Jim's Gems, 2013: Bowie, Villagers, and Nick Cave among the best albums of the year
David Bowie's The Next Day and Villagers' Awayland are among Jim's Gems for 2013
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Here I was a stay-at-home dad with my then five-year-old Lucy, living my best life. The downside was that I was practically broke, the country was in ruins and we had just discovered that we had all been unknowingly eating horsemeat for years. Thankfully there was still a few decent albums to get us through.
I suppose it was the way he released it. Shrouded in total secrecy in the age of social media. I remember running upstairs screaming hysterically as if I'd won the lotto when I heard of its impending release, terrifying my family to boot. Recorded over two sessions over two years, this for me was Bowie clearing the decks.
He had a lot of songs he just wanted to put out there. So many different shapes and styles over two records this is almost his very own White Album. It’s also one of his best and most deeply personal works. Particularly the single ‘Where Are We Now’, a nostalgic return to the Berlin days with Iggy.
I listened to this every day for about three months when it came out. I really miss that new Bowie album thing that only fans will know.
I originally had Villagers down as one of those overly intense tuneless wonders, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
This, the follow up to the critically acclaimed Becoming A Jackal is a work of absolute genius. It's a genuine musical journey that not only takes you fleetingly through Laurel Canyon but you hop through the backyards of Brian Wilson, Scott Walker and Arthur Lee on the way, while all the while that little tinge of electronica keeps you in the 21st century.
Also, any song that begins with the immortal line "Naked on the toilet with a toothbrush in his mouth" needs to be heard.
Having been through hell and back, and emerging a little bruised and battered, but also older and wiser, Depeche Mode return to their electronic roots, with the modular synthesiser replacing the guitar as the instrument of choice.
The blues and gospel undertones which began to emerge on Violator are much more evident here, a lot of it stemming from the personal experiences of Dave Gahan, who had battled cancer and heroin addiction. Hardcore fans will say this pales by comparison to other records but to these ears the opening ‘Welcome To My World’ is as good as anything they've done.
By 2013, after 14 albums, things were getting a bit musically stale within the Bad Seeds. While various bit players came and went over the years without much fuss, something much bigger was afoot on this record.
This album marked the point where Mick Harvey departed and Warren Ellis stepped unchallenged into the role of musical director, a move which would have huge musical repercussions for the group. Gone was the guttural demented blues to be replaced by a deeper, understated more minimal sound similar to their many film soundtracks.
It's an approach that continues to this day and one that's lost him a few fans, including this one. This album also marks the point where the Bad Seeds went from being a conventional band to an eclectic collective of musicians.
After a four-year hiatus, Grant Hart returned with his fourth and final record. A concept album based on Milton's Paradise Lost (the really long poem on the LC English course). It had been a pet project of his for years and he really took his time to get it right.
While it's a long record and admittedly an acquired taste, fans will listen to songs like ‘Morning Star’ and ‘Shine’, and remember why he was the best songwriter in Husker Du. Milton’s battle, however, was not the only one here. Grant was fighting liver cancer and hepatitis C, and would die four years later, aged 56.
For soul and funk purists, Daptone Records was some kind of musical nirvana. Sugarman 3, Lee Fields and Sharon Jones all sounded like they came from the golden age, and many of them did.
With Charles Bradley, it wasn't just the music but the back story. The compelling and sometimes heart-wrenching Soul Of America documentary tells of an often difficult upbringing, compounded by homelessness and mental health problems which Bradley courageously overcame. He was originally a James Brown impersonator but he also had songs of his own which alerted Daptone Records who literally had to de-James Brown him. They did a good job as the album nods a lot more towards classic Otis rather than The Godfather. Sadly, his success was short-lived. He passed away in 2017.
Their third studio album (not counting the two mini-albums) followed the sometimes overrated Loveless, and was one of the most anticipated records in years. It took 12 years and lots of drama for the album to eventually make an appearance. When it was eventually released on their own website, the site crashed under the weight of enormous traffic.
Musically, it leans more towards the Lost In Translation soundtrack, with a lot less emphasis on noise and layering. Some fans loved it. Some didn't. Loveless, it ain't. The horse had bolted.
Americana and lo-fi are two musical terms I would always approach with extreme caution. Often, they are an umbrella under which some very dodgy music takes shelter. However, there are exceptions. Low were a duo from Minnesota who subtlety crafted their very own brand of music, inspired by those highways and large open spaces that make up the big bit of America that sits between New York and LA.
This is the tenth album of 13 and once again they do what they do. Silence, solitude, long silences. Music for thinking and driving (preferably at night).
Me: "I just can't listen to new bands. They just don't do it for me."
Response: “The National. You should listen to the National. You'd really like them. They're like Joy Division."
This conversation has happened so many times and yes it's always The National and I'm always polite and pretend I'll listen but I never did.
However, driving around Cork on a miserable wet July Sunday this album made so much sense. It had a soothing and relaxing effect which I didn't expect.
While they don't sound remotely like Joy Division, they definitely owe House Of Love a few bob. But yeah… good band.
Talk about going out on a high. For their fourth and final album, Daft Punk invited a huge mish-mash of collaborators on what was originally meant to be an homage to American music but inadvertently turned into dance music's very own Pet Sounds.
Lovingly curated by Nile Rodgers, who takes us on a trip where we encounter the likes of Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas, but we also get to meet Giorgio Moroder and Paul Williams (not the crime reporter), who provide the album's highlights. My purist friends hated this, of course, but what do purists know.
Arctic Monkeys, AM: I've reluctantly become a fan since being forcibly removed as controller of music in the car by my now 15-year-old.
Lisa O Neill, Same Cloth Or Not: You either love the voice or you don't. Personally, I could listen all day.
