Apologies - I've been a little late posting my Best Albums Of 2013 list. In mitigation, at least I managed to post my Best Films Of 2013 last week, which you can read here.
This month’s issue of Uncut, as you may have seen, comes with a free supplement showcasing our extensive end-of-year charts. We’ve decided, though, to post our 80 Best Albums Of 2013 list here.
You can read new assessments of these albums in the booklet. But in the meantime, click on the links to read the original Uncut reviews. A reminder, too, that Uncut staffers have been posting their individual 2013 lists:
OK, I’ve managed to remember 143 albums that came out this year and that I liked. As in previous years, I didn’t see much point in hacking my list down to a Top 100, or Top 50, or whatever. While it’d be a stretch to claim every one is an imperishable classic, I do feel broadly confident recommending them all.
Independent record shops sales soared by 44 per cent in the first half of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012.
According to an analysis of Official Charts Company data by the Entertainment Retailers Association, indies have seen a huge increase in sales, despite an overall decline in the sale of albums over the same period by 1.5 per cent.
Around this time in 2012, I came up with 40 records, released between January and June, that I liked enough to include in a six-month Best-Of list. Either I’m being more diligent, or less discerning, or else 2013 is shaping up to be a better year: as you can see, I’ve managed 67 here.
If, as internet speculation and promo footage imply, “Tomorrow’s Harvest” has a Cold War/atomic age subtext, Boards Of Canada’s focus is, as ever, long-range and aesthetic: less on the actual devastation wrought by nuclear weapons, more on nebulous creep and on the terrible beauty of a mushroom cloud when observed from a relatively safe distance. It’s a potentially glib way of toying with signifiers: Armageddon as nature documentary.
The new issue of Uncut, out today (January 31), features Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Richard Thompson and David Bowie.
Tom Waits is on the cover, and inside, friends and collaborators tell the story of the singer-songwriter’s development from a Beat-obsessed San Diego youth to a hip Los Angeles troubadour, culminating in the making of his debut album, Closing Time, which is four decades old this year.
Until I woke up this morning and checked Twitter, I had planned to write something about the new Low album today. The enormously unexpected return of Bowiemania put paid to that; I’ll try again with Low tomorrow, unless in the intervening 24 hours Kevin Shields is finally shamed into pulling his finger out.
We seem to be posting a lot more lists than actual joined-up writing at the moment – Michael’s just put Uncut’s full Top 75 of 2012 on the website, with links, and is promising our Archive/Reissues chart tomorrow – but, hey, here’s another. Among some other good new arrivals, another strong recommendation for Parquet Courts: check them out here.
