10 Best Albums 2013

2013 was the formal beginning of my journey through independent and experimental music. I started to get to know a vast amount of artists and groups that blew my mind away, and from this list onwards it came really difficult for me to choose which releases I had to put on the selections.

The albums that are listed below marked something really deep inside of my psyche, destroying my perceptions of music and normality and making me want to discover even more of that amazing and perplexing world out there. Those releases are as follows...

1. Juana Molina - Wed 21 

Score: 9.6

Juana Molina was going to be in the first edition of Lollapalooza in my country, and that made me start to listen to her. This was my first album of hers and it kicked out my brain with its otherworldly sounds, melodies and structures. As whispery as cacophonous, Wed 21 is one of the best releases from the best Argentinian artist out there; a record that positioned her as an acclaimed and distinguished figure worldwide.

2. Lorde - Pure Heroine 

Score: 9.1 

I remember discovering Lorde one September afternoon scrolling through the iTunes chart. "Royals" appeared and defied my conceptions of pop culture and structures and, luckily, the rest of the album had just came out publicly. Pure Heroine is the most sincere coming-of-age testament a person has ever made onto growing up and being insecure and living in an unpopular suburb. Lorde was an underdog; it became my underdog. The love started there.

3. Forest Swords - Engravings 

Score: 9.5 

After the amazingly ethereal and cavernous Dagger Paths three years before, the English electronic producer finally came with his first full-length release, Engravings. He magnified and expanded everything that made his sound artistry so special and unique in the first place: each track here transports you to a distant, imagined reality, where space and time seem to float on different forms. As ancient as futuristic, this record engrosses.

4. Arcade Fire - Reflektor 

Score: 9.3 

The fourth release from the acclaimed Canadian band Arcade Fire was a turning point in their career, where they explored on rock disco and new wave sounds to form a double album that retells love stories of Ancient Greece and actual Montréal in compelling ways. The tracks feel viby, dancey and utterly substantial, each containing a special place in the unified whole and making it the more complex and humane.

5. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold 

Score: 8.8 

The second release from the American post-punk band is the liveliest release of the year, where each member's execution on both instrumentals and vocals feels directly present in one's ears in a piercing way. The tracks are wonderfully connected to each other, and the noisy, unorthodox details make up for a record that's reckless in manner and excruciatingly tame in soul and body.

6. Kanye West - Yeezus 

Score: 9.2 

The sixth record from the controversial rap star Kanye West was considered his most minimalist. He decided to go for an industrial, heavily experimental approach while singing about his ego, his inner thoughts and his demons, and he hardly ever sounded this connected and devoted to his artistry. The tracks feel magnetic, pulsating and ever ascending; Yeezus surprises with each new listen, and demonstrates how talented Ye is.

7. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City 

Score: 8.9 

The third record from the American Afro-pop band Vampire Weekend aimed for a more acoustic, piano-driven atmosphere, but the core elements the band became famous for were still there: clever lyrics, hyper-kinetic melodies and bittersweet positivity. If the picture seems a bit more monochromatic, Modern Vampires of the City benefits from its austerity and self-procclaimed maturity.

8. Cage The Elephant - Melophobia 

Score: 8.6 

The third release from the indie rock band marks the final abandon of the childish role-play and self-inflicted aggressiveness and rebellious attitude from the members of the band, favouring a more centered and focused approach to relentless synth-rock. The results are fantastic, showing great versatility in mood, manner and procedure, and fulled with absolute bangers and arena fillers. Melophobia distills passion and delicacy in equal ways.

9. The Haxan Cloak - Excavation 

Score: 8.7 

The second release from the experimental electronic producer and mixer is an abysmal adventure into wrenching, obscure catharsis. The pieces that compose it are cinematic and abrupt, heavy and colossal in their own senseless and timeless pace, and the artist seems to weep and cry over the sounds and effects that compose it. Bobby Krlic is an enigmatic and constantly absorbing figure, and Excavation represents its purest approach at zenitude.

10. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories 

Score: 8.8 

The latest release from the French electronic duo is a maximalist journey through pop and machinery, where vocal guests submerge and extend the sense and roles of the tunes themselves. The album feels as a thick package that carries emotion and a sense of communion; an album that continues to define the importance of the group in the media and in the music scene.