Top 50 Albums of 2016

Hello to 2017, let's hope it's going to be much better than 2016 in every aspect!

As far as music is concerned, last year we lost too many great artists, while our beloved rock music, the reason for the existence of this blog, seemed to go out of fashion if we believe the various year-end lists of the established media organizations, where R'n'B, Rap and Dance music dominated.

However, we believe all is not lost for guitar music. Although I cannot say that we came across new groundbreaking rock music last year, there were plenty of worthwhile efforts and several excellent albums showing remarkable development for relatively new artists and bands like Car Seat Headrest, Angel Olsen, Savages, Diiv or Parquet Courts who are establishing themselves among this decade's important music makers.

Next to the great contributions from new(ish) artists, which also included albums by Warpaint, Goat, Factory Floor, Daughter and Quilt to name a few more, we also enjoyed the return of some familiar names from the past who added new and important chapters to their amazing history. Both Swans and PJ Harvey gave us amazing albums which could easily claim the top spot of our list, if it wasn't for our decision to dedicate the Top 5 to the work of up-and-coming artists that we feel they are the new blood of rock music of the '10s, while Black Mountain, Dinosaur Jr., The Julie Ruin, Woods, Kristin Hersh, Radiohead and, of course, David Bowie's last music statement, were also among the reasons that the heart of rock music was still beating strong in 2016 despite everything. Let's hope for more great music from all genres in 2017 because something tells me we are going to need it bad!

So, here are the 50 albums we enjoyed the most in the past 12 months, chosen of course among the new releases that we were able to listened to and buy in physical format. As always, the ranking of the list was valid as of the last day of the year, but it is not written in stone and can easily change as we are still looking to discover more great music released in 2016 that may have escaped our attention so far. A more thorough list will be published in Cool Music Database as soon as we feel that the search is over.

To 50 Albums of 2016

1. Teens of denial - CAR SEAT HEADREST

2. My woman - ANGEL OLSEN

3. Adore life - SAVAGES

4. Is the is are - DIIV

5. Human performance - PARQUET COURTS

6. The glowing man - SWANS

7. The hope six demolition project - PJ HARVEY

8. Heads up - WARPAINT

9. Requiem - GOAT

10. IV - BLACK MOUNTAIN

11. Give a glimpse of what yer not - DINOSAUR JR.
12. Hit reset - THE JULIE RUIN
13. Blackstar - DAVID BOWIE
14. A moon shaped pool - RADIOHEAD
15. 25 25 - FACTORY FLOOR
16. We got it from here... Thank you 4 your service - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
17. Not to disappear - DAUGHTER
18. Plaza - QUILT
19. City sun eater in the river of light - WOODS
20. Wyatt at the Coyote Palace - KRISTIN HERSH
21. Next thing - FRANKIE COSMOS
22. A man alive - THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY
23. Distance inbetween - THE CORAL
24. A weird exits - THEE OH SEES
25. Emotional mugger - TY SEGALL
26. Paradise - WHITE LUNG
27. Patch the sky - BOB MOULD
28. Skeleton tree - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
29. The waiting room - TINDERSTICKS
30. Heart like a levee - HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
31. Jet plane and oxbow - SHEARWATER
32. United crushers - POLIÇA
33. Pussy's dead - AUTOLUX
34. Ash & ice - THE KILLS
35. New view - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
36. Strangers - MARISSA NADLER
37. Case/Lang/Veirs - CASE/LANG/VEIRS
38. Funs cool - THE PRETTIOTS
39. Human ceremony - SUNFLOWER BEAN
40. Inner journey out - PSYCHIC ILLS
41. Until the hunter - HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS
42. Here - TEENAGE FANCLUB
43. Chaosmosis - PRIMAL SCREAM
44. Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future - UNDERWORLD
45. Painting with - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
46. Everything you've come to expect - THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS
47. Eyes on the lines - STEVE GUNN
48. Mass Gothic - MASS GOTHIC
49. Sun Kil Moon / Jesu - SUN KIL MOON / JESU
50. Slugger - SAD13

Click here for our Top 50 Tracks of 2016 and enjoy below a playlist with some of the highlights from our 2016 Albums of the Year:

The Top of our 2016 CD pile

Top 40 Albums of the first half of 2016

As we leave behind the first half of 2016, it's a good time to stop for a breather and have another listen to the albums that stood out for us among the many new releases of the year so far.

The 40 albums that follow are those we have played the most over the past six months or, for the newer ones, those we think we'll be listening to a lot in the near future. It's also worth noting that there is no ranking order in this list; there will be plenty of time to think about that in December's final reckoning. However the order of presentation is not totally random, so near the top you'll find those albums that impressed us the most in the first half of 2016 and which are most likely to feature among our top selections at the end of the year.

The three covers we have chosen to feature before unveiling our list say all we are going to say at this point about which albums we think are the best candidates for the title "Best album of 2016 so far". Of course there were plenty of other excellent releases to consider but here are the 40 long-players that did it for us:

Top 40 Albums of January - June 2016

• Adore life - SAVAGES
• Teens of denial - CAR SEAT HEADREST
• Is the is are - DIIV
• Human performance - PARQUET COURTS
• The hope six demolition project - PJ HARVEY
• The glowing man - SWANS
• IV - BLACK MOUNTAIN
• City sun eater in the river of light - WOODS
• Plaza - QUILT
• Not to disappear - DAUGHTER
• A moon shaped pool - RADIOHEAD
• Blackstar - DAVID BOWIE
• A man alive - THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY
• United crushers - POLIÇA
• Distance inbetween - THE CORAL
• Next thing - FRANKIE COSMOS
• Paradise - WHITE LUNG
• Patch the sky - BOB MOULD
• Emotional mugger - TY SEGALL
• Jet plane and oxbow - SHEARWATER
• Painting with - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
• Ash & ice - THE KILLS
• Chaosmosis - PRIMAL SCREAM
• The waiting room - TINDERSTICKS
• New view - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
• Strangers - MARISSA NADLER
• Funs cool - THE PRETTIOTS
• Mass Gothic - MASS GOTHIC
• Human ceremony - SUNFLOWER BEAN
• Everything you've come to expect - THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS
• Life of pause - WILD NOTHING
• SVIIB - SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
• Hold/Still - SUUNS
• Stiff - WHITE DENIM
• Kin - THE DUKE SPIRIT
• Pool - PORCHES
• Tell me if you like to - SPRING KING
• Sun Kil Moon / Jesu - SUN KIL MOON / JESU
• Pussy's dead - AUTOLUX
• X-communicate - KRISTIN KONTROL

Listening Habits 02.2016

Our February list of favorite albums is the first one to feature mostly 2016 releases and among them at least two that already have earned a place in our shortlist for "Album of the Year"!

DIIV’s sophomore album "Is The Is Are" comes almost four years after their debut "Oshin", a record with strong moments, like the excellent single "Doused", that despite its ups and downs left the promise of greater things to come from Zachary Cole Smith and his band. After a period of turmoil for the DIIV front man, his band resurfaced last year with a handful of exciting new songs and some very promising live shows indicating that DIIV were back on track again. 

Indeed the new, incomprehensibly titled, 63-minute long double album "Is The Is Are" is nothing less than a triumph for DIIV, featuring 17 equally strong tracks, buzzing with melodic guitars and powerful rhythms. Dream pop meets krautrock influences, '80s new wave melodies clash with grunge-era raw energy and the end result is fresh, intoxicating 21st century rock’n’roll.

Two more sophomore albums complete our Top 3 for this month. Savages’ perfectly formed debut "Silence Yourself" took 2013 by storm, ending up among the top positions of many year-end lists (no. 3 in ours). The equally strong "Adore Life", bristling with life-affirming new rock anthems like "The Answer", "T.I.W.Y.G." or "I Need Something New", showcases a more mature and confident band that looks certain to repeat the triumph this year. It is so far the album we have played the most during the first couple of months of 2016, with the more recent DIIV release gaining momentum and closing the gap lately.

The third sophomore release that completes the month's Top 3 was certainly more of a surprise to me. Daughter’s atmospheric 4AD debut "If You Leave" didn’t raise too much the profile of the band and it was actually Warpaint’s remix of "Winter" that made me notice them. The two excellent singles that came at the end of 2015, "Numbers" and "Doing the Right Thing", showed the band’s true potential and now their second album "Not to Disappear" comes to prove that Daughter can create majestic, sad and beautiful music that fits right in with the great, dark pop tradition of their label.

Here are the lists of our favorite albums and tracks for February 2016:

Top 10 Albums

1.  Is The Is Are - DIIV
2.  Adore Life - SAVAGES
3.  Not To Disappear - DAUGHTER
4.  New View - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
5.  Emotional Mugger - TY SEGALL
6.  Jet Plane And Oxbow - SHEARWATER
7.  Blackstar - DAVID BOWIE
8.  The Waiting Room - TINDERSTICKS
9.  Distractions - SAUNA YOUTH
10. Art Angels - GRIMES

Top 10 Tracks

1.  The Wheel - PJ HARVEY
2.  T.I.W.Y.G. - SAVAGES
3.  Is The Is Are - DIIV
4.  Cathy With The Curly Hair - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
5.  Doing The Right Thing - DAUGHTER
6.  Were We Once Lovers? - TINDERSTICKS
7.  Lazarus - DAVID BOWIE
8.  Filaments - SHEARWATER
9.  Emotional Mugger / Leopard Priestess - TY SEGALL
10. The Bridge - SAUNA YOUTH

Diiv - Bent (Roi's Song)

#BestNewMusic 2016: January

The first batch of exciting new music releases for 2016 is already here. Have a listen below to Daughter, Savages, Animal Collective, Mass Gothic, The Manhattan Love Suicides and Eleanor Friedberger who are kicking off 2016 in style with their latest albums and singles:

"Numbers" by Daughter, taken from their excellent second album "Not To Disappear", released on January 15th, 2016.

"Adore" is taken from "Adore Life", the highly anticipated sophomore album by Savages, coming out on January 22nd, 2016.

Impressive video for Animal Collective's latest single "FloriDada", taken from "Painting With", out on February 19th, 2016.

"Every Night You've Got To Save Me" by Mass Gothic whose self-titled debut album will be released on February 5th, 2016.

"Bikini Party / Birthday Kill", the new 7" single by The Manhattan Love Suicides.


"Sweetest Girl" taken from Eleanor Friedberger's third solo album "New View", out on January 22nd, 2016.

2015 Review: Top 50 Singles of the Year

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and that you have overcome by now the Boxing Day blues! To send off 2015 on an upbeat note, we are presenting today the list of our favorite Tracks of the Year and in a few days we are going to welcome 2016 with the best albums we've listened to over the past 365 days.

The honorable distinction of "Single of the Year" for 2015 goes to Courtney Barnett's "Pedestrian At Best", a truly great rock track that impresses on first listen and never ceases to provide thrills every time you hear those runaway guitar riffs and Courtney's cheeky declaration "Give me all your money and I'll make some origami honey". 

Runner up is the first taster from Savages upcoming, sophomore album "Adore Life". If the explosive "The Answer" is any indication, Savages are going to take 2016 by storm. Tame Impala's epic "Let It Happen", which is accompanied by one of the best videos of the year, completes the Top 3 of 2015.

Check out below all 50 tracks we have selected as our favorite single releases of the year and keep in mind that we're only allowing one song per artist or band so that our list represents as many as possible from the numerous excellent releases we've enjoyed during 2015:

Top 50 Singles of 2015

1.  Pedestrian At Best - COURTNEY BARNETT

2.  The Answer - SAVAGES

3.  Let It Happen - TAME IMPALA 

4.  Lampshades On Fire - MODEST MOUSE 

5.  A New Wave - SLEATER-KINNEY

6.  Why Does It Shake? - PROTOMARTYR

7.  Snakeskin - DEERHUNTER

  

8.  Fool - NADINE SHAH

9.  False Hope - LAURA MARLING

10. Feel You - JULIA HOLTER

11. Interference - HOLLY HERNDON
12. A Beautiful Woman - DERADOORIAN
13. Raising The Skate - SPEEDY ORTIZ
14. Under A Rock - WAXAHATCHEE
15. Damn That Valley - U.S. GIRLS
16. Begin Again - PURITY RING
17. Go Out - BLUR
18. Go! - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
19. Straight - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
20. Irony.Utility.Pretext. - ALGIERS
21. The Blacker the Berry - KENDRICK LAMAR
22. Bunkerpop - LONELADY
23. Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, with Crescendo) - EL VY
24. Living Zoo - BUILT TO SPILL
25. America Says Hello - THE CHILLS
26. Laughing In The Sugar Bowl - VERUCA SALT
27. Pay Attention - COLLEEN GREEN
28. To Die in L.A. - LOWER DENS
29. Forces From Above - DESTROYER
30. First Light - DJANGO DJANGO
31. Straight Lines - SHOPPING
32. Giant Peach - WOLF ALICE
33. Pears for Lunch - GIRL BAND
34. What Went Down - FOALS
35. Restless - NEW ORDER
36. Water Water - EMPRESS OF
37. Stonefist - HEALTH
38. Sparks - BEACH HOUSE
39. Cavalry Captain - THE DECEMBERISTS
40. Pretty Pimpin - KURT VILE
41. Random Name Generator - WILCO
42. What Part of Me - LOW
43. Should Have Known Better - SUFJAN STEVENS
44. I Don't Want To Let You Down - SHARON VAN ETTEN
45. Cumbia De Donde - CALEXICO
46. Black Sun - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
47. The Shade - METRIC
48. Flesh without Blood - GRIMES
49. What Kind of Man - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
50. Winter / Feeling Alright - DAUGHTER / WARPAINT

New Releases: October 2015

Round-up of the most interesting albums, singles and EPs of the month:

Albums

The Agent Intellect

PROTOMARTYR - The Agent Intellect
DEERHUNTER - Fading Frontier
EL VY - Return to the Moon
BEACH HOUSE - Thank Your Lucky Stars
JOANNA NEWSOM - Divers
THE CHILLS - Silver Bullets
MERCURY REV - The Light In You
KILLING JOKE - Pylon
SHOPPING - Why Choose
GIRLS NAMES - Arms Around A Vision
GUN OUTFIT - Dream All Over
FUZZ - II
!!! - As If
NEON INDIAN - Vega Intl - Night School
JOHN GRANT - Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
CHEATAHS - Mythologies
CHILDBIRTH - Women's Rights
DILLY DALLY - Sore
WAVVES - V
WOLF EYES - I Am A Problem: Mind In Pieces
THE ICARUS LINE - All Things Under Heaven
YOUNGHUSBAND - Dissolver
VICTORY COLLAPSE - Atlas
LARRY GUS - I Need New Eyes
KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS - Now I'm Ready
COCOROSIE - Heartache City
HERE WE GO MAGIC - Be Small
MAJICAL CLOUDZ - Are You Alone?
ROOTS MANUVA - Bleeds
SMALL BLACK - Best Blues
NAYTRONIX - Mister Divine
PURE BATHING CULTURE - Pray For Rain
ALELA DIANE AND RYAN FRANCESCONI - Cold Moon
VANGOFFEY - Take Off Your Jacket & Get Into It
EDITORS - In Dream

Singles & EPs

The Answer

SAVAGES - The Answer
COURTNEY BARNETT - Boxing Day Blues Revisited
DESTROYER - Forces From Above (Remix) / Times Square, Poison Season
WILCO - Random Name Generator
NEW ORDER - Restless
DJANGO DJANGO - Pause Repeat
GIRL BAND - Paul
DRINKS - Laying Down Rock
THE DECEMBERISTS - Florasongs EP
ARCADE FIRE - Get Right
LAETITIA SADIER - Dry Fruit / Scene of the Lie (Cave Remix)
CLINIC / SEX SWING - Tape for Jase / Night Time Worker
WOLF EYES - Enemy Ladder / Dull Murder Two
THE LOVELY EGGS - Goofin Around (in Lancashire)
THE CRIBS - Summer of Chances
KAREN O - I Shall Rise
BLANCK MASS - No Lite
TROPIC OF CANCER - Stop Suffering
DOG IN THE SNOW - Uncanny Valley
LYLA FOY - Umi
DESPERATE JOURNALIST - Good Luck
LE BUTCHERETTES - Shave the Pride
FLUME - Some Minds
JAMIE XX - Loud Places
JANE WEAVER / TENDER PREY - Mission Desire / Pleasure Pain Principle
BILL WELLS AND AIDAN MOFFAT - DILF_77 Would Like To Talk
KELLEY STOLTZ - 4 New Cuts
PAUL WELLER - I'm Where I Should Be
VANGOFFEY - Race of Life
TRICKY PRESENTS SKILLED MECHANICS - Beijing to Berlin

Savages - The Answer

Courtney Barnett - Shivers (The Boys Next Door cover, B-side to "Boxing Day Blues Revisited" 7 inch)

Live: Plisskën Festival 2015 (Athens, June 5-6, 2015) - Day 1

Highlights from the 2015 edition of the steadily growing Plisskën Festival which took place at the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center on June 5 and 6.

Savages, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

The Athenian alternative music festival which made its debut in December 2010, has further expanded this year to include a total of 4 stages and a strong, diverse line-up of more than 60 acts, featuring ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Ariel Pink, The Horrors, Mogwai, Mudhoney, Savages and Thee Oh Sees. Let's have a look at the performances we enjoyed the most on the first day of the festival which had its best year yet:

June 5th

As you can guess by the photo we chose to feature at the top of this article, the performance that impressed us the most in this edition of Plisskën Festival came from Savages, the fiery rock quartet who is responsible for one of the best debut albums of this decade. Two years on, the band seems more confident than ever on stage and, judging by the quality of the new material they included in their live set, it seems certain that their comeback album will be just as thrilling.

Jehnny Beth's commanding presence on stage easily won over the crowd and soon ended up singing among the festival goers, while the trio of Ayse Hassan, Gemma Thompson and Fay Milton was simply amazing. By the time they reached the end of their thrilling 45-minute set with the powerful "Husbands", Savages had made a lot of new friends in Athens and received the warmest applause of the day.

Savages - I Am Here (live @ Plisskën Festival 2015)

Other notable performances of the first day of Plisskën included the return in Athens after many years of Texan noise rockers ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead who played an explosive "best of" set to triumphantly close proceedings on the second open-air stage of the festival, grunge godfathers Mudhoney and their latest Sub Pop offspring, Metz, who both caused noise tsunamis in the early afternoon on the main stage, Iceage who have recently started mining a more melodic, folk-influenced, vein of punk, Pharmakon, a.k.a. Margaret Chardiet, with her pulsating electronic tremors, the soothing electropop of Austra, the primitive garage rock of The Coathangers, The Twilight Sad's sad, gothic-tinged tales, the psychedelic goth-grooves of The Horrors and the experimental techno of Squarepusher.

Check out below photos and videos from all these performances and stay tuned for our highlights from the second day of the festival:

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

Mudhoney, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

Metz, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

Pharmakon, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

Austra, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

The Coathangers, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

The Twilight Sad, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

The Horrors, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

Squarepusher, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Richter Scale Madness (live @ Plissken Festival 2015)

Mudhoney - Get Into Yours (live @ Plissken Festival 2015, Athens)

METZ - The Swimmer (live @ Plissken Festival 2015, Athens)

Iceage - Abundant Living (live @ Plissken Festival 2015, Athens)

The Coathangers - Watch Your Back (live @ Plissken Festival 2015, Athens)

New Releases: May 2014

Round up of the most interesting albums and singles released in May 2014:

Albums

Swans

SWANS - To Be Kind
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack
SHARON VAN ETTEN - Are We There
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - Days of Abandon
LA SERA - Hour of the Dawn
HAUNTED HEARTS - Initiation
SLEAFORD MODS - Divide And Exit
ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT - Wild Crush
THE BLACK KEYS - Turn Blue
GUIDED BY VOICES - Cool Planet
CONOR OBERST - Upside Down Mountain
THE HORRORS - Luminous
BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE - Revelation
BEN FROST - A U R O R A
LYKKE LI - I Never Learn
FUJIYA AND MIYAGI - Artificial Sweeteners
COLD CAVE - Full Cold Moon
BO NINGEN - III
TRASH TALK - No Peace
YOUNG WIDOWS - Easy Pain
EAT LIGHTS BECOMES LIGHTS - Into Forever
HUNDRED WATERS - The Moon Rang Like A Bell
EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - Some Heavy Ocean
AMEN DUNES - Love
FUTURE DEATH - Special Victim
POPSTRANGERS - Fortuna
WOODEN WAND - Farmer's Corner
GRUFF RHYS - American Interior
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - Meteorites
LUKE HAINES - New York in the 70s
OWEN PALLETT - In Conflict
THE ROOTS - And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
FATIMA AL QADIRI - Asiatisch
LITTLE DRAGON - Nabuma Rubberband
ROYKSOPP / ROBYN - Do It Again

Singles & EPs

Savages

SAVAGES - Fuckers / Dream Baby Dream
ST. VINCENT - Prince Johnny
SHARON VAN ETTEN - Taking Chances
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - Simple and Sure
TY SEGALL - Feel / The Fakir
COURTNEY LOVE - You Know My Name
FRANZ FERDINAND - Fresh Strawberries
TOM VEK - Sherman (Animals in the Jungle)
WOLF ALICE - Creature Songs EP
PERFECT PUSSY - (I)
MEATBODIES - Wahoo / Steps
LANGHORNE SLIM AND THE LAW - Animal
THE DRINK - EP Three
HONEYBLOOD - Killer Bangs
WILD BEASTS - A Simple Beautiful Truth
FUTURE ISLANDS - Tomorrow / The Fountain
JAMIE XX - Girl / Sleep Sound
SAY LOU LOU - Everything We Touch
SON LUX - Alternate Worlds EP
BATHS - Ocean Death EP
THE HAPPY COUPLE - Song for the Troubadour
EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO RESEARCH - All Things Being Equal

Savages - Fuckers 

Listen to our May 2014 New Releases playlist on Spotify:

Top 30 Albums of 2013

Happy 2014 everyone! We start the New Year with the list of our 30 favorite albums of 2013, chosen among approximately 160 full-length releases we’ve listened to in the past year.

You may have already caught a sneak peak of the top of our CD pile here (yes, it’s still a prerequisite for me to have an object in my hands before considering a record for inclusion in my list - old habits die hard), but now it’s time to cut through the chase and properly unveil the albums that we’ll remember the most from 2013:

All three albums at the top of our list were equally deserving of the title "Album of the Year". In the end, the honor went to Factory Floor for delivering a perfect 53-minute electro-dance odyssey, perhaps the album that New Order should have made right after "Blue Monday". This doesn’t mean that Factory Floor are stuck to the music of a particular decade; influences from different genres and eras creep into the mix and go through the Factory's creative process. The end product is simply amazing - the music of the future has finally arrived! (Click here to see our October review.)

"Shaking the Habitual", the epic double album with which The Knife have made their comeback after seven years, sounds like nothing else around. Whatever the influences of the brother-sister electro duo, they have truly turned them into a sound completely their own, a very rare feat indeed. It’s true that sometimes their music journey took them into strange realms outside of listenable song territory (on the 20-minute drone of "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" for instance), but unquestionably there was plenty to be excited and inspired about (the trailblazing "Full Of Fire", our Single of the Year, for example)  in one of the most adventurous albums released in recent years (click here for our full review.)

The Top 3 is completed with "Silence Yourself", the stunning debut album by Savages. The four girls have delivered the best guitar record of the year, taking inspiration from post-punk’s glorious past and injecting it with a passion and fury all their own. I think we can expect even greater things from them in the near future. (Check out here our live review of the band's record release gig at London's Rough Trade Shops in May.)

Here’s the complete list of Cool Music Central’s Top 30 Albums of 2013:

Top 30 Albums of 2013

1.   Factory Floor - FACTORY FLOOR

 

2.   Shaking the habitual - THE KNIFE

3.   Silence yourself - SAVAGES

4.   More light - PRIMAL SCREAM

5.   M B V - MY BLOODY VALENTINE

6.   Loud city song - JULIA HOLTER

7.   We are the 21st century ambassadors of peace and magic - FOXYGEN

8.   Waiting for something to happen - VERONICA FALLS

9.   Indigo meadow - THE BLACK ANGELS

10. Reflektor - ARCADE FIRE

11. Purgatory / Paradise - THROWING MUSES
12. Push the sky away - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
13. One breath - ANNA CALVI
14. Interiors - GLASSER
15. Inform - Educate - Entertain - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
16. Slow focus - FUCK BUTTONS
17. AM - ARCTIC MONKEYS
18. Mosquito - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
19. Light up gold - PARQUET COURTS
20. Cerulean salt - WAXAHATCHEE
21. Major Arcana - SPEEDY ORTIZ
22. Static - CULTS
23. Shulamith - POLIÇA
24. Holy fire - FOALS
25. Re-Mit - THE FALL
26. I hate music - SUPERCHUNK
27. The double EP: A sea of split peas - COURTNEY BARNETT
28. Trouble will find me - THE NATIONAL
29. Dream river - BILL CALLAHAN
30. Seasons of your day - MAZZY STAR

Click here for the rest of our Albums of the Year (#31 to #60) and here for the debuts, as well as the sophomore and comeback records of the year.

You can also check out our Top 50 Singles of 2013 here.

Last but not least, a farewell to Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells and Secret Machines who sadly passed away at the end of the year - here's an old favorite of ours, "Prince of Peace", a song we introduced to our Killer Tracks Hall of Fame back in January of 2009:

School of Seven Bells - Prince of Peace

Game of Lists 2013: Debuts, sophomores and comebacks

The last week of the year is here, which means it's time to officially declare the start of our Game of Lists for 2013!

As usual, one of our year-end lists is dedicated to the Debuts of the Year, but since we feel that 2013 was also notable for its strong sophomore efforts and its long-overdue, impressive comebacks, we decided to give props to these records as well by compiling separate lists for them. Let's start with the newcomers first:

Top 10 Debut Albums of 2013

You cannot really say that Factory Floor are newcomers as they have been releasing singles since 2008 and they even have a mini-LP under their belt, but this year's self-titled record on DFA was their first full-length release and as such it qualifies as a debut album. And what a debut album that was... 

Perhaps the fans of the band's early noise experiments didn't get exactly what they have been waiting for, but those who were turned on to Factory Floor by their more recent, relentless dance-floor adventures, namely the 2011 singles "(R E A L L O V E)" and "Two Different Ways", they certainly got their money's worth and then some. Repetition never sounded this good...

The other debut of 2013 that already deserves the term "classic" is "Silence Yourself" by Savages.

The London-based quartet's record is rightfully present on every list with a fondness for guitars this year as its urgency and passion was contagious, while its explosive music channeled the spirit of the era that birthed post-punk. A truly remarkable beginning from a band that convinces it is capable for much more.

Here are the Top 10 debuts of 2013:

1.   Factory Floor - FACTORY FLOOR

2.   Silence Yourself - SAVAGES

3.   Inform - Educate - Entertain - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

4.   Light Up Gold - PARQUET COURTS



5.   Major Arcana - SPEEDY ORTIZ



6.   The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas - COURTNEY BARNETT



7.   Cruise Your Illusion - MILK MUSIC



8.   FIDLAR - FIDLAR

9.   Girls Like Us - PINS



10. Out of View - THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE

Top 10 Sophomore Albums of 2013

And here are the difficult, sophomore efforts that stood out this year for us, proving that those debuts we were going on about in previous years were no flukes. Some of them were overlooked in other lists as they were deemed too similar to the first efforts, but I feel it is rather unrealistic to expect leaps and bounds from one record to the next. Once in a long while it does happen, but bands like Nirvana don't come along too often. You shouldn't hold that against someone, especially when they are able to give you an album that has so many of the qualities you were admiring before.

Nevertheless, the album at the top of the sophomore list is certainly a great leap forward for the band that made it. Foxygen's "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic" was certainly a magical album, one that was able to conjure so many musical memories from the past and recreate them in a totally unique and original manner. Amazingly talented musical thieves beyond any doubt...

Here are the Top 10 sophomore efforts of 2013:

1.   We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic - FOXYGEN
2.   Waiting For Something To Happen - VERONICA FALLS
3.   One Breath - ANNA CALVI
4.   Interiors - GLASSER
5.   Cerulean Salt - WAXAHATCHEE
6.   Static - CULTS
7.   Shulamith - POLIÇA
8.   Images Du Futur - SUUNS
9.   Strange Pleasures - STILL CORNERS
10. Almanac - WIDOWSPEAK

Top 5 Comebacks of 2013

And last, but no least, in a year full of remarkable comebacks, here are the five that pleased us the most, presented not in order of preference but by how many years it's been since their previous full-length effort:

1. M B V - MY BLOODY VALENTINE (22 years)
2. Seasons of your day - MAZZY STAR (17 years)
3. Defend yourself - SEBADOH (14 years)
4. Purgatory / Paradise - THROWING MUSES (10 years)
5. Shaking the habitual - THE KNIFE (7 years)

Three lists, 25 albums for the beginning of our Game of Lists 2013. Are all of these records going to be in our final Top 60? Who's going to make it in the prestigious Top 10? Find out the answers to these questions (and many more you didn't know you had) in our final posts of the year...

Merry Xmas!

Foxygen - No Destruction

Listening Habits 03-05.13

It’s been a while since the last time we published lists with our current favorite albums and songs, which means that this time you’re getting two in one: two extra long lists in one post covering the period from mid-March to mid-June.

Of course, June is the time of year that almost everyone in the habit of making music lists is preparing the traditional mid-year "Best Of". We’re currently in the process of tracking down the records that have escaped our attention so far, and in a couple of weeks we’ll get back to you on this subject with another two, extra long lists. Happy times for all of us, list-loving nerds! Meanwhile, here are the records that have monopolized the record, CD and mp3 players of Cool Music Central for the last three months: 

Top 25 Albums

1.   Shaking The Habitual - THE KNIFE
2.   Silence Yourself - SAVAGES
3.   Mosquito - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
4.   Indigo Meadow - THE BLACK ANGELS
5.   Inform - Educate - Entertain - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
6.   Re-Mit - THE FALL
7.   Light Up Gold - PARQUET COURTS
8.   Images Du Futur - SUUNS
9.   English Little League - GUIDED BY VOICES
10. Chelsea Light Moving - CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING
11. The Terror - THE FLAMING LIPS
12. Muchacho - PHOSPHORESCENT
13. New Moon - THE MEN
14. FIDLAR - FIDLAR
15. You're Nothing - ICEAGE
16. Comedown Machine - THE STROKES
17. Specter At The Feast - BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
18. Change Becomes Us - WIRE
19. Rat Farm - MEAT PUPPETS
20. One Track Mind - PSYCHIC ILLS
21. You Owe Me Nothing But Love - COMANECHI
22. The New Life - GIRLS NAMES
23. Allah-Las - ALLAH-LAS
24. The Invisible Way - LOW
25. Sub Pop 1000 - VARIOUS ARTISTS

Top 30 Tracks

1.   Sacrilege - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
2.   She Will - SAVAGES
3.   Jetplane - THE FALL
4.   Animal X - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
5.   In Another Way - MY BLOODY VALENTINE
6.   A Tooth For An Eye - THE KNIFE
7.   Don’t Play With Guns - THE BLACK ANGELS
8.   No Destruction - FOXYGEN
9.   Waiting For Something To Happen - VERONICA FALLS
10. Careers In Combat - PARQUET COURTS
11. Signal 30 - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
12. In The City - ANIKA
13. Song For Zula - PHOSPHORESCENT
14. Just Make It Stop - LOW
15. Noble Insect - GUIDED BY VOICES
16. Magic Bullet - WIRE
17. 2020 - SUUNS
18. 50/50 - THE STROKES
19. Teenage Disease - BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
20. The Seeds - THE MEN
21. White On White - FIDLAR
22. Alighted - CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING
23. Paul's Not Home - GIBBY HAYNES
24. Original One - MEAT PUPPETS
25. This Time I Got A Reason - FUZZ
26. Don’t You Forget It - ALLAH-LAS
27. One More Time - PSYCHIC ILLS
28. Hypnotic Regression - GIRLS NAMES
29. Ecstasy - ICEAGE
30. Patsy - COMANECHI

Savages, live @ Rough Trade East (London, May 6, 2013)

To celebrate the release of their awesome debut album "Silence Yourself", post-punk quartet Savages played a storming 30-minute in-store set at London’s Rough Trade East record shop. As luck would have it, we were in the UK capital over the past weekend to attend the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ curated I’ll Be Your Mirror event (live review coming soon!) and, of course, we wouldn’t miss this unique opportunity to catch live one of the hottest new bands around, even if it meant buying two copies of their album in order for the both of us to get wristbands for the show (if anybody’s interested in our spare copy, drop us a line - it comes with the rare bonus live EP "I Am Here"!).

As they say, seeing is believing and, believe me, it didn’t take more than one song for the band to win us over and convince us that all the fuss surrounding them at the moment is not just media hype - Savages are the real thing! Singer Jehnny Beth has the voice of Siouxsie Sioux and the movements of Ian Curtis, guitarist Gemma Thompson plays riffs that cut like a knife and the rhythm section, consisting of bassist Ayse Hassan and drummer Fay Milton, is simply incredible, propelling the songs with Gang Of Four-meets-Au Pairs punk-funk precision and power. Savages are not trying to reinvent post punk. They know how to harness the medium’s power and use it to make stunning music that can stand its ground next to the best that this genre has offered us over the last three decades.

Savages played: City's Full, No Face, I Am Here, Strife, Waiting For A Sign, Shut Up, She Will, Husbands

Savages - No Face, live @ Rough Trade East

If you can’t be there to one of the band’s upcoming gigs, today is your opportunity to see them live through a webstream of their headline London show at the Ministry Of Sound nightclub (Thursday 9th May at 9pm GMT / 4pm EST / 1pm PST). Click here in just a few hours to watch history in the making!

Savages, live @ Rough Trade East, London (May 6, 2013)