Your Top Albums of 2013 (so far)

1. Karnivool - Asymmetry

2. Intronaut – Habitual Levitations

3. Coheed and Cambria – The Afterman: Descension

4. Deafheaven - Sunbather

5. Scale the Summit – The Migration

6. The Ocean – Pelagial

7. Bastille – Bad Blood

8. Ovid’s Withering – Scryers of the Ibis

9. Omb - Swinesong

10. Haken – The Mountain

11. Tesseract – Altered State

12. The Antioch Synopsis – s/t

13. Gorguts – Colored Sands

14. Run the Jewels – s/t

15. Russian Circles – Memorial

 I did 15 instead of listing honorable mentions. Still a lot I haven't given a good listen to though including Sigur Ros, Caligula's Horse, Birds and Buildings, and Altar of Plagues. Also I love Steven Wilson but his new album just didn't resonate with me very well (yet). 

My final list:

1. Rhun - Fanfare Du Chaos
2. Sax Ruins - Blummgauss
3. October Equus - Permafrost    
4. Unit Wail - Retort
5. The Wrong Object - After The Exhibition
6. Combat Astronomy - Kundilini Apocalypse
7. Caillou - S/t
8. Grand General - S/t
9. Zletovosko - S/t
10. Homunculous Res - Limiti...



Honorable Mentions: Ulver - Messe I.X-VI.X, Athanor - Vos Cities Sont..., Pat Metheny - Tap, Jaga Jazzist - Live With BS, Ukandanz - Yetcheal

Overall, an excellent year.

Guldbamsen wrote: ^Mjeah well that Deafheaven album does seem to get pretty high praises all around. I guess I am one of the few who feels it's too derivative and unoriginal. I'm glad you like it though. Oh and that Jon Hopkins album is without a doubt one of my fave 2013 releases hands down

A few other PA reviewers had roughly the same critiques, but yours review was particularly convincing, which is why your had so much effect on me.

Oddly-enough, though,  I don't find very much music derivative anymore. Or, rather, I find all of it derivative.

My top 10:
10. Parquet Courts— Light up Gold
9. Jon Hopkins— Immunity
8. Chvrches— Bones of What You Believe
7. Savages— Silence Yourself
6. Speedy Ortiz— Major Arcana
5. Arcade Fire— Reflektor
4. My Bloody Valentine— m b v
3. Vampire Weekend— Modern Vampires in the City
2. Julia Holter— Loud City Song
1. Deafheaven— Sunbather (Guldbamsen's makes me )

Not very proggy. There are many releases I have yet to listen to or get familiar enough with to confidently put on my list.

I haven't heard their other ones, but Droga really impressed me, from first listen. Yes, you should definitely try to get a hard copy of it. It's very nicely packaged, IMO.

1. Birds and Buildings - Multipurpose Trap


2. Sigur Rós - Kveikur


3. Jaga Jazzist - Live with Britten Sinfonia


4. Homunculus Res - Limiti all'eguaglianza della Parte con il Tutto


5. Vespero - Droga


6. Grand General - Grand General


7. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)


8. Guapo - History of the Visitation


9. Motorpsycho - Still Life with Eggplant


10. Il Cerchio d'Oro - Dedalo e Icaro

Progressive/Art Rock
Riverside - Shrine Of New Generation Slaves
Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep
Karnivool - Asymmetry
Sanguine Hum - The Weight Of The World
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
Camel - The Snow Goose (re-recording)
Half Past Four - Good Things
Comedy Of Errors - Fanfare & Fantasy
Big Big Train - The English Electric Pt. II
The Flower Kings - Desolation Rose
Sound Of Contact - Dimensionaut
Anima Mundi - The Lamplighter

Rock Progressivo Italiano
Ingranaggi Della Valle - In Hoc Signo
Unreal City - La Crudeltà di Aprile
Homunculus Res - Limiti All'eguaglianza della Parte con il Tutto
Progenesi - Ulisse l'alfiere nero
PFM - PFM In Classic Da Mozart A Celebration

Progressive Metal
Dream Theater - Dream Theater
Fates Warning - Darkness In A Different Light
Haken - The Mountain
Scale The Summit - The Migration
Persona Grata - Reaching Places High Above
Queensryche - Queensryche
Thought Chamber - Psykerion

Avant Prog
Miriodor - Cobra Fakir
Setna - Guerison
miRthkon - Snack(s)

Jazz-Rock/Fusion
The Aristocrats - Culture Clash
Exivious - Liminal
Spyro Gyra - The Rhinebeck Sessions
Djabe - Down And Up
Virgil Donati - In This Life
Simon Phillips - Protocol II
Levin Minnemann Rudess - LMR
Chick Corea - The Vigil
Paolo Fresu Devil Quartet - Desertico
Omar Sosa - Eggun: The Afri-Lectric experience
Trilok Gurtu - Spellbound
Jazz Q - Znovu

Melodic Rock/AOR
John Elefante - On My Way To The Sun
Seventh Key - I Will Survive

Hard Rock
Deep Purple - Now What?!
Snakecharmer - Snakecharmer

Instrumental Guitar Rock/Metal
Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum

My top 20 of 2013:

1. In Extremis – Days between Stations
2. You Have a Chance – Camelias Garden
3. The High Places – Oblivion Sun
4. The Mountain – Haken
5. Le Porte del Domani – La Maschera di Cera
6. English Electric (Part Two) – Big Big Train
7. A Broken Truce – Violent Silence
8. Out of the Barnyard – Fright Pig
9. In Hoc Signo – Ingranaggi della Valle
10. Le Sacre du Travail – The Tangent
11. The Twenty Seven Club - Magenta
12. Fanfare & Fantasy – Comedy of Errors
13. Shrine of New Generation Slaves - Riverside
14. The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) – Steven Wilson
15. The Lamplighter – Anima Mundi
16. A Feast of Consequences – Fish
17. Liminal - Exivious
18. Solipsistic – Semantic Saturation
19. The Tale of the Golden King – The Psychedelic Ensemble
20. Nine Lives – Von Hertzen Brothers



Edited by someone_else - January 15 2014 at 08:22

Andy Webb wrote: m2thek wrote: Hubardo is the only one I feel particularly strong about. I was pretty disappointed by Hubardo. I'm a huge Toby fan, and this, I felt, was one of his weaker attempts. It felt way too loose and unorganized for my liking.