an excellent self-titled debut album in 2012 on Merge Records. The band has announced that their sophomore album, "Trouble," will be released on January 28. In the meantime, the first track released from the album is the delightfully titled "I Miss Your Bones." The track has definitely whet my appetite for the rest of the album in January.



I didn't expect to find myself enjoying an artist that is opening for Black Sabbath, but then I heard Reignwolf. I first encountered Reignwolf at Sasquatch this year where he put on a really solid set. He has currently only released two songs, but I'm looking forward to hearing a full length album sometime in the future. It's sure to pack plenty of punch whenever it comes out.



And lastly, I really enjoyed the open letter Lorde wrote on her 17th birthday. I haven't really listened to her music because I'm not too up on pop music, but she sounds a lot more mature than a lot of people older than her. I'll be rooting for her success in the future. The letter can be read here.

Hopefully I'll be able to start posting my favorite albums of the year list before too long and then maybe update this thing a bit more often.

New Suburban Dirts Music - Spoiler... It's really good!

English folk/blues/rock/country band Suburban Dirts released one of my favorite albums of 2012 (ranked #10 here, but probably higher if I remade the list now). Since then, they've added Ryan Davies (of previously blogged about Marching Donald) and apparently been hard at work making even more music. In a week (on November 18) they'll show everybody that the first album wasn't just a fluke when they release their follow-up "a tiny little island in the big bad sea."

I had the pleasure of getting to hear the new album early, and after about a dozen listens, I think I may actually prefer it to their debut. The album kicks off with a foot-stomper of a song in "Fire On The Campsite" that lets you know you're not going to be able to sit still while listening to this album. The second track, "Hose Ban Blues," keeps the energy up and adds in some excellent harmonica by Judd Lander, the guy who played harmonica on Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon." "Hose Ban Blues" also features some excellent lyric work with lines like "Am I killing time or is time killing me?" and "Even Schrodinger's cat eventually died, but don't quote me on that, he could still be alive." I'm not sure if I glossed over the lyrics while listening to the first album because it was so catchy, but I really noticed them quite a few times here.

The third track, "Everybody's Friend," is one of two that has been made available for listening before the album's release. Check it out here to get your own taste of the album:



"Punchball Blues" is a Dylan-esque rock & roll romp akin to "Lost In Transcription" from the band's debut album. It also marks the end of what the band describes as a shift from the playful confidence of the first five tracks to the uncertainty and fragility displayed throughout the last six tracks.

This shift in tone is on display in the second song the band has made available, "Any Other Morning," which also happens to be one of my favorite songs of the year. The emotional weight of lead-singer John Wheatley crooning "The last thing that I want to hear you say is 'I'd go with you on any other morning, but I just can't do today'" hits me every time I hear it. You can stream or buy the song here:



The penultimate track, "Queen O'Pity" features more of Judd Lander's fantastic harmonica work and is another second half highlight. Album closer "All Of This" slows things down again and offers time for reflection as John Wheatley sings "I know I'm gonna miss all of this someday" in a nice finish to the album.

"a tiny little island in the big bad sea" can be pre-ordered from Amazon or iTunes. If you missed the band's first album make sure to go check it out on Bandcamp. If you want to support an up and coming band that is making some awfully impressive music, check out their various pages below and/or buy an album (or go to a show if you're lucky enough to live nearby). Regardless, enjoy!

Want to check out Suburban Dirts? Of course you do...

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