I hope you guys had a great 2013! We saw a few people leave and marked the arrival of our newest writer and of course saw a ton of great free records. Once again, we want to share with you which of these we considered our favorites and recommend you to check any of these.
Marco's Top 3
My aural 2013 was the rediscovery of 2011. Since I still have about a million records on my to-do list, I am still feverishly listening through all the stuff I bookmarked years ago. My list contains all the records I liked the most in 2013, and probably none of you reading this heard about in 2011, despite that being the release year.
A dreamy pop record that dances on the line between waking and sleep. A perfect record for those moments early in the morning, where the realization hits that the next day is inevitably coming and we need to let go of the last.
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One of the best Electronica records to ever grace my ears, which transports you to another dimension full of undiscovered dangerous worlds, hidden secrets, adventures, adventures you'll want to experience over and over again.
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Without any exaggeration, this is the best classic instrumental record that I ever listened to. The guitar work here is nothing short of outstanding and manages to grip the listeners with the most simple sounds and arrangements.
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Matthew's Top 3
It was a diverse year, yet again, if you don't count my huge fixation with 80's synthrock/pop revival the glut of artists I didn't know existed, but ended up consuming my entire summer with shiny plastic sheen. Regardless of my trip down ME-generation lane, here's what I picked for my favourite releases of 2013.
Burnt Out was the EP to blissfully chill out to, and let wash over me. It brought the psychedelia better than any other album for me this year, and to find it just after a troubling semester of classes was a big plus for me. What better way to leave worries behind than a nice musical trip? None I say!
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So, welcome to the soundtrack of my summer. I had heard glimpses of this little retro-revival sound last year, but I didn't realize just how big a deal it was until right around OutRun Europa and its 30 tracks blasted away just about every other record I had from my playlist for two months. That's only partly exaggerated. This collection of plastic fantastic retro synthrock/pop is just too damn good not be in my year end recommendations. Read the full length review here to get your ME-generation going into overdrive.
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Lastly on my 2013 list of music eargasm, I bring you Flod and their LP, Kurs. I knew right from the cover art that this was no ordinary post-rock record awaiting me, and I was right. Choral singing, an almost distinct lack of guitar, a hint of world music? Yes please, and let it rock. And it definitely does, and I can't recommend it enough.
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Alex's Top 1
Alex is our newest entry to the reviewing team and because of that hasnt gotten around to reviewing too much yet. Due to that, he presents his favourite record he reviewed for us last year:
Static
States has continued to be a set that I continuously listen to. As far
as I'm concerned, that probably won't change soon. I've somewhat of an
indifferent person and the slower tempo tracks here hit the spot.
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