Heilewelt - a blog for music lovers

Where to start? Well, I’ve already introduced some of my favourite things in 2013 through the previous “Best of 2013” lists of Quiet Lions, Tristan Brusch, Olympians, Tellavision, Phil, Laura Jansen and Corwood Manual. But what else was there? I published 15 interviews in total. That’s quite a bit and there are still some coming. Did I had a favourite? All of them to be honest. I think the one I was most scared of and most excited about and turned out to be an all time favourite interview. It was with Andy Bothwell aka Astronautalis where we chatted about science and stuff. And then there was of course the interview Laura Jansen who would be so encouraging.

I haven’t been to many festivals this years - three or four in total. My most favourite was Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. Why? Great music all day long without camping and in one of my most favourite cities of the world. Bands like Naked Lunch, The Sheepdogs, Talking To Turtles, Death Hawks, Tunng…

As always my best of’s aren’t in any particular order and are mainly the things I can still remember and made me happy. Of course I’ll keep the two farewell shows very close to my heart. I just loved The Candle Thieves concert in May and the last Stagecoach show during Alcopopalooza was just so much fun. And another plus: I saw Elephants live. They split a couple of years ago and I never ever thought I’ll see them. They reunited for one last show. They were amazing. The super catchy pop song “Strong Arms” never leaves my mp3-player.

And then there were Chinese band Nova Heart – magnifcient electro pop with an amazing singer who just knows how to put on a show. She was supported by another favourite of mine: Tomi Simatupang who not only played but combined it with a weird theater play and a great choir.

Arcade Fire were awesome. And of course: William Fitzsimmons, Denison Witmer, Mars Red Sky (at any time really, in my hometown and in theirs), Samsara Blues Experiment, Thomas Dybdahl, Efterklang, Salvation Bill and Rob Lynch.

Albums/music (in no particular order):

- Arcade Fire “Reflektor”

- Suns of Thyme "Fortune, Shelter, Love and Cure"

- Queens of the Stone Age “Like Clockwork…”

- Stagecoach “Say Hi To The Band”

- Kevin Devine “Bubblegum”/”Bulldozer”

- David Bowie “The Next Day”

- The Candle Thieves “All’s Well That Ends Well”

- Sharks And Bears “OK, Who Cares, Oh Well, Whatever”

- Elyas Khan “Brawl In Paradise”

The whole package which let to love:

There were some artists where the triplet – interview, music and concert - just made me fall in love with them. Those are wonderful moments. I didn’t know any of the bands/artist beforehand, the interviews were partly really messy but very interesting. It’s not that I went unprepared or something, sometimes I was just tired (as in too nervous to sleep), sometimes it was organized very last minute. In the end those turned out to be just fabulous conversation.

The first one was with Oliver Welter of Naked Lunch. He is a very smart man and it was a very enjoyable conversation. Their album “All Is Fever” has been on repeat for days and weeks after I talked to Welter. It’s full-on Pop.

The next ones were Tunng. We had a very messy interview but they are a lovely bunch of people and I like their album “Turbines”. After I have seen them twice live in merely 48 hours I was fully in love. After their singer Mike told me to check out their older stuff as well I was surprised how much their music changed over the years.

Unlike Tunng and Naked Lunch, Jan Roth is new to the game… at least when it comes releasing his own music. He has worked with several bands beforehand – too many to mention – and now he released “L.O.W.”: Lieder ohne Worte/Songs without words. He is witty and wise in his very own way.

Things to look forward to in 2014:

There are a couple of albums, tours and other things to look forward to in the next almost 362 days. The three most notable are the new album by William Fitzsimmons „Lions“ - I know that something I mention already in the outlook for 2013 a year ago. Well, now all label stuff etc is done, he, they and we are ready for the new album. It’s great, I can tell you already – he went back to his roots and so the album feels much more honest than his last one.

The second one I look forward to is Miss Kenichi's album “The Trail” – it’ll be out in spring on Sinnbus. Haunting beauty.

The last one is an album I got from Melodie & Rhythmus to review and I fell instantly in love with it. Not sure I would have discovered it any other way. It’s Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings “Give The People What They Want” – I got it on repeat for days (I was quite thrilled to find out they also made her album of the month). She is a real soul diva and I haven’t heard anyone like her since probably Aretha Franklin. A huge comparison, I know, but she stand it.

And of course: Archive's new project called “AXIOM” - a movie and soundtrack from the great band. Still time to support them on Pledge. Already looking forward to 29^th of May when they will show the movie and play the soundtrack live in the Roundhouse, London.

Tours to go to: Kevin Devine, William Fitzsimmons, Arcade Fire, Unmap and Russell Brand. And I really want to catch To Kill A King when they are touring Germany by the end of the month.

I’ve probably forgotten a lot of things* but those were the first things to come to my mind.

Thank you for reading and have a good 2014,

Dörte

*like when I saw Pentagram live. Bobby Liebling knows how a rockstar behaves on stage and the music wasn’t too bad either.

Previous best of 2013 lists:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

#3 Olympians

#4 Tellavision

#5 PhilthD

#6 Laura Jansen

#7 Corwood Manual

Have you all arrived well in 2014? I hope so. I wish you health, happiness and all the best things for the new year. Corwood Manual supported one of my most favourite bands Veto last year (2013 ;) ). It’s a one man project. I just saw a comment on Bandcamp which says basically everything about why I like his music: “This EP feels like home to me. It’s like a warm blanket for the freezing soul - intimate, close, vulnerable, understanding and honest.” It’s all I wanted to say. I am excited for everything that 2014 will bring, also in all of his other projects (almost too many to remember). 

Best of 2013: Andreas Bonkowski/Corwood Manual

Alright. 2013, where do I start? I write this in the middle of the night, so what would be a better time to just let go and write about some things that made an impression over the course of the last 12 months…

Benoît Pioulard - Hymnal

An outstanding album, inspired by gothic architecture and the english countryside… dictaphones and hiss that never swallow a beautiful voice entangled with astonishing melodies.

Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship

Since I did not get to make a list for last year’s favorites I include this soley for one damn good reason: I love it to pieces.

Bibio - Silver Wilkinson

A friend once played me Bibio’s first record when it came out in 2005, since then I always kept an eye on what he is putting out… Somehow it strikes a nerve with me that I could never really describe, there is something in the melodies that I could always relate to. This is one of his quieter efforts, kind of dreamy in a way, it feels a bit like looking at old photographs during in the morning sun through a kaleidoscope.

James Holden - The Inheritors

Machines go bleep-blob, synths make drip-drop, hihats splashing everywhere and you wonder what’s going on. One monolith of sound I will be chewing on a long long time to come. Very inspiring.

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow’s Harvest

Oh the codes. The hidden records and messages, video projections, late night forum discussions, code-cracking, backwards listening and tension building. Someone you thought was lost suddenly tips you on the shoulder to say hello. This kept me on my toes for weeks, suddenly I found myself in a big puzzle of codes that were worth cracking. A lot of sleeping hours were lost during that time, but hey I couldn’t help it. It all lead to this wonderfully crazy labyrinth of an album that will either reveal itself to you over time or never at all.

Ever Ending Kicks - Weird Priorities

I got this tape during the last winter. I don’t recall how I stumbled upon the label’s website, but gut-feeling told me to click on the cover of this album and immediately I fell so in love with the first two songs, I ordered before even listening to the rest of it. I was not let down. At all. Later I read these are just demos the guy had lying around, not knowing what to do with them. I wonder what songs this guy finishes! But as of now I never tried finding out.

Buke and Gase - General Dome

Instantly fascinating duo from the States. I don’t know what these people have for lunch, but I’d definitely try a spoon or two. Invent and build your own instruments -> take it from there and never look back. Create your own playground, go crazy. This is how you do it!

Fluorescent Heights - Tidal Motions

Another tape I got this year. Ambient drones and bubbly synths that sound like flowing water. Like watching a fascinating thing and suddenly you realize you stared at it for hours without noticing. I get lost in time while listening to this!

Louis C.K. & Eddie Izzard

Probably my favorite comedians right now if I don’t count all the greats that already passed into the world of light…

Beck - Gimme

Well this one came out of the blue, just as his other releases this year… I often catch myself singing this in the most unlikely moments. Vibraphone-vocoder-grooves + space-effects - simple and forward thinking. If you are into this already I can really recommend listening to the extended version which clocks in at 25 minutes. You’ve read that right!

Mac DeMarco - 2

Oh yeah, what a meal. I order whatever this guy’s having. With extra cheese. I heard one song on a mixtape and was enchanted within a blink of an eye. So here we are, I am an addict by now.

BEAK> - BEAK»

A record that twists and turns, somehow tip-toes around itself… As if there is a secret to it that has to be kept. I am a little slow on this one, it’s from 2012 but it really clicked with around the beginning of this year. Alongside Anika’s first LP it kept me going back to old krautrock records, the seemingly playful minimalism is something beautiful no matter how well it is recorded or played. There is something happening in the space between the notes I have no words for.

Various Artists - Personal Space (Electronic Soul 1974 - 1984)

You will be surprised.

Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin

Love At first I saw a video from his latest album… I didn’t know what to make of it at all but it took 3 seconds and I knew I wanted to know what this was about. So I got his first record to start things off only to discover I had it all along, buried somewhere on my hard drives under it’s original title. Doh! This is one of my favorites this year but hold on, it’s really from 2010. I am feeling so many different vibes at once while listening to it… Imagine Klaus Nomi singing on the Gainsbourg psychedelic lo-fi hippie 4-track rock record that he forgot to make. Maybe for a reason. Or maybe just to leave some room for spaced-out trips like this one!

Hoefner Violin Bass

I got one as a birthday present, I can hardly put this thing away.

Grouper - The Man Who Died in His Boat

Only Liz Harris can do something like this. Fuzzy and blurred, yet beautiful and clear, an album like a flying saucer. It’s a light shimmering in unknown colors underwater at night.

Melody’s Echo Chamber - Melody’s Echo Chamber

Another 2012 record I discovered this year… I should include it every year coming from now on. Gorgeous.

Breakin’ & Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo

Two breakdance movies from the early 80s that you will not forget after watching. Almost. Too. Much. Stuff. Going. On. Goofy actors and even funnier dance battles. Take my word for it.

Lone - Airglow Fires

90s rave? Acid house? Laser beam techno? I can’t help you here, I am dancing. This probably makes the best use of the word “what?” in a song since the invention of sliced bread.

My Bloody Valentine - MBV

I remember sitting backstage after a show I played… It was Saturday night when I got a message that MBV it just came out minutes ago. I think my heart skipped a few beats. What the #*%$? Is that real? 22 years of silence and it just appears like a rabbit out of the hat!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

Listen to these melodies, isn’t that something?

Finally I leave you with a record that will always pass the test of time: Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians“, the version ECM put out in 1978.

Previous best of 2013 lists:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

#3 Olympians

#4 Tellavision

#5 PhilthD

#6 Laura Jansen

I love Laura Jansen ever since the first time we chatted after a concert in 2009 and I am not getting tired of saying that. She is simply the most lovely, encouraging person I ever had the pleasure of talking to. It’s been my most favourite interview when we talked about her new record “Elba” earlier this year -  a beautiful, honest piece of music. 

She just played a show with Armin van Buuren in Kiev and was (is) touring the world with him and I am so very happy she took the time to give me her best of 2013 despite her super busy schedule. <3

Best of 2013 by Laura Jansen

 #1 James Blake - Overgrown

It took me a minute to get into this follow up album. His previous was such a huge part of my listening experience and this album seemed a bit more nebulous. Now it’s a part of my landscape as I travel. Key tracks for me are ‘Retrograde’ and ‘Our Love Comes Back’.

#2 Drake - Nothing Was the Same

I’ve really enjoyed what’s been coming out of hip hop this year and guilty pleasure or not, this album is a big part of that sound. It’s sexy and edgy and still very danceable. Favorite track is ‘Hold On We’re Going Home’. I play that at least once a day :)

#3 Rhye - Open

I first heard this band through the track ‘Open’ which I think is one of the strongest tracks I’ve heard in years. Lyrically as well melodically it really hits the mark. Such a beautiful love song. I enjoy the sound of the singer’s voice and the combination of intimate songs with bigger productions. This is still my favorite track on the album but also really love ‘The Fall’.

#4 Dawes - Stories Don’t End

Boy this record really took me on a journey. It’s so well made and so classically written. A truly timeless creation. My favorite type of lyric writing. Key track for me is ‘Just My Luck’.

#5 The National - Trouble Will Find Me

My favorite album of 2013. In its totality it is perfect to me. I’ve listened to this at every possible moment and adore it. Favorite tracks (and this is hard for me) ‘Fireproof’, ‘I Need My Girl’, ‘This is the last Time’.

#6 Stromae - Racine Carrée

There’s just not many times that an artist like this appears and captures the imagination of so many different kinds of music lovers. I think he is an incredible live performer, visual artist and producer/writer. I’m so excited that talent like his exists and what we can expect from him in the future. Key tracks for me are ‘Formidable’ and ‘Tous les Memes’.

#7 The Milk Carton Kids - The Ash & Clay

I’ve watched these two from the very beginning when on a ski trip they played their first songs as a duo for us in front of the fire. Having watched them grow into this animal they’ve become with two heads and two voices but one heart is incredible. This is such a gorgeous album in its entirety and in its simplicity. Key tracks are ‘The Jewel of June’ and ‘Snake Eyes’.

#8 The Veils - Time Stays, We Go

I saw the band first live at Lowlands and only then got into their studio work. This album suits my dark moods just fine. Key track are ‘The Pearl’ and ‘Out of the Valley’.

Previous best of 2013 lists:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

#3 Olympians

#4 Tellavision

#5 PhilthD

P.S. Have a fabulous 2014! As the Irish say: may the best of your past be the worst of your future. All the best and thank you for your support and everything.

With much love,

Dörte

Philthd is a twitter friend, on there we know each other for a few years, never met, have a deep love for Alcopop Records in common and he is a musician and writer, Played with Jack Pop of Alcopop in a band, long ago and not so long ago if I am totally wrong. Earlier this year he started a podcast called Incompletely Articulate together with Arcandianlady where both write poems and then talk about them. I like it, it’s good. (And it’s also a good training for my English.) I have always found Phil a very interesting person despite we don’t really know each other. I was just really curious what his best of 2013 would be, so I asked him. 

Here is one of my favourite ones with a dilemma I always feel in winter:

philthD’s best of 2013:

in no particular order, because art should never be a competition, these are some notable examples of the many awesome things from 2013 you should consider treating your ears to.

Soweto Kinch – The Legend of Mike Smith

http://www.soweto-kinch.com/audio/legend-of-mike-smith/

i don’t know how i could not start with this. the uk’s premiere jazz/hip-hop fusioneer’s fourth album is a vast, ambitious double cd retelling dante as the story of an aspiring rapper. the lyrics are smart and insightful, the whole feel immediate and the supporting cast and band, especially second sax player shabaka hutchings, are great. now also a stage show, apparently, which might be even better – but you might never get to see that so listen to the record.

Polarbear – At Home with Polar

http://www.backstreet-merch.com_cd_polarbear—-at-home-with-polar

polarbear (one word, not to be confused with seb rochford’s band) is an understated hero of the spoken word scene. although he now mostly does long stories, scroobius pip persuaded him out of poetry retirement to support him at the royal albert hall and to make this incredibly intimate record. just a man, in his home, telling you some poems. like spending a quiet afternoon in with a casually erudite raconteur.

Katie Malco – Tearing Ventricles

http://ilovealcopop.com/katie-malco-tearing-ventricles-the-slow-parade-ep

alcopop records supremo jack is an old friend, so i’m torn between plugging everything on his label because it’s good and none of it for fear that our connection invalidates my opinion. i couldn’t not mention this, though. malco’s soaring voice wrings incredible depths of emotion from every phrase. listening to this in too fragile a headspace has made me cry. at my dayjob. more than once. and that only made me love it more. you want it on vinyl with her old ep on the flip side.

Daniel Ruiz Tizon – The Letter

http://theletterofficialblog.wordpress.com/

daniel’s overthinking analysis of social situations and brutally revealing detailing of his life’s struggles and mental fragility have been part of my twitter feed for years. his “please don’t hug me” podcast is one of my main inspirations for starting a show of my own which feels woefully poor next to any of his podcasting output. recently he wrote this show for resonance fm, detailing his story through a series of letters to significant people and places in his life. billed as a comedy show, the letter is so much more than that - poignant, emotionally honest, loving and neurotic. still available on the show’s blog, listen to this before it gets lost.

Jim Bob – What I Think About When I Think About You

http://whenithinkaboutyou.co.uk/

this is a record with the assurance of a man who knows exactly who he is and what he wants to say. this is exactly the sort of mature, considered album a former-punk-frontman-turned-singer-songwriter should be making. lush orchestrations and some painfully catchy choruses provide the backdrop for a more restrained anger. why jim bob isn’t held in at least as high regard as say, weller, i will never know.

PINS – Girls Like Us

http://wearepins.tumblr.com/the-debut-pins-album-girls-like-us

those harmonies, those enormous drum sounds, those filthy guitars, those layers, that reverb – this is an absolute belter of a record. everything i want a rock’n’roll band to be and more. with the sort of apparent effortlessness that is so often the result of enormous quantities of talent and hard work, girls like us is such a precise and stylish slice of post-punk, but makes me dance with dorky abandon.

Tim Clare – Jesus Buys Me Cigarettes

http://www.nastylittlepress.org/books/jesus-buys-me-cigarettes/

if you think you’d enjoy a well-curated, britpop-heavy radio show, you should listen to the one tim does with john osborne on futureradio. if you want to read interesting opinions of retro videogames or incisive advice for aspiring writers you should look at his blog. but it is as a poet that he shines. even if all that were on this cd was the 23 minute a very short poem it would be worth buying, but when this comes as the culmination of a cracking set of poems and uke-accompanied songs it is somehow even better.

Marius Neset - Birds

http://www.editionrecords.com/releases/birds/

there’s something special about this. juggling jazz, folk and orchestral instruments across intricate rhythms and complex time signatures could so easily produce an unlistenable mess, but neset’s virtuosity, incredibly imaginative composition and most of all ear for a captivating melodic statement bring all these elements together in a way which not only makes perfect sense, but is entertaining and quirky and beautiful. simply masterful.

Previous best of 2013 lists:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

#3 Olympians

#4 Tellavision

Fee R. Kürten is the woman behind Tellavision. I discovered her music a couple of month ago when I went to one of her concerts her in Berlin. She is amazing, a voice full of blues and amazing melodies. I find it difficult to pin her music down on a certain style, maybe t’s some form of modern, experimental blues where one woman creates all the sounds to knit a colourful quilt. Her album “Funnel Walk” - a masterpiece when it comes to using loop pedals and stuff - will be released on or around the 17th of January. 

Tellavision’s best of 2013

Hej!

I could name a thousand things or just the things which come to my brain in the next ten minutes. So besides the all time favorites that I’ve been carrying around in my heart for many years now, I will name some interesting things I have found and re-discovered in actual 2013, so the ten minutes start now:

• Andrea Juno - Angry Women (book)

Wonderful and very realistic book which took me out of my weak days. it’s from 1999 but totally goes with the present days.

thank you for that piece!

• Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

I’ve heard a lot about her, suddenly a friend gave me that vinyl. forget the hits on the A-side. The B-side is more experimental, great sounds and noises.

on the LP I bought 

the labels are switched the other way around.

• Hamlet Gonashvili

I came on to it, when I was looking for the singing I’ve heard on Kate Bushs  “Hounds of Love”. A georgian girl told me it was a very rude thing to use such a traditional song which was owned by the country in another context.

It was Tsintskaro. It’s a choir of man vocals. Hamlet reissued those traditional Georgian pieces. Very intense.

• Rolf Dieter Brinkmann - Wörter Sex Schnitt

His kind of “Hörspiel”. He records thoughts and everything on the road. hectic but focused experiments. Switching between in- and out-sights. A german beatnik.

• RAM by Linda and Paul McCartney

We listened to it on tour. Ram on. I really enjoyed it. It’s the most expensive LP I’ve every bought. You can hear a big influence to music by anyone else these days. it’s like a run trough the huge open top of the music funnel and back. actually I am not such an intense Beatles listener but I also really enjoy ‘How Do You Sleep’ by John Lennon :)

• Otis G. Johnson - ‘Everything’ - God is Love ‘78

Finally a real smooth and loose sound in this hectic traffic.

• Fran Drescher - The Nanny

The at first sight a little bit cheesy sitcom from the nineties. Fran Drescher, who played the lead character and also produced all of the seasons is a women with never ending energy. After I watched a part of the series I got her biography. It’s crazy to read it and parallel watch the episodes - she experienced the worst things in life and seems to translate it into positive work. 

Also today I also think it’s very funny (more than I thought in the nineties)!

(And something that will never leave a year of mine:

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

Bacon

Mozart

Lots of names i invented

Robert Frank

Ella Fitzgerald

Chicago / TheBlues / Today! Vol. one

It’s very old but my absolute favorite Blues LP ever. It’s a sampler I bought in LA and Junior Wells is on it! He plays the Harmonic like crazy. Damn Good Songs.)

Previous best of 2013 lists:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

#3 Olympians

Olympians have created my most favourite gradient of the year and also released an amazing EP called “Adventure Gun” earlier as well. It’s filled with beautiful harmonies and singing. In this beauty they hide (that is probably just for someone whose native language is not English) line like:

"I work a horrible job 
Every day 
And I believe 
In music as truth and things like that 
What a stupid arsehole”

(from “My head is filled with weird dreams”)

Last year they already made my own Best of 2012 list with their amazing Book Club where they sent you a book and over the course of time four CDs which you can hide in the carved out book (does this description even make sense outside of my head?). I am rather thrilled they took the time to write me list, too. Enjoy! 

Olympians’ best music bits of 2013 in no real order.

• Son Lux – Lanterns

http://music.sonluxmusic.com/

I first heard of Son Lux’s stuff through the S/S/S record with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti, and just as the autotune fatigue set in from that record this was kind enough to appear in the world. Like Sufjan’s recent stuff, it’s definitely more production- than band-based, but manages to rise above the ‘pretty sonic wallpaper’ trap that so much of that kind of thing falls into. Only real reservation with it are the lyrics, which fit really nicely with the music but seem a bit of an afterthought.

• Adam Gnade – Americans

http://adamgnadethehotearthall-stars.bandcamp.com/album/americans

Adam Gnade is a writer/musician who currently lives and works on a farm in Kansas. His record with Youthmovies (Honey Slides) and various writings (mostly The DIY Guide To Fighting The Big Motherfucking Sad) are great, but then this record came out and totally destroyed them all. Recorded in a week or so with a band that sound like a haunted mix of Pink Floyd and Zuma-era Crazy Horse, this is definitely his most complete work so far. The sequel is also totally great and I haven’t given it enough time yet, but as it stands for now, this is better.

• Cloud – Comfort Songs

http://cloudmusic.bandcamp.com/album/comfort-songs

Audio Antihero are a record label that keep releasing really good things. This record feels like a really great holiday and most of the times I’ve listened to it I’ve realised once it’s ended that I’ve been staring into space with my mouth open the whole time.

• Pet Moon – Trashnicolour

http://blessingforce.bandcamp.com/album/trashnicolour

When Youthmovies split up three or so years ago, the name was banded about as one of the projects that would come out of it, and it seemed not another word was said about it. Fortunately it appeared Andrew Mears and his new sidekicks were busy cooking this 5 track EP, and it’s a fucking treat. A wonderful mix of 90s RnB, washy synths and Andrew’s strangely awkward-but-utterly-compelling lyrics and guitar. I should note that that I would not listen to something with that description at all, but I promise this is great.

• The Superman Revenge Squad Band – There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time

http://audioantihero.bandcamp.com

Another good’un from Audio Antihero, The Superman Revenge Squad is a chap called Ben Parker who is essentially one of the best lyricists ever. Usually found doing acoustic stuff, this band record has all the excellent words but delivered with a shitload of energy and the kind of folky tropes (cello, accordian) that usually make me wince but with these songs feel really great.

• Us Baby Bear Bones – What Begins With A U Ends With An I

http://usbabybearbones.bandcamp.com/

I’d heard good things about this band but never heard them, so when we were asked to play a show with them thought that would be a good way to address this. What followed was basically my jaw falling off, because they are so great. This EP is amazing, but what makes it infinitely more impressive is that what sounds like a total production effort is actually three people totally spidering over every instrument in the world at once and looking like they’re not even trying.

• Trophy Wife – Trophy Wife

http://trophywifeband.bandcamp.com/album/trophy-wife

I’m not really sure what happened to Trophy Wife. They split from Jonquil after being part of probably their best record, One Hundred Suns, started this new band, did a few nice singles and an EP, then suddenly announced they were splitting, leaving behind a fully formed debut album for free download. Wasn’t sure at first, it’s not as immediate as Jonquil stuff, but it slowly gets under your skin and reveals totally great songs under all the slick production. Worth your perseverance.

• Suffer Like G Did – Beow

http://sufferlikegdid.bandcamp.com/

When I try to consider the amount of thought that goes into music this dense and great, it makes my brain melt out of my ears a bit. I’m pretty sure 2013 was supposed to be the year of the guitar band, and it’s pretty heartbreaking that what they meant was the year of shit punk bands desperate to show how much they can’t be bothered with being a shit punk band, rather than the year of this. I guess the important thing is that next year this band will still be good, and if we’re really lucky, will release more than one song.

• Adults, The Elderly and Children – Beez / Flags

http://aecisbest.bandcamp.com/

These guys have been making a full album for what I’m sure is the whole of 2013, and I guess that’s great because it means at least one record in 2014 is going to be brilliant. They’re a clever pop band that use guitars, and that description seems diminutive, but it’s not meant to be. Please listen to them, there’s something about it I can’t put my finger on that makes everything seem like it’s going to be OK. Flags might be the best song that came out this year, I’m serious.

• Delta Sleep – Management

http://deltasleep.bandcamp.com/album/management

Because our songs have silly time signatures sometimes, we play with a lot of math-rock bands, and as a result play with a lot of bands that take their music very seriously indeed. I have no doubt that Delta Sleep take what they do seriously, else they wouldn’t be this great, but no other band in the world do this stuff whilst also making me smile from ear to ear with how fun they’re clearly having doing it. That aside, this EP is completely great and gets extra points for featuring a sample of Alan Watts, one of favourite serious sounding crazy people.

Previous best of 2013:

#1 Quiet Lions

#2 Tristan Brusch

I love Tristan Brusch. He has played one of my most favourite concerts of 2013 and is certainly one of the most favourite singers of this and last year as well. I just love his seducing voice.

Tristans best of 2013

1. BILDERBUCH - Feinste Seide

This young band from Austria is carved out of pure awesomeness. I can’t believe how cool they are: sexy, funny, clever, modern. I really hope that they’ll get the attention they deserve!

2. SON LUX - Lanterns

Modern as fuck. Also makes music together with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti. Also positive as fuck. Also, I guess he is what you would call a genius.

3. BILLIE VAN - How can it be so hard

Mikhael Paskalevs really cute background singer wither her really cute, kind of 50’s style soloproject.

4. FATHER JOHN MISTY 

The former drummer of Fleet Foxes moved to California to write his own beautiful songs and et high.

5. KING KRULE

This young dude never fails to inspire me to practice my guitar skills more often…

Previous best of 2013:

#1 Quiet Lions