Amyl Nights… Amyl in favour of it

100 best albums of 2013 countdown: 40-31

Published on January 2nd, 2014 | Jonny Abrams

Let us continue our countdown of the 100 best albums of 2013 with a look at numbers 40 through 31…

40. Gold Panda – Half of Where You Live

What we said…

A mesmerising assortment of jewel-encrusted twinkles and glowing synth bits; and that’s, er, only half of where it lives. Its other half resides in a lysergically soaked-through district of clubland, having moved out from the happy household of electronica that is 2010 debut Lucky Shiner.

Read our review of Half of Where You Live in full!

39. The Electric Soft Parade – IDIOTS

What we said…

The Electric Soft Parade are taking on familiar forms so well and with such innate creativity that they are entirely exonerated for their relative disinclination for originality. All of which is a long-winded way of saying “it doesn’t have to sound new when it sounds as good as this”.

Read our review of IDIOTS in full!

38. Mount Kimbie – Cold Spring Fault Less Youth

What we said…

Mount Kimbie’s is ostensibly a stark landscape, but underneath the topsoil lies a flickering, crinkly network of rhythmic/percussive elements that inject good feelings straight into your brain no matter how bare things get overhead.

Read our review of Cold Spring Fault Less Youth in full!

37. of Montreal – Lousy with Sylvianbriar

What we said…

On Lousy with Sylvianbriar, it seems as if Kevin Barnes has broken all the ground he wanted to break and is settling for just being a really great songwriter. Because he is, it works.

Read our review of Lousy with Sylvianbriar in full!

36. Janelle Monáe – The Electric Lady

What we said…

It would be an absolute joke if the Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z albums – to name but two – wind up getting more praise and/or accolades than this genuine attempt at rounding up the past into something new.

Read our review of The Electric Lady in full!

35. Jon Hopkins – Immunity

What we said…

Lusciously thick, sticky-sounding dance floor fare that’s all abuzz with crinkly analog distortion and all sorts of lovely rhythm section frills like that. As such, it also makes for a splendid ‘headphones’ album.

Read our review of Immunity in full!

34. Wire – Change Becomes Us

What we said…

Hewn out of ideas dating back to the late ’70s, which probably explains how it manages to strike such a satisfying balance between their more recent melodic sophistication and the sludgy, lyrical punk they’ve traditionally been more known for.

Read our review of Change Becomes Us in full!

33. The Soap Company – Amyl Nights

What we said…

An LP constructed so as to take you on a journey, just like in pre-shuffle times, and it does so in the most satisfying way: by somehow making eclectic styles flow seamlessly into each other… A euphoric, psychedelic all-nighter experienced vicariously.

Read our review of Amyl Nights in full!

32. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork

What we said…

QOTSA continue to forge creative new shapes out of their scuzzier-than-thou portentousness… Once the pulverising first few tracks have had their wicked way with you, …Like Clockwork unfurls with no little grace.

Read our review of …Like Clockwork in full!

31. Larry Gus – Years Not Living

What we said…

Erm…well, nothing, as it happens. We never got round to reviewing Years Not Living as we arrived at it relatively late, but we can assure you of its kaleidoscopically technicolour properties, like Caribou’s Up in Flames album as Manitoba ran by The Flaming Lips.

Previously on our 100 best albums of 2013 countdown: 100-91 – 90-81 – 80-71 – 70-61 – 60-51 – 50-41

Artists: gold panda, janelle monae, jon hopkins, larry gus, mount kimbie, of montreal, queens of the stone age, the electric soft parade, the soap company, wire

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.