ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

Give 'Alvar' a proper listen, that might win you over.

the goldfrapp album just slipped off my ballot at the last minute but it's one of their more intriguing albums in an insanely inconsistent career - i liked the heavy autumnal mood, and maybe it was more of a vibe than strong song-wise but the highlights like "thea" and "annabel" provided really fantastic peaks. they seem so much more in command of their aesthetic when doing weird folk stuff than electropop, albeit a lot of times i just want to listen to beth gibbons & rustin man instead

ITT people are very proud of their ignorance.

ulla is a highlight for me

I just moved from the UK to Minnesota and ended up going on lots of walks in the autumn and when all the snow started coming a bit later on. This was always my soundtrack and it always sounded so perfect. Best album for that time of year since the Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man album.

Basically everything from Jo to Thea is great.

wow, count me in as someone who voted for Goldfrapp but fully expected it not to make this list.

it just occurred to me that I could be posting my Facebook thoughts on some of these albums to the thread so here's what I wrote about Side Effects of You:

The first time I saw Fantasia Barrino sing on American Idol, I didn't get it.

She was performing in the semifinal round, singing to judges who had already fallen in love with her and were selling her to the audience as the season's clear frontrunner. Being the snobby dork that I am, what I heard was a gravelly voice that seemed to be more into melisma and ornamentation than singing a song. It was flashy, yes; it was also out of rhythm, the pitch was wobbly and even though I now can't remember the song she was singing, the melismania she was displaying was wholly wrong for it. When she passed through to the finals, I figured America would finally catch on to the lack of substance and bounce her from the competition.

Obviously, that didn't happen. In fact, as the season went on, Fantasia (along with her fellow divas Latoya London and, who was the other one, the one who came in seventh? Oh right, JENNIFER HUDSON) delivered great performance after great performance, not only turning me into a fervent supporter but mostly cruising to take the third season crown. I couldn't wait for her to dominate the music world and, when her single "Truth Is" came out, I figured her omnipresence was just beginning.

Obviously, that didn't happen either. Fantasia has had a great career, including a ton of success on the R&B charts and a stint in The Color Purple where she made the fickle Tony Awards crowd stand up and lose their minds, but she never became a Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood or even a Jordin Sparks. I would wonder why before ruefully admitting that I really wanted her to succeed but had never actually bothered to buy or even listen to any of her albums. When I noticed Side Effects of You had been released this past year, I decided to remedy that. AM I EVER GLAD I DID.

Fantasia of 2013 is a much different, more accomplished singer than Fantasia of 2004. The choices she makes, whether it's in where an ad-lib or exhortation should be in a chorus or bridge, or transitioning from her raspy belt into a surprisingly clear, effective head voice, stomping over an old-school R&B beat or icily giving an ex the kiss-off, always connect. It helps that the material can stand up to her voice; most of the songs are collaborations with producer Harmony Samuels, a name I don't know but plan to look into in the future. The best example of their synergy is the single "Without Me", which also pulls in fantastic assists from Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott to create a majestic groove over which the women take turns giving a fool his walking papers. It's one of those songs that made me instantly hit repeat the first time I heard it and, if I was ranking 2013 singles, it would have a strong chance at being my favorite. Other standouts include "Get It Right", "Ain't All Bad", "End of Me", "Change Your Mind" and "Supernatural Love".

the goldfrapp album just slipped off my ballot at the last minute but it's one of their more intriguing albums in an insanely inconsistent career

lex pretend

I'd disagree with this, don't think they've made a bad album. Last album was one of their weakest but it still was a solid album. This one is in a different league though.

ITT people are very proud of their ignorance.

― Immediate Follower (NA), Wednesday, January 29, 2014 8:55 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I've ever heard a Goldfrapp song before

KP, are you in the Twin Cities and, if so, have you stopped by jjj's store yet?

i know alison goldfrapp's thing has always been the opposite of enunciation (she doesn't mumble, she just...never seems to treat consonants and vowels differently) but looking up the lyrics kinda cracked this album open for me - these odd little character studies, sketched out just enough to pull you into their worlds but never quite fully fleshed out

I included "Drew" on my tracks ballot, but didn't get a chance to listen to the whole thing.

wow looking back i'm shocked that back to me never placed in the 2010 ilm poll, and "man of the house" was ignored in the trax too iirc - i definitely don't feel like fantasia's gotten that much more popular since (and that album/single are basically equivalent in quality to her album and big single last year)

― lex pretend

Yeah that album was crazy underrated. The song with Cee-Lo was my highlight but I liked just about every song.

But given that everybody seems to have a different recommendation from this album, I'll definitely have to explore further!

xp

fantasia's maybe more popular among ppl who wouldn't immediately check out an ai winner and she's established a legit career but she's nowhere near the name she was win she won maybe the pop cult phenomenon of this century at its peak popularity. this is kinda true w/ any ai winner who won (or just prominently placed) when winning meant something but i still think it's the first sentence in any story about her, she's still 'former american idol winner fantasia', whereas i don't think the same is true of clarkson, underwood, or hudson anymore.

I'd disagree with this, don't think they've made a bad album. Last album was one of their weakest but it still was a solid album. This one is in a different league though.

i think rocket was the only outright bad one but i think a lot of their albums have been patchy and not quiiite there for me. i appreciate the constant stylistic switch-ups but also feel they've only mastered a particular style a couple of times (this is prob one of them)

It's kind of unforgivable that I've never made time to listen to Goldfrapp considering how much of her output appears on paper to be tailor-made for me to enjoy; I'll be fixing that today

KP, are you in the Twin Cities and, if so, have you stopped by jjj's store yet?

― SHAUN (DJP)

I'm currently living in Saint Paul (Where my wife is from) Sorry I don't know what jjj's is?

i liked those write-ups dan! did you ever hear fantasia's last album? you MUST hear "man of the house"

It's weird, Alison G has a beautiful voice and several good-to-great songs and obvious star quality and stage presence and has played a theremin onstage with her crotch and yet there's still something kinda boring about Goldfrapp the band.

(fyi the song Fantasia sang that I was not feeling at all was "Something to Talk About")

jjj = ILX poster/moderator jjjusten, aka one of my best friends from high school; he's currently talking a lot of nonsense giving crucial industry insights about a guitar trade show on the I Make Music subboard

from day one goldfrapp have always worked better on paper than they do in reality for me. so frequently totally my kind of thing and i've got tons of friends that adore them but every time i listen, no matter what mode they're in, i end up thinking the execution falls short, that they only get about 80% of where they need to go, and i end up being unable to overlook the deficit.

http://i.imgur.com/Iy3Yl1s.jpg

38 PET SHOP BOYS Electric (440 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote)

Spotify

I'm so out of touch I didn't even know Goldfrapp *had* an album out this year, but the one clip that loaded has persuaded me to give the band another chance after the, erm, opera thing.

Thanks, lex. I haven't heard Fantasia's previous one yet, mostly due to laziness. Another one that is on the list to get through.

PSB TOO LOW obv

what I said about Electric:

I wrote the Pet Shop Boys off after Elysium. In retrospect the album wasn't quite AS bad as I thought it was but it was firmly ensconced in the "we are in our fifties and mostly concerned with making adult contemporary music" side of their persona, which is great when it works (see "Home and Dry") but is rarely, if ever, what I want to listen to over a full album. I'd read rumors that they had saved all of their dancefloor burners for a follow up album but wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat in anticipation. Or at least, I wasn't on the edge of my seat in anticipation until "Axis" came out.

The intro alone elevates the song over the sleepy mood that has been pervasive over many of their recent albums (aside from Fundamental, the best of their 00s output and required listening if you haven't heard it yet). I'm a big sucker for pitch bending and the way the synth counterpoint builds up to that ritard and chord, hits it, and then slooooowly slides down in pitch may be Tension-Building 101 but it's a trick that works; the beat hits all the harder given the setup. The song is very light on lyrics and message, concerning itself more with structure and inviting you to dance your face off.

Electric as an album is as close to a perfect statement on middle-aged dance pop as you are going to find. The moods swing all over the place while never leaving the dance floor; the filter-heavy, largely instrumental "Axis" leads into the bright-but-ominous "Bolshy", complete with rollicking bass line and chime-driven descants. "Love Is A Bourgeois Construct" takes the disco filter of Madonna's "Hung Up" and drowns it in sardonic wit. "Fluorescent" (my personal standout) drenches deep house in moody mentasm-filtered synths. The Boys even offer up an aggro-for-fiftysomething slogan track in "Shouting in the Evening".

There are two other songs I want to specifically mention; "The Last To Die" and "Vocal". The former is the latest in a storied line of surprising, inspired covers, this one being a 2007 Bruce Springsteen anti-war song that manages the tricky feat of transforming into a dance anthem in the vein of "Always on My Mind" while retaining the energy and feel of the original. The latter foregrounds the album's thesis statement in its opening lyrics:

I like the people, I like the song
This is my kind of music
They play it all night long

It's a fantastic way to close out the album and a reminder to me that I usually get obsessed with bands because, ultimately, they know how to push my buttons. PSB had spent so long meandering in toothless tastefulness that I had begun to think that it was time to part ways with them. I'm glad Electric showed me I was wrong.

feel much the same as what Matt and balls just said, like a few other sort of meta-pop artists Goldfrapp rarely seem to fully transcend their ideas for me

Okay this is the part of the list I can get behind. I had this in my top five and I'm delighted to see it place.

I know return to form albums can be so annoying but honestly I haven't loved an album of theirs this much since Very. Excellent album with no weak songs. Not even a cameo from Example can spoil this album

more r&b?

― Mordy , Wednesday, January 29, 2014 10:37 AM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

u got a problem?

I'm not crazy about "Vocal" and mayyybe "Fluorescent" but I love this album.

"The Last to Die" showed they hadn't lost their talent for queering the unlikeliest of sources.

That is a terrific write up DJP.

just find it mostly un-engaging xxxp

Anyone else hoping the Suede album pops up next?

every old gay man i know was raving about that pet shop boys last year, reminiscent of when confessions on a dance floor came out or the week all their nieces told them about solange, i guess i'll finally check it out.

Wow @ three number ones for Goldfrapp. I've always written them off as a rather 'tasteful' and toothless version of stuff I love, but I don't hate them, just can't muster up excitement about them.

just find it mostly un-engaging xxxp

― Mordy , Wednesday, January 29, 2014 11:11 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is it supposed to reflect poorly on the entire genre of R&B that you don't find it "engaging"?

Also - DJPs fb posts are excellent.

enjoyable album, couple of real highlights in LIABC and Fluorescent

I think every old gay man in Boston was at the PSB show; I had never before seen so much greying chest hair

also made me feel really guilty about never going to the gym

just find it mostly un-engaging xxxp

― Mordy , Wednesday, January 29, 2014 11:11 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is it supposed to reflect poorly on the entire genre of R&B that you don't find it "engaging"?

― some dude, Wednesday, January 29, 2014 4:14 PM (13 seconds ago)

I suspect it's probably that he was asking if it was worth his time to check it out, or if it's another thing in a genre he doesn't care for, in which case he'll skip it. Probably.

every old gay man i know was raving about that pet shop boys last year, reminiscent of when confessions on a dance floor came out

ha i felt it was kinda a failed attempt at doing confessions. their lyrical touch has long disappeared, i find them really clunky and heavy-handed now, and without that i find them slightly embarrassing tbh

every old gay man i know was raving about that pet shop boys last year, reminiscent of when confessions on a dance floor came out or the week all their nieces told them about solange

ugh my niece raved about "Let It Go."

First listen to the Goldfrapp record and boy it sounds so similar to the Phaedra album that Lex repped for last year (not a complaint!)

Confessions is mostly pretty ropey if you listen to it again.

emil.y otm. some dude, u sound a little sensitive about the topic. did you feel like i was dissing you personally?

Previously unheard albums which I've now played all the way through to the end on Spotify, so that's a good thing, right: Lorde, Thee Oh Sees, Föllakzoid.

(I also got halfway through Gorguts, which I'm counting as a major achievement for someone so habitually metal-averse.)

Previously unheard album which only lasted two tracks on Spotify before being booted off: Melt-Banana.

I've now got as far as K.Michelle, which sounds like the best discovery so far - absolutely my kind of R&B vocal, wow.

Although I've never really given up on the PSBs, I couldn't get behind this one at all.

(the ship has long-sailed but I could post what I wrote about John Grant and Savages if people are interested)

the week all their nieces told them about solange

rofl