1.
Daughter
–
If You Leave
Released:
March 18th 2013.
When I witnessed this London three piece live in the studio, catching the attention of over 100 countries, on David Letterman last October, I knew straight away the full length debut would be highly anticipated.
The appearance was solely based on the success of the debut
The Wild Youth
EP, which took the minimal bone structures of
The Xx
and grew around it the live skin of
Florence and The Machines’
dramatic soul.
2.
The Strokes
–
Comedown Machine
Released:
March 26th 2013.
No introduction needed for this famous New York four piece, everything has already been stated about their influence on revitalising not only the garage rock scene, but more importantly New York’s overall music scene over 10 years ago now.
Again they return facing a similar challenge, as guitar based bands have been sinking lately beneath more affordable solo or two piece acts that use only laptops and touch pads. Can the boys restore faith again in investing in guitar riff driven music?
3.
Wavves
–
Afraid of Heights
Released:
March 26th 2013.
When
Nathan Williams
isn’t making headlines for non music related matters – such as taking a cocktail of ecstasy, dating
Best Coas
t singer
Bethany Cosentino
or insulting a Spanish crowd due to an admitted alcohol addiction – he and his underrated sidekick
Stephen Pope
form one of the sharpest one-two punches into which ever genre they choose to venture.
After initially breaking through during the noise rock rival of 2007-08, Nathan Williams’ band Wavves have since expanded the bands arsenal to include elements of surf rock,
Animal Collective
and recently
Nirvana
comparisons on album number four
Afraid Of Heights
.
4.
The Flaming Lips
–
The Terror
Released:
April 1 2013.
One line no person on this planet has ever stated is “I can’t remember The Flaming Lips live show.”
When they’re not taking audiences on a unforgettable journey by riding Zorb’s out onto their crowd’s mosh pit and shooting confetti guns into the sky, the ever evolving sound and band of
Wayne Coyne
and
Michael Ivins
are busy entering their fourth decade by producing album number thirteen
The Terror
. You never know which artistic direction to expect from The Flaming Lips, except that each release will require many enjoyable repeat listens.
5.
The Knife
–
Shaking the Habitual
Released:
April 8th 2013.
When The Knife released the track ‘
Heartbeats
’ in 2003, critics instantly knew it was an exciting improvement that captured the potential displayed at times throughout the duo’s 2001 self-titled debut album.
What no one could have expected was the major influence it would have over the next 10 years, inspiring further interest into the Scandinavian music scene including
Robyn
,
Röyksopp
,
Peter Bjorn and John
,
Little Dragon
and
Air France
(who later inspired the chill-wave movement).
Not to mention the important synthesiser acts such as
Crystal Castles
,
Cut Copy
,
Hot Chip
,
Beach House
,
Washed Out
,
Grimes
and
Purity Ring
.
Now the masters of their craft are back after a seven year gap and have quickly generated more buzz after last week’s release of ‘
A Tooth For An Eye
‘.
6.
James Blake
–
O
vergrown
Released:
April 8th 2013.
I’ll always remember hearing ‘
CYMK
’ being dropped by a DJ at
Splendour In The Grass 2010
between the sets of
Two Door Cinema Club
and
Foals
. I remember the moment vividly because it had only uploaded itself into the blogosphere a couple days prior, yet most of the crowd waiting around appeared to be fully aware of the track already and I realised for the first time just how connected and powerful the blogosphere had become globally. Then seven months later in February 2011 he would release one the most talked about debuts in years, displaying an impressive vocal ability unheard of in prior post-dubstep releases. Exciting as the debut was, it was overall a stiff record to swallow.
That concern for album number two was squashed recently when he released ‘
Retrograde
’, where the palate doesn’t suffer from the same level of the previous restrain, but rather struts his new vocal confidence found from relentless live touring.
7.
Thee Oh Sees
–
Floating Coffin
Released:
April 16th 2013.
Thee Oh Sees have turned into a cult band of recent years, leading the resurgence of the
In The Red Record
label after
Black Lips
and
Jay Reatard
put fun psychedelic garage rock back on the west coast scene during the mid-2000s.
Along with the success of
Ty Segall
, record labels everywhere have recently been looking for their own versions, even spreading down to Australia with
Royal Headaches
and
King Gizzard and Lizzard Wizard
. The band records albums so quickly, that they deliberately never leave themselves time to over think the process and the results constantly benefit from a refreshing have-fun-now tone. Expect this same level of professional execution on
Floating Coffin
.
8.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
–
Mosquito
Released:
April 16th 2013.
When
The Strokes
brought back garage rock for a short period, Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought back 80′s Indie culture, which is still found embedded in the music scenes today.
Karon O
’s three piece simply know how to keep their sound relevant, ditching the synth-pop indie tracks of
Blitz!
that has been reinterpreted to death in recent years. Instead returning with a rawer perhaps even a
In The Red Record
’s influence on ‘
Sacrilege
’.
Combine that notion with a couple of the tracks getting the production help from two timeless artists in
James Murphy
of
LCD Soundsystem
and
Nick Launay
of
TV On The Radio
and you have to expect
Mosquito
will age well, well beyond 2013.
9.
Phoenix
–
Bankrupt!
Released:
April 23 2013.
It may have taken them a decade longer then fellow French friends
Daft Punk
to cement their name as a festival headlining act with their signature accented pop sound, but when they released undoubtedly the most memorable opening one-two indie album punches of the Naughties with ‘
Lisztomania
’ and ‘
1901
’, you knew 2009′s
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
was going to go down as a classic cross over album.
‘
Entertainment
’ manages to channel the same level of sweet hook-driven music, but
Bankrupt!
overall will need to provide more than just a top level of sugar coating to remain relevant in 2013.
10.
Daft Punk
– ?
Released
: TBA.
The most significant album of the 2000′s was unquestionably Daft Punk’s
Discovery
album in 2000.
At a time when auto-tune, disco, synthesisers were all frowned upon (especially in the US), it took this duo from France to turn the industry on its head. But change didn’t happen instantly with their current peers. It was later when the generation who threw away late 90′s pop CD’s in exchange for Daft Punk and began producing music, that critics realised the importance of
Discovery
.
The public appears to have over time forgiven them for the forgettable follow up
Human After All
in 2005, because fans today in the masses still worship Daft Punk like a rare one of a kind species.
With 13 tracks totaling 75 minutes uploaded into Sony’s headquarters as of yesterday and posters appearing everywhere during
SXSW
stating “Disco is alive”, until this album drops you can expect the buzz train to continue to gain steam.
WORDS BY Marcus Rimondini
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