Tmobotron's 2013 Tracks
Keeping it to only 1 track per artist. The top 20-30 are absolutely
essential IMO. |
| 100 | The Dillinger Escape Plan
One of Us Is the Killer |
| 99 | Friendzone
8AM |
| 98 | NGUZUNGUZU
Skycell |
| 97 | Queens of the Stone Age
If I Had a Tail |
| 96 | Volcano Choir
Acetate |
| 95 | Key Nyata
Dangerous Group |
| 94 | Kaiju
Rudebwoi |
| 93 | Thriftworks
Terry - D |
| 92 | Polyenso
Dog Radio |
| 91 | Vampire Weekend
Step |
| 90 | Kahn
Badman City |
| 89 | Savages
Shut Up |
| 88 | Kryptic Minds
Badman VIP |
| 87 | Beyonce
Drunk In Love |
| 86 | Cakes Da Killa
Goodie Goodies |
| 85 | Ganja White Night
Black Widow |
| 84 | Shpongle
How the Jellyfish Jumped Up the Mountain |
| 83 | Letlive.
Younger |
| 82 | Disclosure
When a Fire Starts to Burn |
| 81 | The Weeknd
Live For |
| 80 | Amarionette
When Under Pressure Explode |
| 79 | Adrian Sherwood and Pinch
Music Killer (Dubplate Pressure) |
| 78 | NA
Flute Gasp |
| 77 | Floating Points
Wires |
| 76 | Todd Terje
Strandbar |
| 75 | Joy Orbison
Big Room Tech House DJ Tool - TIP! |
| 74 | Four Tet
The Track I've Been Playing That People Keep Asking About And That Joy Used In His RA Mix And Daphn |
| 73 | Trade
Positive Neckline |
| 72 | Comadre
Drag Blood |
| 71 | Frightened Rabbit
Late March, Death March |
| 70 | Paysage d'Hiver
Schlussel |
| 69 | Julia Holter
In the Green Wild |
| 68 | Kacey Musgraves
Merry Go 'Round |
| 67 | P Jam
Untitled
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NRIGg5-dhA |
| 66 | Lights
Siberia (Acoustic) |
| 65 | ASAP Rocky
Goldie
Technically released in 2012, but easily the best part of 2013's LongLiveA$AP. |
| 64 | Arcade Fire
Afterlife |
| 63 | Dance Gavin Dance
Turn Off the Lights. I'm Watching Back to the Future pt. II |
| 62 | Daft Punk
Doin It Right |
| 61 | R Kelly
Spend That |
| 60 | Off With Their Heads
Shirts |
| 59 | Slugabed
DO U C ME THO |
| 58 | V.I.V.E.K
Asteroids VIP |
| 57 | Depth Connection
Droplets |
| 56 | Erdbeerschnitzel
Cushion |
| 55 | Coheed and Cambria
Gravity's |
| 54 | ASAP Ferg
Shabba Remix |
| 53 | Dubbel Dutch
Deepa |
| 52 | James Blake
Digital Lion |
| 51 | Sophie
Bipp |
| 50 | Denzel Curry
Threatz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwnVI_x5g0I -- The difference between 3.5 and 4
for me. Threatz is stunning with its aggressive nature and is the definite highlight of
Nostalgic 64. |
| 49 | Drake
Wu-Tang Forever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wadS0AFcmjA -- The best mood of any track on
the album and one of the best hooks. |
| 48 | Kanye West
New Slaves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Uxvp1ctfA -- I really like Yeezus, but I do have
my reservations. It's a huge step down from MBDTF, and Bound 2 has always been
terrible. But I've always been sure about "New Slaves". |
| 47 | Oneohetrix Point Never
Zebra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1QAM9rq1PA -- R Plus Seven is such a complete
work as a whole, I almost never even bother to look or remember which track is
which, but I suppose if I had to pick, Zebra would be the best piece. |
| 46 | Chance the Rapper
Cocoa Butter Kisses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TErySTMbFlk -- "Cigarettes on cigarettes my
momma think I stank, I got burn holes in my hoodies all my homies think it's dank"
- The biggest hook on the album, but the track also has my favorite delivery from
Chance. |
| 45 | Darkside
Golden Arrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8NaWT0WvEE -- Overall, I like Jaar's solo
work more, but if every track on the album was as good as "Golden Arrow", I
wouldn't be so sure. Just the best blend of Jaar's moodiness and the psychedelic
instrumentation, with a perfectly-executed climax. |
| 44 | TNGHT
Acrylics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm7XRkpkti4 -- It wasn't appreciated quite
like "Higher Ground" or "Goooo", but I've personally always loved it about the
same. Whatever your thoughts are, the ominous music-box segments and the
beefy horns in the climax still undeniably managed to shake the walls. I'm pretty
sad about the hiatus, and especially sad (and a little annoyed) that we didn't at
least get another release out of them before it happened, but "Acrylics" is a good
one to remember them by (for now). |
| 43 | Forest Swords
Thor's Stone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SE8hH_EZbo -- A little over half-way through
this track, I was completely sold on the album. Amazing organic melodies. |
| 42 | L-Vis 1990
Ballad 4D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_4G5qlTIlU -- One of the most tangibly
swaying pieces of music I've ever heard - the way the melodies on this submarine
track swell and float to the surface is entirely unique. |
| 41 | Paula Temple
Colonized
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuriyWZt9uM -- If an industrial mill's heavy
mechanical clatters played techno music. |
| 40 | Baths
No Eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHleDQVBf8 -- Probably the catchiest track on
the album, and the steady pacing behind the growing energy of the track is just
perfect. |
| 39 | Kingdom (NYC)
Corpse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57XPv5-OUvc -- Probably my least favorite of
Kingdom's 4 EPs so far, but still an awesome release. Corpse is the highlight
because it relishes in the cold, brooding nature that made up my favorite parts of
his earlier work. |
| 38 | Helix (US)
Whoosh Ice Dispenser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-oM1Vq10g -- An EP made up mostly of
extremely functional, stripped-down analog techno, Whoosh Ice Dispenser manages to
stand out with its viscerally bouncy bassline. |
| 37 | Jeremiah Jae
Evil Laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIcJ8tYawzI -- Jae puts a little more oomph and a
little more darkness into the airy flutterings of FlyLo productions. "Evil Laugh" has the
best synths of the mixtape, and Jae's delivery is at its peak too. |
| 36 | Juicy J
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgSH3LPfo6g -- File the entirety of Stay Trippy
under "tracks to bump in the whip", but make sure "Bounce It" is on top of the list. |
| 35 | Pusha T
Numbers on the Board
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DawrlSwHUiM -- "Numbers on the Board"
showcases some of Pusha's best lyrical boasting but the track excels because of the
startling, buzzing bassline and the off-kilter clattering of the drumbeat. |
| 34 | Walton
Need to Feel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgxf3SQRt0U -- With a catchy vocal sample and a
loud, wriggling bassline as hooks, "Need to Feel" manages to be garage/house
indulgence without giving in to overbearing sweetness or cheesiness (looking at you,
Disclosure). |
| 33 | Actress
Wee Bey
http://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/119222 -- So by now, 2014's
Ghettoville has leaked, which makes this appetizer EP easy to overlook, especially
since this 2-track EP's A-side is featured as the album's closer. But the missing B-
side, "Wee Bey", is the real gem here, and one you don't want to miss. You don't
want to miss Ghettoville either, by the way. (Can't find a good link for this one,
the sample there doesn't do it much justice. Some dolt did upload a 33 RPM rip to
youtube though, so there's that -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=yo0BniC5oco) |
| 32 | Chelsea Wolfe
They'll Clap When You're Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXL0y63eFM -- Pain Is Beauty was my
introduction to Wolfe, but when I heard she made dark, experimental folk, "They'll
Clap When You're Gone" was pretty much exactly what I was hoping to hear. |
| 31 | M.I.A.
Come Walk With Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_11uQVI21mQ -- I thought the whole album was
a lot of fun, "Come Walk With Me" is just the most. |
| 30 | Boards of Canada
Jacquard Causeway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90LJ85ri2pg -- I do miss the vocal sampling in
their earlier work and Tomorrow's Harvest never quite reaches the powerful
moodiness of MHTRTC or Geo, but "Jacquard Causeway" is easily one of the best uses
of Boards of Canada's analog synths in their career. (This youtube video is perfect for
the track) |
| 29 | Mosca
Kneecap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP8TvVa7aZk -- Shifting more towards the
techno side of things, A Thousand Years' Wait is a bit of a departure from the
lighter house and garage styles Mosca dabbled in previously. He could've easily
continued on that path and likely garnered more acclaim considering the praise
tracks like "Bax" and "Dom Perignon" (rightfully) got. But hey, he apparently can
do techno just as well, so why not? But thankfully it isn't a complete departure,
because some of the melodic aspects of the Eva Mendes EP do find themselves
creeping in a bit to provide some important color to techno's typically less vibrant
makeup. |
| 28 | Wil Wagner
More Like Signals Midbest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa0GpVgaU5o -- Wil Wagner is an amazing song-
writer, which is what makes all these tracks of just him and an acoustic guitar so great,
but the energy he pulls out of this one makes it a personal favorite. |
| 27 | Wen
Commotion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x383142K44 -- What all the commotion is
about. |
| 26 | C.O.N.E.
Doppa
https://soundcloud.com/cone/doppa-on-brackles-show-rinse -- It may not show in
this snippet from a Rinse FM show, but the full version of "Doppa" starts out big and
ends up huge. Instrumental grime. |
| 25 | Bloom
Juniper
https://soundcloud.com/bloombeats/juniper-clip -- It's no secret that I'm a huge fan
of the overall aesthetic makeup of this type of instrumental grime (I mean come on,
using gun cocks as such a functional percussive element is just fucking cool). But the
start-stop rhythms here finding their tension release in laid-back "ha ha" vocal
samples just takes it to a new level. (Link is just a clip) |
| 24 | Jam City
Worst Illusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMI_GK2bthE -- Like much of the Night Slugs
crew, Jam City has always been able to work a vivid aesthetic into his tracks while
maintaining their peak-hours club appeal. Because of that, his inclusion into the
"Club Constructions" series made me a bit concerned that his works would be
stripped of their life for hollow, mechanical beat tracks (as was the case with Girl
Unit on Vol. 5). Fortunately, Club Constructions Vol. 6 sounds like a plain old Jam
City EP, and it rules. "i fucking hate this city" - treeqt. (1.5) |
| 23 | Laura Stevenson
Telluride
http://vimeo.com/70650472 -- Laura Stevenson can make a great track out of
anything, but personally I really love when she lets loose vocally like she does here.
(Could only find live clips of the track, but this one's pretty solid). |
| 22 | The Knife
Stay Out Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs4XTEHHgdM -- I'm not sure I could endorse
listening to an individual track of The Knife's recent ambitious work out of context, but
"Stay Out Here" is the type of track capable of obliterating any weariness brought on
by a double-disc album's length. |
| 21 | Captain, We're Sinking
Brother
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvxmjcD4nCI -- "The night's when you feel the
most alive / The night's when you're not scared to die" The catchiest track on the
album, but also the most powerful (and its reprise in the closer is brilliant). |
| 20 | Danny Brown
Break It (Go)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-24miV6grMk -- From what I can tell, Break It is
pretty far from most others' favorite when it comes to Old. Maybe it takes Danny
Brown's exotic abrasiveness a bit too far, but to me, the borderline-obnoxious claps,
the wonkiness of the synth-lines, and the thump of Rustie's 808s are the perfect
backdrop to DB's psychotic delivery. Also, "Who the fuck is you fuckin' with / I've
been in the dirt like a catcher's mitt / I'm an activist on actavis / Won't smack a
bitch but I'm like a pimp". |
| 19 | bansheebeat
Nightosphere
http://bansheebeat.bandcamp.com/album/nightosphere-single -- Whether it's in
the cascading synth-lines that accompany a groovy bassline in running over the
Tron-like chord progressions found on ?Ninetails? or the playfulness of the perfectly
restrained melody that takes the forefront of the melancholy backdrop on
?Nightosphere?, every track that's present here is bursting at the seams with style
and atmosphere. |
| 18 | u-Ziq
Houzz 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvhVQVulg1c -- Most of the work on here is rooted
in the calculated restraint that defines Autechre's most captivatingly hypnotic work, and
yet it's u-Ziq's willingness to let up on that restraint that makes Chewed Corners the
gleefully indulgent piece that it is. Specifically, central track ?Houzz 10? seems to work
as the standout of the album. The track just feels ready to burst at any moment, firing
on all cylinders from the word ?go? with a simplistic and infectious piano melody that
feels like it's on the brink of collapse the entire time, running the forefront of the track's
dense melodiousness until it finally fades back out into the more controlled tracks that
surround it. Although ?Houzz 10? runs the risk that standouts always do of being the
track that the rest of the album fails to live up to, it works instead more like the climax
of a great movie ? and Chewed Corners is undeniably a cinematic affair. There's a
consistent energy and passion that can be found on the most routine tracks of the
album, but the frantic pacing and uneasy fragility of ?Houzz 10? wouldn't be so
memorable and startling if it wasn't surrounded by the blissfully chilled-out retro-
futurism of tracks like ?Twangle Melkas? or the smooth, sparkling melodies that
dominate ?Mountain Island Boner?. |
| 17 | Justin Timberlake
Mirrors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuZE_IRwLNI -- I love every track on the
album, but Mirrors has my favorite vocal-work from JT, and the latter half is the
best counter-point to the first out of all the 2-parters. |
| 16 | Peverelist and Kowton
Beneath Radar (Kowton Mix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vunXiNNm1Vg -- Have yet to hear a bad track
that's touched the hands of Peverelist, but Kowton's mix works better to make the
most out of this track's simple melody and garage shuffle. |
| 15 | Deafheaven
Dream House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWyVhIBmdGw -- "black metal now available
in color" - sniper |
| 14 | Obliteration
Black Death Horizon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLrxzmokIMo -- Can't think of a better death
metal track post-90s. The groove and the hanging tremolos in the latter half are
incredible, and the sound they're pulling out of their bassist is brutal AF. |
| 13 | Zomby
Sphinx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXJXJMRDGmg -- Practically every one of With
Love's 33 tracks has been my "favorite" at one point or another, so who knows with
time whether "Sphinx" will stick, but the over-arching synth-lines capture the sense
of loss that Dedication did so well while still retaining the power of Disc 2's trap
undercurrent. |
| 12 | Rustie
Slasherr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stT4VAnVfY4 -- So packed to the brim with
neon radiance and hip-hop power that it leaks out into whatever environment it's
played within. |
| 11 | Sigur Ros
Brennisteinn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8 -- Their most powerful track
outside of Untitled 8. |
| 10 | Old Apparatus
Dourado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD0EI5RDIm0 -- Technically released in 2012 but
appearing on 2013's Compendium compilation, "Dourado" is the darkest track of the
bunch. Driven by the haunting drones of organic vocal tracks and a complex, forceful
drum track, "Dourado" is impossible to shake. |
| 9 | Jon Hopkins
Collider
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeBdrFMKTzM -- Powerful, riveting, living,
breathing, etc. etc. "Collider" is the highlight of Immunity, and a track that
forcefully grabs you and doesn't let go for the entirety of its 9 minute duration. |
| 8 | Logos
Swarming
https://soundcloud.com/logos262/ldn042-04-logos-feat-rabit-4?
in=logos262/sets/logos-cold-mission-lp -- The density of the chilling atmosphere and
the massive scale of the soundstage present here is only more impressive when
considering the minimalistic approach Logos takes, which is something that could be
said about the whole album. Never have I heard music that does so much with so
little. (The link is only a sample of the track, unfortunately) |
| 7 | Tale Of Us
Another Earth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dHAgbTF_eA -- The cold rhythm that makes up
this track's rhythmic backbone is the perfect antithesis to the vibrant synth-lines
that flutter over "Another Earth". Their discordant nature is undoubtedly the
immediate intrigue of the track, but it's the way the two elements of the sound play
off of each other that really elevates it to the next level. |
| 6 | Ten Walls
Gotham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I047BWE9YHg -- Ten Walls' follow-up EP,
Requiem, shows what "Gotham" would sound like if the producer had taken the
easy route and injected the track with traditional club force. But "Gotham"'s well-
executed restraint in the muffled horn melodies and arpeggiated synth lines
creates a backdrop to the house track's undeniable groove that ends up being
much more powerful than its club-friendly alternative, which functions successfully
on its own, only in much shallower territory. |
| 5 | The National
Graceless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81yl_r5lT4w -- Any one of the tracks from
Trouble Will Find Me could've made the list, but "Graceless"'s has consistently
been the part of the album that captivated me most, thanks in large part to its
continually increasing momentum. This band just never fails to impress. |
| 4 | The Juan Maclean
Feel Like Movin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUnMmUwsG0g -- Full of retro charm, "Feel Like
Movin'" is all of your childhood nostalgia filtered through gleefully infectious house at
its finest. |
| 3 | Tessela
Hackney Parrot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiVe8qePd3Y -- "Hackney Parrot" is the dance
track of the year. Its old-school vocal track and powerful break beats might be off-
putting to some, but if you can embrace them their impact is pretty much
unparalleled. |
| 2 | Nils Frahm
Says
https://soundcloud.com/erasedtapes/nils-frahm-says -- With stiff competition,
"Says" is the best subtly building electronic track of the year. |
| 1 | Burial
Come Down To Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bb2JakOmo -- I absolutely love the 3 EPs
before this, and I couldn't envision where there was room for improvement before.
But with this release it's clear - the first half of "Come Down To Us" is the best thing
Burial has done since Untrue, easily. |
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