10x10: Best Albums 2013

For those of you just getting back to school, we feel your pain of the slow and painful boredom that is syllabus week. We also know that 2013 was a pretty intense year for music and that you probably didn't get around to listening to everything you've been hearing about. So, to relieve you of your boredom and make the vast and swirling abyss of new music somewhat more manageable, ten of our DJs and staff members to compiled of a list of what they though were the 10 best albums released in 2013.

Natalie RaphaelJanuary 14, 2014music review, best of 2013, album review, Oneohtrix Point Never, R Plus 7, Young Thug, 1017 Thug, DJ Rashad, Double Cup, Visionist, I'm Fine, Thundercat, Apocalypse, Kanye West, Yeezus, Yellow Loveless, RP Boo, Legacy, Cassie, Rockabye Baby, Blood Orange, Yuck, Glow and Behold, Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City, King Krule, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, Baths, Obsidian, GRMLN, Empire, Sky Ferreira, Night Time, My Time, Best Coast, Fade Away, Beyoncé, Beyonce, Rhye, Woman, The Pizza Underground, My Bloody Valentine, mbv, Darkside, Psychic, Dirty Beaches, Drifters, Love is The Devil, Love Is The Devil, Deerhunter, Monomania, R Plus Seven, James Blake, Overgrown, Kirin J Callinan, Embracism, The Flaming Lips, Savages, Silence Yourself, The Field, Flying Lotus, ideas+drafts+loops, Cupid's Head, Franz Ferdinand, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, Settle, Disclosure, This Isn't Happening, DJ Koze, Amtgdala, Arcade Fire, Reflektor, Bill Callahan, Dream River, Dessa, Parts of Speech, Amok, Foxygen, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, Burial, James Holden, The Inheritors, Immunity, Jon Hopkins, R plus Seven, These New Puritans, Field of Reeds, La Femme, Psycho Tropical Berlin, Portugal, The Man, Evil Friends, FIDLAR, Psycho tropical Berlin, Alexander Von Mehren, Aeropop, Cate le Bon, Mug Museum, Cactus Channel, Wooden Boy, Tookah, Junip, The Melodic, Effra Parade, FKJ, Time For Change, Cat Nap, Bonobo, The North Borders, CocoRosie, Tales of a Grasswidow, Vieux Farka Toure, Mon Pays, Kurt Vile, Walkin on a Pretty daze, Porter Ray, RSE GOLD, RSE GLD, WHT GLD, BLK GLD, Bibio, Silver Wilkinson, Mala, Four Tet, Beautiful Rewind, AMOK, Atoms For Peave, Ultraista, KT Turnstall, Invisible Empire, Crescent Moon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Chance The Rapper, Acid Rap, Black Radio 2Comment

Album Review: Reflektor

Whenever I think of Arcade Fire, the first word that comes to mind is nostalgia. The dreamlike ‘Funeral’ and the angst ridden ‘Neon Bible’ send me back to simpler times, riding into the night with my closest friends, windows down, music deafening, feeling a sense of invincibility and wonder. In a way, it’s this nostalgia that has cemented Arcade Fire as such an eminent and influential group of contemporary musicians. But while nostalgia can create a deeply emotional connection between the musician and the listener, it can also lead to more stringent criticisms and greater resistance to change. Arcade Fire’s fourth studio album entitled ‘Reflektor’ is an ambitious double album that spans 75 minutes and debuts a range of new sounds and rhythms, retaining its emotional depth albeit not necessarily its immediacy.

Natalie RaphaelNovember 7, 2013music review, Arcade Fire, Reflektor, album reviewComment

FEATURED