Albums of 2013

Here is my ranked list of albums I have got in 2013.

Unranked
Editors - The Weight of Your Love
Although I got this album in the last year, I don't think I know it well enough to rank it yet.

17.  Keston Cobbler's Club - One, For Words
I saw these guys supporting To Kill a King.  They were really fun live, but their album is quite boring.  The music gains a huge amount when played live.

16.  Cathy Burton - Source of Every Hour
Meh.  S'ok.  Not much more to say.

15.  Treacherous Orchestra - Origins
Very different, quite entertaining.  Hard to listen to a whole album though, it's pretty intense.

14.  Rend Collective Experiment - Homemade Worship by Handmade People
Some ok stuff, some really good stuff.  The style isn't really my thing though.

13.  Lifehouse - Almeria
It's fine, but not much more.  Lifehouse's first two albums were incredible.  The next four were fine, but far less impressive.

12.  One Sonic Society - Forever Reign
Good, especially the title track.  I should keep following this band.

11.  Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
I bought this out of curiosity.  It is Oasis-y, but I like that.  Decent album.

10.  Matt Redman - Your Grace Finds Me
Not one of his best, but still fairly good.  Even a weak album from Matt is better than most other worship albums.

9.  The Killers - Battle Born
Strong.  Some great tunes.

7=.  To Kill a King - Cannibals with Cutlery
This band has real quality.  Some excellent songs on here.  Deep stuff.

7=.  Switchfoot - Oh, Gravity
I got five Switchfoot albums at the start of this year, and the weakest of them is in joint 7th place.  Ths is an excellent band, an this is a very good album.

5=.  Bastille - Bad Blood
Surprisingly mainstream for me.  This album doesn't really have a weakness.

5=.  Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound
More good quality music.  Simple as.

4.  Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
A bit of a leap, I think, from the previous 2 Switchfoot albums, to the next 3.  This is a mint album.

2=.  Switchfoot - Vice Verses
This really has been Switchfoot's year.

2=.  Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
I really like this album.  And it doesn't decline in the second half.

1.  Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
To be honest, all five Switchfoot albums on this list are very good.  The order could change on another day, but Hello Hurricane currently tops the list.

Soundtrack of 2013

Here is my list of songs that I've been listening to a lot this year.

Bastille - Pompeii

I discovered Bastille while watching the video to Choices by To Kill a King (see below), investigated them on Youtube, liked them and bought the album.  I then discovered that Pompeii had just been released as a single and was at number 2 in the charts.  This was the most mainstream I have ever felt.

Bastille - Weight of Living, Pt. 1

I love the understatedness of this.  A much smaller, simpler song than a lot of Bastille's stuff.  The middle eight is just lovely.

Live - They stood up for love

A much older song.  If it wasn't for Run to the Water, this would be my favourite Live song.  Epic music and deep lyrics.  Live have genuine quality.

One Sonic Society - Forever Reign

We've sung this in church a bit this year.  The lyrics, while simple, are very good, and the melody is one of the best I've ever heard in a worship song.

Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

I know, I know - I'm not normally this 'in touch'.  To be fair, I didn't discover this song through the charts or the radio - I heard a different OMAM song on the tv and proceeded to buy the album.  Little Talks appeals to the ska-lover in me.  Playing the chorus with just brass first time, with that incredibly catchy riff, an then adding in vocals second time round - that is genius.

Of Monsters and Men - Lakehouse

Of Monsters and Men's album fulfils one of my requirements of a great album - it has a strong final third.  Two of the three tracks from the album that are on this list are tracks 11 (this one) and 12 (see next).  I'm not sure why I like this one so much.  It's something about how big they go in the chorus I think.

Of Monsters and Men - Yellow Light

This sounds like Sigur Ros on one of their good days.  That is reason enough to like it.

Rend Collective Experiment - Build your Kingdom here

I'm not a massive fan of the new pop-folk craze but I can deal with it in small doses.  The lyrics and violin/trumpet solo are excellent enough that I love this song.

Switchfoot - Awakening

I know it's a bit idiot-punky.  But it does it well enough that I'll forgive that.  I unashamedly enjoy this song, at least partly for the cheeky 5/4 bar at 3.10-3.12.  Sneeky but effective.

Switchfoot - Faust, Midas and Myself

Switchfoot happened to me this year.  I've tried them before several times and not bee that impressed.  This time it clicked.  This song is here because it's just different.  Interesting.  And because of 3.47-4.07.

Switchfoot - The Shadow proves the Sunshine

I chose this song because it's one of their more chilled, quieter songs.  Hard to put my finger on exactly what I like, but, like may of their songs, it just sounds great.

Switchfoot - Twenty-Four

Epic.  "You're raising the dead in me" and "I am the second man" - brilliant lyrics.  And the outro - wow.  This song gives me goosebumps.

Switchfoot - The War Inside

It's between this and Twenty-Four for my favourite Switchfoot song at the moment.  This song, like They Stood up for Love (above) just stinks of absolute, all-round quality.

To Kill a King - Cold Skin

TKAK are a special band.  You should investigate them.  I like lots of things about this song, you can listen to it yourself.  I particularly enjoy ow much the guitar sounds like it belongs in a Libertines song.

To Kill a King - Choices

You see how lovely this performance is?  How it's so 'community-y'?  That's how it is when they do it live too.  They get the support acts on stage to perform with them and it ends with the whole gig singing 'ooh-ooh-ooh'.  Lovely song.