Kicker of Elves’ Favourite Things from 2013

To misquote Morrissey, “If you have 3 hours to spare, then I’ll tell you the musical story of my last 12 months.” Yes, you can hear the 19 tracks that made it onto my best of 2013 list, as dissected by Garbanzo and Rikkit, right here.

For the record, my top 3 tracks of the year would have to be:

1. I Killed A Man Who Looks Like You – Robert Pollard

2. Song From The River – Soft Hearted Scientists

3. Sunray Venus – Throwing Muses

In addition, here are a few more of my favourite things from this year:

Top 25 albums:

1. Robert Pollard – Honey Locust Honky Tonk – my favourite Uncle Bob album since From A Compound Eye

2. Throwing Muses – Purgatory/Paradise – 32 songs in 45 minutes and all of them great

3. Guided By Voices – English Little League – the last GBV album till the next one and my favourite from the reformed ‘classic’ band

4. John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts – some of the best lyrics around set to 80s electronica

5. Edwyn Collins – Understated – a remarkable man and a remarkable record

6. Scott & Charlene’s Wedding – Any Port In A Storm – like Pavement with an Aussie sense of humour only better than that

7. Soft Hearted Scientists – False Lights – unpigeonholeable Welsh genius

8. The Necks – Open – there’s no finer way to lose yourself in music for just over an hour

9. Lloyd Cole – Standards – a return to the rockier sound of yore with the same intelligent lyrics

10. Julian Cope – Revolutionary Suicide – free-range political poetry of the highest order

11. Circus Devils – When Machines Attack / My Mind Has Seen The White Trick – two more slices of the psychedelic surrealist side of Robert Pollard

12. Bill Callahan – Dream River – very personal introspective songs that somehow speak to everyone

13. Omar Souleyman – Wenu Wenu – wild Arabic dance music with dirty synth squelches

14. Joseph Arthur – The Ballad Of Boogie Christ Acts 1 & 2 – the concept album of the year

15. Graveola E O Lixo Polifônico – Eu Preciso De Um Liquidificador – an uplifting delight of Brazilian musical eclecticism

16. The Handsome Family – Wilderness – a glorious helping of surreal animal-based country-noir

17. Eels– Wonderful, Glorious – more fantastic songwriting from Mr E and chums

18. Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest – great electronic soundscapes to soundtrack your daydreams

19. Jagwar Ma – Howlin – a dubbed up wall of sound

20. Wire – Change Becomes Us – a new old record that could only be the Wire of the 21st century

21. Mark Kozelek & Jimmy Lavalle – Perils From The Sea – impeccable storytelling over electronic finery

22. Darkside – Psychic – hypnotic psychedelia with tip top beats

23. Rotifer – The Cavalry Never Showed Up – old skool punk informed songwriting with crunchy guitars and a pop sensibility

24. Ludovico Einaudi – In A Time Lapse – classical, ambient, stunning

25. Black Reindeer – A Difficult Third Album / Due To A Lack Of Excitement / All Is Good / Just For Today History Is Wrong / The Ten Stages Of Alcohol / The End Of Youth / Death Is Stupid / Death Is Stupid 2 / Demons Demons Demons

Bubbling under:

Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe, Robyn Hitchcock – Love From London, Low – The Invisible Way, The Luck Of Eden Hall – Victoria Moon, They Might Be Giants – Nanobots, Yo La Tengo – Fade

Best Compilation:

Strange Fish Collection (Fruits de Mer) – 6 LPs and a CD’s worth of the best instrumental music around

Best Retrospective:

Soft Hearted Scientists – Whatever Happened To The Soft Hearted Scientists – a collection of must hear songs from this year’s must hear band. I have told everyone I know that they need this music. Now I’m telling you.