Top 5 Albums

These are the top 5 albums that I have been listening to so far for the first 1/2 of the year.

5. Place Called Home / Southtowne Lanes || Split

I know this wasn’t technically released in 2013 but it was really late 2012 and I didn’t hear it until February. Even though I like the Place Called Home side of this split more through the powerful drums and at times heavier/distorted guitar (and a clip from the movie The Life Aquatic), the Southtowne Lanes half of the split is extremely heartfelt and emotional. Both bands kill it and this split really hits home with me.

4. Youth Novel || Boyish

Even though this only has two songs, I have been playing both of them nonstop. The mix of powerful melodic chords and twinkly movements over a mix of screaming and spoken word drew me in instantly. I am extremely excited to see what else is coming from these guys. If it is anything close to the pure emotion and passion from this album then I may have a new favorite band.

3. Disembarked || I Do Nothing But Regret The Fact That I Left

Some of my favorite screamo/skramz/post hardcore, whatever you want to call it. This album, at times, has a heavy feel but immediately falls into light ambient guitar. The vocals dominate each track with true heartfelt emotion behind each word. These guys are amazing and this 7” is solid. 

2. Nai Harvest || Whatever

Pure Twinkly Grungy Emo. I don’t know how else to explain this album. I wasn’t too sure how Nai Harvest could top the Feeling Better 7” but damn they killed it in a full 10 song album. Definitely one of my favorite two my bands (I have a thing for two man twinkly bands). Also, probably the fucking coolest looking 12” I own.

1. Tiny Moving Parts || This Couch Is Long & Full of Friendship

My two biggest regrets this year:

   A. Missing Tiny Moving Parts at SXSW in Austin

   B. Not hearing about this album until after SXSW

Sometimes extremely math rock, other times the most well done midwest emo I’ve heard, throw in some Coheed and Cambria influence and you have my favorite album released this year. Words can’t describe how much this album resonates through me and how much time I have spent listening to every song on repeat. I am left wondering so many times how three people and make sounds so full and technical. My favorite song is Along the Lakeside (1:30-end destroys me in the best possible way, the mathy chorus droping into the slow twinly ending that makes me reminensce about American Football) but every song has its own character. Also, it has both Brett Favres retirement speeches on it, what’s not to love?

Of course I have been listening to tons of other stuff (especially Sports by Modern Baseball and Teenage Haze by Departures) but I am trying to keep it to albums that came out winter last year up until summer of this year (if not I’d drop some Mallard, William Bonney, Merchant Ships, and Algernon on that list).

What are your favorites from this year?