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

Curt Smith - Deceptively Heavy (2013)

Following Curt Smith's excellent 2008 album Halfway Pleased, I anxiously awaited a next album... but given Tears for Fears recent uptick in activity, it looked like the band would release something first.

To my surprise, I discovered last week that Curt had actually released an album... in 2013.  Always on top of it, clearly.

In any case, it's new to me and likely to you.

From the opening notes of "Beautiful Failure," this sounds like Halfway Pleased 2.0 -- the same beautiful and dreamy music, shimmering vocals, and twisted dark lyrics.  I settled in for more of the same of what the first album gave us.

Then "Suffer the Silence" happens.  Then "Hold It Together" happens.  It's enough of a change in terms of musical texture that the charge here is clear:  capture the brilliance of the last album, but expand on it without losing the plot.

The result?  I love it.  I love it, I love it, I love it.  Smith plays to his strengths without being held captive by them.  There still is plenty of mellow here, but there's also experimentation.  

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.

CD Placement Rating: You want to guess? Car iPod.

- Snilch

Curt Smith - Halfway, Pleased (2008)

When last we left Tears for Fears, the boys (Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith) had kissed and made up for a strong return to form with 2004's Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (which is part of this post).

The post-script was Smith's solo effort Halfway, Pleased. I was not really sure what to expect with this album. TFF was Smith and Orzabal's band, but the songs were primarily written by Orzabal; his main co-writer on Songs from the Big Chair was actually keyboardist Ian Stanley. This album is all Smith and co-writer Charlton Pettus (who also wrote with Smith and Orzabal on ELAHE).

Given that, I decided this album deserved the full workout, as described here. First listen: on the commuter rail. I went old school with my CD Walkman. My first impression was actually the CD artwork -- normally this is not a conscious factor (in fact, almost never), but it did strike me in this case. The artwork is simple: photos over white, with black italicized "wedding-type" font. (I'm sure it could be described more articulately than that, but that's all the cultcha I got.) The front picture (included above) is from behind, with Smith and his daughters. My immediate thoughts and impression are: a reflective, mature, sedate album. It may even be a kids' album, for all I know.

First song ("Perfect Day"), first verse: light, poppy, tuneful; Smith has a crooner's sensibility in his vocals and it sounds like I expected. Nice, safe, not terribly edgy; a little slower and more laid back than I thought. It's a song about a perfect day -- well told, but a traveled path. Dandelions. Sunshine. Puppies. No global warming. An economy not in total freefall. Then we hit the chorus. "It's a perfect day/to blow myself away."

Huh.

I rewind to make sure I heard that right. Yup, that's exactly what he said. This was the listening equivalent of sizing your opponent up in a boxing ring and getting sucker-punched in the back of the head by a previously unannounced third combatant. And right there, I knew this was not going to be what I expected. I wanted to see if this was just my reaction, so I tried the song out on Scott, without telling him what was up. Without prompting, he did the same double-take I did, and said, "What did he just say?" Yup, that's exactly what he said.

This album, throughout, mixes a child-like wonder with experienced cynicism. Smith deceptively combines gut-punch twists on children's nursery rhymes alternating with the aged wisdom of a one-legged sailor. And all with classic, pitch-perfect delivery on top of absolutely beautiful music. To make "low-key and sparse" work (at least in my book) is a tightrope-thin line between genius and inane. I generally don't like low-key at all, actually, but I just cannot deny this album. It's great.

Not only that, but it actually works in the car, even at low tempo. It defies logic AND my own personal opinion that car albums need to be at least mid-tempo. On the big stereo it sounds gorgeous. Absolutely great low-key pop -- Curt's superb voice with meticulously placed instrumentation. It's fabulous.

Merch Rating: We're slightly re-defining the Merch rating, starting with this album. At this point I'm collecting my favorite albums on vinyl when I can find them. Yes, I'm buying this on vinyl, assuming an album version was created. It's that good. Were I in LA in March on a Wednesday, there is NO DOUBT I'd be going to The Cactus Lounge to see him play. He is playing there for free. FREE. If you are there and not going, you are out of your mind. I hear that reservations are strongly recommended as the lounge books up quickly, which is not surprising given the price. FREE. Anyways, I'd definitely buy a T-shirt, vinyl (clearly), and any extras from this album. I'd buy his older solo stuff as well if he had it there. Hell, I'd pretty much buy anything at the merch table as he was playing for free, and probably even if he wasn't. Hopefully he'll be in Boston soon; if not, I'll just go to his website and buy some stuff there.

CD Placement Rating: You want to guess? Car CD Changer.

- Snilch