Year-End Critics' Polls 2013

The FACT reissues list in full:

01. Craig Leon – Nommos (Superior Viaduct)
02. Various – Traxbox (Harmless)
03. Vangelis – Blade Runner (Audio Fidelity)
04. Mainliner – Mellow Out (Riot Season Records)
05. Hailu Mergia – Hailu Mergia And His Classical Instrument (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
06. Vox Populi! – Half Dead Ganja Music (Pacific City)
07. Eduard Artemiev – Solaris (Superior Viaduct)
08. Lee Hazlewood Industries – There’s A Dream I’ve Been Saving, 1966-71 (Light In The Attic)
09. Mike Ratledge – Riddles Of The Sphinx (Mordant Music)
10. Woo – Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong (Emotional Rescue)
11. Popol Vuh – Affenstunde / In Den Gärten Pharaos / Hosianna Mantra / Seligpreisung / Einsjäger Und Siebenjäger (Wah Wah)
12. Jorge Velez Mmt – Tape Series: Home Recordings 1996-1999 (Rush Hour)
13. X-Ray Pop – Pirate! The Dark Side Of X! (Finders Keepers)
14. Bernard Parmegiani – De Natura Sonorum (Recollection Grm)
15. Leven Signs – Hemp Is Here (Digitalis)
16. John Carpenter – Assault On Precinct 13 (Death Waltz)
17. Various – Kill Yourself Dancing: The Story Of Sunset Records Inc Chicago 1985-89 (Still Music)
18. Dwight Sykes – Songs Vol. 1 (Ppu)
19. Ohm – Tribal Tone (Unknown To The Unknown)
20. Natural Snow Buildings – Daughters Of Darkness (Ba Da Bing!)
21. Phill Niblock – Nothin To Look At Just A Record (Superior Viaduct)
22. Palm Highway Chase – Escape From New York (Spectrum Spools)
23. Data – 70 Space Loops: The Complete Sessions (Enraptured)
24. Various – Celluloid: The Celluloid Records Story 1979-1987 (Strut)
25. Maja Ratkje – Voice (Rune Grammofon)
26. Richard Band – Re-Animator (Waxwork)
27. Ü – Great Dose Of Monotonous Techno (Digitalis)
28. Half Japanese – 1/2 Gentlemen / Not Beasts (Fire Records)
29. Cabaret Voltaire – #8385 (Collected Works 1983-1985) (Mute)
30. N.A.D. – Dawn Of A New Age (Rush Hour)
31. Robbie Basho – Visions Of The Country (Gnome Life)
32. Frak – Alice In Acidland (Ideal)
33. Maurice Deebank – Inner Thought Zone (1972 Records)
34. Drexciya – Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller Iv (Clone)
35. Gherkin Jerks – Alleviated Records Presents Gherkin Jerks (Alleviated)
36. Martin Rev – Martin Rev (Superior Viaduct)
37. Various – I Am The Center – Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990 (Light In The Attic)
38. William Onyeabor – World Psychedelic Classic 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? (Luaka Bop)
39. Parris Mitchell / Robert Armani – Project / Collection (Dance Mania)
40. Various – Music For Dancefloors:The Kpm Music Library (Strut)
41. Nirvana – In Utero (Universal)
42. Folke Rabe – What?? (Important)
43. Blancmange – Irene And Mavis (Minimal Wave)
44. A.K. Klosowski & Pyrolator – Home Taping Is Killing Music (Bureau B)
45. Laraaji – Celestial Music 1978-2011 (All Saints)
46. Joe Meek – I Hear A New World (Poppydisc)
47. Grouper – Dragging A Dead Dear Up A Hill (Kranky)
48. Four Tet – Rounds (Domino)
49. Gemini – In Neutral (Chiwax)
50. Don Muro – It’s Time (Flannelgraph Records)

Vox Populi! – Half Dead Ganja Music (Pacific City)

!!! did not know this had been reissued, great band

20. Natural Snow Buildings – Daughters Of Darkness (Ba Da Bing!)

Just about my favourite band at the moment but I just couldn't afford to buy this, it's an insane thing - a 8 x LP box set or 6 x CDs or something. But there was another reissue of their stuff this year called The Snowbringer Cult was just a 2xCD which is just the best thing ever if you like folky drone music, so fucking special.

Man I love that Night Coercion Into the Company of Witches one Nick, would that qualify as a 2013 release? I think it came out late last year.

Yeah that one is great too but it definitely came out in 2012. Kind of a more abrasive record than The Snowbringer Cult iirc which is nice and varied and has got some lovely delicate songs on it among the longform drone pieces.

02. Various – Traxbox (Harmless)
05. Hailu Mergia – Hailu Mergia And His Classical Instrument (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
22. Palm Highway Chase – Escape From New York (Spectrum Spools)
38. William Onyeabor – World Psychedelic Classic 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? (Luaka Bop)

These all brought me great pleasure in 2013. Still haven't got round to the Hazelwood box or I Am The Center.

Surprised not to see Saada Bonaire or Patrick Cowley, assuming they met whatever eligibility conditions there were.

The Cowley one is a lost treasure from the vaults rather than reissue.

http://www.avclub.com/article/the-23-best-albums-of-2013-106233

After people started talking about Paramore it's showed up a few times including this one. Locrian is their only unusual entry.

[View the selection as a single page text list – without audio, images, write-ups or guest blurbs – here.]

nice of them

It's cool to see Paramore in so many EOY lists. Was actually surprised to see it in the AV Club.

many xps - never heard Shifted prior to this new album but I was super impressed with it. powerfully stark/starkly powerful. use this info as you see fit

I need listen to that Shifted again, probably at higher volume than last time.

Regarding lists to come, here's when they came out last year:

5th - The Wire, Classic Rock
6th - Clash, Drowned In Sound
10th - Pop Matters 75, Stereogum Metal, That's How Kids Die Metal
14th - Resident Advisor, Kerrang!
15th - Consequence Of Sound
18th - Tiny Mix Tapes
19th - The Liminal, Rock-A-Rolla, Louder Than War
20th - XLR8R
21st - Pitchfork
29th - Terrorizer, Revolver, Rock Sound
31st - StonerHive (slow roll from 12th), Captain Beyond Zen
1st - The Obelisk

as well as Marcel Dettmann there is an excellent release by Marcel Fengler in the great techno albums stakes.

Listening to this Paramore album. It's...inoffensive, I suppose.

They've kind of turned into Metric Jr.

ain't it fun

Is Pazz & Jop dead now?

fyi Rock Sound have got four-fifths of their top 50 on their website at the moment, if anyone is mental enough to want to paste them into a single list knock yourself out

NPR Music's Alt-latino list is available plus some commentary with more lists from them coming

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic2013/2013/12/05/247402547/alt-latinos-favorite-songs-albums-and-artists-of-2013

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic2013/

Not "critics" exactly but quite like bits of Ben Watts' tracks of the year:

Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle
What Happened to My Brother?

Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Vapour

Bob Moses
All I Want

Hiss Golden Messenger
Sufferer (Love My Conqueror)

Mutual Benefit
Advanced Falconry

DJ Yellow & Flowers and Sea Creatures
No One Gets Left Behind
(Flowers and Sea Creatures' Mental Beauty Remix)

Luke Temple
Florida

Close
My Way feat. Joe Dukie

Zachary Cale
Unfeeling

William Onyeabor
Why Go to War

Mark McGuire
The Instinct

Tim Hecker
Radiance

Isolee
Allowance

Courtney Barnett
Avant Gardener

Trans
Rocksteady

David Bowie
Where Are We Now?

King Krule
Baby Blue

Mark Kozelek & Desertshore
Tavoris Cloud

Shearwater
Mary is Mary

James Blake
Retrograde

Where Are We Now? is so seriously dull.

What Happened to My Brother? is such a brutal downer, though gorgeous

I suspect Pazz and Jop is on the horizon. The poll always comes out the next year anyway.

Pazz and Jop always rolls out the week before our poll does, so I'd imagine voting starts really soon.

FACT lists are totally my shit..

Woo album is amazing. Like an american cluster

47. Grouper – Dragging A Dead Dear Up A Hill (Kranky)

What the piss is with everyone spelling it this way? I remember this fucking me off during the ilx rundown that year, but it seems to have persisted.

Regarding lists to come, here's when they came out last year:

5th - The Wire, Classic Rock
6th - Clash, Drowned In Sound
10th - Pop Matters 75, Stereogum Metal, That's How Kids Die Metal
14th - Resident Advisor, Kerrang!
15th - Consequence Of Sound
18th - Tiny Mix Tapes
19th - The Liminal, Rock-A-Rolla, Louder Than War
20th - XLR8R
21st - Pitchfork
29th - Terrorizer, Revolver, Rock Sound
31st - StonerHive (slow roll from 12th), Captain Beyond Zen
1st - The Obelisk
--Fastnbulbous

This is the type of post a serial killer would make before he stabbed a Quietus writer to death.

Regarding lists to come, here's when they came out last year:

5th - The Wire, Classic Rock
6th - Clash, Drowned In Sound
10th - Pop Matters 75, Stereogum Metal, That's How Kids Die Metal
14th - Resident Advisor, Kerrang!
15th - Consequence Of Sound
18th - Tiny Mix Tapes
19th - The Liminal, Rock-A-Rolla, Louder Than War
20th - XLR8R
21st - Pitchfork
29th - Terrorizer, Revolver, Rock Sound
31st - StonerHive (slow roll from 12th), Captain Beyond Zen
1st - The Obelisk

― Fastnbulbous, Thursday, 5 December 2013 20:36 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― A Skanger Barkley (nakhchivan), Thursday, December 5, 2013 6:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that post is like having a nightmare about ilm

― ☞ (brimstead), Thursday, December 5, 2013 6:13 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

jeffreoy dahmer

31st - StonerHive (slow roll from 12th), Captain Beyond Zen

this bit sort of reminds me of that old DJP post where he was doing pretend cricket terminology

Guardian again:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/dec/06/guardian-best-albums-2013-20-11

hurrah kacey. wish brandy clark got as much recognition though

almost sweet that some people somewhere cared about earl this year

thought kacey would be a lock for the top 10, boo

I voted Kacey, Chance and Haim. Glad Kacey placed so high - I know she has three big fans in the Guardian camp (all ILXors btw) but wasn't sure if she had any more.

The Autechre fan in the comments box clinging to the hope that Exai might make the top ten is quite sweet really.

it usually doesn't take much more than that to place highly - sadly i don't think kacey has any fans at the guardian other than the ones i know about, so this seems about right.

i really have no idea what will be top 10 but i think at best i'll only have one vote in it (only two of mine - kacey and miley - have shown up so far)

unless the pop crew came out in force for ariana grande as they should have done? i know she got one other vote :/

Entertainment Weekly:

01. Kanye West - Yeezus
02. Drake - Nothing Was the Same
03. Miley Cyrus - Bangerz
04. Kacey Musgrvaes - Same Trailer Different Park
05. The Weekend - Kiss Land
06. Paramore - Paramore
07. Local Natives - Hummingbird
08. Pusha T - My Name is My Name
09. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
10. Earl Sweatshirt - Doris

Singles:

01. Daft Punk - Get Lucky
02. Lorde - Royals
03. HAIM - The Wire
04. Kendrick Lamar - Backstreet Freestyle
05. Katy Perry - Roar
06. Palma Violets - Best of Friends
07. Rihanna - Stay
08. Florida Georgia Line Feat. Nelly, Cruise (Remix)
09. David Bowie, The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
10. Disclosure, When A Fire Starts To Burn

their singles list is... something

ctrl+f indicates that ariana grande has in fact only shown up on the complex trax list and the gorilla vs bear (!) albums list so far SIIIIIIGH. of all the albums i've loved this year it's weird to think that FUCKIN' BANGERZ has been one of the only ones to garner any sort of critical traction outside of myself

So the Guardian Top 10 must involve Kanye, Daft Punk, John Grant and VW for sure, then six more from QOTSA, Nick Cave, Arcade Fire, Disclosure, Run the Jewels, MIA, Boards of Canada, MBV and Foals. There's going to be some complaining.

I guess from the EW & RS lists that When the Fire Starts to Burn had an extra push in the US?

Wrong six, Dorian. I'd say there are two proper surprises to come in the top 10.

I'd guess a rush of votes on someone like Omar Souleyman or Tim Hecker or someone.

a commenter is repping for dawn richard! *hugs sole ally close*

I'm basing this on the fact that the Rustie album made the top 10 a couple of years ago.

Shitfucker ftw

Would be awesome to see Tim Hecker make it but I don't think they even reviewed that.

I think we can all agree it has been Shitfucker's year