Wadlez' Top 30 Of 2013
Favorite albums from my first year posting on Sput. |
| 30 |  | My Bloody Valentine
m b v
Welcome back Kevin Shields and company. |
| 29 |  | Mechina
Empyrean
I'll admit that I find myself drawn to metal music with an epic atmosphere even if it ends up sounding corny and theatrical. |
| 28 |  | Yo La Tengo
Fade
Listening to this record just makes me feel good and brings me back to an era where indie rock seemed to be the only thing that mattered. Nice way to kick things off for 2013. |
| 27 |  | Typhoon
White Lighter
Death is along for the ride and hell if I know how the music brings hope but it does. |
| 26 | | Sigur Ros
Kveiker
I guess many of us have been dreaming about a Sigur R?s album like this, that is a bit heavier and a bit more upbeat. This is quite a refreshing change from the band, it's actually not radical but simply the songs feel more straightforward and more spontaneous. |
| 25 |  | The Knife
Shaking The Habitual
Hit and miss. When it hits, it hits good. When it misses... well, there's always the "next" button. A few useless drone/experimental tracks (coming from someone who loves such music) don't stop this album from being awesome. |
| 24 | | Paysage d'Hiver
Das Tor
Soulcrushingly massive in every sense of the word. Much like some Swans albums, it's tedious, exhausting and draining to listen to in one go - but that's the purpose. Nobody really makes music quiiiiite like Paysage d'Hiver, and this is undoubtedly one of his most realized works. |
| 23 | | Owen
L'Ami du Peuple
Mike Kinsella keeps chugging out soothing release after release. |
| 22 |  | Deafheaven
Sunbather
Love/Hate AOTY, I happen to like it some. |
| 21 |  | Causa Sui
Euporie Tide
I really liked this album, after the 4-5 first songs it sounded very promising after having built up a nice feeling and atmosphere around it. Really good jamming and with a lovely rock/psyche sound to it. |
| 20 |  | Obliteration
Black Death Horizon
Everything on Nekropsalms amped up to 11. The bass is funky, the riffs are evil and weird, and vox are pure insanity. Think the strangeness of Soulside Journey mixed with the doom of Autopsy and the Lovecraftian thrash attack of Morbid Angel and you have Black Death Horizon. |
| 19 |  | Geskia!
Silent Of Light
Amazing electronic from Japan! |
| 18 |  | Haken
The Mountain
Well, Haken has certainly listened to their fair share of Dream Theater & Gentle Giant. This album is one of the best releases of the year. They take influences from everywhere and blend it into a unique modern progressive metal/rock powerhouse of an album. |
| 17 |  | Melt-Banana
Fetch
Fun as shit |
| 16 |  | Misery Signals
Absent Light
Not that far off from Controller really but ultimately this can't top that one. No big deal as this is still excellent and easily the best metalcore album of the year so far. |
| 15 |  | Kurt Vile
Wakin On A Pretty Daze
I?m ashamed I?m quite late on uncovering the likes of Vile, but good music is always good no matter the timing of the listen, so that?s the only back-up to my defense. |
| 14 |  | Tim Hecker
Virgins
From the wicked, sharp pulses of intensity on the first track, to the aptly titled last track, "Stabbing Variation", Hecker makes his latest endeavor feel more purposeful and cinematic than ever before. |
| 13 |  | Hammock
Oblivion Hymns
Hammock always knows how to put me to sleep, in a good way |
| 12 |  | Gris
A lame Enflammee, lame Constellee
Angry and dark atmosphere to this softer kind of black metal. Massive sound, and very well written material with a big variation to it. One of the more solid slow black metal albums in a while. |
| 11 | | Captain, We're Sinking
The Future Is Cancelled
Really great hooks and melodies with powerful songwriting makes for a great listen. |
| 10 |  | Gorguts
Colored Sands
Absolutely superb. Luc returns with a new band and a new set of awesome songs |
| 9 |  | Blue Sky Black Death
Glaciers
The layering, the 'glacial' pace, the seamless/invisible transitions are perfect. Everybody wants to go to space, and this will take you there easily. |
| 8 |  | Janelle Monae
The Electric Lady
Well... last year we had Frank Ocean and Miguel, but this year in R&B belongs to Janelle. There is no Cold War here, but it was modern contemporary r&b masterpiece and it'd be hard to make something on similar level. |
| 7 |  | Cult Of Luna
Vertikal
A few wtf moments (hey ! let's throw a 30 seconds dub-step influenced interlude in "Vicarious Redemption"!) can't ruin this slow-paced massive sludge metal statement. |
| 6 |  | Jon Hopkins
Immunity
With Immunity, Jon Hopkins has created a masterpiece of hypnotic ambient microhouse. Simply amazing. |
| 5 |  | Julia Holter
Loud City Song
With Loud City Song Julia finally created her masterpiece. While her past releases were sounding somehow incomplete overall, this album has an amazing sequence of mysterious and deep tracks filled with the beauty of her charming voice. |
| 4 |  | Ulver
Messe I.X-VI.X
Again, this band does wonders. There's been million darkwave/melancholic ambient and modern classical records prior to this. Still, I haven't ever heard anything similar. |
| 3 |  | Run The Jewels
Run The Jewels
One of the best hip-hop albums of 2013. |
| 2 | | Boards of Canada
Tomorrow's Harvest
In my opinion, still not quite as good as the enigmatic Music Has the Right or the dark transcendence of Geogaddi. But being fairly average for this band still might as well be a godsend anyway. |
| 1 |  | Kayo Dot
Hubardo
It has everything Kayo Dot/motW has been so far and more. From black metal passages to beautiful post rock jams, passing through jazzy moments and dense doom metal. This is Kayo Dot at their maximum level of creativity so far. |
|
