Best Of 2013

I'm not going to start, as I usually do, by commenting on the quality of the year's music. I believe that if you're hungry for good music and you apply yourself to finding it (I hope AnEarful can be of help), you will find more than enough nourishment in any given year. It's probably enough for me to say that, for the second year running, I am presenting a Top 20 and not a Top 10. I will also have a robust "Best Of The Rest Of" to follow and provide further directions to explore. Enough ado - here goes.

1. David Bowie - The Next Day I still feel as I did earlier this year, except more so now that time has molded these tracks into the warp and weft of my being. Even the somewhat weaker songs I delineated in my review have a crushing inevitability that is the result of an artist at full engagement with his craft and emotional core. Dropping that first video when he did in January, and all the subsequent remixes, bonus tracks and videos has made 2013 unequivocally the year of Bowie.

2. Kanye West - Yeezus Still astonishing after all these months. Mood swings from painfully raw to hilarious and everything in between.

3. Jenny O. - Automechanic In a perfect world, Haim would be opening for this enchanting singer and songwriter. With the help of master-producer Jonathan Wilson, she has crafted a richly detailed set of songs, many with a touching vulnerability beneath their road-hardened swagger.

4. Jonathan Wilson - Fanfare On the follow-up to 2011's brilliant Gentle Spirit, Wilson goes big AND goes home to a rich tapestry of sounds inspired by what must be a mother of a record collection.

5. Volcano Choir - Repave The other great record with Justin Vernon on it this year (see Yeezus, above). More live dates, please.

6. Jon Hopkins - Immunity It's been a great year for this dealer in texture and tension. Besides this Mercury-nominated collection he also put out an intense soundtrack for the dystopian thriller How I Live Now. Unlike Eno's quite nice Lux, Hopkins's work would never place in the New Age category at The Grammys.

7. Jace Clayton - The Julius Eastman Memory Depot While I'm still mourning the end of Clayton's often mind-blowing radio show (as DJ/Rupture), this furiously well-done introduction to Eastman was much more than a consolation prize. At times it sounds like nothing more than an extended intro to Mobb Deep's Quiet Storm. Mash it up, people.

8. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold A disarming and shambolic façade reveals canny compositions and NYC classicism par excellence. Their new EP sketches out some new outposts.

9. Daniel Wohl - Corps Exquis This is a jewel-textured and compulsively listenable series of compositions that apparently has another life as a multiple-media performance piece. I say, just put it on and close your eyes…

10. The Darcys - Warring That these Torontonians are just getting better and better is proven by this journey into a heart of darkness partly inspired by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

11. Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein Blazingly inventive beats inspire Prodigy to his best work since Return Of The Mac, also produced by Alchemist. Let's just say that once you hear about "weed smoke pouring out the bullet hole glass," you never forget it.

12. Wire - Change Becomes Us Rock & roll may eat its young but post punk bands never die (see also: Killing Joke).

13. Son Lux - Lanterns Third time is the charm for the omnivorously talented Ryan Lott. His solo performance on WNYC's Soundcheck (using prepared piano) demonstrated the rock-solid structure behind these songs.

14. Mystical Weapons - S/T Speaking of omnivorous talents, the protean Sean Lennon teams up with Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier on this series of improvisations filled with blistering twists and turns. Like electric Miles, it is always moving with purpose, even if the purpose becomes tangential.

15. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap Chancellor Bennett's sheer excitement at being alive and coming to terms with his own prodigious talent is infectious, even when he's rapping about how "everyone dies in the summer." I would almost advise starting at the last song, Everything's Good (Good Ass Outro), which begins with a phone conversation in which Chance thanks his dad for the computer and the T-shirts - and especially for believing in him. When was the last time hip hop made you cry - in a good way?

16. The Strokes - Comedown Machine The former scuzz-rockers grow ever more intricate, without losing their explosive energy.

17. Jonwayne - Rap Album 1 A series of cassettes heralded the arrival of a fresh sounding producer and rapper. While the album lacked some of the sense of play that made the tapes so delightful, it felt like a true journey into the mind - for both creator and listener.

18. Isadora - EP One of New York's finest. Get in on the ground floor.

19. The Mavericks - In Time I had almost forgotten about these guys when they came roaring back with what may be their best album yet. With country radio a Swiftian wasteland (Taylor or Jonathan, take your pick) leaving them beholden to no one but themselves, they bring a few new sounds to their patented blend of Americana and Hispanica.

20. Mutual Benefit - Love's Crushing Diamond A gorgeously elaborate song cycle of muted joy and sorrow. While we wait for Robin Pecknold to go through his process, this touches on some of those Fleet Foxes sweet spots, while still sounding completely original and occasionally exotic. This is one that will last.

Listen to the Top 20 on Spotify.


Coming Next: The Best Of The Rest Of 2013, including reissues.

Repaving The Way To A Fantastic Fall

Others have probably pointed out that not everything Justin Vernon touches turns to gold, but he's had such a charmed career since his Bon Iver debut in 2007 that I think it bears restating. Just a few months ago, in fact, he met up with a couple of old cronies who perform occasionally as The Shouting Matches and released Grownass Man, about 40 minutes of pointless blues rock. Maybe it was fun at the time, but he should have left it in the garage or released it for free. While The Shouting Marches is certainly the least interesting of Vernon's many side projects, others such as Gayngs and Volcano Choir have been hit or miss affairs. The one Gayngs album was almost one long 10cc-inspired inside joke (to be expected with the regrettable inclusion of horrid Har Mar Superstar), while the first Volcano Choir album, Unmap, alternated between classic Vernon and self-indulgence.

While I enjoyed Unmap, it didn't live on my iPod for very long, unlike both Bon Iver albums (and the Blood Bank EP), which remain there to this day. It was starting to seem as though, aside from his spectacular contributions to Kanye West songs, Vernon's best work was always going to be as Bon Iver. But now all that's changed, with the release of Repave, the second Volcano Choir album. While it's still a collaborative effort, with the six members listed in alphabetical order, the sense that we're getting the full Vernon is evident from the opening track Tiderays. Introduced by an organ drone and a circular acoustic guitar figure, Vernon's voice enters loud and clear and cuts straight to your heart. The lyrics are occasionally oblique but also descriptive and relatable: "You wake up/Soft denim on the floor/Spent nights last sleeping like two fours." Tiderays builds up to a rousing finale that feels completely organic, which may be a good word to describe the whole album. While there are startling moments, like the processed vocals in Comrade, nothing feels forced, as Unmap often did.

It helps that Comrade features a towering performance from Vernon, with his falsetto sounding more assured than ever, along with a new toughness in the lyrics, which may be a result of all that time spent in the company of Kanye and Pusha-T. The fourth song, Byegone, features a massive ascending guitar riff that should be on the radio and will surely be transcendent in concert, along with the "Set sail!!!!" refrain. While its lyrics are nearly incomprehensible wordplay, the brilliant arrangement and passionate vocals communicate very directly. The same can be said for Alaskans, with it's spare instrumental backing and its crystal-clear note of regret and loss.

Keel is another stunning falsetto outpouring, with its outré poetics coming to a focal point at the heartbreak of "Just stay here/Stay here just loving me/or just STOP bloody loving me." The album closer, Almanac, has a stomping beat when the drums come in, and goes out in an anthemic haze of stately guitar and vocal susurrations, ending a perfectly sequenced and soul-satisfying album. Follow @VolcanoChoir on Twitter and Instagram. Also, try to catch them on tour. Having seen Bon Iver in the past, I can safely say that Vernon is one of the great performers of our day - he gives his all, every song.

Repave is merely one album that, along with the masterful Hesitation Marks from Nine Inch Nails and the slyly groovy AM by Arctic Monkeys, is leading the way to what is shaping up to be a spectacular series of fall releases. Here are just a few that I'm looking forward to.

Jonathan Wilson - Fanfare: Following up 2011's wondrous Gentle Spirit, genius producer, guitarist, songwriter and singer Wilson is expanding his sound with legendary guests like Graham Nash, David Crosby, and Roy Harper, along with Pat Sansone of Wilco, Father John Misty and others. Get tantalized with Dear Friend.

The Darcy's - Warring: These moody Toronto-based art rockers got my attention with their pitch black full-album cover of Steely Dan's Aja, but their self-titled debut proved they have a number of arrows in their quiver. Warring should only further establish their great sound. Take a trip on The River.


Juana Molina - Wed 21: It's been nearly five years since we were last mesmerized by this former TV star from Argentina. I am more than ready to get obsessed again. Here's Eras to start the induction process.


Jonwayne - Rap Album One: A series of mixtapes, the last three on cassette, has established this Bay Area rapper-producer as someone to watch. And based on Reflection, he's playing for keeps on his debut album.


Matthew E. White - Big Inner: Outer Face Edition: Like the slow-burning songs within, White's first album has taken its sweet time getting properly noticed. Capitalizing on the growing interest, he will be putting out an expanded edition with five additional tracks. This is one case where I will feel no conflict buying the album all over again, if that's the only way to get the new songs. Have a taste of Hot, Hot, Hot and the others.

There have also been rumblings from the camp of Brooklyn titans TV On The Radio, with a new song from them and an upcoming release from Tunde Adebimpe's side-project, Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band.

Whatever else comes down the pike between now and the first snowflakes, a musically memorable autumn is a certainty. What new releases are you anticipating?

The Rest Of 2009

The Other Ten: Rather than an ordered list, this is more of an overview of 10 other records that I really enjoyed from 2009.



Justin Vernon Deals With Success
After listening to the masterful debut for the better part of a year, Bon Iver's Blood Bank EP felt somewhat like an epilogue but the songs it contained were certainly more than b-side material. Woods,the final song, is a lush exploration of what a true artist can pursue with Autotune. 



Vernon also collaborated with some old friends on Unmap, released under the name Volcano Choir. A sort of campfire minimalism propels some of the pieces and the wide dynamic range recalls Peter Broderick's brilliant Home. If not for a few self-indulgent tangents, this might have been in the Top Ten - it's a richly rewarding listen. 


For anyone not convinced of Vernon's sheer greatness as a singer, find his spine-tingling performance in NPR's podcast of the Dark Was The Night concert here.


Competing With Themselves
It was wonderful to have new albums from both The Clientele and Tinariwen, however neither one surpassed their amazing previous releases with their 2009 entries. Bonfires On The Heath finds The Clientele in an autumnal mood, with the more delicate songs flickering like cupped flames. Tinariwen's Imidiwan:Companions creates a dust storm of their distinctive guitar-driven hypnotism. Desert Wind, the meditative finale, could have gone on forever without complaint from me.


Brand New You're Retro
Both Mayer Hawthorne and Major Lazer are masters of styles created by others in the recent and not so recent past. Part of the fun of both of these is the conceptual framework - the Warhol touch, if you will - that seems to underpin them. Now, that could all be in my head but that is exactly where I listen to music so it works for me. To a point. 


A Strange Arrangement, the all-singing, almost-all-playing debut from dynamite DJ Hawthorne, takes us through a variety of soul styles the way only a true crate-digger can. Folks like Raphael Saadiq and Eli Reed may have more sheer talent but they bring no perspective to bear on their perusals of the past. However, Hawthorne's voice can sometimes seem as slight as the running-length of the album. 


Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do is a project of genius producers Diplo and Switch and listening to the whole album is a little like spending time with the nutty friend-of-a-friend who just doesn't know when to stop. In small doses, however, their twisted simulacra of reggae and dancehall tropes is delightful. There was no way the blissful Cash Flow was not going to be heard during my New Year's Eve DJ set. And it rocked the house.


Lazy Dylan Is Better Than No Dylan 
After the run of three masterpieces followed by the jaw-dropping Tell Tale Signs, naturally I had very high hopes for Together Through Life. They weren't entirely dashed - the record got a lot of play. Yet while the tossed off music (along with Dylan's sepulchral cackles) was often a blast, the lazy lyrics often dragged me back to earth. I choose to blame it on Robert Hunter, his co-writer on many of the songs. If you're a fan, don't hesitate to pick it up - and get the deluxe version with an entertaining episode of his Theme Time Radio hour.


Underdogs, It's Gonna Be Alright 
The great Virginia hip hop duo Clipse and Congolese collective Staff Benda Bilili would seem to have little in common but they are both underdogs in their way. Staff was formed by polio survivors who developed a joyful sound that can be deeply funky. The signature sound of the band on Tres Tres Fort is the homemade satonge, a one-string guitar played by Roger Landu. On occasion he seems to be trying so hard to play wildly unexpected runs that his solos (and there are a lot of them) gradually become predictable. He's only 17 so I expect much more from him and the group. 


With two all-time classics under their belt (not to mention the amazing We Got It For Cheap mixtapes), Clipse might still feel like underdogs what with the record industry kicking them around and, to my mind, less appreciation than they deserve. However in a decade where if you're name wasn't Jay-Z, Little Wayne or Kanye you were practically persona non rappa Pusha T and Malice definitely made their mark. A full celebration was planned for the release of Til The Casket Drops, but the cork got a little stuck in the Champagne bottle. The first seven tracks are nearly up to snuff, all booming bass and braggadocio, with odd beats and gleaming touches. Then things fall off to grab bag level. For the first time, I started skipping tracks on a Clipse album. There Was A Murder is one great track - best hip hop of the year.


Missed It By That Much
I tried to listen to every list candidate before publishing the last entry. However, it wasn't until 12/31 that I got to hear Efterklang's Performing Parades. This is a live recording with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra of their 2007 masterpiece. The live setting and additional musicians adds depth to their modernist music and, surprisingly, more rock heft. They are true artists - I can't wait to watch the DVD.


And you? What floated your boat in 2009?


In two weeks: Highlights, lowlights, reissues and buried treasures.