ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

I had Dozzy at number 1 and Sprinkles at number 7 (I was going to say 2, but that was the other DJ Sprinkles album from last year). The Dozzy album is really beautiful (as is the original, as Matt says) - anyone who liked Voices from the Lake, or more generally likes ambient/repetitive/etc music should definitely check it out.

i think i voted for rhye? idk, i expected it to show up, it seems like it showed up in about the right position, i think they did exactly what they wanted to do with it and the result is enjoyable.

people should also go check out dozzy's solo album "K" from a couple years back, which is pretty amazing. just a step below VFTL.

Ka and Roc Marciano obviously have similarities but seem pretty different in tone to me, Ka is a lot more somber and reflective. I might have voted for Marci Beaucoup too if I'd heard it earlier in the year.

thing I love about the dj sprinkles productions is that they're funky but there's also this ambient-informed layer of depth & sweetness. lots of very pretty moments across the whole comp.

I personally couldn't get into the dozzy remix thing despite liking bee mask and voices in the lake.

But I also apparently have an endless appetite for music by old New York rappers.

love the sprinkles comp, glad it placed, great cover. i never found myself taking it all in as an album, though, i voted for 'where dancefloor stand still' instead.

(which has an even better album cover)

wouldn't be surprised if that placed too

sounds like your standard year-end albums list to me!

― Spottie, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 4:50 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah I think this does seem to happen a lot but it is strange when something like Rhye places and no one here is rushing to say what a brilliant album it is. 14 people voted for it but none of them seem to be here.

― Kitchen Person,

Not just that album but quite a few others. Compare it to say melt banana or john grant or gorguts.

At least arctic monkeys placing inspires a reaction even if it isnt positive heh

Think Ultramarine was in the Top 3 on my ballot.

Not heard the Sprinkles comp but loved some of the remixes he did this year.

not everyone follows these threads real-time, guys

Maybe the Rhye fans are ashamed?

It's possible, so many feelings.

cool Albums

Also it's only 9 a.m. on the west coast.
Also who cares.

Im listening to the Young Galaxy album now. Its ace. Lovely production.

I'm listening to it too. It really reminds me of that last Chairlift album in places.

ILM and occasionally the Wire is the only place I ever see mention of DJ Sprinkles/Thaemlitz.

if you read fact or RA you'd find her there, too. also about a million music blogs.

People have strange hang-ups about Arctic Monkeys based on nothing as far as I can tell other than made-up presumptions about their character. I admit I didn't like them when the first album came out simply because they did seem douchy to me. But then they came out with several consistently good albums after that and I got over it.

http://i.imgur.com/dB6YraK.jpg

54 NEKO CASE The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (337 points, 11 votes)

Spotify

Beautiful album, so many highlights: ragtime, city swans, man, night still comes, nearly midnight.

People have strange hang-ups about Arctic Monkeys based on nothing as far as I can tell other than made-up presumptions about their character. I admit I didn't like them when the first album came out simply because they did seem douchy to me. But then they came out with several consistently good albums after that and I got over it.

― Fastnbulbous

I don't have any hang ups about their character. I've heard a lot of songs by them and I haven't liked a single one of them. Simple as that.

Woo! First of mine to place (I had it at #3)!

not bad, but not a patch on her last few records imo

I tried so damn hard to love this album because she's great. I found it tuneless.

one definite highlight is adultnapper ft. big bully - low point on high ground (dj sprinkles rock bottom mix) though - those piano chords that keep disrupting it all are so amazingly sinister

Enjoying this right now, it's like a house film soundtrack.

More put off by Arctic Monkeys fans tbh, heard too many conversations last year about how they took Hold On We're Going Home and turned it into 'real music'.

xpost yeah ive tried to like the arctic monkeys. loads of my friends love them and rave about them so it isnt a kneejerk hatred. granted, they have the odd clever and well crafted lyric but ive never dug anything except "cornerstone"

i haven't really heard anything by neko case since blacklisted. not sure why as i really liked that. is this as good?

For whatever reason, I skipped Neko Case's last 2 albums, but decided to give this one a shot. It took a couple of listens but I really love it now.

First of my albums to place.

Not as good as blacklisted, but very few things are.

I try every new Neko album that comes along, and this one seemed better than previous recent ones on first blush. Still, I rarely return to her solo material.

Fox Confessor is still my favorite. Didn't really like Middle Cyclone, thought it was a bit bland. This new one is a big improvement and possibly her most consistent overall.

this Donato Dozzy is quite beautiful. I must have been led astray by the same mixed reviews that lex saw. I haven't finished it, but so far it's superior to VFTL

Huh I guess I slept on that Neko record. Anyway just popped in to say that Donato Dozzy cover art makes me irrationally angry.

Why?

This was actually my favorite Neko since Blacklisted. I know nobody agrees, but my favorite Neko is still Furnace Room Lullaby

last 2 neko cases were better imo but this one is still solid

I played the Neko on the radio a lot (it was on rotation) but would probably never listen to it on my own initiative

http://i.imgur.com/uqGIlk0.png

53 CARCASS Surgical Steel (344 points, 9 votes, 3 first place votes)

Spotify

Phew, feel less guilty about not voting now.

Lex's no1 obv.

3 #1s! We're not going to see that again until, uh, tomorrow.

Anything here that would be accessible to a non-fan of metal?

voted for the Donato Dozzy and the Ka albums. They serve a similar purpose for me, in that they are both very much mood pieces. I think Ka's lyrics are confounding, being so dense that the effort it takes to fully appreciate them carries me out of the mood of the music, which is where I'd rather be

sean: no.

Thanks people who voted for the Dozzy album, really enjoyed it.

I tried so damn hard to love this album because she's great. I found it tuneless.

― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, January 28, 2014 12:12 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

so like all of her albums since blacklisted. i got to the ridiculous honolulu one this time before i gave up.