I feel like I’m getting a little predictable. If you’d have told me at the beginning of 2013 that Josh Ritter, Arcade Fire, The National and The Head and the Heart would be releasing new albums in 2013, I’d have said, “Okay, well they’ll be the top 4 albums of the year for me.” As you can see, they make the list, but there were also some good surprises to mix in too. And for those keeping score at home, I’d have expected to put Pearl Jam,
Rather than hash through the albums in their entirety, I figured I’d keep it simple and focus on 10 songs from 10 albums in 2013 that I think stand out. If you really want to know, yes, Trouble Will Find Me was my favorite and most listened to album of 2013.
Here’s an 8Tracks mix of all the songs below, in case you want to give it all a listen.
10. Kurt Vile – “Wakin on a Pretty Day”
(from Wakin on a Pretty Daze)
9. Phosphorescent – “Song for Zula”
(from Muchacho de Lujo)
8. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Man on Fire”
(from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
See also “Better Days” & “If I Were Free”
7. Arcade Fire – “Reflektor”
(from Reflektor)
6. Atoms for Peace – “Judge Jury and Executioner”
(from Amok)
5. Vampire Weekend – “Ya Hey”
(from Modern Vampires of the City)
See also “Step” & “Diane Young”
4. Josh Ritter – Hopeful
(from The Beast in its Tracks)
See also “New Lover” & “Joy to You Baby”
3. Volcano Choir – Byegone
(from Repave)
See also “Alaskans” and “Comrade”
2. The Head and the Heart – Shake
(from Let’s Be Still)
See also “Gone” and “My Friends”
1. The National – “Don’t Swallow the Cap”
(from Trouble Will Find Me)
See also “Demons” & “I Need My Girl”
Others songs I love from 2013 that don’t necessarily have a great album to go along with them:
Haim – “The Wire”
Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear – “Cut Me Some Slack”
Steve Earle – “Invisible”
Night Beds – “Ramona”
U2 – “Ordinary Love”
Junip – “Line of Fire”
San Fermin – “Renaissance”
