ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

^ special plea to sleeve cos there's not such a massive gap between the decadent twilit euro vibe on that and something like dagmar krause which i think a sleeve likes?

<3 imago's Rashad write up. So pleased. Gonna listen to it on my way to work

^ yes! agree btw that teklife has more jaw-dropping sonic events but i think that double cup works really well as an album

and NV from upthread: yes this finishes today

This album does things with rhythm that I didn't even think were possible in hentai.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9627011/photos/anime.gif

Oh really?

*Puts on DJ Rashad album and listens*

Hmm. Nah.

http://i.imgur.com/wQCqMCC.gif

77 JULIANNA BARWICK Nepenthe – bought this just before Christmas; very pretty, like it a lot, suspect it’s insubstantial though. But there’s nothing wrong with that.
76 FALL OUT BOY – never heard them, little interest.
75 MELT-BANANA Fetch – not heard it; have heard them in the past and thought it was alright but not my thing.
74 BILL CALLAHAN Dream River – liked his previous three, but didn’t get round to listening to this.
73 LORDE Pure Heroine – not heard it. Single was OK.
72 THEE OH SEES Floating Coffin – never knowingly heard.
71 FÖLLAKZOID II – never heard of.
70 GORGUTS Colored Sands – this is metal, right? Don’t get metal at all.
(tie) 68. KELELA Cut 4 Me – never heard.
(tie) 68 CUT COPY Free Your Mind – never heard.
67 f(x) Pink Tape – never heard.
66 DANNY BROWN Old – never heard.
65 FACTORY FLOOR Factory Floor – wanted to like this more. It’s efficient but lacking.
64 CIARA Ciara – never heard.
63 PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold – heard this. Mediocre NYC wannabes.
62 K MICHELLE Rebellious Soul – never heard.
61 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM – really like this, fuelled by loving R U Mine a couple of years ago. The whole album is good. Surprised me.
60 DONATO DOZZY Plays Bee Mask – never heard.
59 JOHN GRANT Pale Green Ghosts – like a lot, great live, listened to a lot, love the Gus Gus bits, but I don’t feel passionate about him. Very good nonetheless.
58 RHYE Woman – never heard.
57 YOUNG GALAXY Ultramarine – never heard.
56 KA The Night's Gambit – never heard.
55 DJ SPRINKLES Queerifications and Ruins: Collected Remixes by DJ Sprinkles – really liked Midtown etc a few years ago, would probably enjoy this; hadn’t heard of it though.
54 NEKO CASE The Worse Things Get – never heard.
53 CARCASS Surgical Steel – more metal, right?
52 SAVAGES Silence Yourself – heard a tiny snippet of, didn’t investigate. Not sure why.
51 ASHLEY MONROE Like a Rose – never heard.
50 WAXAHATCHEE Cerulean Salt – never heard.
49 WILLIAM ONYEABOR Who is William Onyeabor? – this is really good.
48 YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN UZU – never heard.
47 LAUREL HALO Chance of Rain – heard once at record club, reminded me of the Four Tet album last year. Enjoyed. Should probably buy.
46 QUADRON Avalanche – never heard.
45 ARCADE FIRE Reflektor – their best, least annoying, most fun record by far. Really like it. Find the hate baffling and amusing. Singer still an enormous dickhead.
44 MATMOS The Marriage of True Minds – never heard.
43 JON HOPKINS Immunity – nice, but too loud, overlong, and over simple.
42 MAYA JANE COLES Comfort – really keen to hear this.
41 FUCK BUTTONS Slow Focus – didn’t hit me emotionally like the last one, but found myself playing it quite a bit after it had bedded in.
40 FANTASIA Side Effects of You – never heard.
39 GOLDFRAPP Tales of Us – never heard.
38 PET SHOP BOYS Electric – never heard.
37 LAURA MARLING Once I Was an Eagle – loved the previous two (and liked the debut) but this didn’t click; like Bill Callahan, I’ve probably just heard enough of what she does and maybe just don’t need anymore.
36 DJ KOZE Amygdala – never heard, but intrigued to hear.
35 DJ RASHAD Double Cup – never heard.
34 MILEY CYRUS Bangerz – no interest.
33 DARKSIDE Psychic – really like this; it’s totally trendy lifestyle music for trendy wankers, though. But that’s what I am, or something.
32 ARIANA GRANDE Yours Truly – never heard.
31 DEAFHEAVEN Sunbather – intrigued to hear just out of curiosity, but the 30 seconds I did hear suggested that they’d sucked out the wrong bit of metal ad left the thing I really dislike (the screaming) in.
30 BURIAL Rival Dealer EP – never heard. Never understood the hype around him.
29 HOLDEN The Inheritors – adore this. One of my very favourites from last year. Dips in the middle but the opening four and closing four are amazing.
28 TEGAN & SARA Heartthrob – never heard.
27 AMEL LARRIEUX Ice Cream Everyday – never heard.
26 TIM HECKER Virgins – my first Hecker; didn’t quite get it. Something never coalesced. My mate Rob said he liked that it didn’t coalesce, and suggested it was like an exploded version of Field Of Reeds. Will keep plugging away as something intrigues me.
25 CLASSIXX Hanging Gardens – never heard.
23 JULIA HOLTER Loud City Song – really like this; love her vocals, love the jazz-ish brass, love the lyrics about cheese.
22 BRANDY CLARK 12 Stories – never heard.
21 THE 1975 The 1975 – never heard.
24 BOARDS OF CANADA Tomorrow's Harvest – this is pretty good; I like it as much as anything they’ve done.

how's life, check your ilx email

― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Wednesday, January 29, 2014 8:44 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gracias karl...arlk...rlka...lkar...

Absolutely loving this Holden record that people voted for.

lifehack: try listing only the records you have something to say about. nobody actually needs to see "haven't heard" over and over. of course nobody has heard all of these albums!

True, but someone might see that ad say "omg you should hear this one, it's right up your street!" ymmv.

This assumption that people on ILM somehow automatically *know* your individual tastes has always seemed kinda weird to me?

Well I've been loitering on here for about 14 years now, and there are various people on here whose tastes I feel like I know pretty well, so I don't think it's a mad assumption.

14 years. Perhaps more like 13 and a half or something, but even so. Fucking hell.

i read "haven't heard" as "not interested" given that there are spotify links and recommended youtubes (and your own initiative) all in this thread

I think what we're talking about is people who aren't really regulars stumbling in here and posting giant lists, 90% of which are a comedy "haven't heard" and really, that's not helpful.

(Also, with a side order of "what you appreciate in a piece of music" is often not the same as "what another appreciates in the same music" and sometimes the stuff people assume that a person will like based on perceived personality is kinda.. o_0)

why would you guys want to ruin lamp's reviews

lamp in and of himself is actually quite funny, but dozens of people imitating lamp style lists is really not funny at all.

i read "haven't heard" as "not interested" given that there are spotify links and recommended youtubes (and your own initiative) all in this thread

Not the case - I generally browse ILX on my work PC sporadically between bursts of work, and my office is not conducive to wearing headphones so Spotify and YouTube are out, or else I'm on my phone using the app, which involves opening other apps and so on, and again, wearing headphones when I'm probably in a social situation / with my wife / distractedly watching tele / etc etc etc. It's about time and logistics, not lack of interest. Actor-network theory! The agency of devices and interfaces! I rely on and like ILX because it's very good at words and descriptions.

Who the fuck is lamp?

Uhh, I'm really enjoying this Carcass album. What is happening?

And given how long and involved ans fast-moving this thread is, those lists have been the easiest way of consuming it, for me.

(I particularly like the occasional bits that sound like Thin Lizzy.)

"I've been on here 14 years and everybody knows my taste in music" b/w "who the fuck is lamp?" is really kinda next level hilarious!

lamp has posted several times on both EOY lists o_0 it's sort of rude to be all "who the fuck is [x]" when they've posted on this very thread!

most people who haven't heard an album but whose interest has been piqued usually have said something to that effect

Scik your recap scanned as myopic, as if you hadn't heard 80% of those records. I would totally recommend many of your "haven't heard"s to you except there are too many to count. Maybe take some of Lamp's recommendations ;)

can't believe someone was rude to lamp

I've read Lamp's posts on here and they're funny but, and this is my point, to me, they are just the word 'Lamp' and some funny posts; I don't know if they're someone I've interacted with on here before or not! How am I supposed to?

Is it just me that finds the album rollout a little overwhelming? With the tracks I can check out everything and download the ones I like but with albums I feel like I'm processing masses of data as much as listening. Unless an album clicks instantly (eg Classixx) I find it hard to give it sufficient time or make a call on whether something's a grower or needs to find me in a different mood. It's great to be exposed to so many records I haven't heard but unnatural too. I sometimes wish my tastes were a bit narrower. Apart from metal (yes I know, sorry) there's nothing I can confidently dismiss on the basis of one track as not for me.

if you're seriously trying to listen to upwards of 70 albums in a week then yes that's overwhelming because it's ridiculous, maybe just don't bother

Yeah I don't think listening to a shitload of albums one after the other in response to a list this quick is really going to do any of them justice for me. But there's a load I've already heard and a few I'm interested in, so it's about a listening list for the next month or so while new releases are still relatively few and far between.

Albums list in general is about a million times more interesting than the tracks poll this year (although the albums top 10 will probably be very predictable compared to the tracks poll). I like how open-eared most people are being here, everyone's a bit outside their comfort zone.

can't even hope to check out full albums as the list is rolling out, am taking track recommendations if people bother to provide them (if they don't and the band sound not-my-thing i'm more tempted to skip it). then either i hate it or admire/like it but not enough to hear any more, or occasionally like it enough to d/l the full album (done that twice so far) for future listening

it's def convenient that my work's in an at-my-desk-forever phase

Lamp shade itt

!!

Yeh, I've made a Spotify playlist with a cut off each album and have it on shuffle - heard some great stuff that I've since stepped onto hearing the entire album (William Onyeabor, Maya Jane Coles, Matmos)

if you're seriously trying to listen to upwards of 70 albums in a week then yes that's overwhelming because it's ridiculous, maybe just don't bother

It's not like I didn't hear any music last year! I'm not starting from scratch here. But never mind.

Tbh, Im so overwhelmed by releases this year that I havent even given enough listens to the stuff I do like. I'm just giving a listen to the odd album on Spotify and making a note of all the interesting stuff on this poll (ie EVERYTHING) to get hold of at a later time.

Just wanna say

BLOOOD LUST ... MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

thanks

Is it just me that finds the album rollout a little overwhelming? With the tracks I can check out everything and download the ones I like but with albums I feel like I'm processing masses of data as much as listening. Unless an album clicks instantly (eg Classixx) I find it hard to give it sufficient time or make a call on whether something's a grower or needs to find me in a different mood. It's great to be exposed to so many records I haven't heard but unnatural too. I sometimes wish my tastes were a bit narrower. Apart from metal (yes I know, sorry) there's nothing I can confidently dismiss on the basis of one track as not for me.

― What is wrong with songs? Absolutely nothing. Songs are great. (DL), Thursday, January 30, 2014 12:36 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Usually I'm still discovering new things from EOY albums until end of May at least.

That said I was really on top of things last year, so much so that there isn't a lot from this year that I didn't know about that I did wanna check out. I'll probably check out things like The 1975 but I'm not rushing to do it. In a way it's spoilt the albums run down for me a bit because there are fewer surprises and 'WTF is this? It's awesome!' moments for me unlike previous years, but whatevs.

FANTASIA - The songs I've listened to are top notch. As good as commercial RnB gets.
GOLDFRAPP - Lovely, their most consistently beautiful record since Felt Mountain
PET SHOP BOYS - Not sure I can be bothered to listen to PSB in 2014. Oh go on then. OK, Love is a Bourgeois construct is fine, no surprises. Sounds like the Pet Shop Boys.
LAURA MARLING - Nice enough. My dad likes her.
DJ KOZE - Could get into this, though on first impression there doesn't seem to be a huge amount to distinguish it from the glut of glitchy ambient stuff around at the moment. He's got some impressive collaborators.
DJ RASHAD - Very enjoyable for a track or two, then gets a bit tiring.
MILEY CYRUS - Too old for this.
DARKSIDE - Intriguing, something to really get your teeth into in the right mood I suspect.
ARIANA GRANDE - See Miley Cyrus. Impressive voice I guess.
DEAFHEAVEN - Metal with the good bits taken out.
BURIAL - Witnessing his evolution over these last three eps has been a real pleasure.
HOLDEN - Bit tedious on first listen.
TEGAN & SARA - They can write a catchy tune! Nice full production as well. Good radio fodder.
AMEL LARRIEUX - I like her voice, kind of a smokier Aaliyah. The songs don't particularly grab me.
TIM HECKLER - Don't have much patience for this kind of thing, probably my fault rather than the music's
CLASSIXX - This is fun! Lots of fun! Particularly after Tim Hecker! Getting a Basement Jaxx before they went shit vibe.
JULIA HOLTER - Clearly a talented lady, bit drifty for my tastes.
BRANDY CLARK - As country goes I like this a hell of a lot better than Ashley Monroe, seems a lot ballsier. NB I know nothing about the genre.
THE 1975 - I appreciate their youthful energy and there is obviously a good deal of craft here. But c'mon it's pretty obnoxious.
BOARDS OF CANADA - I am a fan. Haven't fully engaged with this one yet though whenever I give it a go I usually end up wanting to put on Geogaddi after a couple of tracks.

Classixx is the find of the day for me.

Don't suppose there's much chance of Machinedrum or Forest Swords placing by this point is there.

Just wanna say

BLOOOD LUST ... MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

thanks

― doglato dozzy (dog latin)

OTM

xp I suppose the self-imposed part of the problem for me is a desire to get on with 2014 and not spend months combing through 2013 releases so I try to hurry the process.

Uhh, I'm really enjoying this Carcass album. What is happening?

Listened to this again this morning while heading to work. This is a really good walking around in cold weather album.

Who the fuck is lamp?

― the drummer is a monster (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, January 30, 2014 7:22 AM (2 hours ago)

i love lamp

Will QOTSA place I wonder.

there's limited places for a lot of albums left!
i was thinking the same thing for a few of my picks which i presumed (if placed) would be out of the top 20 - so it's either gleefully high or woefully just short

chap, did you get the ilxmail I sent you?

tried to

Nope, nothing in the last few days. Try again at joe dot gooden at gmail dot com if you like.

(thanks for new dn, chap)