The following are my favorite nationwide albums of 2013, which coincidentally includes one local act. I hope you loved whatever you listened to in 2013, because I surely did.
1) Unknown Mortal Orchestra — II
This indie rock band delivered one of the more forward-thinking albums I’ve heard in a long time. There are McCartney-esque melodies, crunchy arpeggio jazz guitar runs and sample worthy break beats. It all seems right at home in this peculiar brand of extraterrestrial future soul. These songs wander in tempos, emotions and styles without feeling forced, showing a breadth of talent and versatility that is uncommon these days.
2) Jason Isbell — Southeastern
Isbell delivered the consummate singer-songwriter album of the year, channeling his raw talent along with an incisive focus, gained presumably through his new-found sobriety. This collection is uncomfortably painful and life-affirming, which is what most songwriters are not-so-secretly shooting for.
3) Cass McCombs — Big Wheel and Others
A sprawling 22-track album that finds McCombs doing what he does best: expanding the acceptable limits of song form and making the progress a fun listen. Experimentation has never felt so comfortable, with wonderfully arranged and free-thinking songs that could not possibly be any more honest, unique and utterly devoid of posturing.
4) Deer Tick — Negativity
This album draws on virtually every form of American popular music from the last 50 years on the way. There are heartfelt piano power ballads, uptempo rock in the vein of The Replacements, Cobain-worthy screamers, hummable folk ditties, prog-rock freak outs, and even some smooth Bobby Bland-type R&B. Wherever the songs travel, there’s always an under the radar hook that keeps you coming back for another listen.
5) Yellowbirds — Songs From the Vanished Frontier
This Brooklyn folk outfit is led by songwriter Sam Cohen, whose ’60s pop aesthetic and style-leaping guitar work put this band light years ahead of the many nostalgia acts out there. The depth and texture of this record make Cohen and Yellowbirds sound like contemporaries of artists like Roy Orbison and The Velvet Underground rather than imitators.
6) Hiss Golden Messenger — Haw
This album proves that roots and Americana music need not be mundane, predictable or formulaic. This album continues the band’s tradition of reinventing the wheel with each subsequent recording. Haw restlessly traipses around the ghosts of folk, gospel and reggae. If you haven’t heard it, take a listen now.
7) Caitlin Rose — The Stand-In
Now a Nashville veteran at the tender age of 26, Rose typifies the new identity of the city and its music scene that is rooted in history/Grand Ol’ Opry and country but aware of the future and its larger purpose. There are no trucks and twang here, just a golden voice and unmistakable appreciation for songcraft that cuts across genre lines. I found myself getting caught singing along embarrassingly loud and emphatically at a red light.
8) Parquet Courts — Light Up Gold
Parquet Courts is not the kind of band I would have expected to creep into my favorites this year. However, after years of mourning the Green Day effect and how some teeny-bopper bubblegum mutation of punk had crept into American pop culture, this album took my breath away. Light Up Gold puts the brains, social awareness, and DIY-ethic back into a genre that has been largely lacking these things since bands like The Minutemen and Fugazi were obscured underneat a sea of blink-182 imitators.
9) Clay Parker — Any Old Time
I may have a slight geographical bias here, but this album was unquestionably one of my favorites of 2013, regardless of where it came from. As luck would have it, this one was recorded right here in our back yard. Parker crafts songs that place him on par with veterans three times his age in terms of nuance and maturity. For this record, Parker surrounded himself with some of the cities’ most capable musicians to fully flesh the tunes out, resulting in a country folk album that bridges the gap between the distant past and the present. If you haven’t heard this album, you owe it to yourself to look it up. Check it out here.
10) Lady Lamb The Beekeeper — Ripely Pine
Aly Spaltro vaulted out of the bedroom folk category with her first proper studio album, a beautiful jumble of stylistic flourishes, heady ideas and intriguing sounds. Her songs get right to the point, but leave the listener hovering around the premise before letting them back down gently. Her delivery is a sort of nexus of the lilting melodies of Joanna Newsom and the raw drive and energy of Sharon Van Etten. Spaltro is definitely an artist to watch closely in the next few years.
Rounding out my top 20:
11. William Tyler — Impossible Truth
12. Foxygen — We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
13. Belle Adair — The Brave and the Blue
14. Patrick Sweany — Close to the Floor
15. T. Hardy Morris — Audition Tapes
16. Sonny and the Sunsets — Antenna to the Afterworld
17. Janelle Monáe — The Electric Lady
18. Bombino — Nomad
19. Toy Soldiers —The Maybe Boys
20. The Wood Brothers — The Muse
