I wish I could pretend to be cool and say I’ve loved them since this album dropped back in the day, but I can’t. I first encountered Lambchop when Mr. M came out a couple years ago. After really digging it for about a month via Spotify one day I, in typical Adam fashion, closed my eyes and forgot that they (and my Spotify account) even existed. Smash cut to last week, when Merge remastered and reissued their critically-acclaimed (so I’ve read) 2000 album Nixon.

I know, late to the party, but I just want to share how much I loved it with you guys. Nixon has this great thickness to it, like honey being poured out of a jar. It’s hazy, soft, and smooth, all of which are adjectives that are right up my alley. In my house it’s going into heavy rotation, much like Mr. M (but don’t worry, I bought Nixon this time so I won’t soon forget that they exist again).

Currently No. 1 in the UK beating out the likes of Pharrell and Ellie Goulding, “Rather Be” is a smooth amalgamation of feeling, a recurring classical melody, and vocals. Nowadays, its hard to find an original tune in this ambiguous “electro plus vocal” realm. With “Rather Be,” Clean Bandit kills it and makes sure there’s no sound you’d rather hear.

Beck - “Blue Moon”

I’m so happy that Beck is finally back with a new album (if you don’t count his Song Reader). Our first taste (as a single and as a featured track on the Girls Season Three soundtrack) is as refreshing as an afternoon breeze sweeping through California, exactly how Beck himself described Morning Phase.

Yet, despite the warmth of the guitar and piano, he sings of a pervasive loneliness or solitude that leaves him “standing on my own,” a feeling I and plenty others occasionally encounter. The best remedy is to sit back, take a deep breath and watch the blue moon shapeshifting through the snowflakes.

Johnny Foreigner continues to make rich pop punk that perfectly captures the feelings of youth, particularly the one where everything is assigned an infinite amount of meaning. Though their tracks are always full of local references, the songs put forth the idea that hometowns matter, that the place you’re from and grew up with its experiences and details are important. Ultimately, the notion that places are assigned memories and specific meanings makes their tracks so instantly relateable even if you’re not from Birmingham. Lex has always been the core lyricist for this band, but I’m glad that they’ve never abandoned their dual singers approach to their tracks. Kelly’s always been ace at delivering the punches to their gut. The most real line of “Le Sigh” is one of hers: “how easily the guilt subsides when you know you’re never going back”.

The artists on this remix read like an up and coming list for Chicago rap. It helps that the verses here are so unrelentingly fun, and the hook is so infectious that it just bounces everytime it comes back again. Mikey and Dreezy continue to be awesome at collaborations, while Z Money and Asa turn in properly fun work as well.

Rudimental - “Baby (feat. MNEK and Sinead Harnett)”

Home was sometimes a mess, but “Baby” is where Rudimental thrived. Paired with British dance music vocal darlings MNEK and Sinead Harnett, Rudimental have created a dance floor or art gallery filler that is cool rather than melodramatic.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - “So Good At Being In Trouble”

One of my favorite tracks of 2013 is from the sophomore effort by Unknown Mortal Orchestra which, by the way, has some of the grooviest bass lines I’ve ever heard. I never would have imagined that psych rock could be so soulful.

Thee Oh Sees - “I Come From The Mountain”

I’ve been a big fan of modern psych rock ever since I was introduced to Chicago’s own Cave a few years back.

Bands like Cave and Wooden Shjips (both put out great albums this year too, by the way) are pioneering this new form of psych that really stresses driving, grooving bass lines, a Kraut-y motorik drum beat, and guitars in discord. Thee Oh Sees arguably put out the best version of this in 2013 with the creepiest cover art of the year for sure.

(Source: Spotify)

A couple of weeks ago, I made Zach put together a list of guitar albums that he thought I might like because I really feel like I’m not hip on what kids these days are into. He sent me some truly fantastic recommendations, including the duo Deap Vally. This sounds like The Kills circa Midnight Boom; it’s just a crazy wall of guitars, drums, and the gruffest, dirtiest vocals you’ve heard all year. Well done, ladies.

(Source: Spotify)