@apartofhim's Top 20 of 2014 - #10 Mrs. Magician "Strange Heaven"

This is why I listen to lo-fi garage rock. Call me pretentious, call me a music snob, but this album is almost perfect. It probably should be much higher on my list... But we'll leave it here for now. This is what PopMatters' Zachary Houle had to say about the album:

All in all, does Strange Heaven reinvent the wheel? No, it does not. However, is it an album with catchy hooks and paisley coloured hues? Yes. Yes, it is. With Strange Heaven, Mrs. Magician simply writes all killer and no filler, keeping things to a brief, just-barely-over-30-minutes runtime; as a result, the album feels remarkably whole. Their sound might be rooted in genres and times in the distant past, but they write engrossing and invigorating songs that light up the retro-garage scene and seem less sentimental than honest and reverential. There’s a little bit of fuzziness to these songs, but they’re not so gauzy that they aren’t clean and refreshing; they bridge the gap between the sonics of the ‘60s and the production values of modern indie-rock. All of these songs, despite the occasional profanity and skewed lyrical content, could have come out of surf rock’s heyday, and possibly could have been bona fide hits. Read the rest of his view at PopMatters.

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #5 The National: Trouble Will Find Me

5. The National, Trouble Will Find MeHighlight Track: "I Need My Girl"

I don't need to spend much time on this album. It's amazing. It's in at least everyone's top 5 (and honestly, mostly top 3) for the year. Go buy it. Here's what Rolling Stone's David Frickle had to say:

"This is the sound of despair, according to singer Matt Berninger of the National: "If you want to make me cry," he claims early on this record, in "Don't Swallow the Cap," "play Let It Be or Nevermind." It is a surprising admission, given the Brooklyn band's established anguish on albums like 2007's Boxer and the 2010 bestseller, High Violet: a chaos of broken a ffections and mortal fears drawn with spare rhythmic and melodic flourishes, often in wide, open reverb. On much of Trouble Will Find Me as well, the terse phrases and single-tone exclamations of guitarists Bryce and Aaron Dessner hang around Berninger's baritone gravity like clouded starlight.

But there is pop, too: not much Beatles or Nirvana but enough pre-stadium U2 and classic David Bowie – that clarity and engagement – to draw you closer, faster, to the grace and crisis here. Berninger sings only of bad options in "Sea of Love" but does it against a sizzling pulse and a golden glaze of harmonies. In "Fireproof," his deep, scuffed voice is ringed with teardrop guitar. "I Need My Girl" is compact urgency with a dusky guitar figure that's actually a little country. In another age, the song could have been a radio-breakthrough single. Now it's just good news: The National are letting light and air into their shadows." - David Frickle

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #6 Mayer Hawthorne: Where Does This Door Go

6. Mayer Hawthorne, Where Does This Door GoHighlight Track:  "Designer Drug" - Bonus Track

R&B is alive and well, folks. And guess what, it's not the sexploited soft jams that suffocated the charts in the 90s. Nor was the best R&B this year attached to names like "Justin" or "Thicke." This album has so much soul mixed into poppy dance floor jams, it will have even the whitest old white man in a suit, tapping a foot in rhythm. Mayer Hawethorne's falsetto's are Timberlake-esque, but just stands strong in his normal vocal range where JT falls back to talk-singing until the next falsetto chorus. Popmatters.com's Zachary Houle reviewed the albums as such:

"With Where Does This Door Go, Hawthorne offers a set that’s more cohesive and fulfilling than How Do You Do [his previous album]. Even with the thematic of sex being awkward and mean-spirited, the LP is a joy to listen to and fans of Steely Dan will find much to admire here. The album builds with track after track of awesomeness that offers a heralded look at a genre of music that often goes overlooked, unless, of course, you’re a regular reader of Mojo or Rolling Stone. Mayer Hawthorne might be asking Where Does This Door Go, despite the fact that it’s more of a command than a question, and the obvious answer is wherever he wants to lead us down. Whether the sex vibes are good or bad, Hawthorne has the “it” sound that’s a favourite of coffee shop baristas everywhere. Where Does This Door Go improves over his last effort, which was already pretty good to begin with, and may go down as one of the year’s most exceptional releases. Where Does This Door Go is as refreshing as a tropical breeze, if not a good cup of joe at your favorite hangout." - Zachary Houle

  

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #7 Bored Nothing: Bored Nothing

7. Bored Nothing, Bored Nothing Highlight Track: "Popcorn"

Maybe it's the type "a" personality in me that doesn't trust other people, but I always admire when someone just makes something. I love to see someone who doesn't look for help from other people, but just makes something and puts it out there. That is exactly what we get with Bored Nothing. It's lo-fi, shoe-gaze at it's best. And yes, a few of the tracks seem to have directly channeled Elliott Smith's apparition, but is that a bad thing? Here's what Chris Girdler of Australia's beat.com.au had to say about the ablum, and I think he's right, there is more to come from Bored Nothing.

"Bored Nothing was compiled from four tapes of home recordings, with the addition of five new tracks. It’s beautifully track-listed, managing to show a range of tempos and styles but also forming a comprehensive, consistent album. In a rare feat, the second half is even better than the first, hitting you when the echoing Motown throb of Let Down kicks in. 

True, there are a couple of down-tempo numbers that veer a little too close to Elliot Smith (Get Out Of here, Charlie’s Creek), but this is an astonishing first album from a new talent still finding his voice and individuality. Having played almost all of the instruments on Bored Nothing, this release is essentially a solo project, but there is a progression toward Bored Nothing branching out to become a full band. This is one of the year’s finest albums, but I suspect there’s even better to come from this chairman of the bored." -  Chris Girdler

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #8 Joey Bada$$: Summer Knights

8. Joey Bada$$, Summer Knights
Highlight Track: "My Yout (feat. Maverick Sabre)"

I'm a sucker for anything that sounds like the hip-hop of my youth. Maybe its nostalgic wishing for a time when I felt cool, but this is my top 10 list so I'll fill it how I please. However, I'm always blown away at how youthful artists are continually capturing great sounds from multiple genres and tweaking them into something new, something their own. XXL's Eric Diep describes a few of Joey Bada$$'s tracks that do this in Summer Knights.

"...there are remnants of ‘90s chill-vibe. The Navie D.-produced “Sweet Dreams” and the Chuck Strangers-produced tracks—“Reign” and “My Yout”—are perfect examples containing strong reggae influences. The tape’s standout is the Lee Bannon-produced “95 Til’ Infinity,” where Joey flows with this hard, DMX-like flow over a soulful sample where he lets you know why he thinks he’s the best. “Cause they will never stop for a young Black male/ Black mailed in braille that means what he felt,” he raps with bravado." - Eric Diep

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #9 Joanna Gruesome: Weird Sister

9. Joanna Gruesome, Weird Sister

Highlight Track: "Secret Surprise"

This album is so much damn fun! It's angsty. It's fast. It is abrasive but holds its own in some beautiful melodies. It's everything I could ask for in a rock album. Not to mention the riffs that will be stuck in your head all day long. I thought Pitchfork's Paul Thompson wrote about the LP perfectly (below). Also, the interview at the end of the above video is a great look into the bands psyche.

One minute, Joanna Gruesome's Alanna McArdle is ditching school and floating from Cardiff to New Orleans on a scooter. The next, she's planning to pull out your teeth, gouge out your eyes with a razorblade, and bash in your fucking skull. Clearly, McArdle isn't fucking around; neither, it seems, are Joanna Gruesome. (I'm told they met in anger management, a story almost too good to be true.) The regrettably named Welsh fivesome's debut LP, Weird Sister, crams an awful lot into a little under half an hour: hardcore blastbeats, fuzzed-out twee, violent urges, zombies and pentagrams. Weird Sister is one of the most purely exuberant, hook-stuffed indie-pop records you're likely to hear this year. But it is not afraid of you, and it will beat your ass. -Paul Thompson

Top 10 of 2013 - Albums: #10 Eels: Wonderful, Glorious

10. Eels, Wonderful, Glorious Deluxe Edition 
Highlight Track: "Wonderful, Glorious"

The previous three albums from the Eels have been concept LPs. And while the concept albums serve as an important step in the career of the seasoned rockers, it’s nice to hear new, specifically “Eels” tracks. The album is akin to the band’s 1996 release, Beautiful Freak. However, Wonderful, Glorious is more the older brother to Beautiful Freak. An older sibling who has seen and dealt with some heavy shit. There is a harder, dirtier sound to the album that augments the lyrics perfectly. Spend the extra money on the Deluxe edition, it's full of live and bonus disc-only tracks and well worth the money.