Monday, December 9, 2013

Best Albums of 2013

In alphabetical order by title:

"For 30 years and counting, Camper Van Beethoven have existed in a parallel-universe borderland, coming across like a punk band perpetually on a Balkan bluegrass bender. But they finally bring it all back home to their native California on 10th album, La Costa Perdida, recalling '60s-vintage West Coast pop filtered through their timeless, idiosyncratic prism."--David Menconi, SPIN, January 14, 2013

"11-year-old Henry Plotnick, like Mozart before him, is a childhood virtuoso, and his debut album Fields illustrates his indebtedness to his own teachers: Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Keith Jarrett, and Cluster." --Paul Gleason, Caught in the Carousel

  •  The Dangers, Gold
" . . . the influence of The Kinks and The Beatles runs as strong as ever through the band’s power pop gems." --Vanessa Franko, The Press-Enterprise


If you like Adrian Belew, George Harrison, Sparklehorse, and Lou Reed, you will love Jonathan Segel.


“Felsen's 'I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore' - it’s the band’s most potent and thought-provoking album yet. There are individual gems, including the title track, as well as 'Gunfighting at Dawn,' 'Tierra Del Fuego' and 'Lorazepam.' But Andrew Griffin and company have also succeeded in making the album a cohesive entity. Powerful songs."--San Jose Mercury New 


Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have great taste in music. They cover favorite songs from the '80s including Girls Talk by Elvis Costello, More Than This by Roxy Music, and Train in Vain by The Clash. What makes this album special is that all of the songs are easier to sing along to than the original versions. If you like to sing, you will love this album.


*Since "la" is an article, I alphabetized this album under "c" for Costa.