CHIRP Radio Best of 2013: Mike Bennett | Blog

Mike Bennett writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2013: Mike Bennett

CHIRP Radio Best of 2013

Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2013. Our next list is from DJ and CHIRP Radio Vice President Mike Bennett.

I listened to at least 120 albums this year, and probably closer to 140. Another fine year for music, making the decisions quite tough. Here's how it shook out for me:

Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady (Bad Boy)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

Like many R & B/funk greats of the past, Monae consolidates the great sounds that came before her and then adds her own personal stamp. What is notable is that many of her inspirations are not female, and I think some people have a hard time dealing with that. On this album, I hear Sly and Prince and James Brown and Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others, put together in a new, contemporary fashion. Like her first full length, only a couple songs leapt out at me right away, but further plays found me loving more and more songs, and this generous collection has a bunch of top drawer tunes. So she tops my chart once again.
Anna Calvi – One Breath (Domino)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

This petite performer packs so much punch with both her gigantic voice and dazzling guitar playing. While the comparisons to artists like PJ Harvey and Patti Smith are still there, Calvi further crystalizes her specific dramatic, romantic sound. A handful of songs could have been on her debut and would have ranked among the best. Meanwhile, she experiments with instruments, textures and moods on other tracks, yielding an even more well rounded album than her excellent debut, brimming yet again with passion and intelligence.
My Bloody Valentine – m b v (Self-Released)
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Oft-imitated, but never equaled, the band that launched thousands of shoegazers reclaim their throne. Some were disappointed in the lack of innovation after 20+ years away. This is a bit unfair, as creating a whole new rock sound once should be enough. This album, with more all-enveloping sonic creations, shows how close to perfection they are. And the last third of the record shows that they do have some new things to say.
Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork (Matador)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

Josh Homme survived some serious health problems and came back with keener focus. What I love about this record is that it retains the familiarity with the core Queens sound, but there are new sonic and songwriting wrinkles that make things fresh. Oh, and the songs themselves are fantastic and Homme is so engaged in the material.
These New Puritans – Field of Reeds (Infectuous)
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After two albums of somewhat dissonant post-punk that often owed a heavy debt to The Fall, this band reinvented itself as a pastoral art band in the vein of latter day Talk Talk. They do this without being slavishly imitative, finding their own spin on the sound. The result is a set of haunting atmospheres and spacious tracks that create a sonic dream world.
Rhye – Woman (Polydoor)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

It is impossible to write about this record without mentioning Sade. Not that Michael Milosh (yes, it’s a dude!) sounds just like Sade, but that classic quiet storm vibe suffuses all of the tracks on this supremely soulful album. I’m not sure why this didn’t do better commercially, as it is very accessible music that is instantly winning, a nice electronic oriented update on a classic sound.
Pretty and Nice – Golden Rules for Golden People (Equal Vision)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

I’m a sucker for herky-jerk new wavey power pop, whether it’s early XTC or The Sugarplastic or Pas/Cal or Game Theory or The dB’s or The Features. Pretty & Nice cash in on all of their promise with forceful playing on songs that blend slightly off-beat structures with winning melodies and insistent hooks. A really fun record.
Superchunk – I Hate Music (Merge)
BUY: Reckless / Permanent / Insound / iTunes / eMusic

This pretty much picks up where 2010's Majesty Shredding album left off. Superchunk finds that intersection between poppy-punk (a la Buzzcocks), power pop and alt-rock, with an endless supply of lead guitar hooks and a killer rhythm section making for irresistible tuneage.
Jonathan Wilson – Fanfare (Downtown)
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Wilson’s ‘70s revival magic continues and he gets the seal of approval from guests such as his sometime boss Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. In addition to the dominant Laurel Canyon vibe, Wilson mixes in some Electric Light Orchestra and prog rock into his epic tunes that never seem to stop revealing new sonic details. For good measure, he shows he can pen a tune that would have been Top 10 in 1974 with the wonderful “Love to Love”.
Lady – Lady (Truth and Soul)
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The guys behind Truth and Soul had a vision for a vocal group, seeking to come up with the great lost early ‘70s soul-pop album, in the vein of artists like Honey Cone, The Emotions and Natalie Cole. This vision was shared by singers Terri Walker (no longer in the group) and Nicole Wray. Together they concocted an excellent retro soul full length that pretty much sounds like a greatest hits collection, full of hooks and a defining spirit. This album is further proof that looking to the past isn’t retro when the music is timeless.