Al Bedsitter's Best Albums of 2013: Part 3 of 3 : Daft Punk is Playing At My House

[bedsitter23]

Part 3...  If it's not here, then it's not on the list.

 

Moby  Innocents (Arts and Crafts) – Unnoticed by many, Moby is quietly putting out one solid album after another.  Innocents is clearly in the mold of Play and Everything is Wrong, but lacks the publicity that attracted people to those albums.  Like 2011’s Destroyed, these songs are as good as any he’s recorded, except this time he brings a list of all star guests –Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips (the excellent single “The Perfect Life”), Mark Lanegan, Damian Jurardo, and Skylar Grey and a star producer Spike Stent (everyone from U2 to the Spice Girls, Massive Attack and Lady Gaga, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ellie Goulding, Madonna and the Kaiser Chiefs).  Well worth seeking out.

Scott and Charlene’s Wedding Any Port in a Storm (Fire)- Australian Craig Dermody’s project is the next true heir to the Modern Lovers  style and sound- self-loathing and lo-fi.  When the music doesn’t sound like the  Velvet’s (or Velvet-inspired bands like The Feelies, which it usually does), Dermody sounds a bit Gordon Gano in his vocals.  One of my favorite finds of the year.

Harper Simon Division Street (Play it Again Sam/Tulsi)- There’s a lot to hate about Harper Simon if you are so inclined- he’s the son of Paul Simon, and thus has an all-star producer (Tom Rothrock who’s worked with Elliot Smith, the Foo Fighters and Beck on their most well-known albums) and an all-star backing band (members of the Strokes, Elvis Costello’s Attractions and Wilco).  If you can get past that, it’s a strong singer-songwriter outing regardless of artist name and if his debut didn’t set the world on fire, then this album gives promise that his time may indeed come.  If Harper does owe a debt to mid-90s indie pop like the Lemonheads, it’s certain that Evan Dando owes Harper’s dad a large part of his career.

Eddie Spaghetti The Value of Nothing (Bloodshot) – The Supersuckers’ front man’s country albums have made my list before (2011’s Sundowner), but I will continue to champion this unsung career.  Nothing is as close as you get to a serious Spaghetti album- in that it still features a near-naked woman on the cover, and songs have titles like “People are s#it”.  It is almost ‘mature’ though in that it’s all original songs (usually, he mixes in about half covers) and a certain amount of  earnestness, which sort of brings it into Rhett Miller territory.  It’s not a bad thing though, he still makes my list.

The Thermals Desperate Ground (Saddle Creek Records)  In theory, this album shouldn’t be here.  Ostensibly, the Thermals are a one trick pony, and even the Ramones had lost their relevance ten years into their career.  Plus, the Thermals have had their career defining album The Body The Blood The Machine, and you can argue they have had at least three strong albums.  So on paper, you can’t explain this album.  Sure enough, though on their Saddle Creek debut, the Thermals have made an album about as solid as they (or anyone in their genre) have ever made.

Linda Thompson  Won’t Be Long Now (Topic) – With apologies to Richard Thompson who has made solid album after solid album, it is Linda’s disc this year that I feel compelled to include and best captures the classic feel of albums like I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight .  It’s the right mix of original songs , covers and standards and a great cast of musicians (Richard, Teddy Thompson and the whole family, Susan McKeown, Eliza and Martin Carthy, Tony Trischka), although clearly it’s Linda’s vocals which take this to ‘instant classic’ level.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs  Mosquito (Polydor/Interscope) – Some critics hated this album, which I attribute to the gross-out cover, but for me, this is what I wanted from this band.  Like The Strokes, the commercial and critical success of their first album overshadows everything they do, but unlike the drastic gear-shift of Comedown Street, this band was always evolving.  Sure there is more than one song here that can’t escape “Maps” comparisons (“Despair” for one), but it’s the mix of songs that make it work, as they are side-by-side with  some songs that are as primal as anything as The Cramps ever did, and songs that satisfy the band’s dance-inspired side.