Saving the best for last, we’ve chosen our 51 favorite albums of 2013, pulled from the acclaimed and the unsung — some of the best as well as most boundary-pushing releases from rock and beyond.
Going somewhere? Anywhere? Put on these tunes during your aimless getaway.
While retaining some of the dark, distorted undertones that peppered its 2008 debut, Fuck Buttons‘ latest offering relaxes a bit with atmospherics that glaze the record in a glassy sheen.
Autolux guitarist Greg Edwards is well accustomed to the demands of recording your own music. In 1995, Edwards spent months recording what ended up being the band Failure‘s final album, Fantastic Planet — a sprawling alt-metal epic with a cinematic narrative.
Five years since the release of Future Perfect, Autolux’s full-length debut, the alt-rock trio only recently announced labels for its follow-up, titled Transit Transit (TBD Records in the US and ATP Recordings everywhere else). This time, though, Edwards says that he was a lot more comfortable waiting patiently.
If you’re in New York or Chicago, you have some mighty fine festival options this weekend. Check out our recommendations for ATP New York and Chicago’s Hideout Block Party, including My Bloody Valentine (shown left), Tortoise, Plastic People of the Universe, Tim Fite, and many others.
