Best of 2013: Music

I always struggle to pick my favorite albums of the year. I am a HUGE music buff. This year I tended towards more blues and jazz than usual, but those have always been key genres for me (I blame my dad). There’s also a fair contingency of indie rock on here too. For those who care, here’s my best of 2013 music list:

1. Moutain of Sorrow, Rivers of Song by Amos Lee

In his fifth studio release, Lee continues to explore his sounds. This album has a range of sounds, old school county, blues, and soul. In this beautiful collection, Lee croons about life and love from a variety of angles, but all with his standard soulful notes. There are a number of great songs on Mountain. The opening track Johnson Blvd gives a stirring meditation, with its melodic slide guitar, on progress and its costs.  Stranger is all blues, with a nice banjo in forefront of the sound. Tricksters, Hucksters, and Scamps has a great old-time country sound too it. Chill in the Air is a soulful ballad about lost love, followed by the beautifully finger-picked Dresser Drawer. This is a powerful and moving album, a favorite of mine among all of Lee’s works.

2. Liquid Spirit by Gregory Porter

Porter’s sophomore album blew me away! 2012’s Be Good was easily one of my favorite albums last year. In his third release Porter continues the trend of compelling lyrical content with quality jazz composition. The album shows Porter’s vocal range and amazing control. The album combines gospel, blues, and soul sounds pulling them together with a mixture of times and smooth saxophone and piano solos. Porter sings with aching honesty about love on this record. Great songs include No Love Dying, the melancholic Hey Laura, and the punchy title-track Liquid Spirit. This is a great jazz album from one the best new artists.

3. The Civil Wars by The Civil Wars

When the duo broke up it was uncertain what the future held, and it may yet still be in the balance. With the release of this second album, however, The Civil Wars carry on what earned them two Grammys for their first album. Here it sounds darker, heavier, and more abrasive – doing their brand name justice. The record kicks off with their single The One That Got Away, an aggressively acoustic haunt complimented nicely with steel guitar, mandolin, dobro, and a steady rock beat from a full kit. For all their “internal discord” the duo still sings like one melodic harmonizing voice, I Had Me A Girl evidences it. The harmonizing haunts aren’t lost over the sound of the electric guitars. Same Old Same Old is certainly the Poison and Wine of this album, but it doesn’t stand out as the best track, though it is compelling. There are far too many great tracks on this album to describe them all here, but each reflects a quality product from Williams and White and highlights the power, beauty, and frustration of love, and the beauty and frustration of this musical duo. It’s easily a top three album of the year for me.

4. Reflektor by Arcade Fire

David Fricke of Rolling Stone called this album “Seven and a half busy minutes of art and party.” That seems a fitting description of this fantastic new album from Arcade Fire. The classic rock feel of their Grammy winning The Suburbs meets up here with a modern dance sound. Synth and fuzz guitar give the songs a unique and yet familiar feel. You can hear sounds of The Clash, Cure, U2 and David Bowie throughout the 13 tracks. The two discs have distinct feels that compliment each other. Disc one is the dance party while disc two is far more reflective. This is such a fun record!

5. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend

This is a far more mature sound for Vampire Weekend. Even their content reveals an interest in wisdom itself. The various track address a host of serious issues – death, sorrow, historic atrocities, apocalypse – but they are also interested in offering hope repeatedly across the album. Musically all critics agree they have continued to mesh, improve, and refine their sound. Vocals and music sync perfectly on every track. They give you lots of great sounds with plenty of lyrical content to chew on for days. In some sense Modern Vampires is a perfect example of pop art – catchy and brilliant.