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Thread: 15 Albums I Loved in 2013

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    What is best in life? D_Davis's Avatar
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    15 Albums I Loved in 2013

    I wasn't going to do a best of list this year, but my Alphabet project never really connected with me, so I decided to do the tried and true (even though I've already given away my choice for #1 this year in another thread). I figure this list will be different enough from any of the other lists on MC to make it worthy of at least a few minutes of time.

    15. Eberhard Weber - Resume



    This was my introduction to the mind-bending bass prowess of Eberhard Weber, a discovery that would take me back to the 1970s with his album The Colors of Chloe (which just so happens to be the best album I heard all year, and an all-time great masterpiece). This newest album is a collection of reworked bass solos performed live with Jan Garbarek over the last few decades. Weber has reconstructed his previous recordings and weaved the pieces into something more than just a scatter-shot collection. There are loops, electronics, and strange atmospheres galore in this album that perfectly straddles the line between modern ECM minimal jazz and ambient.


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    14. Masayoshi Fujita - Stories



    How often is it that you hear a solo vibraphone album? Not often enough.

    Masayoshi Fujita records electronic music under a couple of different names and collaborations, but he is also something of a genius on the vibraphone. As it's known about me, I love examples of musicians who are the best at what they do, and rarely do I have time for indie slop/slack-rock. Stories is an album of perfect minimalism, made by an artist at the top of his field. It's Japanese through and through, and I can imagine him working on something with Makoto Shinkai, as his music invokes the same kind of nostalgic yearning as Shinkai's films do.


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    13. Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy – You are Everything



    Kilbey and Kennedy continue to make music as if the last 20 years haven' happened. I admit that I am firmly in their demographic, growing up with the Church, and also loving so much of the dream-pop, guitar-rock of the 1990s. You are Everything is an album that should be shelved next to The Kitchens of Distinction, The Lightning Seeds, Adorable, and Catherine Wheel et al. It's got great music and atmosphere, and also contains Kilbey's wonderful and mystic lyrics as he explores the nature of life and spirituality.


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    12. Shortcircles – Between Waves



    I don't know too much about this Oakland, California based producer. His stuff is definitely in the Ghostly/Tyco glo-fi/chillwave camp of nostalgia-seeped, Instagram electronica (Instagrambient - sadly, this is a thing that exists), complete with bubbly synths, detuned leads, and simple head-bobbing rhythms. There is no new ground broken here, but it's all so very well done and pleasant.


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    11. Atlantis - House of Tomorrow



    Right now we are in the midst of a full-blown synth revival. With the recent release of nearly a dozen new analog synthesizers, a 4-hour documentary on modular synths, a documentary on Russian electronica, and countless DIY synth projects popping up daily, it can be assumed that this is a true golden age for synth musicians. Atlantis is yet another project from Tim Diagram, a stalwart figure in the netlabel scene. Diagram records under a number of names, including an old favorite of mine - Maps and Diagrams - and he runs one of the best DIY, handmade labels out there - http://www.handstitched.net/ - releasing very limited editions of CDs that come in hand stitched, cork cases with unique art.

    House of Tomorrow is an album steeped in the vibe of the 1970s. The music sounds like it's coming from an old science film shown on reel-to-reel in a classroom full of industrial grey-metal desks. It's wobbly, with tons of wow and flutter, sounding almost broken. The tones and compositions create a retro-future atmosphere in which we dream about ultra modern domiciles, commuting to work in flying cars, and ordering custom-made food from a device called a Craft-O-Porter, or other such sci-fi mumbo-jumbo.

    http://handstitched.bandcamp.com/alb...se-of-tomorrow

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    10. The Stargazer Lilies - We are the Dreamers



    It's a shame that most of the important indie blogs and publications will put mbv on their year's best lists while the real best shoegazer album will go largely unnoticed. It's hard to fairly beat and compare to nearly 20 years of built up hype and the demi-god status of indie rocks patron saint of noise, and no amount of amazing song writing and sonic devastation can do it. But track for track, bend for bend, beat for beat and strum for strum, We are the Dreamers bests mbv with ease (only succumbing to Shields and crew in the mastering department - thank you Mr. Shields for not brickwalling). That this is the band's debut is something of a marvel, and I hope they continue to grow and progress, because I am really excited to see where this young band ends up. I hope they take the Slowdive route and continue to evolve and change, and if they do I can't wait to hear their Pygmalion.

    What's most remarkable about We are the Dreamers is how confident and mature it is. This does not sound like the music coming from a debut. In this department I am reminded of The Stone Roses, and their first album. Tracks like "Undone" and "Don't Waste my Time" can easily stand next to the best from bands like MBV, The Pale Saints, Slowdive, Ride, and Medicine (another shoegazer band who returned in 2013).


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    9. Wixel - Revox Tapes


    Cover NSFW
    []

    Not surprisingly, Wixel has been kind of quiet after his 2009 project, for which he released an album every single month. Wixel is an artist who inspires me a great deal, in terms of both his musical style and his work ethic.

    Like the aforementioned Eberhard Weber album, Revox Tapes is a collection of reworked material recorded over the years, and like Weber's album, Wixel has constructed this collection of odds and ends into a cohesive piece with a pleasing, logical flow. That is to say, it sounds like an album, and a very good one at that.

    Comprised of acoustic guitar loops and samples, subtle noise, found sounds, and other little sound-trinkets, Revox Tapes is at once ignorable and interesting. Like the best ambient music, it can softly fade into the background, but it also rewards active listening and close attention. There is a lot going on beneath the minimal surface.

    http://wixel.bandcamp.com/music

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    8. Lloyd Cole and Roedelius – Selected Studies Vol. 1



    Lloyd Cole and Roedelius? Now that's an odd pairing if there ever was one. Cole, known mainly as a singer-songwriter, eschews his traditional role in favor of electronic experimenter working firmly in the realms created by Roedelius, one of the premier masters in the field. There isn't even a hint of Cole's prints on any of these compositions, so I'm not even sure what he did exactly. However, the two came together to craft one of the more interesting sounding electronic albums of the year. There is a nice mix of more structured, melodically-driven pieces with pieces that are more machine and noise based. It has a lot of that gooey, sticky sound that Roedelius is known for, with odd little rhythmic elements and bouncy bleeps and bloops that sound like nanobots on parade.

    One thing though, guys - if you're going to call this volume 1, lets get on with the subsequent volumes!


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    7. The Flaming Lips – The Terror



    Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the Flips would be back in my top 10, but I welcome them with open arms (they actually released two amazing albums this year, the other being an EP). I had completely lost touch with this band ever since At War With the Mystics, not to mention their two worst albums Embryonic and Dark Side of the Moon, both of which are nearly unlistenable garbage (DSotM is pure garbage - at least Embryonic has a couple great tracks). I was ready to write them off, but that's something that is hard to do to my one-time favorite band, a band I actually saw live about 8 times in one year, a band I saw perform with an orchestra of cars and boom-boxes, a band I drank beer with one amazing afternoon.

    So yeah. Welcome back guys. Thanks for making an amazing album. The Terror is a perfect name for this album, which also happens to be one long extended track. It's not an easy listen, but it's also not the in-yer-face brickwalled noise of their last few albums. While it is mastered on the hot side, there is nuance to it. The movements (songs? yeah, songs) have genuine emotion and are all unique in some way. It's really hard to pick a standout moment, because it really should be listened to in one sitting.

    It feels as if the last three or so albums have all been practice for The Terror, and so, if that's the case, then I guess it was worth it. Not only is this a return to greatness for the band, it also happens to be one of their best. It's mature and interesting, dark but strangely whimsical (in a sinister kind of way), and cerebral without being pretentious (even though it is one long 54 minute track). But best of all, it's just good music.


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    I agree Embryonic and DSotM are garbage. Unfortunately The Terror didn't do much to bring me back into the fold, but it's at least listenable, which is an improvement.

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    Weber's The Colors of Chloe is one of my most prized discoveries out of this year, so I thank you on that front. The latter half of that one is just unmistakably great progression of one rhythm to the next.

    The Masayoshi Fujita album is something that I've listened to since this morning and it's utterly delirious. Exactly the kind of chill music that is great for sitting and contemplating or actively listening to each movement.

    The Stargazer Lilies album is one that I'm not quite ready to do the ol' mbv putdown, but I love how steady that album is. The last few tracks especially.

    Enjoying this list so far...
    The Boat People - 9
    The Power of the Dog - 7.5
    The King of Pigs - 7

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    Quote Quoting ledfloyd (view post)
    I agree Embryonic and DSotM are garbage. Unfortunately The Terror didn't do much to bring me back into the fold, but it's at least listenable, which is an improvement.
    At least its a step in the right direction, right? Did you check out the Peace Sword EP?

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    Quote Quoting dreamdead (view post)
    Weber's The Colors of Chloe is one of my most prized discoveries out of this year, so I thank you on that front. The latter half of that one is just unmistakably great progression of one rhythm to the next.

    The Masayoshi Fujita album is something that I've listened to since this morning and it's utterly delirious. Exactly the kind of chill music that is great for sitting and contemplating or actively listening to each movement.

    The Stargazer Lilies album is one that I'm not quite ready to do the ol' mbv putdown, but I love how steady that album is. The last few tracks especially.

    Enjoying this list so far...
    Chloe just blows my mind. That last track is truly something special. So glad I stumbled upon Weber this year. I was just listening to "No Motion Picture" this morning, and Chloe will be the first album I listen to when I get my new speakers on Monday.

    I think the Stories album is a perfect morning album.

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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    At least its a step in the right direction, right? Did you check out the Peace Sword EP?
    I hadn't even heard of it. I'll have to give it a look.

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    6. Magic Man - You are Here



    While it's only an EP, Magic Man's You are Here is, song for song, one of the strongest releases of the year. Magic Man is my favorite young band, and their debut, Real Life Colors, is a masterpiece. You are Here is not as strong as the band's debut, but it is more of a transitional piece, one that I believe is setting the stage for a masterful followup. The band has added a member, and is more of a full live band now, and thus the songs have more structure and are more pop-orientated than before. They songs are catchy and infectious, and are totally danceable, which makes this EP one of the funnest releases of the year.

    http://magicman.bandcamp.com/


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    5. Various – I am the Center



    New Age is a corrupted phrase, conjuring images of cheesy collections of sappy music made for yoga and massage parlors - in many ways it is now the ultimate in commercial music, made specifically to sell to a certain captive industry.

    But at one time, New Age was new, fresh, exciting and...underground.

    This collection from a small Seattle label is proof of this, and collects together decades (1950-1990) of DIY new age music, new age music created at a time when the genre was being formed and newly-explored, and dispersed on tapes, traded at underground shows.

    This collection is also full of completely awesome music. Like, mind-altering compositions and recordings that, even today, sound fresh and exciting. I've discovered a handful of new-favorite artists from this collection, and I'm sure that those artists will lead me to even more discoveries. This is the kind of compilation release I love - one that proves to be just the tip of an ice berg.




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    4. Roedelius Schneider - Tiden



    The second collaboration from Roedelius on my list for this year, this time with To Rococo Rot's Stefan Schneider. Roedelius has been a huge influence on my own music, and this album perfectly illustrates why. It's interesting, melodic, experimental, weird, pleasant, challenging and exciting. There is still a lot to be said in the realms of experimental electronic music, and this album is proof of this.


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    3. Bill Callahan - Dream River



    Bill Callahan just keeps getting better. There is a line in the first track on this album that mentions Marvin Gaye, and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is exactly what Dream River reminds me of, only instead of urban soul, Callahan delivers this masterpiece with his laconic, minimal indie-Americana style. Dream River is album to be listened to on a cool spring day in the country, or while chilling on your front porch with a good drink and good friends.


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    2. Neko Case - The Worse Things Ger, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You



    Case's new album is a masterpiece, full of strong songs with great instrumentation, powerful lyrics, and emotional delivery. Case is a powerful force in the modern world of singer songwriters, a force for which there is no equal.




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    1. Dawn of Midi - Dysnomia



    Dawn of Midi is a jazz trio - bass, piano, drums. Dysnomia is this jazz trio's love letter to minimal electronica. They've taken the elements of minimal electronic music, examined them, dissected them, and reduced them further leaving nothing but the core concepts. Dysnomia is one long 45-minute track, but nothing - not a single note, pause, change, or passage - is improvised. Like music driven by a computer sequencer, Dawn of Midi play Dysnomia exactly the same every single time. They've out machined Kraftwork, and make Daft Punk's robot personas seem down right human.

    Dysnomia is the most interesting album I've heard all year, and the new yard stick by which all subsequent minimal music will be measured. It's not very often that an album this bold is released - but here it is.


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