10. Leeroy Stagger - Truth Be Sold
After watching Leeroy and his ragtag band play a stellar
show to a tiny, unenthusiastic crowd huddled in the back of the Haven
Social Club (RIP) in June 2013, I had to wonder what keeps the man going. Even
with eight great albums and relentless touring, Stagger seems to be stuck in
the margins of Americana rock. Nonetheless, coming quickly off his excellent
2012 release Radiant Land, Stagger
picks up right where he left off with Truth
Be Sold, and he brings the rock back in a serious way. Tracks like “Have a
Heart,” and “Cities on Fire” are centred on grimy, distorted guitar riffs, with
deep throaty punk-esque lyrical tones. However, the beauty of the album is in
the balance Stagger strikes between the rock numbers and the softer songs.
Great steel guitar, and Stagger’s strained, mournful lyrics on “Break My Heart”
and “Sold Down the River,” shows the experience of a road-worn Canadian rocker
not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.
Favorite Track: "Goodnight Berlin"
9. Starfucker - Miracle Mile
The beauty in Starfucker’s indie-synth pop sound is that
they always sound like they’re having a good time. They don’t take themselves
to seriously, layering almost over-the-top catchy synth riffs on basically
every track. Miracle Mile follows the
same pattern. Take the track “YAYAYA,” for instance. Centred on a solid beat
and bassline, the lyrics are nonsensical and fun, and a jangly synth riff fades
in and out to give that signature Starfucker sound. Starfucker aren’t worried
about re-writing the synth-pop map, they just make music that makes you nod
your head and vibe along. Are the synth sounds particularly special? No. Great
lyrics? Not really. But of those things become irrelevant to the audio-party
that is a Starfucker album.
I was crushed to hear that Foolish Blood would be the last album from Canadian power pop
powerhouse Two Hours Traffic. It seems the destiny of many of the greats of the
genre to see little mainstream attention for their amazing work. Foolish Blood is no different. The album
kicks off with an absolute lesson in perfect pop rock writing. I had the
choruses of “Magic” and “Audrey” stuck in my head after only a listen or two,
and “Amour Than Amis” has cute wordplay only achievable by a great pan-Canadian
band. The second half of the album doesn’t disappoint either, with excellent
bass and guitar riffs paired with lead singer Liam Concoran’s unabashed proclamations
of love on the track “Faster 4 U.” Although Two Hours Traffic is soon to be no
more, they’re a band that I’ll continue to listen to for decades to come, due
to their catchy blend of power pop.
Favorite Track: "Audrey"
7. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
Reflektor was
definitely the album I was looking forward to most in 2013. With their cryptic,
mysterious marketing scheme, production by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and
hypnotic, interactive music videos, Arcade Fire had me extremely excited to
hear what I assumed would be another audial masterpiece from the best rock band
in the world. However, Reflektor is
an album that perplexes me; I want to love it so badly, which made listening to
the album at first seem like more of a chore than an enjoyable experience. The
LP drags along, with most songs running six minutes or longer at similar
mid-tempo beats, and just begs for something to happen to surprise or excite
the listener. For example, the track “Here Comes the Night Time,” starts with a
burst of excited Latino inspired drumming, but then drops back into a slower,
controlled procession, following more in the theme of the album. Nonetheless,
there are some awesome tracks on this album, like “Normal Person,” with its
faux-live vibe, rhythmic pounding pianos, and an awesome explosive chorus. Side
two highlights include the most obvious “single” type song “Afterlife,” and the
hypnotic duo “Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice),” and “It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus).”
However, Arcade Fire completely loses me on “Supersymentry,” a droning, endless
mess of synths and electro beats seemingly placed there to boost their hipster
cred. Overall, Reflektor illustrates
Arcade Fire’s desire to continue experimenting with their sound, but becomes
muddled and confused in a way that leaves me wanting something more memorable.
I won’t lie, the first time I heard the Toronto indie rock
band Wildlife, like many others, was in a Corona ad encouraging us to “Live Mas
Fina.” A few weeks later I picked up the CD from HMV (yes both of those things
still exist!), and was blown away by the wall of sound produced by the band
throughout the album. On the main opening track, crowd-sung lyrics like “Baby!
We were born to ruin!” erupt over the top of deep drum riffs and glistening,
pulsing synth noises in a way that puts a smile on your face and a fist in the
air in agreement. This anthemic, excited theme continues right through the
album, and translates well to their live show. Their show at the tiny Media
Club was attended by about 20 people, but the band has us all dancing and
bellowing lyrics at the top of our lungs, bringing us together in celebration
of why we listen to music in the first place.
Favorite Track: "Born to Ruin"
5. Cage the Elephant - Melophobia
Melophobia is the fear of music, but there’s nothing to fear
in Cage the Elephant’s 2013 offering. It’s an album mixed with the loud and
boisterous Cage the Elephant of old and a slightly mellower, more mature sound,
especially regarding lead singer Matt Schultz’s distinctive vocals. The album
kicks off with an awesome distorted rocker, “Spiderhead,” that fits right in
with Cage the Elephant’s previous two LPs. Songs like “Halo,” “Black Widow,”
and “Teeth” prove that the band hasn’t lost any of its youthful energy, and
powerful horn sections add a new dimension to their solid rock sound. However,
it is the mellow tracks on Melophobia that
really make the album for me. “Hypocrite” is a personal, apologetic song where
Schultz shows a more restrained, but meaningful vocal delivery on the memorable
chorus and “aaaaawhooooos” at the end of the song. There’s no fearing that.
Favorite Tracks: "Hypocrite"
4. Hollerado - White Paint
This is rock and roll. It’s joyous, driving, and
rambunctious. With White Paint, Hollerado
has perfected and crafted the sound introduced to us on their debut disc Record in a Bag. Sharp guitar chords
perfectly contrast screaming riffs, and simple and effective lyrics drive home
track after track. My favorite number on the album is “Desire 126,” a
structurally simple ABABCB song with an awesome guitar solo, and a catchy
chorus proclaiming that “Desire, it’s just a chemical, it comes and it goes,
and it comes and it goes.” The song “Lonesome George” provides some respite
from the rollicking first five tracks, but does not let the listener down. The
line, “We sleep all day, so we can love through one more night,” is one of my
favorite lyrics of the year, emphasizing Hollerado’s focus on making music that
you can party to with your friends.
Favorite Track: "Desire 126"
3. Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends
Portugal. The Man has to be one of the most productive bands
in the world right now, as Evil Friends marks
their eighth album since their formation in 2005. Produced by Danger Mouse, of
Gnarls Barkley and Broken Bells fame, Evil
Friends is in some ways a more refined and pop-forward album compared to
some of their previous LPs. However, this does not kill the band’s creativity,
with the album spanning a wide range of genres and influences, all linked
together by lead singer John Gourley’s vocals. Already famous for his high
range, Gourley kicks it into a new gear on the album, featuring his ridiculous
falsetto on nearly every track, which becomes almost overwhelming at some
points. Nonetheless, the album is chock-full of the catchiest melodies of the
year, and that’s all I really need for day-to-day survival.
Favorite Track: Here's the whole thing
2. The Head and the Heart - Let's Be Still
Coming off The Head and the Heart’s 2011 debut self-titled album,
which I personally consider as a very, very good album, I was nervously excited
about Let’s Be Still. But they did
not disappoint in the least. The album can only be described as gorgeous. It
soars with harmonic melodies and thoughtful folk arrangements, but at the same
time does not shy away from a poppier sound, especially on the tracks
“Summertime” and “Shake.” Joyous “woops” and hand claps bring the fun back into
a band that my lovely mother had previously called “downright depressing.” The
message at the heart Let’s Be Still,
is to slow down, even for a moment, and really cherish life to the fullest.
This theme is made especially clear on the title track with the lines: “The
world’s just spinning/ a little too fast. If things don’t slow down soon we
might not last. So just for a moment, let’s be still.”
Favorite Track: "10,000 Weight in Gold"
1. Smith Westerns - Soft Will
With their 2011 debut album Dye It Blonde, released while the band was still in high school,
the Smith Westerns showed a prowess for creating infectious guitar hooks backed
by dreamy synth patterns. Soft Will is
the culmination of the great riffs of the previous album, and fresh, coherent
and confident lead vocals from Cullen Omori. This is power pop at its absolute
finest. It’s one of those albums that just flows, not because every song is the
same, but because they complement each other perfectly. It’s clear that the
band has made this one of their main objectives, with tracks like “XXIII,” an all instrumental ballad that serves as an extended outro to the previous track
while seamlessly introducing the next song. In this way, it’s an album that
blends Pink Floyd-esque jam outs and Teenage Fanclub pop sensibilities. Finally,
to be considered as my favorite album of the year, it darn well finish with a
bang, not any of this Supersymentry ambient noise crap-o-la. The closer,
“Varsity,” is a delicious slice of pop rock pie, with Omori singing: “Thought I
always had to win, or I wasn’t anything. Guess it’s a point of view.” It’s probably
a good point of view for a power pop band in the 21st century.
Thankful though, the Smith Westerns came first this year in my eyes, and that’s
all that really matters, eh?
2013 Honourable Mentions
Shad – Flying Colours
The Thermals – Desperate
Ground
The Strokes – Comedown
Machine
The Strumbellas – We
Still Move on Dance Floors
Generationals – Heza
Hate my choices? Love my choice? Just like choices? Please comment and share! Stay tuned for my 25 Tracks of 2013 coming soon....
Great choices. I'm going to have to find me some Smith Westerns!
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