My Favorite Songs of 2013-Part 3 (60-41)

60. T. Hardy Morris-Disaster Proof: Mr. Morris steps up the pace a bit here, but keeps the pedal steel guitar (if it ain’t broke, etc.). On this track, a drum takes the place of the insistent acoustic guitar of OK Corral, giving a more even and straightforward tune.





59. Cate Le Bon-Duke: The guitar work here is so incandescent, I’m not sure I even hear a word that Cate Le Bon says. But I do, and she has a nice Welsh cadence, and I think it’s cute and precocious when she out-sings her range at the end of the song.



58. Low-Plastic Cup: If I were still making mixtapes and mixed cd’s, I’d probably open each one this year with this song. A slow strum of the guitar and a slew of smart couplets, with a nod to Sergeant Pepper as well: “You could always count on your friends to get you high / that’s right / you could always count on the rents to get you by / you could fly.” It was a great way to start their record, and if you’re still in the habit of making mixes, this is a nice lead track.



57. Lorde-Tennis Court: So…Lorde won a Grammy? Teenagers. Also, this is a good song. She’s getting to be annoyingly successful, but if she makes good music, it’s hard to begrudge her anything.



56. Lucius-Go Home: This song serves as a nice change of pace to much of the rest of the record. The quaint sound it gives from the handclap percussion and the guitar and the way it was recorded—it feels like they’re in a barn—make this a stellar track.



55. The Men-The Seeds: Another un-googleable band in the tradition of The Women and The Blow. They seem to have transitioned some from a punk band to a near alt-country act. I’d say they sound a bit like early Wilco. This song has some fuzz to it, and I don’t think their lyrics are near Tweedy’s level (especially in the 90s), but they have potential.



54. The Avett Brothers-Morning Song: I love the message here, one that’s captured in a few tracks on this list: “because even though I know / there’s hope in every morning song / you have to find that melody alone.” I’m a sucker for this—the idea going through a difficult time, and instead of leaning on other or whining, you just put your head down and find a way to get through it. It’s the kind of personal mecca that is universal yet so difficult to describe, and the Avetts do a damn fine job of it here.



53. Lorde-Royals: Sometimes it takes a precocious teenager to provide the aphorisms we’ve all been looking for. This song reads like “Fortunate Son” and sounds like MIA.



 52. Lorde-Team: See previous comment, plus this lyric: “I’m kinda over getting told to throw my hands up in the air / so there.”



 51. T. Hardy Morris-Audition Tapes: I love this line: “we always were / the last stop / the back-row kids / the hard knocks.” I’m a sucker for songs about high school, and you can just see him growing up in Augusta, Georgia, going through what would later become valuable fodder for this record.



 50. Lucius-Tempest: A nice take on trying to work a relationship out: “sitting in the backseat / who knows where our paths meet / you keep shouting ‘we gotta work it out’ / you gotta believe me when I say I know” and then- “Temper into tempest / washes of the madness / we’re still left figuring shit out.”



 49. Palma Violets-Step up for the Cool Cats: Organ, electric guitar, and the clash of cymbals. Yes please.



 48. T. Hardy Morris-Quit Diggin’: In no hurry on this track, Morris doesn’t hold back: “you’ve proved you got no control / you’ve got ears / you’ve got eyes / but you smoked up your soul / you’ve shown / you’re giving in / you’ve got ears / you’ve got eyes / but you got thin skin.” Of course, it’s probably acceptable to be this critical when you’re (at least partially) addressing yourself.



 47. Vampire Weekend-Step: The appeal of this song is must be ethereal, as Ezra Koenig saying “step to my girl” is more humorous than anything else, and then it’s followed up with a harpsichord/piano combo. Maybe the absurdity of it all is what makes it work, who knows.



 46. Cate Le Bon-I Can’t Help You: The first track off of Mug Museum feature a couple guitars that could only be described as fencing (dueling is too harsh). The sound is clean and clear, elegant and simple, something to be cherished in a musical landscape littered with noise pollution (apologies to AC/DC).



 45. Okkervil River-On a Balcony: I would describe this track as soaring, raucous, and a pleasure. My partner just likes to pretend she’s Cartman as she sings the chorus. It’s nearly ruined the song for me, but not quite.



 44. Sonny & the Sunsets-Path of Orbit: Who knows if Sonny & the Sunsets will ever match the magical innocence of their first record, Tomorrow is Alright, but this is the best track from their 2013 effort, Antenna to the Afterlife. Perhaps, however, Sonny Smith is trying to find that innocence—insisting here that his love has come back around in the orbit—to wit: “my love ain’t dead / it’s back / again.”



43. Phosphorescent-A Charm / A Blade: Phosphorescent is the work of one Matthew Houck, and if I was releasing some sort of album rankings this year, Muchacho would be pretty darn high on that list. A Charm / A Blade starts slow, but really comes into its own about a minute in when he invokes the horns. Much of this record is about layered textures or epic tales, but this one seems simper, as Houck warns, “this can’t be what you want / this can’t be what you want.”



 42. The Men-Open the Door: I know I mentioned that they sound a bit like Wilco in the last post, but it’s even more prevalent here, especially with the piano lead-in. The tone of the lyrics treads some similar ground as well: “Won’t you sit on by my side / drive through the countryside / tell your mom ‘not just yet’ / there’s a couple things I don’t want to forget / I wonder if you’re thinking / about the words I am singing.” About two minutes in there’s this beautiful acoustic guitar solo (or maybe it’s a mandolin?) that you may not have seen coming from a punk band.



 41. Haim-The Wire: I’m attracted to any song that starts off sounding like Jock Jams. Other people on the internet think it sounds like “Heartache Tonight,” “Man, I feel Like a Woman,” and even the Family Matters theme song. I don’t’ really buy any of these (OK, the intro does sound like “Heartache Tonight”), I think there’s a better comparison out there. Let me know if you find it.