Without further
rumination, I offer up my list of 2013’s best albums – a baker’s dozen of the
musical collections that resonated with me on the greatest levels.
13. Pet Shop Boys / Electric
Here’s what I like about Pet Shop Boys: Despite having been
around long enough to easily coast intoa comfortable retirement, the electropop duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have stayed the course over the past three decades, creating albums that have never once lost the signature new wave synthpop sound that defined them. In 2013, they released their 12th album, ELECTRIC (continuing their long-running tradition of single-word album titles). This dance-floor focused set finds the duo in fine form, with their lyrical wit and undertones of longing once again marvelously married to the requisite synthesizer-generated pulsating beats. Dance music for smart people.
Standout Tracks: “Vocal” / “Love is a Bourgeois
Construct” / “Thursday”
12. Cher / Closer to the Truth
Dismiss Cher all you want, but there is something to be said
about an artist who releases her
first studio album in over a decade only to have it become her highest-charting
solo album in the U.S. to date. Yep, for as much as she’s become somewhat of a
pop culture caricature, it’s hard to write-off the staying power of this
67-year-old with the distinctive contralto and penchant for Auto-Tune. CLOSER
TO THE TRUTH, the iconic singer’s 25th studio album, finds the
seemingly indefatigable songbird not straying too far from the anthemic
dance-floor formula of 1998’s juggernaut BELIEVE or its 2001 follow-up, LIVING
PROOF. But it’s on the mid-tempo tracks and slower numbers included here – like
a stunning cover of Miley Cyrus’ “I Hope You Find It” – that we’re reminded
that behind the glitzy Bob Mackie gowns and distracting plastic surgery and outrageously
blunt Twitter outbursts that often eclipse Cher, the singer, there is a
beautiful, breathtaking voice.
Standout
Tracks: “Take It Like a
Man” / “I Hope You Find It” / “Red” / “Favorite Scars”
11. The Neighbourhood / I Love You
Don’t let the
decidedly British orthography of
this American quintet’s name fool you – they’re about as LA as they come.
Falling somewhere on the musical spectrum between Garbage and Foster the
People, The Neighbourhood fuses lyrics full of petulant bitterness and
angst-ridden melodrama and coats it with a thick, shiny pop-rock candy shell.
The result is somewhat teen-leaning and shallow in terms of content, yet
decidedly adult in terms of songcraft and production. An impressively mature,
eclectic debut from a promising new band.
Standout Tracks: “Sweater Weather” / “Female Robbery” /
“How” / “Alleyways”
10. James Blake / Overgrown
This accessibly abstract exploration of space and sound is – on first
listen – challenging to the casual musical ear. Majestically melancholic and
moody, the
deceptively sparse arrangements on OVERGROWN are layered one on top of the
other like a ghostly blueprint, giving the album an undertone of restraint even
when Blake’s warbling falsetto and muffled mumbles seem to drown in a
cacophonic crescendo of electronic anarchy at times. The disarming minimalism
of the songs here is punctuated – sometimes simultaneously – by icy mechanical
clatters and lush caresses of the piano. Cold to the touch on first listen, the
lyrically confessional tone of the tracks, coupled with Blake’s occasional vocal
cracks and an almost unsettling silence between notes at times, imbue OVERGROWN
with its ultimately satisfying emotional resonance. Contemplative and
dreamlike, OVERGROWN needs to be musically absorbed versus consumed.
Standout Tracks: “Retrograde” / “Overgrown” / “Voyeur”
9. Lorde / Pure Heroine (Expanded)
You’d had to have been living in a bubble to have missed the meteoric
rise of this 17-year-old New Zealand pop prodigy in 2013. And in a year that
saw other pop princesses behaving badly, it was refreshing to witness the
unflappable self-assurance and mature demeanor of Miss Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor. Lorde became the first solo artist from
New Zealand to top the domestic Billboard music chart, and the youngest artist
to hold the number one chart position in the U.S. in more than 25 years with her
inescapable breakout hit, “Royals”. With PURE HEROINE, her debut album that
followed, Lorde proved she’d be no one-hit wonder. With obvious comparisons in
vocal delivery to Lana Del Ray and Adele, Lorde sing-slurs over intoxicatingly
stark electro-pop beats and sharp, thought-provoking lyrics that are devoid of
sentimentalism and full of biting honesty. Her astute songwriting – coupled
with Lorde’s wholly unique voice – gives the impressive collection an overall
feeling of one big sarcastic, satirical wink. Treat yourself to the expanded
edition of PURE HEROINE, which includes six additional tracks, most of which
were culled from a previously released EP, THE LOVE CLUB.
Postscript:
Producers of the HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE soundtrack wisely took advantage
of Lorde’s widespread visibility and added her icily sublime cover of Tears For
Fear’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” to their track listing. Well worth
the download price and will fit perfectly at the end of your PURE HEROINE
playlist.
Standout Tracks: “Tennis Court” / “White Teeth Teens” / “Million
Dollar Bills”
8. London Grammar / If You Wait
At the forefront of
this strikingly understated, self-possessed debut from UK trio London Grammar
is the instantly memorable soprano of lead vocalist, Hannah Reid. Calling to
mind Everything But The Girl and Florence + The Machine with a weighty
huskiness and ethereal sophistication, she anchors this atmospheric
pop-electronica collection with a maturity that belies her youth. Reid’s at
times soaring, at times slurred vocals ground the lyrically plaintive songs
with an aching earnestness that’s complimented to perfection by the subtle
instrumentation provided by bandmates Dot Major and Dan Rothman.
Postscript: Reid was wisely plucked by electronica
outfit Disclosure as a featured vocalist on their acclaimed 2013 album SETTLE
for the stunning closer, “Help Me Lose My Mind”.
Standout Tracks: “Strong” / “Nightcall” / “Hey Now” / “Sights”
7. Alice Russell / To Dust
With TO DUST, the UK’s Alice Russell delivered the closest
thing to a new Adele album listeners were likely to hear last year. Lurking
just beyond the breakout successes of other female British soul singers of the
last decade, Russell has inexplicably flown under the musical radars of most –
and this is a crime. With hints of Dusty Springfield and Adele, Russell’s husky
voice effortlessly envelops this collection of contemporary soul, the British soulstress' fifth solo album
in a little under a decade. Like recent albums by contemporaries Emeli Sandé and the late Amy Winehouse,
Russell’s TO DUST has a decidedly throwback feel that’s firmly embodied in a
neo-soul freshness, leaving the songs with a retro vibe that never feels
outdated.
Standout
Tracks: “Hard and Strong”
/ “Heartbreaker” / “To Dust”
6. Tegan and Sara / Heartthrob
The indie pop-rock duo of Tegan Quin and Sara Quin –
identical twin sisters, both lesbians, hailing from Canada – delivered the
bounciest, most radio-friendly album of the year – and their career. HEARTTHROB,
the sibling pair’s seventh studio album, is quintessential pop music, full of
bright synthesizers and infectious choruses. Tegan and Sara throw down the
power pop gauntlet on ten perfectly-crafted tracks ranging from breezy dance-pop
anthems to bittersweet power ballads, whose retro 80’s grooves and dramatic
walls of synths might just make you wax nostalgic for an old John Hughes flick
like SIXTEEN CANDLES or PRETTY IN PINK.
But don’t let the spinning disco ball at the roller rink blind you to all
the yearning and lamenting for loves lost and love gone wrong behind the
lyrics. This is smart pop music, shrewdly crafted by two gifted
singer-songwriters with deft ears for head-bopping melodies and the souls of
poets who have loved, lost, and lived to tell about it.
Standout Tracks: “I Was a Fool” / “Drove Me Wild” /
“Closer” / “Shock to Your System”
5. Lady Gaga / ARTPOP
If Lady Gaga would just stop talking and making statements
about…well, making statements, she’d likely not have suffered the rather brutal
commercial backlash she did this year. ARTPOP will not, alas, be changing the
world as we know it, nor was it a statement of epic proportion about much of
anything. But it’s a damn fine pop album, filled with strong hooks, stronger
beats, and luridly campy, Gaga-esque lyrics like: “Uranus! Don’t you know my
ass is famous?” And a prediction: The record
label will get smart and release “Gypsy” as a single – and it’ll be a huge hit
for Lady G in 2014.
Standout Tracks: “Gypsy” / “MANiCURE” / “Fashion!” /
“Do What U Want”
4. Sara Bareilles / The Blessed Unrest
On her fourth
album, singer-songwriter Bareilles builds on the individual strengths of
previous efforts to put forth her most stylistically serious and mature album
to date. That she’s been recognized with some weighty Grammy nominations
(including a nod in the prestigious Album of the Year category) is no surprise.
From her inspirational battle cry on the booming anthem “Brave” to her more
plaintive reflections on songs like “Manhattan” and “December”, Bareilles substitutes
some of the trademark cheeriness of past endeavors for a more global sense of seriousness
that adds some heft to THE BLESSED UNREST. Her songwriting acumen and keen ear
for melody has only sharpened further on this superb collection of smart,
humanistic pop.
Standout Tracks: “Brave” / “I Choose You” / “Chasing the
Sun” / “Little Black Dress”
3. Arcade Fire / Reflektor
For the follow-up
to the decidedly linear rock approach taken with their Grammy-winning Album of
the Year, THE SUBURBS, Arcade Fire did something illogically brilliant: They
made an entirely different sounding album. The Canadian outfit’s fourth album
is like a night out at the alt-rock discothèque – and if you think those terms
incompatible, then you haven’t given REFLEKTOR a proper listen. In this
76-minute behemoth of a set, Arcade Fire lyrically and musically reconfigures
the myth of Orpheus within thirteen
propulsive, reverb-heavy tracks that are awash in bouncy synthesizers and fuzzy
guitar licks in equal measure. The result is a spectacularly overblown
masterpiece that eschews all pretense of subtlety for musical merrymaking that sounds
positively symphonic at times.
Standout Tracks: “Reflektor” / “Porno” / “You Already Know”
/ “It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)”
2. Jessie Ware / Devotion
Why the UK’s Jessie Ware wasn’t a bigger breakout success in
2013 is beyond me. Hailed by ROLLING STONE as the missing link between Sade and
Adele, Ware sings with a cool, sultry voice set against a slow-burning hybrid
of pop, soul, and adult contemporary held surprisingly cohesive within a hypnotic
electronica framework. Ware’s vocals are deceptively restrained on most of this
chilled collection, but when her voice stretches from a breathy whisper to a
muscular wail, the results are glorious. DEVOTION is an exquisitely
sophisticated, understated affair on every level that only hints at Ware’s
range and potential.
Standout Tracks: “Running” / “Imagine It Was Us” /
“Swan Song” / “Devotion”
1. Alison Moyet / The Minutes
In her first solo album since 2007′s THE TURN, Moyet determinedly
goes against market grains, shunning those clamoring for the 80’s nostalgia of
her Yazoo days while politely flipping the middle finger to still others who
would see her boxed in making covers albums with other female singers of a
certain age. Producer-programmer Guy Sigsworth – famed for his work
with Madonna, Björk, Britney Spears,
Alanis Morrisette, and Sweden’s Robyn – returns Moyet to the synth-heavy realm
of earlier career efforts but never lets her slide into a full-blown nostalgia
tour. The result is an album on which Moyet sounds as ageless as ever – yet
relevant. Still boasting a singularly powerful voice full of depth and drama that’s
complimented by trademark lyrics bursting with lush and poetic imagery, Moyet
remains true to her artistic self while stretching her musical legs in a way
that never seems forced despite the album’s youthful sonic wizardry. And
although Sigsworth – who easily proves himself here to be Moyet’s musical soul
mate – opts to surround the singer with jarring, jangling synthesizers, her
voice is never lost within the – at times – bombastic electronic landscape. On
“Horizon Flame”, the set’s opening track, she sings, “Suddenly the landscape has changed…” letting listeners know from
the outset that THE MINUTES is both a welcome departure and return-of-sorts for
the UK chanteuse.
Standout Tracks: “Changeling” / “Apple Kisses” / “Right As
Rain” / “Remind Yourself”
Check out my list of favorite songs from 2013 here.
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