Thursday 26 December 2013

Albums & Tracks Of 2013 - Jay's Lists

Article by jay@thesoundofconfusion.com


ALBUMS OF THE YEAR (in no particular order):

Bite the Buffalo - Blue Lips


Perhaps the best live band in the country now with an album to back it up. 'Blue Lips' is irresistible and consistently rewarding.



Bite The Buffalo's website

Buy the album





Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt


It was a long wait but worth it. Maybe their best album for a decade. It just keeps giving, with a clutch of songs that are amongst the best they have ever recorded.



Pearl Jam's website

Buy the album





The Fauns - Lights


A wondrous journey into sound that is mesmerising and entrancing.


The Fauns' website

Buy the album





Shawn Smith - Kid Bakersfield


The ridiculously prolific Mr. Smith keeps sneaking out albums for free on his Bandcamp site. 'Kid Bakersfield' is up there with the best of his cannon including 'Brad and Satchel'. And that voice never looses its ability to move and inspire you.


Shawn Smith's website

Buy the album





Wooden Shijps - Back to Land


One of their most accessible albums, but no less outstanding. There is a lightness and touch of euphoria mixed in here that simply shines through you.



Wooden Shjips' website

Buy the album





David Bowie - The Next Day


No one knew it was coming. No one knew it was going to be this good. The most welcome return of the year.



David Bowie's website

Buy the album





Black Joe Lewis - Electric Slave


The sound of your best night out turned up to 11.



Black Joe Lewis' website

Buy the album





Foals - Holy Fire


Simply stunning. It perfectly encapsulates the now while being an album that you will keep returning to in the years to come.



Foals' website

Buy the album





Jonathan Wilson - Fanfare


Still wrapped in the dappled light of Laurel Canyon but now with a stronger, less ethereal edge, that gives 'Fanfare' a strength and core that was lost at times on debut 'Gentle Spirit'.



Jonathan Wilson's website

Buy the album





Civil Protection - Stolen Fire


Dark, intense, at times spellbinding, but never less than enthralling. 'Stolen Fire' is a post-rock monolith that marks Civil Protection as ones to watch rise and rise.



Civil Protection's website

Buy the album





Steering By Stars - The Cold Embrace


An album that I keep coming back to and revelling in its stature and breathtaking scope. If you are looking for a hit the same as 'Holy Fire' then you have to listen to this.



Steering By Stars' website

Buy the album





Ned and The Dirt - Giants


An expertly crafted album honed out of the a bedrock so strong that it will have you swaggering, swooning and stomping like Keith Richards on PCP.



Ned And The Dirt's website

Buy the album





Thousands - Dream Isle


Quietly mesmerising and enchanting. After a couple of plays you will have fallen totally for 'Dream Isle's magical charms.


Thousands' website

Buy the album





TRACKS OF THE YEAR (in no particular order):

Drenge - Bloodsports


2.33 of blood-soaked riffage and a groove so deep you could hide the Titanic in it.



Drenge's website

Buy the track





Carousels & Limousines - Alive


Only a demo, yet so good that every time I play it it still sends shivers down my spine. Already the anticipation for the second album is sky high. Hurry up boys!



Carousels & Limousines' website

Download the track by clicking the bottom right of the stream above





Kid Wave - Shelley


The soundtrack to summer. And in the depths of winter it is no less enriching, flooding you with sunlight.



Kid Wave's website

Buy the track





Girl Band - Second One


One of the most perfectly formed songs of year. Yet they hid it away, and themselves, please come out and play with us very soon...


Girl Band's website

Download the track free from the player above





The Diamond Lights - Secret Hell


The most exquisitely fuzzed-up guitar and the best break to slide over and dance your hairy ass off to in years.



The Diamond Lights' website

Buy the single





Bright Young People - Liberties


A street walkin' cheetah coated in napalm. Consume its essence and you will get laid.



Bright Young People's website

Buy the track





Whales in Cubicles - Nowhere Flag


Mesmerising, pounding, beautiful, with one of the videos of the year.



Whales In Cubicles' website

Download the track





Affair - To Get


Sublime, beguiling, '80s-tinged masterful electro-pop.



Affair's website

Buy the track





Foxy Shazam - I Like It


It may not have come out this year. I don't care. A guilty pleasure.... fuck it, just a sheer indulgent ROCK orgiastic pleasure.



Foxy Shazam's website

Buy the track





Volcano Choir - Bygone


Near aural perfection. Like catching the perfect wave in the warmest waters.



Volcano Choir's website

Buy the track





Lone Doe - Leon, Leon


Quietly magnificent and full of awe.


Lone Doe's website

Download the track free from the player above





Pharoahe Monch - Stand Your Ground


A blistering, frenetic blast of funkified glory.



Pharoahe Monch's website

Download the track free from the player above





Slim Wray - Bear


Drink up them whiskeys, order shots, dance like a brudda wanting to mate with a mutha... "c'mon girl". Nuff said. Listen loud and listen proud.



Slim Wray's website

Buy the track





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.com

No comments:

Post a Comment