Vic’s Top 50 records of 2013 on the whole is a mighty fine display of Scottish talent. Just don’t get me started on Vampire Weekend, OK?
On the one hand I’ve taken a pop at lists already this moon cycle. The linkbait aspect does my head in. However, I’ll make an exception for Vic’s Top 50 Albums of the Year 2013. Working for the BBC and being someone who actually lives and breathes music, Vic’s list has a strong Scottish bias mixed with other gems. We’ll skip over the inclusion of Vampire Weekend because nobody is perfect.
For anyone curious as to which Scottish records of 2013 are worth investigating, his list is an excellent place to start!
In alphabetical order:
- Adam Stafford – Imaginary Walls Collapse (Song By Toad)
- Agnes Obel – Aventine (PIAS)
- Arctic Monkeys – AM (Domino)
- Atoms for Peace – Amok (XL Recordings)
- Biffy Clyro – Opposites (14th Floor Records)
- Birdhead – Pleasure Centre (Gamma Pro forma)
- Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest (Warp)
- Bombino – Nomad (Nonesuch)
- Camera Obscura – Desire Lines (4AD)
- Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe (Virgin)
- Conquering Animal Sound – On Floating Bodies (Chemikal Underground)
- Edwyn Collins – Understated (AED)
- Fat Goth – Stud (Hefty Dafty)
- Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Domino)
- Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse (Atlantic)
- Hidden Masters – Of This And Other Worlds (Rise Above)
- James Holden – The Inheritors (Border Community)
- Honningbarna – Verden Er Enkel (G Records / Rough Trade)
- Jagwar Ma – Howlin (Marathon Artists)
- Jon Hopkins – Immunity (Domino)
- Julia Holter – Loud City Song (Domino)
- Kelley Stoltz – Double Exposure (Third Man)
- Kid Canaveral – Now That You Are A Dancer (Fence / Lost Map)
- King Creosote – That Might Well Be It, Darling (Domino)
- Kvelertak – Meir (Roadrunner)
- Machinedrum – Vapor City (Ninja Tune)
- Melt Yourself Down – Melt Yourself Down (Leaf)
- Monoganon – FAMILY (Lost Map)
- My Bloody Valentine – MBV (mbv)
- Nils Frahm – Spaces (Erased Tapes)
- Omar Souleyman – Wenu Wenu (Ribbon Music)
- Primal Scream – More Light (First International)
- Public Service Broadcasting – Inform Educate Entertain (Test Card Recordings)
- Queens of the Stone Age – Like Clockwork (Matador)
- Red Hot & Fela – Various Artists (Knitting Factory)
- RM Hubbert – Breaks & Bone (Chemikal Underground)
- Savages – Silence Yourself (Matador)
- Sparrow & the Workshop – Murderopolis (Song By Toad)
- Steve Mason – Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time (Domino)
- The Dewarists – Experimental Batch #26 (Dewar House)
- Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin (Castle Face)
- The Pastels – Slow Summits (Domino)
- The Pictish Trail – Secret Sounds Volume 2 (Fence / Lost Map)
- Ty Segall – Sleeper (Drag City)
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II (Jagjaguwar)
- Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City (XL Recordings)
- White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade (Downtown)
- William Onyeabor – Who is William Onyeabor (Luaka Bop)
- Young Fathers – Tape One & Tape Two (Anticon)
There’s lots to keep you going there for a few weeks! The Scottish scene was unanimous in praise for the very first entry on that list, Adam Stafford with Imaginary Walls Collapse. A voice like Adam’s is unique in that it possesses character without sounding like he’s choking on shortbread. I could listen to him sing out your shopping list and it would sound more artistic than half of what I’ll hear in 2014.
And that’s just the first one. Camera Obscura’s record is a fine piece of work. Kvelertak are one of the best hard rock bands on the planet right now. And so on and so on.
Happy listening!
VIC GALLOWAY’S BOOK SONGS IN THE KEY OF FIFE IS OUT NOW
VIC’S PODCAST SERIES CAN BE FOUND ON BBC SCOTLAND
