Friday, February 27, 2015

The Top 15 Albums from 2013

Yes, it's a year late.  But better late than never... plus, we'll start 2014 reviews immediately.  Well, almost immediately.  Shortly?

In any case, without further ado... The Snilch Report's Top 15 albums from 2013:

15. Anoraak - Chronotropic.  "
Of all the electronica I heard this year, this album seemed to incorporate the best parts of all of them, adding in a confidence and a self-assuredness that comes off as 'relaxed expert,' and not 'annoyingly cocky.'"  Original review here.

Anoraak - "Behind Your Shades"

14. Speck Mountain - Badwater.  "It's a nice mellow listen, best enjoyed with a good book on a bright sunny day on your porch, or with your favorite medicinal drug of choice."  Original review here.

Speck Mountain - "Badwater"

13. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Unvarnished.  Anyone who wants to tell me that there's not great music out there any more can just look at this list.  The fact that Joan Jett is this low tells you there was a ton of good music in 2013.  Just watch the video.  "This is quite simply, a great, classic rock album.  It's not a throwback, it's timeless.  It's got an edge and an intensity that is surprising after all these years.  It's classic Joan Jett, and that is a damn good thing."  Original review here.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "Any Weather"


12. Brent Amaker and the Rodeo - Year of the Dragon.  "This sounds like Calvin Johnson from Beat Happening traded his lo-fi bandmates for Johnny Cash's backing band. It's uptempo country, fun storytelling extolled in a lighthearted tone (even when the lyrics are dark)."  Original review here.


Brent Amaker and the Rodeo - "Tequila Cerveza"  Warning: the video is very sacreligious at points.

11. Barrence Whitfield and the Savages - Dig Thy Savage Soul.  "Barrence... well, he's got the voice of an angel and a devil, all rolled into one.  Simply ridiculous. That is worth the price of admission alone."  Original review here.


Barrence Whitfield and the Savages - "Corner "

10. Cage the Elephant - Melophobia.  "It's a snapshot of a band still growing into their sound, which is scary as this is already really good....  It's a listen that will satisfy pretentious snobs (like me) and 'I like what sounds good' lunchpail joes (oddly enough, also like me)."  Original review here.


Cage the Elephant - "Take It or Leave It"


9. Bored Nothing - Bored Nothing.  "This is excellent, accessible, and well produced; it's everything you'd want in an album to listen to and enjoy.  Not a bad song in the bunch.  I'll take Big Star 2.0 any day."  Original review here.

Bored Nothing - "Let Down"

8. Grant Hart - The Argument.  "It's a breakthrough recording for someone you could have written off years ago.  Hart is clear and focused, wasting no space vocally in his quest to win the argument."  Original review here.


Grant Hart - "Morningstar"

7. Eric Salt and the Electric City - Please Say Yes.  "In the end, this feels like a mixtape of the best songs Salt has written in the past four years, but it works.... [A]ll in all, it's a great listen and an album I'll be revisiting again and again in the near future."  Original review here.


Eric Salt and The Electric City - "Women I've Loved" 

6. Luscious Jackson - Magic Hour.  "Hearing Glaser and Cunniff trading vocals, and Schellenbach's drumming style brought together again... well, it's just awesome."  Original review here.


Luscious Jackson - "Show Us What You Got"

5. Curt Smith - Deceptively Heavy.  "In the end what comes through is the combination of confident experience with the restless energy of an artist.  It's just another amazing offering from a great musician."  Original review here.

Curt Smith - "Suffer the Silence"

4. The Black Angels - Indigo Meadow.  "I could listen to this album again and again -- it's got just enough pop to be accessible, and just enough edge to keep it fresh and interesting.  It's an impressive offering, produced expertly."  Original review here.


The Black Angels - "Don't Play With Guns"

3. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2.  "Musically and lyrically, I can't imagine any album being more musically intricate and emotionally disturbing at the same time.... His lyrical ability to paint a sharply focused picture is unparalleled; his combination of ignorance, brilliance, mental instability, perfect clarity, brick-headed self-centered stupidity, and introspective objective empathy simply weaves too well together to be anything but intentional."  Original review here.

Eminem - "Bezerk"
Cameos by Rick Rubin, Kid Rock, and Kendrick Lamar
Samples of The Beastie Boys and Billy Squier (including video from "The Stroke")

2. Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes.  "It's an easy listen, but holds enough edge and challenge to ensure you'll be back for more.  I'm not the first to say it, but that don't mean it ain't the truth:  this may be the best album of his career."  Original review here.

Tom Keifer - "It's Not Enough"

1. The Black Watch - The End of When.  "It's dreamy rock that's smooth and smart, emotional and poppy.... Simply great."  Original review here.

The Black Watch - "Meg"

And there you have it.  Next up:  an interview with John Andrew Fredrick of The Black Watch, a roundup of some other stuff I have been listening to... and then it's on to the 2014 reviews!

- Snilch

3 comments:

mrharrybay said...

I'm not listening to Speck Mountain while taking ColdCalm.

Jason said...

I think you made some of these albums up.

Snilch said...

You've caught me out here, Jason. I should have made up less obvious names than ones like "Joan Jett."