Best of 2013 Part 2

On to part 2, you know how we do.

#18

Boards Of Canada

Tomorrow's Harvest

Easily one of the most anticipated albums of the year, at least from fans of ambient and experimental psychedelia, the acclaimed Scottish duo returned with their first studio LP since 2005. For most if not all, it was worth the wait. This is a fantastic album, indeed arguably their best, and moving forwards it will be among the select few of this calendar year that will stand out as one of true exception. Frankly, looking at it now, I’ve probably placed it a little too low, but tough decisions had to be made so here it is.

Melancholy is probably the most appropriate descriptive term for this album as a whole, reflective another. These guys are renowned for the depth of their composition, and once again the sheer spectrum of sound that they work with is impressive. As usual it’s difficult to pinpoint individual tracks as this is best listened to in its entirety, but take a gander at the selections below anyway and it will give you a rough idea of where this album is going.

Reach For The Dead

White Cyclosa

Sick Times

#17

Kvelertak

Meir

I have to give credit to Anthony Fantano (of Needle Drop fame) for this one. I hadn’t heard of these guys before but I saw his review and thought I should give them a listen, and I’m glad I did. Their sound is... well... picture a group of Vikings, striding across the hills of Norway, guitars in hand and spitting fervent fury from their fingers with an axe in their teeth. Yup, that’s pretty much it.

If there is a detraction for me, it’s the characteristic screamo vocals that dominate the verses. The choruses are actually quite melodic, and I just wish they’d add a little more variety to the rest, but then it’s done in a tasteful way, and not just random indecipherable screeching that tends to ruin so many other black metal acts. The instrumentals are what make this sound, though, and they are awesome. With another singing style you could easily picture this record exploding in popularity, but maybe we should just enjoy this for what it is – Viking metal!

Kvelertak

Månelyst

Evig Vandrar

#16

Ian Pooley

What I Do

His name doesn’t sound German, but this genius producer is from Frankfurt, one of the world’s most influential cities in the evolution of modern electronic music. Essentially a tech house specialist, Pooley continues largely in that vein but does find room to branch out a little with some funky synth-pop beats that just melt beautifully into the script.

Vocals are scattered sparsely but effectively, with only a couple tracks truly driven by the words. The mood is mostly playful, funky and soulful, with Pooley’s signature percussion rhythms smoothing out the edges. This is the best pure house album of the year, and in a year dominated by pulsing electronic experimentalism, this one proves that the basics can still get the job done when they’re done right.

CompuRhythm

1983

Swing Mode

EP #6

Louis La Roche

Composure

UK based Brett Ewels is a French house master, and his bouncy style continues on this groovy five-track release, but this time with a bit more 80s disco feel to it, not unlike the sounds of Grum or Mylo. He plays around with tempo a bit, opting for a slightly slower, groovier sound, and even throws in a dubstep-type track for good measure. This isn’t an earth shaker, or one that critics will be fawning over, it’s just a nice 20 minute escape to fantasy funk, and that’s good enough for me.

Dance With Me Tonight

Let Go

Looking Up

Part 3 cominatcha tomorroooow!

Best of 2012 Part 5

Into the top 10! Here we go!

#9

Deftones

Koi No Yokan

Much has been opined about the lull that came over Deftones for several years following their monumental album "White Pony", so let's just leave that alone for now. It's been a couple years since the excellent "Diamond Eyes" signaled a return to form, and this new album proves that the angst-driven sonic malevolence that we've come to know and love from them appears to be back for good. Thank goodness for that.

There isn't a lot of variety, per se, in the sounds on this album but Chino Moreno's vocals are at their brooding best in nearly every track. The album smashes into business from the opening chord and nearly every song features powerhouse guitars with even the rare moments of relative calm convalescing into crescendos of energy giving the album massive presence from start to finish. The result is an even better record than the last, and a reaffirmation of the faith of long-time fans.

Leathers

Tempest

Entombed

#8

Portico Quartet

Portico Quartet

I must bow to Anthony Fantano's superior virtual crate digging knowledge for this pick. If you haven't checked out his reviews on The Needle Drop, I highly recommend you do, he's the best in the biz at the moment. I examined out his best of list a week or so back and found several albums that we agreed on, and several that we didn't, but had never heard of this one before. A big thanks are in order because this is my find of the year bar none.

This isn't the first album by these London-based experimental jazz extraordinaires, but it's the first one I've heard and it's absolutely fantastic. They feature an undeniable electronic influence to the sound that incorporates little samples and synths with at times feels like a cross between Nujabes and Radiohead. Much of the album has a rhythmic ambiance interwoven with various repetitive patterns on a variety of different instruments. It's hard to account for all the truly amazing moments on this album with mere text, so you should just head straight to the music right about... now!

Ruins

Steepless

Line / Rubidium

#7

The Souljazz Orchestra

Solidarity

My favorite world music release of the year comes from Ottawa's own ensemble par excellence who should probably call themselves The AfroLatinSoulReggaeJazz Orchestra for accuracy's sake. Seriously, these cats are awesome. They combine all the best attributes of those genres into a funk-filled fusion of fantastical musicianship that makes you want to move. A lot.

This latest album is a real throwback not only in terms of the themes, but the production itself is intentionally lo-fi and gives it a really raw sound, which really just adds to the classic feel. I'd hazard a guess to say it sounds best on vinyl, which I have yet to acquire, or even better yet live. If you've ever felt yourself enchanted by the magical rhythms of Latin American or the a tropical island in the Caribbean, you will love this record. My favorite Canadian album of the year, challenged only by Montreal's Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Two thumbs way up.

Conquering Lion

Bibinay

Ya Basta

EP #3

Lindstrøm

Smalhans

For me this is the best purely electronic release of the year. Four Tet's "Pink" album is good, but is ultimately a collection of previously released singles, so it's hard for me to count it, and even still I prefer this little six track gem. Hans-Peter Lindstrøm hails from Norway and it's no surprise that his sound resembles Röyksopp, perhaps mixed with Booka Shade. It's analog synth heavy, organic and melodic thought-provoking disco pop. Just please don't ask me to pronounce the song titles.

Ęg-gęd-ōsis

Fāār-i-kāāl

Vōs-sākō-rv

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