It's back! The second-most wonderful time of the year!
I spent a lot of time this year being excited about this very moment, when I could assemble my list of favorite songs and share it, hoping that (as always) you will find even one new thing you like. That's considered a success for me. And luckily for all of us, I've raised my chances of having that happen this year, upping the list from 50 to 100 songs. I wouldn't have done that just to force another 50 songs into your ears; I did it because 2013 was another excellent year for music, and there's enough variety and depth to keep things interesting for a hundred spots.
I limited my artist variety bias, but did still hope to include as many of the 120-some albums and EPs and singles I listened to throughout the course of the year. You will see some artists multiple times (up to five, in one case), but the majority of the list is composed of single entrants. Also worth noting: some videos of the songs will be dated 2012; I'm including songs released on an album, EP or single in 2013. If the album came in 2013 following a 2012 single release, the album release date counts.
If you're a Spotify user, you can keep up with the playlist
here as I update it: the next 10 songs will come in every three days. I'll give the heads up on
Twitter when I'm writing up the next batch, and the playlist will get updated right after that goes up.
Ready? I am. Let's go.
100. St. Lucia - When the Night
The title track from Brooklyn-based St. Lucia's debut full-length is about as lush as the rest of the album, layered with keys and assorted '80s-era electricity. St. Lucia is the stage name of Jean-Philip Grobler, who is, ostensibly, the mastermind behind the band's two prior EPs. He's dabbled in remixing some other artists' work and even produced the debut EP from HAERTS, who'll make an appearance later on this list. But it's Grobler's own work here that merits talking about, because as soon as the drums kick in at about 2:20 until the track begins its (admittedly long) fade out, it's indulgent in the best way, a solid two-and-a-half minutes of rollicking music.
99. Torres - November Baby
Mackenzie Scott's mostly autobiographical self-titled debut is an exercise in emotionally restrained music, and the seven-minute November Baby is about as good an example of that patiently laid-out style as you'd come across. A plucked guitar plays just above a background bass that barely gets any louder. Scott's vocals are joined only during the chorus and sighed bridge out to the song's final chorus repetition, keeping in line with the minimalist production style throughout the album. It's one of those songs that so purely embodies the idea of loving someone in spite of their flaws; the verses are spent in pining, the chorus is spent in accepting admiration of physical flaws (crooked smile, gap teeth, widow's peak). It's a sweet foil of itself.
98. Rhye - The Fall
I imagine Rhye to be what would have happened if Brian Aubert wasn't fronting Silversun Pickups and instead decided to explore his more sensitive side. Michael Milosh's effeminate-sounding vocals are one tie that makes that thought spring to mind. The slightly hesitant drums, the night club piano and finally Milosh's cooing voice entreat listeners to something that sounds inherently lustful.
97. Everything Everything - Radiant
These manic Mancunians have a tendency to make some really interesting, engaging alt-pop, but nothing about it is ever modest. Even at their most demure, as on this track, Jonathan Higgs's voice can't be held down for long. It takes its customary three or four different forms, including its near-Bellamy-level falsetto, but never feels ridiculous. In the past, the band has put out music that's purely fun and lyrically ridiculous (see:
MY KZ UR BF), but there's a seriousness here that seems striking in that light. Higgs seems more personal here, and that's a very good thing.
96. Volcano Choir - Alaskans
"Being Bon Iver" may never escape Justin Vernon. His voice is synonymous with the isolated feeling and accompanying story behind "For Emma, Forever Ago" and the critically smashing self-titled 2011 release tried to leave parts of that label behind. Here, on side project Volcano Choir, Vernon never sounds lonely. The production on this album is purposefully avoiding that most of the time; that's not to say the music isn't simple or ever feels blown out of proportion, but it certainly feels more connected to civilization than anything Vernon's done as BI. Alaskans fits that bill because it
could have been a Bon Iver song, if it were written in the basement of a suburban home in the winter, rather than a cabin in isolation in Wisconsin.
95. Kanye West - Black Skinhead
I can't explain it. I'll never be confused with someone who listens to a lot of Kanye West. I give most of his stuff a listen and never go back to it. It's not that I don't like any of it, I just never know what to make of it. Black Skinhead is fascinating to me - even though I still can't "explain" it - because it doesn't sound like any rap song I've ever heard. It's hyper-fuzzy, intimidating, blown-out, intense and creepy all at once. There's so much going on here that it takes five listens to even feel most of it. It's one thing to believe Kanye is everything he says he is, and I'm not sure if I do, but it's not a requisite to find a track like this engaging.
94. Ra Ra Riot - When I Dream
Ra Ra Riot were really only on my radar for this year because of a remix of one of their earlier tracks, a remix that belies their true style. Normally, it's moody synthpop, and that hasn't necessarily changed here. The track is still a bit moody, but the band step up their game a bit and shift gears to make a more straightforward indie pop track that compels you to snap along with its snap track. Its bass intro almost sounds like it's preparing to set up a house dance track, but really the only dancing needed here is a toe tap or shoulder bob.
93. Grouplove - Borderlines and Aliens
Yeah, the group that did "Tongue Tied" and had it featured in an iPod commercial some years ago released an album this year, and it's decidedly less Apple-friendly or twee. It's mostly lyrical nonsense ("I lost my head at the gate today / so
arigato" ... three lines dedicated to a black cat ... a chorus that's just "one-by-one they fall"), but it sounds forceful, confident. The choral harmonies are also excellent, and the song feels really well structured in support of its lyrical oddness. In some ways, it succeeds in spite of itself.
92. Squarehead - 2025 (not on Spotify)
A wolf in sheep's clothing to start, this Irish trio's rock-hearted jingle comes in with floaty guitars and Weezer-ish tendencies before going into overdrive for the chorus. "If I'm alive in 2025 / Call you up and talk about your life," is sung out wistfully before "I never see you / I always know why" is shouted out frustratingly; in truth, the band sounds more comfortable when they're letting loose in full-on garage pop style. The quieter parts do well to set up the band's strong suit, even if they're not the stars of this show.
91. HAERTS - Hemiplegia
There's probably a theme to be observed when a band names their song after a condition that paralyzes one half of a person's body on the same side. And there probably is something thematic in these lyrics: helplessness, futility, something out of reach. It's a smoothly constructed piece of (as the video's image suggests) dreamy synthpop punctuated with a guitar solo and increasingly passionate vocals from Nini Fabi. The song's second half is what really sets it apart, exploding out of a whispered vocal break with synths, guitar, bass and drums all rushing forward at once. It's a pretty marvelous thing to experience in headphones.
