Best Songs / Best Albums / Best EP/7″

To think that we’re condensing an entire year of our favorite albums in one post, what a novel idea.  It took a lot of time for us to go through all the albums we listened to this year, but I’m freaking happy with what we came up with.

There’s no magic formula here.  The following 20 albums are ones that kept playing and playing.  They’re our favorites, but might not be yours, so leave your favorite album of the year in the comments or on our Facebook page.

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20. Brooke Fraser — Flags

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Something In The Water – Brooke Fraser Something In The Water – Brooke Fraser (Free Download / Buy)

Brooke Fraser’s first single “Something In the Water,” one that soars with a memorable melody and irresistibly snappy beats, heads off her glorious new collection of folk rock and pop tracks.  The equally upbeat “Coachella” and “Jack Kerouac” live harmoniously alongside beautifully crafted ballads like “Sailboat” and “Who Are We Fooling (Feat. Aqualung).” There is a tremendous amount of soul and feeling behind every song, and she explains the album as a character study, speaking through stories and viewpoints other than her own. Her sound is arranged in a folky Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros manner, coupled with her piano skills and honeyed vocals the likes of Feist and Sara Bareilles.

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19. Seabear – We Build a Fire

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Seabear’s second album We Built a Fire and their While the Fire Dies EP were simultaneously released earlier this year. The two efforts are quite a complementary duo, with the EP tracks acting as livelier answers to the more delicate lullabies on the full-length album. Overall, their sound is fanciful and optimistic, full of rich seven-part harmonies and dazzling folk arrangements.

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18. Fang Island — Fang Island

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Myspace / Buy

The LP opens with the crackling sound effects of “Dreams of Dreams”, a song that builds into a beautiful electronic masterpiece. The instrumentals are the focal point until the final 30 seconds or so, when the band’s vocals triumphantly enter the scene and offer a brilliant induction to my favorite track on the album, Careful Crossers. Great fucking song.

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17. Ra Ra Riot — The Orchard

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Boy – Ra Ra Riot Boy – Ra Ra Riot (Buy)

Regardless of what it Is that you get out of listening to this album, there’s definitely something in it for everyone. The passionate vocals go hand-in-hand with the harmony of instruments to create an overall pleasant, enjoyable sounding album.

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16. Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

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In an age where his peers are continuing to make auto-tuned dance tracks like the latest pop stars of fame, Kanye West has created a timeless hip hop album. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is arguably the album of his career and one of the best this year. Soaked in all the arrogance and poise we have come to love or hate him for, this album lives up to his hype. At the same time, there is a vulnerability to this record that sheds light on the dark, raw and very human side of Kanye West, which is a compelling contrast to the bombastic rants of the hip hop icon.

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15. The New Pornographers — Together

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Listen / Buy

Filled with coarse guitar tones and a mixture of lighthearted keys, Together keeps a balance between rock, pop, ballad, jazz and several things in between. The album as a whole is cohesive and flows well, but the mixture of instrumentation and pace makes for a really interesting listen. Considering the size of this band (seven members) and the additional nine that were used in production, the intricacies of each song are obvious and completely intriguing. As always, though, I’m a huge fan of the dual male/female vocals, particularly those of Neko Case.

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14. Tame Impala — InnerSpeaker

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Beginning with psychedelic tones and a relaxed tempo, Tame Impala, keeps a flower child feel throughout without sacrificing interesting melodies and obvious musicianship. Listening to the album, I feel the draw of the 70s, but without a fully retro, non-unique emphasis.

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13. Deerhunter — Halcyon Digest

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He Would Have Laughed – Deerhunter He Would Have Laughed – Deerhunter (Free Download / Buy)

This record leaves me with image of a strong tornado sweeping up a small, poor Midwestern town and as the town is being decimated by this forceful storm, the debris that’s left in its wake forms a new and improved town, a very glass is half-full kind of feeling.

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12. Suckers — Wild Smile

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It Gets Your Body Movin’ – Suckers It Gets Your Body Movin’ – Suckers (Buy)

Suckers has a created an album with a nice rhythmic quality to it, yet it’s very repetitive in the sense that 9 of the 11 tracks have the same song structure to it.  A slow beginning, followed by a catchy section of building, and then a chanting-type bridge, before a harmonious section of instrumentals seems to constitute the criteria for being a Suckers song.  Despite a generally unvarying formula, the record works because of the passionate vocals of lead singer Quinn Walker.

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11. Les Savy Fav — Root For Ruin

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Let’s Get Out Of Here – Les Savy Fav Let’s Get Out Of Here – Les Savy Fav (Free Download / Buy)

The gritty guitar tones and bouncing riffs were what won me over on Les Savy Fav’s Root for Ruin. The album is angry but never bitter, upbeat but never poppy, and fun but never frivolous. “Sleepless in Silverlake”, with its amazing opening lick that continues throughout, remains one of my most listened to songs of the year. Like so many of the other tracks, this song is rooted in driving percussion and a feeling somewhere between tactical apathy and keen observation, creating an amazing duality to the songs and the band as a whole.

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10. Vampire Weekend — Contra

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So how do I feel about Contra? It’s great. Ezra Koenig and the rest of the gang obviously know what made their previous effort so good, and that they would be crucified if they messed with their musical formula.  In an era when so many sophomore albums fall flat on their face, Vampire Weekend succeeded in producing another gem. Songs like “Taxi Cab”, “Giving Up The Gun”, “Run”, and “White Sky” are a slight departure from what we found on the last album.

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9. The Joy Formidable — A Balloon Called Moaning

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The vocals from Ritzy Bryan offer an absolutely perfect compliment to both the punk-like, forcefully driven songs and slower, sometimes acoustic-based tracks on A Balloon Called Moaning. It’s actually this mixture of tones that drew me in initially. Rarely can a band truly incorporate and master such distinct moods and blend them on the same album. From start to finish, I find myself transfixed by the melodies and admiring the head-shaking, heart-skipping jams that make this album as fun as it is.

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8. Young the Giant — Young The Giant

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My Body – Young The GiantMy Body – Young The Giant (Free Download)

These twelve tracks are the convertible speedster and winding roads that will carry you far away from the impending winter doldrums. “Apartment” gently turns the ignition, leading the way with “I hit the sidewalk, and this is how it starts…”

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7. Sufjan Stevens — Age of Adz

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I Walked – Sufjan Stevens I Walked – Sufjan Stevens (Free Download / Buy)

Age of Adz is an intrinsic analysis that provides ample evidence that Sufjan is looking to break free from the ‘singer/songwriter’ moniker.  With all of his experimenting throughout the record, it’s stunning that he continues to rise above his contemporaries and excel in areas we never thought he’d venture. This is most obvious during the dance break of “Impossible Soul”, an ‘expecto patronum’ verse if you will. Its brightness breaks through layers of darkness and depression to reveal the hope that lies deep within this album.  If you are looking for this album to be your next sleepy-time Sufjan collection, you’ve come to the wrong place. Age of Adz is evidence that a musician can break free of what made him popular and connect with an audience in an entirely new way without alienating all of his loyal fans. Not everyone will love this album, but for those able to make the connection, it’s an early Christmas present, and an album that will stick around for decades to come.

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6 – Two Door Cinema Club — Tourist History

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Eat That Up, It’s Good For You – Two Door Cinema Club Eat That Up, It’s Good For You – Two Door Cinema Club (Buy)

Tourist History is the sort of album that if I played for my grandfather, he’d keep asking what the band was called even though he’s 90 and would never have heard of them.  Tourist History is only their debut effort, yet it’s received endless praise from the most respected sources around.  Favorites include Some Good Can Work, Eat That Up, It’s Good For You, Undercover Martyn, and This Is The Life.

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5 – Arcade Fire — The Suburbs

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Listen / Buy

The Suburbs is a 16-track compilation of beautiful music. With a diverse collection of instruments and mastering the fusion of 7-band members into an army of blissful sound, The Suburbs pulls you in.  The gravitational force of the majority of the album is so overwhelming, this is sure to be an album we’re stuck on for quite awhile.

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4 – Local Natives — Gorilla Manor

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This debut release from Silverlake’s Local Natives is one of the strongest I’ve heard since 2008′s self-titled Vampire Weekend debut. It’s filled with glorious harmonies, heart-pumping percussion, and warm lyrics.  This combination has resulted in one of the year’s most well-received albums.

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3 – Jónsi — Go

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Go Do – Jónsi Go Do – Jónsi (Buy)

Jónsi’s Go was our first chance to hear Jón Þór Birgisson sing in a language we could actually understand.  As any Sigur Rós fan would expect, Go was exceedingly successful in it’s boisterous arrangements and signature vocal delivery.  Birgisson’s debut solo release plays like a work of art with intricate layers and incredibly rich textures.

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2 – The National — High Violet

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Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National (Buy)

Despite having already amassed catalogue of beloved music, The National, with each new release, finds a way to surprise and intrigue their fans. The instrumentation on High Violet is never boastful, but uses understatement and small intricacies to create a mood, depth, and simple connection through the music. While the foundation of guitar and piano elements is always what holds the music together, the horn and string accents are what make the tracks feel distinctive from one another and from most other bands of this genre. Finish up with the enigmatic lyrics and unwavering vocals of Matt Berninger, and this album will remain one of my absolute favorites of the year.

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1 – Joanna Newsom — Have One On Me

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Good Intentions Paving Company – Joanna Newsom Good Intentions Paving Company – Joanna Newsom (Buy)

California native, Joanna Newsom, re-emerged this February with her refreshing new album, Have One On Me. Listening to the entirety of the album is an event in and of itself, as it clocks in at over 126 minutes.   Newsom’s style of singing, high-pitched notes that strike with an intense sharpness, also makes her music slightly less accessible and difficult to interpret quickly. With time, though, I began to uncover the album’s many layers and fully appreciate what an amazing work it is.

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Best Songs / Best Albums / Best EP/7″