ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

"Sex" is the only title that song could have, really. One of the best "relationship" psychodramas I can think of.

dude from The 1975 has like the most innocuous 2010s rock voice you can possibly have

I feel like people coming to The 1975 through the album and/or the singles only are gonna get a really partial and skewed notion of them (this is not listeners' fault - can't expect people to listen to everything).

You could make a playlist of EP material especially that felt like the work of an entirely different band, and singer even - esp. stuff like "Haunt / Bed" or "Mine" or "Fallingforyou".

listen i am oriented toward all things emo but i also like things that sound as if they were produced by immaculate machines so when i first heard "sex" i was like IT'S AS IF SOMEONE MADE THIS FOR ME, all this distinctly teenage drama emanating from a bed of smoke. the remainder of their eps are slow uncoiling electronic pieces which didn't make a lot of sense to me until months later when i thought "oh, of course, the blue nile, and maybe to a degree tweet's 'drunk'" less maybe their intended references than what i hear them inadvertently unearthing. proper album betrays real intensely embodied r&b and new wave influence, on "settle down" those 808 hits paired with keyboards revolving through crystalline forms is straight out of the jam/lewis playbook, very resonant of scritti politti to in the collagist subrhythms of "talk!" and etc. etc. etc. THEREFORE, i am in love and i am elevated by this love into an ignorance of other people; sorry again

Brandy is a fantastic songwriter but really it's gonna be on the songwriting level that you're gonna click with her, her voice is so self-assured that I think you need to be paying close attention to get the same emotional kick-to-the-guts that Kacey (or Ashley, when she's in serious mode) can deliver quite easily

yeah, i understand this but the irony is that the biggest emotional kick-to-the-guts any of them gave me last year was...brandy clark, on "just like him". i don't think you need to be paying close attention for a lyric like "they say love's like coming home / and i came from a broken one" to send you reeling

NB. any references to "R&B" w/r/t The 1975 need to be understood as rather more organic - e.g. really mid-80s Scritti Politti etc. - than the typical 2009-2013 "we love R&B" press release posturing.

the first 16 seconds i heard of the 1975 ("chocolate") sounds like the music they play when they remind you to turn off your phone at the movies
totally cannot stand this guy's voice -- it's like UK third eye blind or something?

dude from The 1975 has like the most innocuous 2010s rock voice you can possibly have

so yelpy and whiny, like even more than the usual awful yelpy whining, it's like every single syllable has a yelp in it. and so nasal. oh god, these buzztooth guitars, really can't take this, can't care what the song's about when i can't take more than 30 secs of the sound

dude from The 1975 has like the most innocuous 2010s rock voice you can possibly have

not to UK ears i don't think

*reads LL's post*

okay it's not just us

"Chocolate" sounds a lot like Third Eye Blind but nothing else they've done does.

on the 1975 thread i argued that that kind of voice was ok in context or something but in the same few months i became aware of Bastille i realised i just don't want to listen to that kind of sound

the EP tunes I mentioned above are actually supa-smooth vocally.

that was the first song i could find on spotify, i don't think i'll go back for more but i did give it a try!

NB. any references to "R&B" w/r/t The 1975 need to be understood as rather more organic - e.g. really mid-80s Scritti Politti etc. - than the typical 2009-2013 "we love R&B" press release posturing.

precisely

basically I'm sitting here thinking "have none of you ever heard Train"

i mean i'm going to have to trust you there but i'm not at all reminded of train dude's voice in 1975 dude's

i find train's vocalist unlistenable as well, that's not a recommendation!

the EP tunes I mentioned above are actually supa-smooth vocally.

dunno what i tried first time round but this time it was "sex". didn't last a minute

any references to "R&B" w/r/t The 1975 need to be understood as rather more organic - e.g. really mid-80s Scritti Politti etc. - than the typical 2009-2013 "we love R&B" press release posturing.

i get this distinction but heard neither of these things in their music

40 FANTASIA Side Effects of You (421 points, 15 votes) - havent heard, probably will at some point
39 GOLDFRAPP Tales of Us (438 points, 13 votes, 3 first place votes) - havent heard
38 PET SHOP BOYS Electric (440 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote) - havent heard
37 LAURA MARLING Once I Was an Eagle (440 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote) - havent heard, disliked the previous one that ilm recommended
36 DJ KOZE Amygdala (462 points, 18 votes) - w/e
35 DJ RASHAD Double Cup (463 points, 17 votes) - same
34 MILEY CYRUS Bangerz (465 points, 16 votes) - havent heard
33 DARKSIDE Pyschic (467 points, 16 votes) - i liked this but not enough
32 ARIANA GRANDE Yours Truly (467 points, 18 votes) - i dont think ive listened to this as an album, but i like the songs i have heard. mac miller at his most palatable?
31 DEAFHEAVEN Sunbather (512 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote) - yeah
30 BURIAL Rival Dealer EP (526 points, 20 votes) - no one should care about this
29 HOLDEN The Inheritors (551 points, 20 votes) - ad agency twenty thirteen
28 TEGAN & SARA Heartthrob (559 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote) - havent heard
27 AMEL LARRIEUX Ice Cream Everyday (563 points, 19 votes) - i was asked to help make a 'soundtrack' for a trendy new restaurant and put a couple of tracks from this on it
26 TIM HECKER Virgins (565 points, 20 votes) - voted for this one too
25 CLASSIXX Hanging Gardens (572 points, 19 votes, 1 first place vote) - like what ive heard, like that they are part of the grady brunch
23 JULIA HOLTER Loud City Song (615 points, 21 votes) - tiresome to even think about
22 BRANDY CLARK 12 Stories (617 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote) - havent heard
21 THE 1975 The 1975 (623 points, 16 votes, 2 first place votes) - havent heard
24 BOARDS OF CANADA Tomorrow's Harvest (605 points, 19 votes) - havent heard

that was directed towards all of the people complaining that dude's voice is shrill and yelpy

it's like.... I don't think you've actually encountered shrill and yelpy before

i think the reason 1975dude's voice rubs me wrong is partly to do with overplaying an accent in the service of some kind of show of emotional authenticity, Arctic Monkeydude doing the same thing to me with a different accent

"fallingforyou" is the song that sort of consolidates the appeal of their ep tracks for me, it caused me to double back and listen to the stuff surrounding the singles http://youtu.be/W3JJxS0gNkE

"hey sex chocolate" would be way funnier than "hey soul sister" i'll give ya that
train is the worrrrrrst

Okay, all of the 1975 discussion is just... I never want to hear this band, ever.

as someone who enjoys both third eye blind and train i'm just sitting here nodding my head

I couldn't get into what I heard of the 1975 and suspect Tim F is not a good guide for me, when it comes to rock (but I have a very narrow taste in rock any more). Maybe it does say something that the young co-worker I know who likes this band is also really into Bastille and One Direction.

Really the album was almost a minor disappointment to me b/c it didn't have any floaty epics like "fallingforyou" on it. Was still my number 2 pic though.

hahaha I was going to also bring up One Direction but thought that would be trolling

the closest it got was "menswear" which is something else entirely and which i'm going to listen to right now

I can't possibly imagine being of the mindset that is put off an act because they have a song called "Sex"
― raggett neds of your summer dress (The Reverend), Wednesday, January 29, 2014 9:10 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dude - this is the message board where, on numerous threads, when i mention a band someone *always* feels the need to tell me they haven't listened or taken seriously because of the name (Jaguar Ma and Fuck Buttons most recently).

Funny that LL keyed in on 3EB, since I think that reference cropped up in the 1975 thread, too. I hear it mostly on the "that's what she said" aside in "Chocolate."

I can understand getting turned off by a band's hair though

"Chocolate" sounds a lot like Third Eye Blind but nothing else they've done does.

― Tim F, Wednesday, January 29, 2014 2:31 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The City is the one that sounds exactly like TEB

Maybe it does say something that the young co-worker I know who likes this band is also really into Bastille and One Direction

Wow, I guess it makes sense that young American Anglophiles wouldn't be into '90s Britpop like 30-something Anglophiles are/were, but I hadn't considered what replaced it!

I'm not sure I'd call this particular person an Anglophile per se, though she has noticed that a few of her favorite new bands are from there. (She does like mainstream American R&B and rap, and seems to be mostly unaware of non-rock British music.)

i always thought laura marling felt kinda slight but this new album is a lot cooler imo

the way the standup bass is very prevalent and the songs seem to be sort of sketches the musicians stretch out reminds me a bit of Astral Weeks on the more low-key drifty ones

hahaha I was going to also bring up One Direction but thought that would be trolling

Well they did do this.

Also I seem to recall in the 1975 thread, the song "So Far (it's Alright), which is based around a J Dilla sample/interpolation, as being another song where the Third Eye Blind comparison got brought up.

lex, do you like scritti politti?

I checked out the 1975 album and gave up after three or four songs that gave a convincing impression of 2010s Radio 1 landfill, but now Brad's article and people in this thread are making me think about giving it another go.

basically I'm sitting here thinking "have none of you ever heard Train"

― SHAUN (DJP), Wednesday, January 29, 2014 3:33 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao totally

what if the dude with the hat from new radicals joined sister hazel???

the dude with the hat from new radicals is the god tho

http://cache.vevo.com/Content/VevoImages/video/C8B828BE1C51B6B81371B72764DA1043.jpg

Faves

40 FANTASIA Side Effects of You - I would've avoided this album entirely were it not for heavy canvassing on ILM, thank you ILM, this album rules
38 PET SHOP BOYS Electric - yay I love this record, tho I never know where to place PSB in my listening-life except DJing at weddings
35 DJ RASHAD Double Cup - this music is always playing around my house and I am always sending fan mail to that crew, this is the only forward-looking music I knew in 2013
32 ARIANA GRANDE Yours Truly - one of my favourite memories of this past year is getting drunk w MTL Alex and having him tour me through this record like an excited 5th-grader
28 TEGAN & SARA Heartthrob - prefer this record as singles but what singles!
27 AMEL LARRIEUX Ice Cream Everyday - again: thank you ILM this is the best
26 TIM HECKER Virgins - Tim is a friend so hooray for Tim, but I bet 90% of people stanning for this record would fail an Invisible Jukebox btw this and his previous records (save Ravedeath)
23 JULIA HOLTER Loud City Song - she's some kind of superhuman, I can't 100% love her music because it's always got this oompah-oompah thing going on-- and I feel a little competitive-- but I am so impressed by her technically that I'd take a bullet any day

Nope

37 LAURA MARLING Once I Was an Eagle - her lyrics are functional instead of revelatory
34 MILEY CYRUS Bangerz - her VMA performance was ugly, this album has terrible vocal production, choruses where nothing happen, just an [insert a chorus here] place card, whole songs where nothing happens. Remember when she sang a duet with Taylor and ILM said "get the FUCK off the stage"? That's still where I live, she is the duddest.
21 THE 1975 The 1975 - yikes. I saw the videos and thought I hated Hot Hot Heat the first time around but then I went to see them live, just slipped in, wanted to form a definitive opinion, and they started covering "All My Friends" (barf) except! it wasn't a cover, the guy had made up a new ""lyric"" that was basically him repeating "she's got a boyfriend anyway" a thousand times. Absolute worst. I don't feel violence thoughts toward bad musicians, but I will not call for help when these guys are inevitably mauled to death by dogs

40 FANTASIA Side Effects of You (421 points, 15 votes): Haven't heard. The single didn't do much for me, so I never bothered with the album.
39 GOLDFRAPP Tales of Us (438 points, 13 votes, 3 first place votes): Voted for this. Beautiful, low-key, moody.
38 PET SHOP BOYS Electric (440 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote): Haven't heard. Not my bag, I don't think.
37 LAURA MARLING Once I Was an Eagle (440 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote): Voted for this, too. Never heard Marling's earlier recordings and not really into singer-songwritery stuff in general, but the album's wide scope, musical unpredictability, and lyricism clicked with me like Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom records have.
36 DJ KOZE Amygdala (462 points, 18 votes): Listened once, didn't do much for me.
35 DJ RASHAD Double Cup (463 points, 17 votes): I recall liking some of the textures on this album but not enough to listen more than once.
34 MILEY CYRUS Bangerz (465 points, 16 votes): There's a few good songs on this, but it ultimately didn't rise above "better than expected!" for me.
33 DARKSIDE Pyschic (467 points, 16 votes): Decent, but I want to like it more than I do. Seems too restrained or something.
32 ARIANA GRANDE Yours Truly (467 points, 18 votes): Didn't make my ballot, but it was probably in the next 10 or 20. She's got great pipes, and the '90s-style R&B hits such a sweet spot. ("The Way" was on my tracks ballot.) I did lol @ Ronan Farrow's #Grammys tweet that was like, "Pretty sure Ariana Grande is a Microsoft Word font."
31 DEAFHEAVEN Sunbather (512 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote): Not a metal guy but thought I might have a chance of liking this album, since I saw words like "ambient" and "post-rock" being slung in reference to it. (Also, I liked the most recent Pelican album.) But after "Dream House" didn't grab me, I figured the rest of the album didn't stand much chance of doing so.
30 BURIAL Rival Dealer EP (526 points, 20 votes): Eh, I like "Archangel" as much as anyone, but I never even loved Untrue, and I find it kind of hard to care about the dude now.
29 HOLDEN The Inheritors (551 points, 20 votes): Thought some of this sounded cool but also relentless in a not particularly enjoyable way.
28 TEGAN & SARA Heartthrob (559 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote): Pretty sure I listened to this when it came out, but I think I just grabbed onto "Closer" and so I don't even remember what the rest of it is like.
27 AMEL LARRIEUX Ice Cream Everyday (563 points, 19 votes): Haven't heard, though it seems like I might enjoy it.
26 TIM HECKER Virgins (565 points, 20 votes): Meant to listen to this album for the longest time, and I was just never in the mood for it.
25 CLASSIXX Hanging Gardens (572 points, 19 votes, 1 first place vote): Voted for this! Nothing particularly new or surprising about it, but just really solid breezy electro-pop in my wheelhouse.
23 JULIA HOLTER Loud City Song (615 points, 21 votes): I like moments on this album (the last minute or so of "In the Green Wild" is beautiful), but I can't quite connect with the whole thing. I'd like to spend more time with it, though.
22 BRANDY CLARK 12 Stories (617 points, 18 votes, 1 first place vote): I admire the songcraft on this album, even if it's not totally my thing. Voted for "Stripes" (a classic) in the tracks poll, though.
21 THE 1975 The 1975 (623 points, 16 votes, 2 first place votes): Don't love it, but I'm mostly on their side. Voted for "Chocolate" in the tracks poll.
24 BOARDS OF CANADA Tomorrow's Harvest (605 points, 19 votes): I'm with LJ in preferring Campfire Headphase. This felt very much like a "Boards of Canada album," which is great in its own way but left me underwhelmed.

i've got my fingers crossed for MBV to win the whole thing

honestly, most of my picks were DOA in this poll as soon as i cast my ballot.

drake, kanye, MBV, pusha t, vampire weekend, and grouper are the only things on my list that haven't made it so far that still might

pharmakon? honestly, just no.

<q>
27 AMEL LARRIEUX Ice Cream Everyday (563 points, 19 votes) - i was asked to help make a 'soundtrack' for a trendy new restaurant and put a couple of tracks from this on it

― Lamp</q>

I really like this one Lamp! Would you mind sharing a couple of highlight tracks from this soundtrack you created? I'm very interested about it.

i don't see it for Drake in the albums poll. thankfully.