Tag Archives: Albums of 2013

Tom’s Top 10 of 2013

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

Ladies and gentlemen, after a month of feverish catch-up, I present to you… my Top 10 Albums of 2013! 10. Alone Aboard the Ark (The Leisure Society) Comparisons to Belle & Sebastian and the Divine Comedy give you a good … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Top 5's | Tagged Albums of 2013, Alone Aboard the Ark, Best Albums of 2013, Charge, Daft Punk, David Ford, Days Are Gone, Electric Lady, Electric Soft Parade, Evil Friends, Family Tree: The Branches, Fanfare, Foxygen, Haim, Idiots, Janelle Monáe, Jonathan Wilson, Leisure Society, Modern Jesus, NEW, Paul McCartney, Portugal. The Man, Pythons, Radical Face, Random Access Memories, Surfer Blood, Vampire Weekend, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic | 3 Comments

Album Review: San Fermin, “San Fermin”

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

The lines between genres are perpetually blurred. This is probably for the best: attempts to label music are, often as not, an exercise in futility. Fully aware of this, I still found myself trying to affix a label to San … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Allen Tate, art rock, Banff Center, Bar, chamber pop, Crueler Kind, Daedalus (What We Have), Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Holly Laessig, Jess Wolfe, Lucius, Matt Berninger, Methuselah, Neil Hannon, Renaissance, Robin Thicke, San Fermin, Scott Walker, Sonsick, Sufjan Stevens | 2 Comments

Album Review: Jonathan Wilson, “Fanfare”

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

When the title track on Jonathan Wilson’s Fanfare (2013) bursts forth with big, reverbed drums, symphonic strings, and flute accents, it might have you wondering whether you accidentally queued up a different Wilson, say, Brian or Dennis. It’s far from … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Benmont Tench, Brian Wilson, Cecil Taylor, Classic Rock, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, David Crosby, Dawes, Déjà Vu, Dennis Wilson, Echoes, Electric Light Orchestra, Fanfare, Father John Misty, Fazon, Fleet Foxes, George Harrison, Graham Nash, Guinnevere, Jackson Browne, John Lennon, Jonathan Wilson, Josh Tillman, Lovestrong, Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Mike Campbell, Neil Young, Patrick Sansone, Pink Floyd, Sopwith Camel, Stephen Stills, Taylor Goldsmith, The Beatles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Traffic, Wilco | 2 Comments

Album Review: Camera Obscura, “Desire Lines”

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

Glasgow might just be the indie pop capital of the world. Maybe there’s something in the water, industrial tailings in the Clyde that induce in the city’s inhabitants a preternatural talent for gently ironic lyrics and gorgeously melancholy melodies. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Cri du Coeur, Decemberists, Desire Lines, Do It Again, Every Weekday, Fifth in Line for the Throne, Glasgow, Hazards of Love, I Missed Your Party, indie pop, Let's Get Out of This Country, My Maudlin Career, New Year's Resolution, Tracyanne Campbell, Tucker Martine, twee pop | 1 Comment

Album Review: Surfer Blood, “Pythons”

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

I first heard Florida-based Surfer Blood playing in the background of an Omaha record store several months ago. I later YouTubed a few of their tracks, liked what I heard, and promptly forgot they existed. Then recently, I found myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Blair Witch, Brian Wilson, Demon Dance, Foo Fighters, Gil Norton, Gravity, I Was Wrong, indie pop, John Paul Pitts, Needles & Pins, Prom Song, Pythons, Say Yes To Me, surf rock, Surfer Blood, Thomas Fettke, Vampire Weekend, Weezer | 2 Comments

Album Review: The Electric Soft Parade, “IDIOTS”

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

Trawling through the “Best of 2013” lists that proliferate this time of year is a great way to discover new and interesting music. However, it also means that you’re going to be discovering mostly the kind of music that rock … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged 10cc, Adam Schlesinger, Albums of 2013, Alex White, Badfinger, Beach Boys, Beatles, Beatlesesque, Brother You Must Walk Your Path Alone, Chris Collingwood, Crowded House, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Soft Parade, Fountains of Wayne, George Harrison, Hey Jude, Isn't It a Pity, Mr. Mitchell, music criticism, pop-rock, pop/rock, Queen, Summertime in My Heart, Teenage Fanclub, The Corner of Highdown & Montefiore, Thomas White, Welcome to the Weirdness | 2 Comments

Album Review: Steven Wilson, “The Raven That Refused to Sing (& Other Stories)”

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

In 1976, producer/engineer Alan Parsons and songwriter Eric Woolfson entered the studio to record a concept album based on the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe. The resultant Tales of Mystery & Imagination gave birth to the Alan Parson Project. … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Alan Parsons, Alan Parsons Project, Albums of 2013, Drive Home, Edgar Allen Poe, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Eric Woolfson, Genesis, King Crimson, Luminol, Music Radar, Porcupine Tree, Premiata Forneria Marconi, progressive rock, Steven Wilson, symphonic prog, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, The Holy Drinker, The Pin Drop, The Raven That Refused to Sing, The Watchmaker | 4 Comments

Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Modern Vampires of the City”

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

When Vampire Weekend’s third record, Modern Vampires of the City (2013), opens with a hymn to the Millennial Generation (“Obvious Bicycle”), it might not seem like the logical place to kick off an album-length wrestling match with lyricist/singer Ezra Koenig’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Afrobeat, Albums of 2013, Don't Lie, Ezra Koenig, Graceland, Hannah Hunt, Hudson, indie pop, Jacob, Jewish, Judaism, mortality, New York City, Obvious Bicycle, Paul Simon, Step, Unbelievers, Vampire Weekend, Worship You, Ya Hey, Yahweh, Young Lion | 3 Comments

Album Review: Josh Ritter, “The Beast In Its Tracks”

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

As a songwriter, it’s tough to step out from the shadow of Bob Dylan, no matter which genre you inhabit. If you make your living with literate folk music, however, your entire professional career is spent in Mr. Zimmerman’s penumbra. … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan, Bonfire, Dawn Landes, Haley Tanner, Hopeful, In Your Arms Again, Josh Ritter, Joy to You Baby, New Lover, Nightmares, The Beast In Its Tracks | 2 Comments

Album Review: Janelle Monáe, “The Electric Lady”

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

When Janelle Monáe’s debut LP The ArchAndroid dropped in 2010, it introduced the world to a consummate artist with little time for labels. Her tuxedoed stage persona and omnipresent pompadour challenged norms for female self-presentation in the world of popular … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged afro-futurism, Albums of 2013, ArchAndroid, Dance Apocalyptic, Erykah Badu, Esperanza Spalding, feminism, It's Code, Janelle Monáe, jazz, Metropolis, Miguel, Prince, Q.U.E.E.N., R&B, Solange Knowles, soul, Stevie Wonder, The Electric Lady, Victory, We Were Rock & Roll, What an Experience | 1 Comment

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