Month: May 2013

My favorite albums of 2013 so far

It’s already 6 months into 2013, and in those months a lot of notable albums released.  My Bloody Valentine, Daft Punk and David Bowie, all legends in their respective genres put out quality music in the first half of this year, and less well-known artists such as Kurt Vile, Youth Lagoon, The Men and Iceage all followed up acclaimed albums with more strong work. Of course, many excellent albums have yet to be released, but it’s time to take a look at the best music released this year so far.

1.My Bloody Valentine- “M B V”

It took 12 years for the Dublin quartet to release its third album, but the wait was rewarded with another shoegaze master piece.sound. Layers of reverb, bestial howling of guitars, energetic drumming  and the ethereal voices of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher create a sound that is simultaneously ambient and urgent. “M B V” is an ocean of sound bigger than any wall Phil Specter imagined.It seemed unlikely after waiting for more than a decade, but “Loveless” finally has a proper follow-up, and it is as loud, as strange and as beautiful as you would hope. This album will make your head swirl and toes tap, and it is the best thing released in 2013 so far.

2.Chance the Rapper- “Acid Rap”

The most inventive rap album of the year so far is a mixtape by a 20-year-old Chicago native, Chance the Rapper. Samples are lush, brush and approximate actual instruments. The word play is almost always clever and there is no shortage of ear worm hooks. An excellent guest list including Action Bronson, Childish Gambino, BJ the Chicago Kid, Twista and a show stealing turn by No Name Gypsy add another dimension to Chance the Rapper’s already quixotic and occasionally introspective rhymes.

3. Daft Punk- “Random Access Memories”

The rise of Electronic Dance Music can be easily attributed to the iconic French duo; apparently to Daft Punk’s chagrin. “Random Access Memories” is essentially a pulsating, gyrating lesson on dance music. This purpose is made particularly clear on the track “Georgio by Moroder” as a legend discusses inventing a click track over click tracks. Excellent studio musicians and guests including Niles Rogers and Pharell help create a Disco homage that never resorts to navel-gazing and manages to feel perfectly contemporary. By borrowing from the past with their latest release Daft Punk have put the human element back into a genre which they helped pioneer.

4. The National- “Trouble Will Find Me”

The National have created a trilogy of excellent, brooding, hyper-literate albums starting with 2005’s “Alligator.” Their newest release continues to mine the same vein, and it continues the trend of excellence. “Trouble Will Find Me” consists of about 10 mid tempo songs that rely on heavily on Matt Berninger’s baritone voice and two songs that rock in the way “Blood Buzz Ohio” rocked.  All in all it’s just more of the same from one modern music’s most consistent bands.

5. Ex Cops- “True Hallucinations” ;

This is an excellent jangle-pop debut. Loud guitar, gripping melodies and sweet but not saccharine vocals are all over this album. It seems entirely fitting that “True Hallucinations” would come out the same year as a  new Pastels album, a group to which Ex Cops are obviously indebted. Although, a touch of aggression keeps and audio fuzz keeps this album from being a Pains of Being Pure at Heart retread. Overall while “True Hallucinations” may not be a groundbreaking album it is a thoroughly enjoyable debut and a great listen.

Honorable Mentions: Savages-“Silence Yourself”; Kylesa-“Ultraviolet”; Youth Lagoon-“Wondrous Bughouse”; Pissed Jeans- “Honeys”; The Knife- “Shaking the Habitual”

So So Glos- “Son of an American”

The So So Glos start off their methodically frantic new album “Blowout” with the song “Son of an American.” The song itself begins with a childhood recording of  the band’s bassist, Alex Levine, gleefully discussing Kurt Cobain’s suicide. This aligns So So Glos with Nirvana’s early DIY mentality while also announcing the existence of a new generation of non-mainstream rock acts.

“Son of an American” is an archetypical punk song. It’s all sneering vocals, chugging guitar and wraps up in 3 minutes flat. It bemoans the downside of self-identifying as a young American while also expressing an affinity for ultra-American iconography. The song’s production and straight forward guitar rock composition give it an instant classic feeling.  “Son of an American” is a thoroughly enjoyable track that could have been released in 1979, 1991 or at least during the garage rock revival of the last decade.

Chance the Rapper- “Acid Rap”

Chance the Rapper is an artist barely out of his adolescence from Chicago. He famously started recording music during suspension from high school. He sounds like a combination of Kanye West’s barely-outsider perspective, Kendrick Lamar’s elastic flow and observation and Lil Wayne’s bravado and vocal ticks. Gospel, jazz, soul,reggae, golden age hip-hop, scat and more conventional drum machine beats all appear on this album to create a sound that instantly comes across as familiar and infectious.

Despite all of the audible influential artists and genres Chance the Rapper’s new mix tape “Acid Rap” is some of the most schizophrenically original music released this year. A few things immediately come across when listening to this mixtape. The first is that Chance is an incredibly self-aware rapper. He raps about generational divide and the harsh realities of living in Chicago’s South Side as naturally as he cuts a party track. The second is that Chance the Rapper is totally unafraid to leave the beaten path. He’ll attempt to croon in his warbling, cracking voice before launching into a double timed barrage of word play. The last thing that quickly becomes evident about Chance is that he loves his drugs. Ecstasy, acid, cigarettes, codeine, marijuana and Hennessy all get shout outs on this album, but the album never falls into the trap of being something as simple as a drug album.

Although Chance gives a shout out to another rapping Chicago wunderkind on this mix tape everything is sonically and topically broader than anything the drill scene could possibly produce. Also, although plenty of other Chicago-area artists appear on this album, notably BJ the Chicago Kid and Twista, the guest list also includes Childish Gambino, Ab-Soul and Action Bronson. The end result of the various unorthodox mixtures is an original, ambitious effort that effectively evokes introspection and humor.