Year-End Critics' Polls 2013

Had forgotten about Jerk Ribs. Went back and listened to it and I might even like it more than I did in the spring.

34 TINASHE | Black Water

Saw this on Fact's mixtape list too. It's great. Looks like ILM had some interest in her in 2012 but nothing this year. Bit of a stretch but if you found Kelela too cold or wimpy, you might like this a lot more.

That Caitlin Rose album is very nice, about the only one I have checked out on the strength of testimony from people on this this thread so far.

Not seen many classical/jazz/avante garde type lists but Zorn has been on fire this year, Gloria Coates/Kreutzer Quartet have "At Midnight" on tzadik which is great, the Aaron Parks album is sweet and percussionist Kuniko Kato did a beautiful recording of Reich/Arvo Part on Cantus.

looking at that quietus list; there is no way their no. 100 Shitfucker - Sucks Cocks In Hell (Hells Headbangers) isn't better than their no.1 Grumbling Fur - Glynnaestra (Thrill Jockey)".

and by a considerable margin

4 voters in the Quietus poll, as Doran-of-this-very-Parish is quick to point out at the top of the run-down. As he says it certainly makes for an interesting selection.

my top 5 tzadik releases if ur interested dsp:
1. Deveykus - Pillar Without Mercy
2. Barbez - Bella Ciao
3. John Zorn - Filmworks XXV—City Of Slaughter/Schmatta/Beyond The Infinite
4. Pat Metheny - Tap: The Book of Angels v.20
5. Jon Madof - Zion80

I've been wanting to check out that Pat Metheny one

The Pat Metheny/John Zorn one is excellent.

Masada Chamber Ensemble's Bar Kokhba and Eyvind Kang's Theater Of Mineral NADEs are my faves

Can someone post the FACT magazine albums in here?

bar kokhba is older right?

yeah, late 90's I think? I really love it.

So someone explain to me how Hookworms have managed to get quite so much traction this year. I don't dislike that record but it doesn't seem all that much better than loads of other psych from this year - Pinkunoizu, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Vision Fortune etc. They kind of remind me of Wooden Shjips both in their meat-and-potatoes dronerock sound and the mystifying level of approbation they get from Mojo etc. Or am I just old and deaf?

xpost

was grooving out to the Bar Kokhba Sextet recording from the 50th birthday series the other night. I think that may be my favorite of all his discs (at least the ones I've heard).

Does anyone know if this is any good?

Can someone post the FACT magazine albums

not been published yet!

oh i really want to hear that. also he has another disc coming out this month of shir hashirim related material that i am very excited to hear (the last artist to do shir hashirim stuff was ayelet rose gottleib on her fantastic mayim rabim) xp

Nick, they're way better than Wooden Shjips (they don't ruin their motorik with Doors bits, for one), and they're also an amazingly good live band.

Drawing upon traditions from plainchant, mediaeval ars nova, Renaissance madrigals, 20th century vocal techniques and minimalism, Zorn’s music for a cappella voice is some of his most personal and beloved creations. This is the definitive recording of his sublime, transcendent and radiant work inspired by the seductive lyricism of the world’s oldest known erotic verse. Recorded by The Sapphites, the same all-star quintet that recorded Zorn’s first a cappella masterwork Frammenti del Sappho in 2004, and the soon to be released Holy Visions, this is a sensual evocation of King Solomon’s poetic aphrodisiac “The Song of Songs,” bathed in a gorgeous package replete with erotic drawings by Auguste Rodin.

which sounds amazing to me but which descs in their catalog don't sound amazing tbph

Masada Chamber Ensemble's Bar Kokhba and Eyvind Kang's Theater Of Mineral NADEs are my faves

― sleeve, Wednesday, December 4, 2013 2:14 PM (9 minutes ago)

since this appears to be a tangent w legs, bar kokhba is one of my straight favorite albums

And how come nobody is raving about After Dark 2?

Because it's a comp containing material that IDIB was leaking out track by track going back to fall 2012?

― Johnny Fever, mercredi 4 décembre 2013 18:56 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Glass Candy's "Warm In The Winter" even came out in 2011.

I made a point of listening to Tap, but I wasn't into it. I guess I just don't like BoA that much, especially in its more jazz rock fusion representations. My favorite installments are by Uri Caine, Erik Friedlander, maybe Feldman/Courvoisier (in the right mood?), and to Koby Israelite (even though his is mostly in the fusion vein). The Caine recording doesn't quite sustain the same quality for the entire CD, but parts of it are fantastic.

Holy shit Mordy, Deveykus are awesome, fucking awesome.

(And I wanted to like Mycale, but didn't.)

i'm really happy u like it! i love it so much

Metacritic has started agregating various year end lists:
http://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-ten-albums-of-2013

for my money the Hookworms album is a solid-not-remarkable 7/10 effort but there's a lot more to latch on to, from an orthodox/rockist/etc pov, than Pinkunoizu, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Vision Fortune etc and yeah they are really good live. interviewed them a fortnight or so ago and asked them basically this question and their answer was "we had a better PR campaign"

That Metheny disc is really good - I reviewed it for Jazziz - but it's the only Book of Angels disc I've heard.

That Metheny disc is really good

Wrong.

but it's the only Book of Angels disc I've heard

Shame!

Beg to differ, heartily agree!

that metacritic list so far:

1 Yeezus by Kanye West 3 2 3 16
2 Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend 1 3 6 15
3 AM by Arctic Monkeys 2 0 6 12
4 Random Access Memories by Daft Punk 1 1 6 11
5 …Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age 1 1 4 9
6 Push the Sky Away by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 0 2 4 8
Silence Yourself by Savages 1 1 3 8
8 Pale Green Ghosts by John Grant 1 0 4 7
9 Immunity by Jon Hopkins 1 0 3 6
Dream River by Bill Callahan 1 0 3 6
Light Up Gold by Parquet Courts 1 0 3 6
The Next Day by David Bowie 0 1 4 6
13 Soul Music by Special Request 1 1 0 5
m b v by My Bloody Valentine 1 0 2 5
Pearl Mystic by Hookworms 0 1 3 5
Pure Heroine by Lorde 1 0 2 5
R Plus Seven by Oneohtrix Point Never 1 0 2 5
18 Field Of Reeds by These New Puritans 0 1 2 4
Wakin on a Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile 0 0 4 4
Sunbather by Deafheaven 0 2 0 4
Trouble Will Find Me by The National 0 0 4 4
Surgical Steel by Carcass 1 0 1 4
Days Are Gone by HAIM 0 0 4 4
Big Inner by Matthew E. White 1 0 1 4

So, people really like that Kanye album huh? It felt incredibly mediocre to me.

have seen some critics talk about putting Yeezus at #1 on their year-end lists as an act of 'bravery' and i'm like wow Kanye actually convinced critics he's an underdog this time, amazing

Tabs Out Cassette Podcast Top 200 Tapes of 2013: http://www.tabsout.com/?p=4078

if u can ramp down from Kanye to hand-dubbed editions of fifty, this is a v. cool resource f/ lovingly smashed shards of noise/electronic/industrial/experimental/skronk + general freaknik ventures.

smh

lovingly smashed shards of noise/electronic/industrial/experimental/skronk + general freaknik ventures

did u not listen 2 teh kanye??

Not trolling here, serious question: What is it that is so brave or avant about Yeezus? The few people who have recommended it all try to sell it as such and the few times I gave it a try it just sounded like undercooked demos to me.

xp

i did listen 2 teh kanye but this is unvarnished horrible noise as opposed to immaculate horrible noise do u see

yeezus is a good album but i am disappointed that i somehow convinced myself that it wouldn't be hilariously overpraised come year-end :|

j. bruh I don't want u 2 sell out + fuk up yr hardman cred but if u can spare a little luv f/ some dreamy soft serenades then check my list

Haha I've just noticed that apparently everyone passed on the 1975 album.

have seen some critics talk about putting Yeezus at #1 on their year-end lists as an act of 'bravery' and i'm like wow Kanye actually convinced critics he's an underdog this time, amazing

Kanye's ability to write his own narrative and sell it to critics is remarkable - see also MBDTF: "This is a masterpiece!" "OK, it's a masterpiece."

v true. it fits in with what was touched on earlier, how the idea of [your ideal kanye] almost seems to replace the actual reality of kanye for many

i'm not really a fan of dismissing underperforming albums as flops but despite that being ludicrously commonplace nowadays it's telling that no one has lobbed that accusation at yeezus. because he's an ~artist

I like Daft Punk and VW but the Metacritic top six looks very drab in terms of new blood. Luckily some newer names taking up the rest of the list.

Drowned in Sound top tracks:
http://www.drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4147252-dis-does-singles--our-teams-top-40-tracks-of-2013

some weird writing there

In these days of the digital download storm musical careers are never certain. The investment in musicians and their development is not so much there. Arguably it makes for a free for all where the bestest will rear their head, eventually. And then there is Foals, almost 10 years into their career, with their 3rd album and suddenly they just went and got their greatest hit to date. Who knew they had it in them to run the gauntlet and push themselves to the front of the British guitar queue? The key seems to be their syncopated bust a move rhythms featuring almost electronic sounds, awash with dreamy vocals and lyrics of entropy.

The writing on DiS is almost always dreadful. New design is awful too.

British guitar queue

those crazy anarchists nominating every song on The National album