Top 13 Music Albums of 2013 by DriftingOrpheus

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The halls of Columbia University birthed Vampire Weekend, a baroque pop outfit with a pension for utilizing world music. They were critically lauded soon after, but in the eyes of those who equate surroundings to people, they were little more than privileged rich boys who gained the favor of those with power in the industry. The band shrugged such ridiculous claims off and just kept on keeping on. In other words, they kept making some of the best pop music of the decade. Nevermore was their genius more validated than with 2013's Modern Vampires of the City. Sporting a crystalline sheen and drastically more sinister tone, Vampire Weekend concocted its best collection of tracks to date.

Seemingly alternating between uptempo, positively-charged romps and sentimental, breezy ballads, Modern Vampires of the City prioritizes balance far more than the band's prior work. The first landmark comes in the form of third track Step, which twinkles triumphantly leaving Rostam Batmanglij's production as the hallmark of the sweepingly gorgeous cut. The album soon receives an adrenaline shot in the form of Diane Young, a full-gear stomper which emphasizes a desire to live life at its fullest, with no regrets about being rebellious or young for that matter. One of the album's most audacious excursions comes in the form of tenth track Ya Hey. Frontman Ezra Koenig's vocal delivery is in stark contrast to the rest of the album, invoking religious fervor at a subdued pace.

As convention would have it, Modern Vampires of the City is indeed a pop record. It's one that takes risks, nudges away stereotypical classification and entrenches Vampire Weekend as a prominent force in modern music. Provocatively written, skillful executed and exquisitely produced, the album is a testament to the blossoming creativity of a young group on the rise, with much success predicted to follow. The album has a warm quality and has effectively become a comfort piece for me, calling back to better times. It's a record for those with youthful flesh and minds with temperaments far beyond their years.

"Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife"

-Step

Standout Tracks:

1. Step
2. Finger Back
3. Don't Lie

96.7
[First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,043
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Colorado native Winston Yellen's LP debut, 2013's Country Sleep, comes parceled with a distinct visage of a muggy, summer evening complete with a chorus of crickets heard through screen doors and fireflies that illuminate the periphery. As a humble fire smolders and crackles, Yellen's voice emanates soulfully conjuring emotions no doubt aided with liquid courage. As remarkable as his voice is, it's the insight he provides through his poetry that paints Yellen as a troubadour wise beyond his years. There's an intrinsic sense of forsaken, romantic languishing running through the album like a submerged river that's just as devastating as it is beguiling. Still, it's the authenticity of Country Sleep that sets it apart from its melancholic peers. It's a fully exposed, armorless logbook of soreness that exudes unyielding fragility at every turn. Seemingly medicinal for the youthful artist, the album purges the poison that torments him, repurposing it as propellant for something uniquely gorgeous. In other words, a wildfire that produces a wonderfully fertile soil.

Country Sleep commences in the most unguarded of ways. Faithful Heights, an a capella vocal track, is a declaration of support, almost in an attempt to reach out to the listener as a plea to remain hopeful and use the tracks that follow as emotional support. It's a wondrous foreward serving as instructions to learn from anguish rather than have it anchor you. Yellen's voice is soaring here and needs no instrumental buoying. He howls, "And in the morning light, we'll be sure to find, a kind of love so strong, It will make us cry faithful heights." Faithful Heights is the most confident of openers, simultaneous announcing itself in the most humble of fashions. The album's largest injection of energy comes in the form of second track, Ramona. The track, certainly the most conventional of the LP, is fueled by a resilient drum beat and supported by a full band backing. Even Yellin's voice receives reinforcement here from a fellow Yellin, Abe, and Alyson Holland. The track evokes visions of the American heartland and sun-swept memories of simpler moments. Despite an uptempo, cheerful timbre, the lyrics detail a declaration a love and a promise of a brighter future that seemingly remains unrequited. Subsequent track, Even If We Try, arrives as a swaying, violin-soaked bubbling crescendo that evolves into a rhythm-heavy, country-tinged outro. It's a track that can be best described as baroque-folk and there is no better talisman for the term. Yellin coos, "Even if we try, to make ourselves alright, to mend our severed lives, while all the rivers rage, descend upon the sage, alone on willowed eves, I lift my voice to sing." Something truly heavenly radiates here, shimmering in and out with subtle grace.

Fourth track, the numerical '22', may be the most all-encompassing track from the record, existing as the sonic footprint for Country Sleep. The piece is a stirring partnership of Yellin's woebegone vocals and a twinkling organ that gives the impression that the track will dissolve at any given moment. Much like the preceding Even If We Try, '22' is often overwhelming in its aesthetic beauty, almost weeping throughout. "A part of me, I call a stranger, this part of me, I found in danger, we saw the night, you fleshed it out, across time, wearin' my heart’s smile," Yellin details. The most unabashedly southern outing on the LP would most certainly be fifth track, Borrowed Time. Billowing out at a subdued rate and punctuated by extroverted bass, the song wouldn't be out of place in a Texas tavern nearing midnight. However, unlike the twangy karaoke ballads, the track has deep-rooted sentiments. Yellin croons, Now the sky unfolds it's blackened roads, life as it was never known, go on, see your part and see this through, maybe, maybe it might move you." Cherry Blossoms follows as another exhibition of restraint that results in a spring-loaded release of tension in the shape of twelve consecutive shouts of "Take me home". Wanted_You in August is an example of a straight-forward composition acting as a showcase for Winston Yellin's magnetic vocals. Recalling either a missed opportunity or an unreciprocated adoration, he sings, "My love is wrong, he's set it wrong, how do we..never again."

The album hits another creative high with eighth track, Lost Springs. Yellin rhapsodizes on anxiety-riddled self-accusations which results in a track that's effortlessly human. He asks questions and jumps to conclusions before answers can be heard. Sonically, the track is warm and inviting but the chill of the violin features emphasize the presence of nervous doubt before Yellin himself asks his flame, "How are you going to live your life alone?" and "I will never leave you." The final respite comes in the form of a final confirmation, a firm promise amidst a haze of doubt. Penultimate track, Was I for You?, introduces a folk-infused acoustic guitar arpeggio before an astonishing organ passage that remains one the finest moments on the record. TENN ends the album with a more traditional folk effort, acting as an epilogue to the stories of crippling sorrow and unflinching devotion. It's not so much what Yellin has learned that is noteworthy but rather his ability to remain as he is throughout his tribulations. He's acknowledged his shortcomings and is well-aware of his misfortunes but his heart remains open, willing to love while adrift in a sea of loneliness. "Floating on lost springs, to faithful heights I cling, sorrow stole my youth, what's left I'll give to you."

Country Sleep is part Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan, so evocative and yet so ethereal. The record is supremely delicate and never attempts to shroud or recast the precise order of events in question. Comparable to Joy Division's Closer in regards to just how personal of a testimony it is, Country Sleep packages long-form meditations into controlled bursts of ornamental beauty, both poetic and sonic. After the critical misfortune surrounding second LP, Ivywild, one could be lead to believe that Country Sleep was just lightning in a bottle for Winston Yellin, however, it more likely chronicles a slow burning candle, representative of a distinct mood during a place and time that cannot be reached again. A candle that burns once and only once.

"Oh God, I've forgotten how to pray,
Make me a man like you did with Abe,
Faith can carry a man to his grave,
Would you bury my bones by the garden gate?"

-Borrowed Time

Standout Tracks:

1. Even If We Try
2. 22
3. Lost Springs

90.8
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
219
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Buried beneath overexposed, overplayed fluff pieces and quality indie artists that have trickled into the general populace, we find Atlanta's long-serving, consistent Deerhunter, an entity that find themselves continually on the precipice of burgeoning popularity but consciously camouflaging from the very prospect. The band are seemingly insistent on remaining a fixture of the underground music scene despite their talent for the melodic. Frontman and flag bearer for the group, Bradford Cox, plants his flag firmly in the soil of washed out and weird for the group's sixth LP, Monomania. If the band were amalgamated as a human being, Cox himself would be the physical result of the synthesis and Monomania is cited as the record he's most proud of. The group had long since represented the socially challenged in their music, crafting anthems for the charmingly awkward and the uncontrollably shy. Adversely, Monomania is charged with aggressive energy that sees the band slip into an alternate headspace, one which they adapt to and conquer with proficiency. Cox has expressed that the LP is quasi-biographical, fueled by his state of mind at the time. As a result, the record spends less time meandering through forests during sundown à la earlier Deerhunter efforts. Instead, it cuts straight to the bone and forms a modern classic amidst an already decorated catalogue.

The noise rock sheen is cemented with opening track, "Neon Junkyard", which invokes one of Cox's treasured acts, Royal Trux. The singer's vocals are vigorously clouded, more congruous with the guitars of Lockett Pundt and Frankie Broyles as opposed to a single melodic entity. Though the music is unabashedly direct, the lyrics present more of an abstraction. Cox scowls, "Finding ancient language in the blood, fading a little more each day." It's an apropos entry point into the thematic stylings of Monomania. "Leather Jacket II" amplifies the intensity, ushering in garage rock swagger braced by howling guitars that emerge midway through the track. Cox's vocals are even further back in the mix but his tape manipulation helps color the song's intentionally rough edges. The sentiments are more transparent here as Cox sings, "I was just bones; Yeah I barely tried, they always cut my head off." Cooler heads prevail as "The Missing" comes into view. Vocal duties are handed off to Lockett Pundt who penned the song. His serene voice cascades downward, dousing water over the fire lit by the band in "Leather Jacket II". The piece is reflective and acts as a comedown for a record still in its infancy. Bradford contributes on the cut as well, as his soothing synthesizer and heartbeat drumming provide a soft landing for Pundt's fragile vocals. "Pensacola" is a slice of southern-hospitality, served straight from Deerhunter's unorthodox, noisy kitchen. Josh McKay's bass and Cox's percussion pump blood through it and provide bouncy buoyancy for the prose. Cox's character yearns to leave behind an undesirable home life, even for the unlikely haven of Pensacola, Florida. The rhythm section shines again in the following piece, "Dream Captain", which details another account of a caged bird looking for escape. It's clear by now that Cox has projected the specifications of the personal prison he called home onto the face of the album. Here, he longs for a manifested fantasy skipper to whisk him away from a terrible place in a hopeless time. Sixth track, "Blue Agent", unfurls as a prickly yet magnetic testimony of a friendship gone awry, devolving into quiet resentment. Cox brags, "If you ever need to talk, I won't be around; If you ever need to fight for life, I'll make no sound." The song brandishes cold and calculated malice masquerading as rhythmic curiosity, encapsulating Monomania's essence.

The second half of the record commences with the cold guitar line that highlights "T.H.M", a ghostly track that touches upon the suicide of Cox's younger brother. Hauntingly profound, the poetry recounts early morning phone calls from the dead and failed attempts at brotherly course correction. Josh McKay's bass rests beneath like an ankle-high fog as the room's temperature takes a dive. Cox laments, "My head was like a wound when they called me and said, It's happened much too soon". Eighth track, "Sleepwalking" sports chugging inertia with Moses Archuleta's drums powering a piece that deals with the removal of rose-colored glasses. A union is coming apart due to a bittersweet epiphany as Cox explains, "Can't you see, we've grown apart now." It is, without a second notion, the rhythmic jewel of Monomania. "Back to the Middle" functions as an epilogue of sorts for "Sleepwalking". The production here is translucent in comparison to the rest of the record, furthering the theme of clarity of recollection. Organ passages tether the verses together to give the track flavor amidst the straight-forward melodic approach. The title track screeches as it shakes your hand, assuring that no other is more fit to bear the album's namesake. The song is a volcano of frustration, touching on themes of unfulfilled sexuality and uncompromising, emotional resolve. Cox remains romantically stymied but staunchly unwilling to accommodate to shallow expectations. "There is a man; There is a mystery whore and in my dying days I could never be sure," Cox declares. Repeated utterances of "Monomania" lead us out with a double act of definition and implementation. Sonically, the track is the most visceral of the record. "Nitebike" picks up the pieces of previous fury with a literal recording of a modest motorcycle. The song itself, which shines light on Cox's complicated youth, consists of just Bradford and an acoustic guitar. The ruminative space that "Nitebike" occupies calms the wounds left in "Monomania's" wake. It's a highly shaded anecdote that inhabits a peculiar but welcomed space. On the final track, "Punk (La Vie Antérieure)" employs hypnotic wordplay alongside dizzying psychedelics to create one of the album's most sensory experiences. "Punk" traverses ideas of self-identity and how fruitless it can be to fit a round peg in a square hole. The band double up on bass duty here, ensuring a muggy undertone to Cox's lyrics. "Punk" guides the album to its conclusion in a catchy and clever fashion.

The labyrinthian mosaic being weaved by the Atlanta outfit is still being constructed. Like an evolving amoeba, Deerhunter often deconstruct and rebuild sonically in order to please themselves. There's no quaking, self-serving desire to conform in fear of being left behind, a tactic that many of their peers would employ. This unit had already survived deaths, multiple label alterations and hiatuses all while boasting one of modern music's most dependable discographies. Cox has long lambasted the selection of the band's namesake, rejecting any connotations or discussions it may inspire. The name simply has no significance, save for a mark of consistent quality. However, it's Cox's very rejection that carries the utmost significance, indicating an endless desire to push boundaries and avoid creative complacency. Despite Monomania being a voracious account of a difficult time, repeated ingenuity is not something Deerhunter struggles to achieve. With the treasure trove that is the band's criterion, others would likely point to earlier triumphs like Halcyon Digest or Microcastle as potential crown jewels. However, like the band's purposeful ability to conceal and distance itself away from a steadily hollowing indie scene, Monomania is a proper masterpiece hiding in plain sight. They say still waters run deep and that's true of human beings, but in Deerhunter's case, their most raucous effort surely has the most to say.

"Your bones they were always, they were always in my way
The fire finds a way to completely erase
I followed you out
You threw up and you complained
And I bide my time, and I hide my glory away
In the basement room where you used to kneel and pray"

-Blue Agent

Standout Tracks:

1. Sleepwalking
2. T.H.M
3. Pensacola

90
[First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
869
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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89.5 [First added to this chart: 11/08/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,358
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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87.1 [First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,209
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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82.9 [First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,719
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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82.3 [First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,091
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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81.8 [First added to this chart: 10/30/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,029
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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80.5 [First added to this chart: 02/22/2023]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
772
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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78.2 [First added to this chart: 06/11/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,735
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 13. Page 1 of 2

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Top 13 Music Albums of 2013 composition

Artist Albums %


Deerhunter 1 8%
Kanye West 1 8%
Tim Hecker 1 8%
Deafheaven 1 8%
The National 1 8%
Run The Jewels 1 8%
Boards Of Canada 1 8%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 9 69%
United Kingdom 2 15%
Canada 2 15%

Top 13 Music Albums of 2013 chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 2 from 12th to 10th
Reflektor
by Arcade Fire
Climber Up 2 from 9th to 7th
Trouble Will Find Me
by The National
Climber Up 1 from 7th to 6th
Sunbather
by Deafheaven
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 2 from 6th to 8th
Run The Jewels
by Run The Jewels
Faller Down 2 from 10th to 12th
Doris
by Earl Sweatshirt
Faller Down 1 from 8th to 9th
Tomorrow's Harvest
by Boards Of Canada

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Top 13 Music Albums of 2013 ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 1 vote)
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