The Fashionably Late Top 60 of 2013: #17 – The Laurels

When it comes to year-end lists, y'all know I don't mess around. I don't post my picks from the previous year for weeks after the next year has started. In 2013 there was a bounty of music that entered the world that made me deliriously happy to be blessed with the sense of sound. So I have pondered, marinated, and contemplated for weeks. Music from 2013 has been digested for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and yes, even dessert). And now, friends, it's time. Time to share with you what I consider the cream of one heck of a crop indeed. You might see things omitted here that you think should be on a Best Of list. This list isn't what I think you want to read. This list is what I feel about last year. These are records and songs that really mattered to me for one reason of another. If it's not here, I either didn't spend enough time with it or just didn't love it quite enough. A big, big thank you to all of the artists who created the music on this list, the music that I fell in love with last year.

WHO: The Laurels

WHAT: Plains

WHEN: April 2013

WHERE: Rice Is Nice

WHY: I love this record, and I love it a whole lot. It tends to sneer and it tends to swagger, seemingly on the prowl. Combining elements of shoegaze with taut punkish aggression and lots of scuzziness, Plains is right up my alley. The Laurels occasionally tones it down with songs like “Traversing The Universe,” “This City Is Coming Down,” and “Glacier,” bringing in a honeyed haze in place of the more confrontational rock attitude for a moment or two. They really shine with the louder, more aggressive songs, however, when the energy boils over into spectacularly shambolic, delirious sonic disarray (see: my probable most favorites “Tidal Wave” and “Manic Saturday”).

MY JAMS: “Tidal Wave” “Changing The Timeline” “This City Is Coming Down” “Glacier” “Manic Saturday” “One Step Forward (Two Steps Back)” “A Rival”







[posted 3.18.14]