Fifteen Underappreciated Albums That Rocked 2013

The TL;DR version of all previous lists (see HERE) is: indie rock doesn't, so MRML vouches for the under-valued rocking and/or rolling albums of the year, based on our scatter-shot listening experience. Speaking of scatter-shot, there's an above average number of entries that straddle the years but that's just the nature of the fluid times we live in. For more musical awesomeness Follow @jeffen69 on Twitter

All artist name links go directly to a homepage - or some such place - for your further listening pleasure.)

1. M.O.T.O. - Pack Your Troubles In Dreams

Paul Caprino's one man assault on American mediocrity has taken on ever greater force recently. Sure the recording/release date of this album is a bit muddled but whatever their vintage, these songs are timeless, fire-breathing rock n' roll.

2. Dirt Box Disco - People Made of Paper
Attitude-driven British punk rock with both a metallic edge and a pop coating. Early Wildhearts or Troublegum-era Therapy? would be workable points of reference. I heard PMoP and the the late-2012 album Legends this year and both deserve your attention now!

3. The Connection - Let It Rock
If Nick Lowe ever took a pop-punk band under his tutelage,  Portsmouth, NH band The Connection ("garage rock for now people" as they put it) is exactly how they'd sound!

4.  Upset - She's Gone
This new L.A. band, featuring members of Vivian Girls, Best Coast and...Hole [!], got some decent indie-press for the their first K Records meets Lookout! Records retro-riot grrl sound but were soon ignored for more typical indie fare

5. Veronica Falls - Waiting for Something to Happen
Pretty, echoey second album by this British band who sound a lot like what would have happened if a C-86 band had stumbled into The Batcave.

6. Willie Nile - American Ride

The troubadour of New York, Willie Nile, has been putting out fantastic rootsy rock n ' roll albums records for years to wide acclaim but limited fame. I hope that's gonna change one day soon...

7. BarrenceWhitfield & The Savages - Dig Thy Savage Soul
Bostonian Barrence Whitfield has been showing off his explosive garage-rock/R&B amalgam for years but may just have perfected it with this record. 

8. First Base - S/T
As the tags have it; "rock, bubblegum, garage, lo-fi, pop punk, Toronto".

9. Bad Religion - True North

These veteran LA punks have never disappointed (hey, I heard "Into the Unknown ten years after the fact and was surprised at how much better it was than I'd been promised!) in their thirty years+ and this return to No Control era speed-rock kept their streak alive, especially the classic Mr. Brett style-song, "Robin Hood in Reverse".

10. Louise Distras - Dreams From The Factory Floor
Winner of this year's Dylan Was A Punk Award (Cate Blanchett Division), Londoner Louise Distras rocks an acoustic so forcefully that she's the very image of what the offspring of Joan Jett and TV Smith would be!
Sidenote: I first heard of Distras when she followed me on Twitter before unceremoniously dumping me but spite ain't enough to make me ignore this record! 

11. The Crunch - Busy Making Noise

Punk supergroups are justly viewed with suspicion butt this album, dominated by support players, Dave Tregenna of Sham 69 and The Lords of the New Church, Mick Geggus of the Cockney Rejects and Terry Chimes of The Clash is innocent of nostalgia-mongering. Rather the band works in subtly and powerfully in service of the songs by Sulo Karlsson of nineties Swedish rock band, Diamond Dogs.

12. John Moreland - In the Throes

Country album of the year (along with Kasey Musgraves more mainstream but justifiably celebrated, Same Trailer, Different Park) comes from this Oklahoma City singer-songwriter who's punk rock roots keep this album grounded and clear-eyed, as tracks like "Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore" prove.

13. Phil Odgers - The Godforsaken Voyage

Phil Odgers, founding member of The Men They Couldn't Hang" put out a historically and traditionally minded Brit-folk album that doesn't need loud guitars and bashing drums to keep moving.

14. Badger - Stars, Guitars and Motorcars

This rocking power-pop album by Norwegian band, Badger arrived late 2012 and is hence our Anachronism of the Year.
 

15. Undecided by Default - Totally Undecided 

While Holdover of the Year is not a tradition I want to start, this was the year that Undecided by Default's Totally Undecided  physically came out on CD and you should all go listen to this band as they show the fucking hipsters how the rocking is done!!

Fin

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THESE ALBUMS?

WHAT ARE YOUR UNDERAPPRECIATED ALBUMS THAT ROCKED 2013?

WE LIVE AND DIE BY FEEDBACK HERE, SO PLEASE SAY YOUR PIECE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!!

 

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Willie Nile: The Day I Saw Willie Nile in Liberty Square

TO SEE MY LIST OF TOP TEN GREAT WILLIE NILE VIDEOS, COME VISIT THE BIG TAKEOVER!

I spoke my piece about Willie Nile in yesterday's post (please see here - it's a pretty good 'un) but here's another excellent, recent soundboard recording with a very different set list.



Your thoughts on Willie Nile are welcome on the comments section.

Speaking of those comment-type-things, that's the very same section in which you'll find the link for The Day I Saw Willie Nile in Liberty Square.


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Willie Nile: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Live, 2010)

TO SEE MY LIST OF TOP TEN GREAT WILLIE NILE VIDEOS, COME VISIT THE BIG TAKEOVER!

Despite a long-standing obsession with late seventies upstarts, earnest folk-rockers, and rock n' roll survivors I've really only recently become acquainted with long-in-tooth-and-claw singer/song-writer/ass-kicker Willie Nile. Nile's endured a history of ups, downs and turnarounds and has come out at the other end as one of the keenest learners around, one who has voraciously assimilated great swaths of musical history.

First of all this means majoring in Dylanology:



(actually a double major with Rock n' Roll Iconography):



and a minor in Punk rock:



plus, of course, graduate work with professor Bruce Springsteen:




So without further ado (or extended metaphors) here's Willie Nile: Live in Faenza, 2010
Recorded live (digital soundboard recording) at Auditorium Piazza Della Libertà, Bergamo ITA, on May 9th 2009




So if you'd like to hear more otherwise-unavailable Willie Nile, now is the time to weigh in on the man's strange-but-wonderful career!

Speaking of those comment-type-things, that's the very same section in which you'll find the link for Live in Faenza, 2010.


Support the artist!


Homepage


MySpace


Amazon


iTunes