Welcome back to the quietest blog on the interweb, Supersonic Speakerbox! It seems we have taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging in the past few months, due to a rare paradoxical combination of extreme business and extreme laziness. Nevertheless, we return triumphantly, and congratulate ourselves for existing for over a year now! And we've had a cheeky little facelift to kick off the new year too. Great success!
Holy smokes! What a year for music! 2013 turned out to be one of the most exciting, diverse and memorable years in recent music history, with plenty of comebacks from established artists and many more new artists bursting onto the scene and treating us with never-before-heard sound explosions. There was so much out-of-the-box music released last year that it seems people have finally just decided to throw the box away! So without further explanation, here are my favourite 10 albums of 2013.
10.Outrun by Kavinski
Outrun (and Kavinsky's music as a whole) has a very distinct sound
and feel to it and is somewhat conceptually driven. The concept is that
Kavinsky was killed in a road accident in 1986 after crashing his
Ferrari Testarossa, and has now come back as an electronic-music-making
zombie. Rather far-fetched, but it helps in understanding the sound. His
music almost sounds as if it could be a soundtrack for an 80's
car-chase movie, and when listening to any one of the tracks it is
almost impossible not to picture an old school red Ferrari driving at
full speed in the night time through the streets. Not quite for the
clubs but the sound is really appealing to me, he has really captured
the 80's action movie/video game vibe but in a cool modern way and this music
seems perfect for cruising around in your car at night wearing
sunglasses (sunglasses not recommended). Not every track on the album is
a winner, some get rather repetitive, but standouts include Odd Look
(co-produced by SebastiAn), ProtoVision, First Blood, and of course the
unmistakable 2010 electronic classic Nightcall.
9. Brand New Machine by Chase & Status
The
drum & bass gods are back with their third album, and have duly
showered us with blessings. On this LP, the duo really showcase their
versatility in production, and prove that not only can they make
excellent Dn'B, but just about everything else in between. With a wide
variety of guest features ranging from Major Lazer to Nile Rogers, the
album is punctuated with satisfying and diverse vocals that range from
gangsta rhyme styles to soulful crooning. Surprisingly, their expert
beats themselves are even more diverse than the guest artists; these
guys can make anything it seems, Chase & Status are slowly defying
classification when it comes to genre.
Brand New Machine contains
everything from Dn'B to UK garage styles to trap and bass to soulful
mellow electronica to futuristic hip hop beats, there's something for
everyone on this album. My favourite track would have to be the Major
Lazer collaboration
Pressure, that seductively dark and groovy bassline! Almost snapped my booty in half!
8. Damage Control by Mat Zo
Although I generally tend to stay away from anything termed "EDM" these days, this particular artist caught my attention in a big way. This is no run-of-the-mill EDM effort, it is an exploration of dance music, with so many different textures and influences that it just manages to escape classification, a distinction which (in my opinion) separates visionary music from niche music. Mat Zo's
Damage Control is so thoroughly enjoyable and pure; there are moments of sonic beauty, dirty beats to get down to and a generally eclectic mix of awesomeness that is rare to find in a market filled with fleeting throw-away dancefloor hits. Not only does it have some serious bangers, but is interspersed with delicious and carefully constructed interludes that just make you want more. Having been 4 years in-the-making, one can definitely tell that this album was a labour of love, and more electronic artists should take a page out of Mat Zo's extremely colourful and intelligent book.
7. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 by Eminem
The self-crowned Rap God made a triumphant return in 2013 with the sequel to his massively successful
Marshall Mathers LP released way back in 2000.
MMLP2 shows us a different side of Slim Shady, older, wiser and on less drugs. Sounds boring? Definitely not, as Mr Mathers is still as talented as ever. If anything, this album showcases his lyrical ability more than ever. There are so many rhymes, so many lyrics and punchlines, that you don't even catch most of the nuances of his brilliant raps on the first listen. While some of the beats are less impressive, Slim is still as witty and entertaining as ever, and without exxagerating, there probably isn't an MC in the world who could beat him in a battle, he has truly mastered his craft. The fact that there is only one other guest MC on the album is telling of the fact that not many out there can come close to him, and the fact that it is Kendrick Lamar tells you just how good you have to be to get on an Eminem album at this stage in his career.
6. Afraid of Heights by Wavves
The third LP from Wavves brings back that winning combination that makes them so interesting to listen to: their music is kind of paradoxical, in that the music itself has a
really happy uptempo punk vibe to it, but the
lyrics are really dark, depressing and apathetic in an "everything is
stupid, life sucks" kinda way (and unfortunately are quite relatable sometimes). This combination makes for some intriguing and really catchy music, especially if you are into surf-rock/punk/grunge blends with emo lyrics. I get the feeling that Wavves like to make fun music to get away from their apparently depressing lives, and one can often hear lyrical gems that (sadly) reflect the disheartened, bored and hopeless attitudes of our generation. But fuck it, let's just go surf.
5. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend
The critically acclaimed third release from indie darlings Vampire Weekend is so acclaimed for a reason: its really really good! With many publications naming it as album of the year,
Modern Vampires of the City is a brilliant piece of work, both musically and lyrically, and sees the band maturing thematically. The album deals with themes of growing-up, disillusionment, religion, mortality, relationships and more. Not only do these tracks deal with these complex themes in a mature and original way, but they're also catchy as hell! There are so many musical influences that merge together so seamlessly to form music that is joyous even in it's moments of melancholy.
Modern Vampires of the City is a mature and complex album that is disguised in the brilliant simplicity of it's musicality. My favourite pick from the bunch would have to be the eloquent
Ya Hey, a beautifully structured and sincere conversation with God.
4. Run The Jewels by Run The Jewels
This debut from rap duo Run The Jewels really blew me away. Comprising of Killer Mike (who you may recognise from his many collaborations with the mighty Outkast) and rapper/producer El-P, whom have both worked with each other in the past, the two decided to make a kick-ass album together and release it for free! Their combination is explosive, as the duo exchange spitfire rhymes over El-P's banging underground beats, an aggressive, infectious and head-nod-inducing combination of electronic elements and sounds from old school hip hop canons. Lyrically the two are on top form, with Killer Mike showing us his skills as a lesser-known veteran in the game, with rhymes that are clever, relevant, humourous and thought-provoking. The impressive lyrical potency on this album stems from the combined experience of these two MC's, and the phat beats anchor their bad-ass sound. Apperently a follow-up is in the works for 2014, I excite!
3. Settle by Disclosure
Name one party you went to last year where you didn't hear a Disclosure tune play? Even if you can, it was probably a really lame party and you should find cooler people to hang out with. These two brothers have taken the dance music world by storm with their unique take on the UK garage/house sound, making tunes that feel just as comfortable in your living room as they do so well in the clurrb. They have managed to revive and reinvigorate the unique sounds of 90's UK garage-house and have done so in style, this music is so funky and danceable that you can play the whole record from start to finish without a dull moment. 2013 was a big year for Disclosure, with the success of
Settle causing everyone to want to work with them from Mary J Blige to Lorde. Watch out 2014, the Disclosure brothers are going to be doing big big things if the phenomenal
Settle is anything to judge by.
2. Yeezus by Kanye West
Perhaps the most polarising album of the year, Kanye West's
Yeezus either excited you or made you want to turn it off and run away to live in the countryside. Safe to say, I don't live in the countryside. Unorthodox, experimental, aggressive and dark, the controversial
Yeezus introduced us to a new disturbing sound from the mad genius that is Kanye West. The album breaks so many traditions and boundaries and has such bizarre moments that one begins to wonder if this is even hip hop anymore. But Kanye has never been one for conforming, and with his 6th album has managed to "break the glass ceiling" as he puts it. An evolution in popular music, Kanye shows us that when it comes to creativity, its best to forget about the rules. The raw, industrial, electronic and insane music of
Yeezus is nothing short of avant-garde, and even if you prefer Mr West's earlier 'lighter' work, you gotta respect the bad-assery and progressive thinking behind this killer album.
1. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
What can I say, I love this album! Easily my favourite album of the year; it's a masterpiece of modern music, with every single aspect and detail finely crafted and beautifully executed to "give life back to music". Daft Punk's ode to the disco origins of dance music found them creating an LP entirely with live instrumentation to celebrate the work of their predecessors and the musical foundation that inspired them. Enlisting the help of some of the best studio musicians around the world, young and old, Daft Punk created compositions with so much soul, life and energy that it sounded like it came from outer space, even though it was made right here on Earth, using techniques that have existed for decades. Music this good would inevitably dominate the charts due to its supreme quality, and the Robots were even rewarded for their stellar effort with the the highly coveted Best Album Award at the 2014 Grammys. The fact that I can still listen to this record almost a year later is testament to how excellent and timeless it is. A classic.
And that's it folks, those are the albums that gave me so much listening pleasure in 2013. There were of course a few albums that didn't manage to make the Top 10, but with so much great music being released last year, it was difficult to decide! The following is list of quality and noteworthy albums that did not make the cut:
- The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake
- Aleph by Gesaffelstein
- Bankrupt! by Phoenix
- Body Music by AlunaGeorge
- Three Second Memory by Goldfish
- Electric Lady by Janelle Monae
I hope that 2014 can exceed the awesome musical expectations set by 2013, and that Supersonic Speakerbox will continue (or, ahem, resume) to bring you the freshest and most innovative beats and sounds that give our lives so much spice.
Shayne
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