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Good and Great Albums of 2013

Welcome to my Good and Great Albums of 2013 list! Please peruse the list and drop me a line on Twitter if you found anything that piqued your interest. And please share your lists as well if you’ve got them. I love finding and hearing new music.

Good Albums

Amber London - Tru 2 tha Phonk

Album art for Tru 2 tha Phonk by Amber London

Grimy, dirty, Southern phonk.


Bonobo - The North Borders

Album art for The North Borders by Bonobo

Strange and atmospheric rhythms.


Ceephax Acid Crew - World Dissolver EP

Album art for World Dissolver EP by Ceephax Acid Crew

Random acid. Mad acidic bro. (Also, watch the amazing music video for Probey’s Poker)


Childish Gambino - Because the Internet

Album art for Because the Internet by Childish Gambino

Most of the songs are good, but a few of them are great. Can’t wait to see what Gambino does next.


Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Album art for Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

You know you love it.


Death Grips - Government Plates

Album art for Government Plates by Death Grips

Makes Yeezus look like adult contemporary R&B. Yeezy wishes he was this good.


DMX Krew - Broken SD140 Part II

Album art for Broken SD140 Part II by DMX Krew

Melodic acid.


DMX Krew - Cities in Flight

Album art for Cities in Flight by DMX Krew

Computer acid.


DMX Krew - Reith Trax

Album art for Reith Trax by DMX Krew

Atmospheric acid (acidspheric?)


Emptyset - Recur

Album art for Recur by Emptyset

I think the most surprising thing about this record is that I like it. More “sound” than actual music, but still rhythmic. Pulsing. Gyrating even. The sound is alive.


The Knife - Shaking the Habitual

Album art for Shaking the Habitual by The Knife

Good: Completely not subtle production. Bad: Too many “noise” tracks, not enough music.


Mikal Cronin - MCII

Album art for MCII by Mikal Cronin

Good, simple, pleasing, rock ‘n’ roll.


Paul Keeley - Fragmented

Album art for Fragmented by Paul Keeley

The soundtrack to that deep and dark 80s science fiction crime drama that you never saw and was never made.


Recondite - Hinterland

Album art for Hinterland by Recondite

The frozen North in a record. Gobs of atmosphere.


Shigeto - No Better Time than Now

Album art for No Better Time than Now by Shigeto

Organic jazzy grooves and keys, layered over semi-post-dubstep (sort of) rhythms / electronic bleeps and bloops. The antithesis of the previously mentioned Emptyset record. Also choice for “Best Album Cover of 2013”.


True Widow - Circumambulation

Album art for Circumambulation by True Widow

Gloomy, doomy, boomy, and slow.


Ty Segall - Sleeper

Album art for Sleeper by Ty Segall

Not your average Ty Segall. Quiet, reserved. Also quite good at times. Each song sounds like the intro section to one of the more “standard” Ty Segall jams.


Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

Album art for II by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Music made for AM radios. The 1970s are alive. They even artificially removed all the highs from the mix (about the only thing I don’t like about the record to be honest).


Great Albums

A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord

Album art for Trap Lord by A$AP Ferg

I can never decide while listening to this record if Ferg is an idiot backed by smart people, or a smart guy playing to a dumb crowd. Either way, this is psychedelia disguised as rap disguised as culture. And those beats tho!


A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP

Album art for Long.Live.A$AP by A$AP Rocky

You can hate him all you want, but you can’t deny Rocky’s got style. His flow is unique, the beats are exceptional, and the whole record just oozes A$AP.


Ariel Pink feat. Jorge Elbrecht - Hang on to Life / No Real Friend

Album art for Hang on to Life / No Real Friend by Ariel Pink feat. Jorge Elbrecht

I listened to these tracks while lonely and alone in another town in another state. Exceptionally sad and beautiful. Sometimes brings tears to my eyes.


Ceephax - Cro Magnox

Album art for Cro Magnox by Ceephax

This could be a soundtrack to a science fiction movie based off a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System set on another planet where there is no sunlight. It could be, but it’s not. What it is is otherworldly and frequently brilliant.


Chelsea Light Moving - Chelsea Light Moving

Album art for Chelsea Light Moving by Chelsea Light Moving

Thurston Moore realizes the dream that we thought we’d lost when Sonic Youth broke up.


Dawes - Stories Don’t End

Album art for Stories Don't End by Dawes

I really can’t say enough about this record. Beautiful and true songwriting. Pure. Harmonic. Dawes is consistently wonderful.


Frankie Teardrop - Tough Guy

Album art for Tough Guy by Frankie Teardrop

Frankie Teardrop is a friend of mine. He is a friend to us all. Tough Guy is an ode to young midwestern frustration. I can’t wait to see what Frankie does in 2014.


Fuzz - Fuzz

Album art for Fuzz by Fuzz

This is what rock means in 2013. It’s as if Black Sabbath tripped into a time machine, emerged in 2013, hung out with a bunch of 20-somethings for a few months, and then made this record. (Don’t believe me? Listen to Raise.)


Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Daze

Album art for Wakin on a Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile

Calling this country would not be fair at all. Rock doesn’t work either. Indie: no. It is all of those, and yet none at the same time. I see this as a perfect counterpart to Fuzz’s record actually, what 2013 sounds like with guitars. Two sides of the same coin. If I had to choose one record on this list to listen to forever, it would probably be this one. There is a remarkable amount of depth here.

Post Metadata
date Jan 12th, 2014
tags best of, music