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Urban75 Album of the Year 2013 - The Results

29 The Asphodells – Ruled By Passion, Destroyed By Lust


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Andy Weatherall partaking in more Shoreditch spookiness. Like other list dwellers, he seems to positively thrive on collaborations, adding up to a scuzzy, roguish, tense dramatic listen.


 
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28 Future of the Left – How to Stop Your Brain In An Accident

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The Welsh rockers who are neither pompous nor paedophiles. Aggressive, political rock at its best.


 
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27 Hookworms - Pearl Mystic

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Is it Loop? Is it Hawkwind? No, it’s Leeds’ new psych stars with their thrilling debut. Magnificent build and release swirls of righteousness.


 
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26 The Ex & Brass Unbound - Enormous Door

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The best album you haven’t heard this year. You can’t have heard it or it’d be higher. A work of genius, pure and simple. Once again, it’s the collaboration that brings out the underlying brilliance of The Ex. Ethiopian grooves, Swedish jazz and Dutch punk has never sounded so good. Go out and buy this record now.

 
25 Major Lazer - Free the Universe

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Haven’t they fallen apart? Apparently not! Diplo continues to create his own brand of music – ‘Gorillaz without the pretence’ and gathers an eclectic bunch of collaborators (Vampire Weekened, Dirty Projectors, Shaggy) to help him.

 
24 Machinedrum - Vapor City

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Dont confuse them with MachineHead, you’d be making a very big mistake of you did. Think more Four Tet, or Burial, flourescent synthesizer chords, deep soul voices echoing and ruffneck ragga vocals.

 
23 Tim Hecker - Virgins

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A ‘live recording’ from our Tim, with eerier than ever electronic soundtracks that’ll seriously wobble your head if you play it thru the headphones.

 
22 Haxan Cloak – Excavation

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The London producer’s second album is about the journey taken after death, apparently. Although that probably makes it sound cheerier than it is. Droning yet expansive, it’s bold and intimidating, yet can be surprisingly light and hopeful. May they long continue to intrigue.

 
21 Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold

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Socrates died in the FUCKING gutter!” – they start as they mean to go on. No holds barred guitar based fun and fury from another set of NY garage rockers.

 
20 Hey Colossus - Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo

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Do you like The Melvins? Do you like Jesus Lizard? Well, why haven’t you bought the Hey Colossus album yet then?



(the track that will appear on the Spotify playlist is from an earlier album, as the new one isn't on there)
 
19 Julia Holter - Loud City Song

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This is Holter’s interpretation of 1958 MGM musical Gigi (you don’t need to have seen the film to get it tho). Avant-pop that is actually listenable.

 
18 Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light

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A saxophonist who revels in tonal repetition and repetition of repetition. Like Tom Waits got drunk with Schoenberg.

 
17 These New Puritans - Field of Reeds

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Another change in tack from the Puritans, much less rocky, much more ‘compositional’ (if that’s a word), stripped right back. And, my god, Adrian Peacocks voice is low, low, low.

 
16 Forest Swords – Engravings

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All man, no biscuit. Some say it sounds just like the Sabres of Paradise. But only a bit, it’s still really rather good indeed. Spookily their contribution to my Best of the Year CD has just started as I'm posting this. I need a calming cup of tea.

 
15 Kanye West – Yeezus

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Apparently people have voted for a Kanye West album. I am sure it is a jolly good Kanye West album.

 
14 Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven

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I spent ages trying to work out how to pronounce their name, before working out it was really quite obvious. Its te only obvious thing about this album tho. It sounds like it’s made in the 1980’s by someone who travelled back in time from the 2020’s. Hints of Terry Riley and Brian Eno don’t stop this from being unmistakeably Daniel Lopatin.

 
13 Phosphorescent – Muchacho

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Astounding how many people misspelled the band they were nominating, but I let them off. Rollicking country-rock, beery and regret soaked. Well, it would be, wouldn’t it?

 
12 Haiku Salut- Tricolore

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They sound like they should be French or Spanish, but are actually from the East Midlands. It’s a smorgasbord of delights, folky, ambient, and just darn funky. Hints of AotY favourites Beirut come through, making Haiku Salut easily the most popular new band on this years list.

 
11 Mogwai - Les Revenants

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The soundtrack to the TV phenomenon, it’s just as spooky even without dead people strolling around the place. Nothing can stop them (Mogwai, that is, not the dead folk)

 
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