#top trax

·       The National, “Trouble Will Find Me”: 2013 was a big year for The National, for better and worse. On the one hand were somewhat vexatious side projects—from appearing on a handful of Fox shows, to playing “Sorrow” at MoMA for six f***ing hours, to “Mistaken For Strangers”, the documentary about The National filmed by a family member of The National, just to name a few. But we are, and always will be, here for the music—and while it’s hardly their most standout album (IMHO), “Trouble Will Find Me” delivers a new mix of angst, existential uncertainty, and momentary dissociation from modern society that one expects from The National. “Don’t Swallow the Cap” would be a contender for top song of the year, if I made that list. Other standouts include “Graceless”, “Fireproof”, and for the swaggering, anthemic finales that have become de rigeur on The National’s albums, “Pink Rabbits.”

·       Daft Punk, “Random Access Memories”: Anyone who knows me knows this was on the list. I threw a party, in fact, to celebrate its release. Coming many years after their last studio release (not counting the passable “Tron” OST), “Random Access Memories” takes a more subtle approach to electronic music, and the robot-people brought in some extremely accomplished musicians—Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear, Giorgio Moroder, to name a few—to collaborate and accomplish some serious grooves. From the celebratory opening track, “Give Life Back to Music” to the slightly-more-challenging and noisy, but still ebullient closer “Contact”, the robot-people and their session musicians come together for music that feels good, music that makes you want to dance and throw a party, with a handful of selections that have more smoky, sultry, and even sullen grooves. A handful of the songs drag on too long—“Lose Yourself to Dance”, for example, stretches Pharrell to the breaking point, at six minutes, two of which could easily enough have been lopped off. The weighty “Touch”, featuring Paul Williams on piano and singing, clocks in at 8:19—and it isn’t even the longest song on the album. (That one goes to “Giorgio By Moroder”, featuring the eponymous electronic music pioneer, in a lengthy if somewhat interesting monologue). But if this album’s biggest fault is that some songs are Too Long—and that is its biggest fault—then that’s a good problem to have.

·       Vampire Weekend, “Modern Vampires of the City”: Aside from having some of the best cover art of the year, VW’s new album is their most compelling. At first listen, Vampire Weekend expanded their sonic repertoire only modestly, but after a few listens curious influences and inspirations appear, from Irish music to “noise pop.” Their growth—as a band and as individuals (insofar as one can chart such through music)—is unmistakable. The album, as a whole, is phenomenal; the lyrics are smart, the rhythms and hooks catchy and still sophisticated, and the results are exquisite. “Hannah Hunt”, “Finger Back” and “Worship You” are standouts, though the whole record is solid; the brash “Diane Young” was divisive among my friends, but remains an excellent tune with two entertaining videos (the first of which, featuring two burning Saabs, apparently produced a fiery response—pun intended—among Saab aficionados). The only questionable track is “Ya Hey”, which is a good enough song but for the inclusion of cartoony high-pitched voices in the chorus—but after originally hating the track, even I’ve come around to grudging appreciation. If Wikipedia is any reliable source (let’s not get into that, here) then the production of the album was serious and involved a lot of work and engineers—but the excellence is undeniable.

·       Bombino, “Nomad”: Mali, in the past year, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons—not its immense treasure of antiquities, nor its rich culture, but for the short-lived fundamentalist Islamic regime which took over following a failed coup which was ousted by aggressive action by Francois Hollande, the Socialist President of France. (Sadly, France’s laudable efforts in its former colony came too late to save some of its famed shrines, much like America’s efforts in Afghanistan came too late to save the Bamiyan Buddhas. C’est la vie, I suppose.)

But I digress. Omara Moctar, who records as Bombino, released this exquisite album of music from the heart of Tuareg culture, but with the expert guidance of Dan Auerbach, of The Black Keys, this album, produced in Nashville, opens Bombino’s sound up to a greater audience and a greater range of sounds.

·       Local Natives, “Hummingbird”: Produced by Aaron Dessner of The National (prolific, isn’t he?), “Hummingbird” expands on the solid debut album “Gorilla Manor” and exhibits a lyrical maturity that can be hard to find in modern music, with an indie rock sound that is expansive and airy in a good way. Their sound evokes Sigur Ros and maybe Wilco (and maybe even at times The National), but is all of their own. It makes an excellent album for driving places.

·       Arcade Fire, “Reflektor”: I’ll admit, I have a long history of loving Arcade Fire, stretching back indeed to a time when I drove to a Borders (!) to buy The Arcade Fire’s (!) debut album on CD. (!) I’m pretty sure that was high school. Arcade Fire, obviously, has never shied away from confronting dark and weighty topics; from their debut, titled “Funeral”, to its follow-up, “Neon Bible”, matters of life, death, and afterlife are fair game for the Canadian rockers. This issues, and the alienation of modernity and technology that featured prominently on “The Suburbs”, their previous, Grammy-winning album, come to the very forefront on “Reflektor”, along with references to Kirkegaard and vodou culture. Indeed, the Haitian influence is strongly felt in the music, which at times seems constrained by its studio origins; their live music surpasses what one hears on the album. Regardless of the weight of the topics—framed, musically and literally enough (see cover) through the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice—the grooves never stop. It’s hard not to be effusive about how unique a sound Arcade Fire has accomplished, but the music and the songs sound better than my honeyed words can convey. It’s catchy, danceable, and challenging, in a way that puts Arcade Fire in a league that a select few bands—like Radiohead—ever achieve.

·       Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes, “The Abstract and The Dragon”: Coming in just under the wire, this free release from two of the most excellent MCs of their era show that their era hasn't quite ended. Excellent, throw-back jam production abounds, as do rhymes unchained by convention or even, occasionally, good taste (WARNING: NSFW, for sexual themes, rampant use of the B-word, and the usual threats to would-be haters). But the good cheer evident is hard to ignore, and Raekwon drops by to kick it as does Lil’ Wayne, sounding as weeded out as ever. FREE MIXTAPE! (click title link.)

·       Sky Ferreira, “Night Time, My Time”: This was a tough choice, because there are a few dud tracks, and anyone who signs on to open for Miley Cyrus defaults to “don’t bother.” But the tracks that stand out are at the top of the field. Sky Ferreira apparently has a history of some sort—a failed pop career with a major label, I guess—and this kind of thing rarely interests me, but it provides grist for the album. I have little time for songs in which popular entertainers complain about how hard they have it, but the sheer emotion of “I Blame Myself”—a half-hearted mea culpa, if ever there was one—excels at its object and was quickly put on repeat listens. “Love in Stereo” is an interesting song, confronting love, loss and abuse while sonically finding a comfortable pop-y niche. "24 Hours" is another great track, as is “Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)”—but it sounds strikingly familiar to fans of The Strokes…

·       DJ Rashad, “Double Cup”: This guy is like the Gold Panda of hip-hop. For those hard-core electronic music fans who were disappointed in Daft Punk’s new album (note: you suck) and those who miss DJ Screw and J Dilla, “Double Cup” may be some consolation. DJ Rashad takes the rap/hip-hop production MO and runs it through a bunch of circuit boards, coming up with solid samples and beats. Probably NSFW.

·       DJ Koze, “Amygdala”: DJ Koze, coming out of Germany, gathered a most curious collection of sounds on this album. German, Hebrew, and English are all heard, as are appearances from artists known and unknown (to me, anyway) including Caribou. The result is an unexpectedly compelling listen, one that is harder to describe than other albums on this list, but no less easy to find your head nodding to.

·       Lauren Mvula, “Sing To the Moon”: This album is one of the hardest to describe. It is an album of lushly constructed ballads, points and counterpoints and dramatic pauses, and a haunting voice. They come together to construct an unforgettable and dreamy soundscape that vacillates between light and dark.

Janelle Monae, “The Electric Lady”: This album pulls no punches in its quest to create a sound all of its own, blending hip-hop, rock, electronic, and elements from the lesser regions of the American music scene--elements that might be at home on a Quentin Tarentino movie or an Ennio Morricone soundtrack--into an eminently listenable and enjoyable experience. “Primetime” is one of the most excellent slow jams of the year, and certainly among the top songs of the year. “Q.U.E.E.N.” (featuring Erykah Badu) is a statement of defiance on another level from the mediocre and bland statements issued by Top 40 songstresses like Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson and the like, and is capitalized upon by its succeeding track “Electric Lady” (featuring Solange Knowles). The album manages having three interludes, some of which are actually amusing, and has only one real dud, “Dance Apocalytic” which was inexplicably released as a single.

Mayer Hawthorne, “Where Does This Door Go”: This is a little bit of a guilty pleasure. Its inclusion as an album of the year is despite the fact that it doesn’t really have the depth or ambition of the rest of the albums. What it does have is excellent jams, that expand on the talent shown in the first two albums for songs about seduction. The production team is much larger on this album--Andrew Mayer Cohen, AKA Mayer Hawthorne, having done much of the music-making himself in the past--and the effect is a more scattershot output, but one with more than its share of hits. “Back Seat Lover”, the first proper track on the album, is standard MH fare, but from there the jams grow to a greater breadth than in his prior albums. Check out “The Innocent”, “Wine Glass Woman”--arguably song of the year--”Her Favorite Song” and “Crime”, featuring Kendrick Lamar.

The Rest:

·       Kanye West, “Yeezus”: Talk about a divisive album. I’m sorry though, Sasha Frere-Jones, once again we disagree—and I think in ten years, this album will inspire less passionate defense. Like an “808s and Heartbreaks” on steroids, “Yeezus” takes the emotional Kanye West we all love/hate, and adds loudness to it. Unfortunately, for someone who grew up appreciating the brilliance of soul-sample Kanye and his breezy, uncomplicated honesty, this is anathema. I could handle Kanye’s anger to an extent on his last release “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”—which I ranked as a best pick—but here, it just sounds tired, and boring, and with its glitchy, noisy samples and raw, unrefined drums, it sounded more unfinished than anything else. I applaud ambition, but its hard to take Kanye seriously as he decries luxury-oriented desires when he’s as steeped in conspicuous consumption as anyone. (More, really.) And his critiques of, for example, private prisons—a critique well worth making—just sound incoherent amidst the wilderness. Taking “Strange Fruit”, sung by Billie Holiday and written by Abel Meeropol, and using it for a sample can be transgressive—in a good way—and provocative, but Kanye merely uses it to rant about women he has had issues with. (To be sure, it is the best song on the album.) And women issues he certainly has, for a married guy. I won’t get into the rest of the album; suffice it to quote “MacBeth”—an album “full of sound and fury, / signifying nothing.”

·       Jay Z, “Magna Carta Holy Grail”: Unlike Kanye, Jay Z apparently knows how to relax. Though complaints about how he’s treated pop up on the album, you’re more likely to hear him discuss his art collection. And discuss his art collection he does at length, so get ready. Basquiats, Picassos, references to the Louve and Andy Warhol abound. But at least he sounds like there’s some fun in it. Big ups to track “Picasso, Baby” (NSFW).

Drake, “Nothing Was the Same”: As usual, Drake can be relied on to deliver 3-4 good songs, and to his credit, they show signs of personal growth and maturity. “Started From the Bottom” (Not really SFW) is a contender for song of the year; “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, “Connect”, and “The Motion” also are solid. The only way I can make sense of “Wu Tang Forever”, though--at least with regard to its title and content--is to be a finger in the eye of Ghostface Killah, who assuredly has no love for Drake.

Atoms For Peace, “Amok”: Thom Yorke’s new solo album furthers what he started with his last one, “The Eraser”, and the results are enjoyable and moody.

Toro Y Moi, “Anything in Return”: Another album of good jams--good cross-country driving music, or for your low-key party/hangout.

Blood Orange, "Cupid Deluxe": Bringing smooth, respectable R&B back to the indiesphere, and occasionally bringing silky saxphophone solos to smooth, (otherwise) respectable R&B.

Settle, “Disclosure”: This album has some of the best tracks of the year--”Latch” and “White Noise”. I wasn’t crazy about the rest of the album, but the number of times those two tracks at least were on repeat is crazy big.

Best songs

·       Juicy J, “Smokin’ Rollin’” (NSFW)

·       Big Sean feat. Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica, “Control” (NSFW)

·       Son Lux, “Lost it to Trying”

·        Chance the Rapper, “Good Ass Intro” and “Life Round Here”

Empire of the Sun, “Old Flavours”

The Weeknd, “Wanderlust”

N.O.R.E. feat. Large Professor, “Built Pyramids”

On the home front, I finished my first year of law school!  Then I interned for a federal judge in Vermont! I bought a Turn Table!  I learned how to properly say Bon [h]Iver, and and learned to put two spaces after every period (in Britain, they call them "full stops," a point which will be relevant later in the post).  I reacquainted myself with some classic albums; two sixteen+hour drives--and perhaps, for that reason, I didn't get a chance to fully evaluate all the year's new releases.  For example, I haven't heard the Beastie Boys' "Hot Sauce Committee Part II" enough to fully evaluate it.  Nor have I come to a decision about the new TV on the Radio Album.  

Best Musick:

1. Bon Iver, "Bon Iver":   It was a good year for Justin Vernon.  Probably a pretty good year for all the other people who play on this album, too, but nobody ever remembers who they are (despite the fact that the band makes this album shine).  Bon Iver's second, eponymous album was on heavy rotation for me for literally months.  

I have received flak for this theory, but I think in a sense Bon Iver is sort of an adult/avant-garde/hipster Dashboard Confessional.  That is, the songs are acoustic guitar-heavy forlorn-but-undeniably-earnest-sounding ballads of unrequited love and the like.  Maybe they're not, though:  the Achilles' heel of the album is its impossibly vague--that is, vexingly abstract to the point of meaninglessness--lyrics.  Other bands, no doubt, would be zinged on this essentially undeniable flaw, but the music rises above.

The album itself is ethereal in the best way possible:  effortlessly blending genres, the band crafts songs unforgettably haunting, songs that transcend their seemingly humble origins. Almost every track is a hit, and the album finishes with what may be the most controversial song of the year, 80's throwback ballad "Beth/Rest" (Somebody explain that song to me, please--or better yet: Don't).  At first listen cheesy, "Best/Rest" becomes a seat-rouser the more often one hears it.  

2. Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues":  Helplessness Blues was the first album I bought on vinyl, and it could not have been a better pick.  Perhaps more notably, it inspired the only comment (as far as I know) the Economist has made on modern music (well worth the read).  Taking a step back from the "baroque pop" of yore, Fleet Foxes crafted an incredible melange of melodies and harmonies that harken to the better angels of indie rock.  The album is cohesive musically (while remaining creative) and intriguingly narrative lyrically. 

3. Big K.R.I.T., "Return of 4Eva": Hat tip to my friend Jason S. for this find, K.R.I.T. is back with a triumphant, self-produced album that covers all the (arguably) necessary hip-hop bases:  tracks to think about, tracks to roll to, tracks to party to, etc.   K.R.I.T. is not content to lay down some expert flows over soulful samples; like Kanye West in his prime, he's ready to tell it like it ought to be told, and look deep inside of the heart of a modern man struggling to succeed. 

4. The Roots, "Undun":  When I heard the concept of Undun--the story of the life of a man, starting with his death and proceeding backward--I was somewhat hesitant.  Kind of a downer, right?  When I heard it would end with an orchestral suite based on Sufjan Stevens' "Michigan", I was bemused.  Suffice it to say, "Undun" is a concept album a world where concept albums are rare gems.  And indeed, Undun itself is a rare gem.  What other rap album gives you good advice, like "If you can't learn to swizzim, then you're bound to drizzown," and probably the only time the words "maritime museum" will ever be uttered in a hip-hop context (and perhaps in music, generally).  I cannot help but applaud ambition in music, and again the Roots come through.

Good albums:

1. The Black Keys, "El Camino":  The Black Keys are back, with another classic record.  Despite its deceptive title (that's a minivan on the cover, not an El Camino!) the record contains for of what makes the Black Keys great:  rock, heavily influenced by blues.  Blues rock.  This record doesn't depart much--if at all--from the formula, and it may not rock quite as much as "Attack and Release"--but songs like "Sister" still kick much ass.

2. Coldplay, "Mylo Xyloto":  This might strike some (i.e. almost all) of my friends as an enigmatic, or even scandalous choice, but Coldplay has come a long way from their "X&Y" days.  "Viva La Vida" was awesome--thanks to the intervention of producer/visionary Brian Eno, who, on "Mylo Xyloto" is credited with "enoxification", whatever the hell that means.  MX falls a little short of that, lacking the experimentality and wide diversity of influence, but it succeeds, if marginally as a concept album (about some sort of 1984ish dystopian future, but with a happy ending).  Coldplay, at least in my opinion, has managed to make a Top-40 alternative rock album that is musically compelling. (N.b. when listening to the song--which, for the record, samples Peter Allen's "I Go To Rio"--again, to the British, a period is a "full stop.")

3. ARAABMUZIK, "Electronic Dream":  I had never heard of AM until this year, but apparently he's been producing records for the Diplomats for a while.  This that is not.  "Electronic Dream" is an enigmatic record in a few respects;  you could play it at the club and not get too many weird looks;  play it while you're running and that's good too.  P4K calls its mood "dystopian", which I find eminently confusing; it sounds slightly dark, but I can't really even figure out what that even means.  So there you go.

4.  Chris Isaak, "Beyond the Sun":  I recall well when I heard about this album for the first time--I was about a half-hour from home on my way back from Vermont, in August.  The stock market had been riled, and times were seriously serious.  And then NPR discussed the album, and its creation.  This is, in fact, a cover album.  A cover album with a mission, however:  To pay tribute to Sam Phillips, the famous producer of Sun Records' greatest talents, from Elvis to Johnny Cash to Roy Orbison, among others. 

5.  Naminé, "Neon":  Ambient, but eminent.  I'm not sure how best to describe it but a solid, moody electronic album is what it is, right?

6. The Weeknd, "House of Balloons":  Electro-R&B has had a good run; where the XX started, the Weeknd picked it up with a free album, "House of Balloons," which covers content that may not be safe for work, or perhaps anywhere where drinks (and perhaps sundry substances) are not being served.  Where the party is, however, this album will be right at home. 

7.  Toro Y Moi, "Under the Pine":  This album grooves, and it grooves well.  Man, if I were driving down (California) Highway 1, this is what I'd be listening to.  In my convertible.  Because it'd be summer, and I'm rich.  Then I'd probably wake up from that wonderful dream--but at least "Under the Pine" would still be here. 

8.  Foster the People, "Torches":  An interesting album.  If Top-40/big label stuff is like fast food (and I largely think it is), then this album might be likened to Chipotle:  Processed, a product of big money production, but still thoroughly enjoyable.  Foster the People were given the torch (no pun intended) by MGMT, and they crafted catchy rock music (are they alternative? Pop rock? Indie, or maybe "indie"? You decide). 

Awesome albums I (re)discovered:

Arcade Fire, "Neon Bible"

Gorillaz, "Plastic Beach"

J Dilla, "Donuts"

Gold Panda, "Lucky Shiner"

TOP TRAX: There are 40 of them (in no order).  I own the rights to none of them; if you like what you hear, buy the albums! 

Without further ado...

TOP TRAX 2011 #1