02: 20-16

20. Yo La Tengo - Fade

Still working on my indie cred after many decades of listening to rock and roll, I waded into this album based on the initial raves in the album thread. Going back there, I expected it to have some staying power. Apparently not.

I probably listened to the vinyl a few times and slipped it back in the rack. I liked the album, but not enough to push me to explore the catalogue. It rolled into my top ten after realizing I listened to it more than any other 2013 release, sans Isbell.

Writing this blurb pushed me back to it.

Ohm, the opening track and probably the highlight, has some very nice guitar and keyboard work. On Stupid Things, the strings take over as a backup to some simple, pointed lyrics.

Two Trains and Before We Run are the standouts on Side Two. The latter enhanced by the horns as they do on several other tracks.

A good, not great album by folks making good music for close to 30 years.

by Vincent

19. Pusha T - My Name is My Name

by

18. Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

Following this year's sprawling, career-spanning performance (before accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award) at the VMAs, the internet was ablaze with the tweets of confused people. "wats nsync?" "i dont know what this isssss @VMA @nsucks" Sure, you can mostly attribute this to people just being fucking stupid, but it also speaks to what JT has been able to accomplish since the demise of boy bands. To some people he exists without the connection to N*Sync, the worldwide phenomenon that launched him. Ask Paul McCartney* how easy that is.

After years spent acting and only making little cameos in the music world, Timberlake came flying back with two full-length albums in 2013. The basic formula of the previous efforts--Timbaland's mouth-percussion everywhere; lots of sweet, high falsetto; a guest rapper or two--remained intact, but there were some mighty additions to that: Instead of T.I. or Three-6-Mafia, you got HOVA. In addition to Timbaland's might you also got a bangin' live band (the Tennessee Kids, underused on the album but a live juggernaut) and some extra help from J-Roc Harmon. And you got a guy who has aged gracefully into the top of his game.

The orchestral swells at the top of the album set the stage for what will be a more lush experience than previous JT efforts. "Pusher Love Girl" is the perfect, midtempo-groove opener. The high falsetto you were expecting is right at the front. That the song doesn't fade out before the four-minute mark might be jarring for some--this is not the album for short attention spans--but the long outro fits nicely and sets the stage for the album's first smash single.

"Suit & Tie" was everywhere at the beginning of 2013, and for good reason. It's the perfect combination of tempo and beat and hook and melody, with a splash of billion-dollar hip-hop. Jay-Z guest verses (and shit, regular verses, too) tend to recycle old Jay-Z sentiments, with an update on how much money he's got now. He didn't exactly break the mold on this one, but it's usually fun to watch him step out from heavy beats and muse over something a little more delicate.

The middle of the album gets a little dicey for me, with some lyricism that is so trite that even the badass track behind it can't do enough to overshadow. "Strawberry Bubblegum," with some Barry White-aping bits, just can't win. But that's okay because the track ain't that great. "Spaceship Coupe" is a tougher loss, because the music is hot. That chorus tries mighty hard to kill it, though. For me, those are the two real downers on the record. They're countered by the sexy mess of "Don't Hold The Wall" ("I heard your girlfriend tell you, you could do better... Well, I'm the best ever") and "Tunnel Vision."

"That Girl" might be the most frustrating track in that it makes you wish there was a whole record that sounded like this. Much more intimate in its live-band feel, with a little intro about playing in a club, this one struts all of the great things that this band can do at the live shows. Hard not to want more of it, despite how great some of Tim's stuff sounds.

"Let The Groove Get In" is pure Miami Sound Machine (in the best possible way) that manages to remain fresh over seven minutes, despite having little lyrical content. Live, this song has become a real contender, with actual Miami Sound Machine tags and a stage piece that flies JT and his cadre of backup singers out over the crowd. Hard not to move to this one.

And then there's fucking "Mirrors." You want to hate it, but you can't. It's a monster. It ruled radio and you still didn't get sick of it. He talks about having a pocket full of soul and you STILL sing along. Some songs are just too well-written to fight, I guess. The video was pretty badass, too. Oh, there was a song after this? Why?

*Oh shut the fuck up; I'm not saying that "Pop" was a modern-day "Elanor Rigby" or anything.

by amnesiac

17. Hayden - Us Alone

I don’t usually get high any more. But I did at a Hayden show earlier this year. I stepped outside for a cigarette before the show and a nice guy on the street offered me his one-hitter. The next day, while listening to Us Alone, I was pulled over for what I thought would be a routine traffic stop in rural Indiana. There’s a long story here, but I’ll be brief. I was eventually arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence because I refused a blood test. I knew I’d test positive because of the previous night’s indulgence. Because of my refusal, and Indiana’s implied consent law, Trooper Summers spent two hours trying to track down a judge to get a warrant to draw my blood against my will. I was finally driven to a clinic where the trooper held me down and a nurse forcibly took a blood sample. To add insult to injury, I had to spend the night in the county jail with a nice guy named Walter. This is what I think about every time I put on Us Alone.

The record is great, though. It sounded even better live. Us Alone is Hayden’s best since Skyscraper National Park. From my first introduction to Hayden sometime last decade, I was immediately attracted to the tone of his guitar. It's warm, almost muffled, like the beginning of a good drunk. It sounds an awful like another famous Canadian’s guitar. On this record, Hayden abandoned the layers of his previous, mostly unnoticed effort, allowing that tonal sound to drift to the top unencumbered. The effect here is a comfortable feeling of isolation. The kind of isolation you feel when the rest of the family is asleep or in another room and you can just be with yourself. You can almost hear the footsteps of his family in the background, quietly leaving dad to his hobby. It’s nostalgic and reflective, but ultimately it’s pretty happy. Even “Instructions,” a song that is both last will and testament and a love letter, is morbidly content.

Looking up at a prison ceiling will put a lot of things into perspective. It sounds pretty mellow-dramatic now, but when there’s no clock on the wall and you’re not sure how long you’ve been locked in a cell, you start to evaluate the worth of your life a little bit. I had been listening to Us Alone pretty obsessively before my fateful trip through rural Indiana, so most of the songs and lyrics were fresh in my mind that night. It was easy to put Hayden in the cell with me and look back with him.

by Jet

16. Local Natives - Humming Bird

The Local Natives came on to the scene in 2009 with their debut album Gorilla Manor. With their infectious melodies and intricate harmonies I was hooked immediately. Everything to love about the first album can be found here, but the album does make a large step forward for the band. It’s a little darker, a little more intricate, and produced to near perfection. The Local Natives have a way of simple ideas and making them special as you can hear on the sparse but intense Three Months. The track includes a ringing piano, a delicate drum beat, and a subtle vocal that builds to a triumphant chorus. This same sparseness can be found throughout the entire album and creates a tension that is difficult to pull off. The Local Natives aren’t flashy or gimmicky. They aren’t going change the future of music with prolific songwriting, but everything they do is done to near perfection. Aaron Dessner’s (The National) production on this album combined with the Local Natives sense of space is lethal. There isn’t a song that doesn’t command your attention. When I went to write my best of 2013 list I do as I always do and look back to see what actually came out this year. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this album was released in 2013. It’s an album that sounded immediately familiar and every time I listen I’m sucked back in like it’s my first listen. There are few albums a year that will stay in my playlists for more than a few weeks but there is no doubt that Hummingbird will be played regularly for years to come.

by dkamis