Despite my dislike of annual "best of the year" lists, here is a roundup of a few of the records - new releases only - that really grabbed me in 2013.
Starting with Frightened Rabbit's Pedestrian Verse, this record is light years ahead of their previous work. Tight, pop, somewhat psych, very contemporary, yet could easily have been released in 1967. Fabulously crafted songs, utterly catchy and thoroughly enchanting. A piece of sheeer magic, not to be missed. The vinyl sounds very good and is a decent pressing, and I just love the cover art.
Mudhoney never disppoint, yet this is their best record in a decade. A very hard rock record, vaguely garage-ish, rough, jagged, distorted at times, aggressive, yet somehow very soulful, this is a band that has acquired over time a certain vintage patina to their music, and seem with Vanishing Point to have hit a mid-period where, having nothing to prove, they are able to hit a level of both maturity and reinvigoration. A dirty rock record, an abrasive one, a dangerous one. A great record, and sounds excellent on vinyl.
Eleanor Friedberger's second record (sort of) is another step forward. Yes, the songwriting is more personal, but the songs are just so well crafted and performed, and nothing like the (to me) rather boring Fiery Furnaces. Hooks are all over here, the vibe is very 70's-ish, quite upbeat, reminding me of mid 70's artists like Libby Titus and Frannie Golde, not to mention Laura Nyro - or even late 60's Deram factory psych pop groups. Not a singer songwriter record at all, thankfully - a fully formed pop-rock record, and a great one at that.
The new MGMT LP is s stone masterpiece. Right away this is cosmic in scope and psychedelic straight through, and reminds me a lot of T.Rex in a way. This record is just outright a blast, and a huge amount of fun. Nothing here is a throwaway, the lyrics are superb, the music is amazing. The vinyl sounds best in any format, even the 24/96 download is very loud and compressed, whereas the vinyl is done with a much lighter hand. Probably the best record I have heard in 2013. Totally recommended and a big five doobies to this one.
Monster Magnet's Last Patrol took me awhile to get into - it is not as immediately catchy as their last record. It revels itself with repeated listening as a great record. Somewhat more low-key and much darker that their last, and more expansive in scope. This one may take awhile to get into, but well worth the effort - in the end, it is probably their best record yet.Very nice package and pressing, nicely spread onto 2 LPs. Recommended. A trip.
Roy Harper returns, immediately followed by charges for child sex allegations dating back 40 years. Putting aside my feelings both about abuse of minors and about bringing charges 40 years after the fact - it is a welcome return for one of the greatest songwriters in history. I put Harper up with any great songwriter, and had he not been so cantankerous and had been given better record company support, he could easily have been on a par with Dylan. On Man & Myth, despite a horrendous cover, Harper shows no signs of age dimming his creative powers, and these are songs that stand up to his best work, in fact are his best work since the late 70's, long songs, lyrically potent, and superb backup. Good vinyl pressing. A great record, which could very well be his last.
Reflector by Arcade Fire may not be as appealing to long time fans, but I think it is a great album. Wider ranging and harder hitting, the songs are tightly expansive. The band has matured and seems less conciously 'arty' and more 'rock'.
Pelican return with Forever Becoming. It may not be much of a departure from previous work, but continues the kaliedoscopic space-metal, guitars to the front, and is a stoner essential. Without anything coming from Hydra Head in 2013 sadly, and Southern Lords and Relapse having not too much of interest this year, Pelican returning - on Southern Lords - with a decent pressing and the usual high standards Southern Lords maintains in the cover department, this is very welcome.
Finally, another candidate for record of the year on my turntable - Wooden Shjips - Back To Land - with an amazing die-cut cover reminiscent of Led Zep III - another giant step for what was a delightful indie band that just took a leap into being a major band. Wooden Shjips have evolved over the past few years from a pretty one-dimensional stoner pop band, to a quirky band missing the final ingredient, to what we have here - a classic. Now, Wooden Shjips have not abandoned their stoner roots - they still basically play the same song. But the songs are far better crafted, much better played, have subtelty where before everything was pretty much on the surface, and have a much wider range - it sounds, for lack of a more appropriate term, to have been more 'produced' and for the better. Mystical boogie psch vibe, wonderful sound (analog recording all the way), good pressing - what more do you want? Totally recommended, and totally five doobies for this!
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