The Metaphorical Boat's Best of 2013 - The Lists

For the benefit of those who don't like musical embeds, or opinions about the music featured, here are The Metaphorical Boat's top songs and albums of 2013 in list form. For those who enjoy cold, hard data.
Top Songs of 2013

1. Public Service Broadcasting - Signal 30
2. We Were Evergreen - Leeway
3. Suede - It Starts and Ends With You
4. Swim Deep - King City
5. John Grant - Black Belt
6. London Grammar - Strong
7. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
8. Kodaline - High Hopes
9. A Plastic Rose - This Side of Winter
10. Step Rockets - Kisser
11. Girls Names - Hypnotic Regression
12. Ed Zealous - Medicines
13. Prides - Out Of The Blue
14. Suede - Hit Me
15. The Dancers - For Something In Your Eyes
16. Frank Turner - The Way I Tend To Be
17. Vance Joy - Riptide
18. Jakwob - Fade
19. The 1975 - Chocolate
20. Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
21. In An Instant - All Binds Fall Undone
22. Tribes - Dancehall
23. Hurdles - Kaleidoscope
24. Bastille - Pompeii
25. nano.RIPE - Tsuki Hana
26. Everything Everything - Duet
27. Hentai Babies - One Potato Two
28. Icona Pop - I Love It
29. Shugo Tokumaru - Katachi
30. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
31. Primal Scream - It's Alright, It's OK
32. Shonen Knife - When You Sleep
33. Superfood - Superfood
34. The Killers - Shot At the Night
35. Foals - My Number
36. A Northern Light - Kill It
37. Avicii - Wake Me Up
38. Best Boy Grip - Runaway
39. Janelle Monae - Dance Apocalyptic
40. Fryars - The Power
41. Parquet Courts - You've Got Me Wonderin' Now
42. Fred V & Grafix - Basilisk
43. Major Leagues - Endless Drain
44. Crash And The Coots -  Don't Kill Bugs
45. Clean Bandit - Mozart's House
46. Outfit - House on Fire
47. Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know
48. TeamRKT - Break Out
49. Little Bear - Killer
50. Daft Punk - Get Lucky

Top Albums of 2013

1. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform - Educate - Entertain
2. Suede - Bloodsports
3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of The City
4. Eels - Wonderful, Glorious
5. Girls Names - The New Life
6. Swim Deep - Where The Heaven Are We
7. Melt Yourself Down - Melt Yourself Down
8. Arctic Monkeys - A.M
9. Foals - Holy Fire
10. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Albums of 2013 - 5-1

5. Girls Names - The New Life

(Tough Love Recordings)

And so our favourite album from a Northern Irish band in 2013 comes courtesy of the blogosphere's favourite Belfast band, Girls Names. Their sophomore album "The New Life" might not be the most original or contemporary sounding records to be released this year (almost every review of the album has compared it to either Joy Division or The Cure), but there is no doubting its brilliance. Every irresistible guitar hook hypnotizes you, drawing you into the foggy world created by Cathal Cully & co over tracks such as "Pittura Infamante", "Hypnotic Regression", and the close-on eight minute masterpiece "The New Life". They may sound familiar, but they sound like nothing else coming out of Northern Ireland in 2013.

4. Eels - Wonderful, Glorious

(E Works/Vagrant)

"Wonderful, Glorious" is an album of great duality, showing that ten albums in, Eels can still find the right balance between comfort and shock, light and dark, and rough and smooth. The album contains moments that might be familiar to fans of the band, such as the wounded ballad "On The Ropes" and the scuzzy "Peach Blossom". However, it also contains some surprising new musical developments for E & co, like the 'this needs to be the theme for a 70s game show' moments on "Stick Together" or the title track, which is a fantastic funk-meets-psychedelia moment. 

At this point in their career, unless you've been a fan of Eels up until now it's unlikely that you've given this album much thought. Don't let that put you off - "Wonderful, Glorious" is a worthy addition to the Eels discography, easily their strongest and best album since 2008's "Hombre Lobo". 

3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

(XL Records)

"Modern Vampires of The City", the third album from Vampire Weekend, sees the band tackling the big topics in life, such as religion, death & the nature of humanity, yet doing so in a way that's not preachy, dour, or sounding like they've spent an extended amount of time living up their own posteriors. 

The upbeat tracks are the highlights of the record - from the defiant sounds of "Unbelievers" and "Worship You", through to the doo-wop helium-pop of "Diane Young". But the slower songs, which form the majority of the album, also have their charm too - the mechanical crunch of "Step" was so much loved it was released as a single twice, whilst "Ya Hey" is such a beautiful, thoughtful track. 

It's a million miles away from the much-aped 'Upper West Side Soweto' sound that helped the band to break out in 2008, but their evolution on "Modern Vampires of the City" shows that Vampire Weekend are one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking, forward-thinking indie bands in the world today.

2. Suede - Bloodsports

(Warner Brothers)

Well, they're the greatest band of all time, so Suede were always going to feature in this year's list with "Bloodsports", their first studio album in eleven years, but in what position? When I reviewed "Bloodsports" back in March, I'd indicated that although I liked the album, it wasn't the instant classic I'd expected it to be, and was disappointed that it seemed to tread too close to the sounds of previous albums.

So what changed in the intervening time to make it The Metaphorical Boat's #2 album of the year? Well, I realised three things:

1) I dismissed the album based on what I wanted to hear, rather than what I did hear - Suede seemed to roughly channel a different sound on each of their albums - glam-rock on "Suede", proggy-rock on "Dog Man Star", pop-rock on "Coming Up", electro-rock on "Head Music", and forgot-how-to-rock on "A New Morning". So when "Bloodsports" didn't fit into the neat little box I liked to put the band's album, I suffered from cognitive dissonance, as I wasn't hearing the album that I expected to hear. 

I now realise that was unfair - Brett and Mat from the band have said in interviews that it was their intention to make an album that sounds like Suede, rather than trying to reinvent their sound or try new things. With this perspective in mind, it's much easier to enjoy the album.

2) The new songs sound fantastic live - When I saw Suede in Belfast over the summer, I was amazed at how great "Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away" and "For The Strangers", two songs I'd dismissed when I'd heard the album", came across incredibly strong in between the more familiar songs, with the crowds singing along to them as if they'd known them for years. If that isn't a testament to how great the new material is, then I don't know what is.

3) Suede are awesome - this point does not need clarifying. 

So Suede gave us a fantastic album in "Bloodsports", a record that in most other years would have been the #1 album hands down. Unfortunately for them, 2013 is not most other years. So The Metaphorical Boat's Top Album of 2013 is:

1. Public Service Broadcasting - "Inform - Educate - Entertain"

(Test Card Records)

They've done the double.

The Metaphorical Boat's album of the year is "Inform - Educate - Entertain", the debut full-length from Public Service Broadcasting. When an artist takes such a specialised approach to their music, in PSB's case building songs around samples from public information films, there's a risk that it can sound samey over the course of a full album. It's a testament to the writing skills of J. Willgoose Esq. and Wrigglesworth that "Inform - Educate - Entertain" offers a rich tapestry of sounds throughout its eleven tracks,. Whether it's the Krautrock vs WW2 dogfight on "Spitfire", the soundtrack to the road movie from hell, "Signal 30", through to the dreamy, bottom of the bottle musings of "Lit Up", the album takes you on a journey to many different places, eras, and states of mind in less than 40 minutes.

"Inform - Educate - Entertain" is the album of the year for four reasons reasons. Firstly, there is not a single bad track on the album. Secondly, it sounds like nothing else that has been released in 2013. Thirdly, it shows an amount of innovation that should help inspire and influence other musician for years to come. And finally it is an album that I intent to revisit and listen to again for many years to come, and each time find something new to love about it. 

The Metaphorical Boat's Albums of 2013 - 10-6

After all the fun and hijinks of looking at our favourite songs of 2013, it is time to delve into listageddon once more, by looking at the ten albums that most shaped The Metaphorical Boat's listening habits over the past twelve months.

To repeat the same thing I've said the past two years, it is usually much harder to decide on an order for best albums of the year than it is for best songs. For single tracks, it goes in order of which songs I'd be happy enough to hear again and again in descending order. For albums on the other hand, there are a lot more variables involved. Should an album with lots of decent tracks receive a better placing than an album with two of the greatest songs of the year and some filler? Should an album that works well as a complete work be given preference to an album with better songs, but with more variety and a poorer flow? Should an act who I've loved immensely in the past place highly even if their album from this year didn't match up to their usual high standards?

So after taking these thoughts into consideration, and after much self-deliberation, here is the first half of The Metaphorical Boat's top albums of 2013:

10. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action

(Domino)

Franz Ferdinand were undoubtedly the band that most shaped my listening habits during my early teenage years, so any new release from them would always be met with great excitement. Even though it contains some clunkers ("Evil Eye" should never have made the album, let alone got the single treatment), "Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action) is a strong addition to the back catalogue. From the powerful lead single "Right Action", through to the quasi-psychedelic "Wild Strawberries", through to the somber closing song "Goodbye Lovers & Friends", "RTRWRA" neatly demonstrates the sound that made them such indie darlings over ten years ago.

9. Foals - Holy Fire

(Warner)

It's hard to believe that the Foals who recorded "Holy Fire" in 2013 are the same Foals that gave us the messy, angular "Antidotes" back in 2008. "Holy Fire" is a highly focused, meaty indie-rock record that seems to tread the fine lines between brooding and upbeat and between accessible and experimental with great results. For every irresistibly hooky song, like their biggest hit to date "My Number" or "Bad Habit", there's a few darker tunes lurking, like the dank, powerful opener "Prelude" or the almost-ambient closing number "Moon". And then of course there's "Inhaler", a song that the band will struggle to ever match.

It'll be a struggle for Foals to make an album as consistent and brilliant as "Holy Fire", but if there's one thing that they're good at, it's taking us by surprise. 

8. Arctic Monkeys - A.M

(Domino)

It would be an insult to call "A.M" the fifth album from Arctic Monkeys, a return to form. After all, every single one of their albums has hit the top spot, with sales that most bands could only dream of. But it does seem to have been their first album since their sophomore effort that has attracted considerable attention outside of their (massive) fan base. 

And rightly so. Although it does seem to owe more to the sound of their last two albums than their first two, "A.M" shows that the band haven't lost their knack for a great big rock hook. The dirty guitar riff of "Do I Wanna Know?" sounds as if it has been around forever, held in stasis since the 70s until thawed out by Alex Turner, "Arabella" likewise. Elsewhere, "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", a song which became their first top 10 hit in 6 years, sees the hip-hop influences that had been hiding in the background since their debut come to the forefront, whilst "No.1 Party Anthem" and "I Wanna Be Yours" sees a softer side to the band. 

Although it's a million miles away from the sound that helped them break through in 2005, "A.M" by Arctic Monkeys is the best, most consistent album they have put out to date, and should replace their debut as the quintessential record from the band.

7. Melt Yourself Down - Melt Yourself Down

(The Leaf Label)

The self-titled album from Melt Yourself Down sounds like it is the beginning of a whole new movement of music. The sextet contain members of various jazz/world music acts (like Polar Bear, Acoustic Ladyland & Sons of Kemit), and their sound encompasses these influences, as well as elements of funk, electronica, and even a little bit of screamo to create a multicultural, cosmopolitan, unique saxophone-led sound. Although the best descriptor of their sound comes from their own label, who describe them as:

"...(T)he sound of Cairo ‘57, Cologne ‘72, New York ‘78, London 2013. North and south and east and west."

Melt Yourself Down might be a little bit too esoteric for some people's tastes, but there is no denying its earworm-inducing hooks on songs like "Fix Me Life", the bass vs sax dual of "We Are Enough", or the wonderful "Kingdom of Khush".

6. Swim Deep - Where The Heaven Are We

(Chess Club)

Birmingham early 90s revivalists Swim Deep sure know their way around a great pop hook, if their debut album "Where The Heaven Are We" is to be believed. From their monster calling card single "King City", the sparkly "Colour Your Ways", through to the more introspective sound of "The Sea" and the great baggy-infused closer "She Changes The Weather", the band shows off a great songcraft that belies their youth. 

What I found interesting whilst reading reviews of the record is that some critics have suggested that whilst they enjoyed "Where The Heaven Are We", they still think that they band still has a world-beating album still to come in the future. In all honesty, if their follow-up album is only half as good as this one, it will be worth listening to.