![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxys48Fw7i1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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2013 has been another eventful year in music; countless tours, dozens of festivals, reunions, breakups and much more but most importantly it has been an outstanding year for music.<\/p>\n
As we head towards the end of the year, the time has come for Already Heard<\/strong> to reveal it\u2019s Top 10 albums of 2013. As always it proved to be a difficult task, but the AH team has come together to create a list that is diverse and truly shows what Already Heard<\/strong> is all about.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to head on over to our Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> page to share your thoughts on our list and let us know your choices for Record of the Year.<\/i><\/p>\n A firm personal favourite from this year, Arcane Roots<\/strong> took the expectations that had been heaped on them after last year\u2019s release of mini-album \u2018Left Fire\u2019<\/em> and smashed it out of the park with their debut full-length. It drifts slowly into life but from the very first riff, \u2018Blood & Chemistry\u2019<\/em> is a heavyweight. It\u2019s hugely ambitious for a debut record, with the Kingston trio providing everything from the irresistibly danceable to the ferocious limb-flailers, to more withdrawn, emotional tracks such as \u2018Hell & High Water\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Held Like Kites\u2019<\/em>. For an album so determined to succeed on so many levels, there\u2019s always the danger of becoming a bit of a clusterfuck, but the three-piece do a grand job in keeping things balanced, and the ambition is rewarded with a stellar hour of music.<\/p>\n In the outro of \u2018Slow\u2019<\/em>, vocalist Andrew Groves provides one of few proper \u201choly shit\u201d moments across this year\u2019s top releases, and in closing track \u2018You Keep Me Here\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Blood & Chemistry\u2019<\/em> provides one of the best endings that any album has offered in 2013. Arcane Roots<\/strong> are boasting a massive sound right now that could see them as one of Britain\u2019s next breakout rock acts, and their debut album is lightning in a bottle when it comes to showcasing this potential.<\/p>\n Arcane Roots<\/strong> are climbing the ladder on the festival circuit, and another record like this is bound to send them skyrocketing. \u201cOne to watch\u201d would be the understatement of the year. (AL)<\/p>\n Captain, We\u2019re Sinking<\/strong> released one of the most exciting and progressive records of any other band this year, and that\u2019s why they\u2019ve made it to a spot on our Top 10. As soon as we heard \u2018Montreal\u2019<\/em> and ‘Brother\u2019<\/em>, we knew the record was going to be something special, and we weren\u2019t disappointed.<\/p>\n Tracks like ‘A Bitter Divorce\u2019<\/em>, are ones that will have our feelings resonate whenever we even think about it, and that\u2019s not an easy feat. On a whole, this album has absolutely no filler tracks, none that you\u2019d even think about skipping. So if you\u2019re still to listen to this record, then you\u2019ve really made a mistake this year. (RK)<\/p>\n January 2013 was the month that Biffy Clyro<\/strong>\u2019s near 18-year ascension to the top of British rock music came to fruition with \u2019Opposites\u2019<\/em>, their 6th studio album, reaching #1 in the UK album charts. \u2018‘Opposites\u2019<\/em>is a seventy-eight minute plus opeth of theatrical proportions, showcasing the combination of guitar-driven rock and heart-breaking ballads that has become synonymous with this year\u2019s Reading\/Leeds Festival headliners.<\/p>\n Despite a plethora of stadium-ready anthems, Simon Neil\u2019s vulnerable delivery lends its weight in making the huge choruses in the likes of ‘Modern Magic Formula\u2019<\/em> and ‘Black Chandelier\u2019<\/em> as authentic as they are masterful. Whilst unquestionably their most grandiose record to date, the brilliance of Biffy Clyro<\/strong> is still predicated on the raw intensity, the engaging honesty and the overt, tongue-in-cheek humour, all of which remain prevalent throughout \u2018Opposites\u2019<\/em>. (JL)<\/p>\n As we headed into 2013 we know Mallory Knox<\/strong> had potential but we didn\u2019t know how big this Cambridge five-piece would become over the next 12 months, The band\u2019s debut LP, ‘Signals\u2019,<\/em> proved to be an anthemic blast of UK melodic alt-rock. Leading with singles like ‘Beggars\u2019<\/em> and ‘Lighthouse\u2019<\/em> set the high standard early on, and the band ride that wave of momentum right to the end.<\/p>\n Tracks like ‘Death Rattle\u2019<\/em> and ‘1949\u2019<\/em> are raw and compelling whilst ‘Hello\u2019<\/em> and ‘Wake Up\u2019<\/em> show just why Mallory Knox<\/strong> have become a strong live force throughout 2013 with endless touring and festival appearances. ‘Signals\u2019<\/em> is the perfect example of why UK rock is alive and well. (SR)<\/p>\n While we like an uplifting album as much as the next person, sometimes it\u2019s nice to wallow in misery and self-pity. Fortunately Off With Their Heads<\/strong>, released \u2018Home\u2019<\/em> this year, allowing us to be miserable bastards and have our moments of self-loathing expressed for me better than we ever could. An evolution from 2011\u2019s ‘In Desolation\u2019<\/em>, Off With Their Heads<\/strong> have hit new levels of great writing while simultaneously plummeting into new depths of darkness.<\/p>\n Ideal for hangovers, breakups and sulking on a Monday morning, lines like \u201cit\u2019s a long way back to be anything that anyone could love, I fucking hate myself, I hate my friends, I hate my job, I hate everything but you\u201d<\/em> and \u201cYou hit the bottom, you think that\u2019s all But the bottom opens up and you continue to fall And everywhere you turn to yell for help it goes unheard\u201d<\/em> perfectly capturing the bleak essence of the band. There are no filler tracks on this album, and despite its brief nature (hovering over the 30-minute mark), ‘Home\u2019<\/em> is a perfect album. Highlights include the heart-wrenching ‘Please Don\u2019t Make Me Go\u2019<\/em> and the depressing yet somehow uplifting \u2018Focus on Your Own Family\u2019<\/em> which made this one of our albums of the year. (JS)<\/p>\n Few could reasonably have prophesied emo\u2019s recent revitalization would have anything to do with incorporating elements of math and post-rock into its tiring formula. Enter Derby quintet Crash Of Rhinos<\/strong> whose previous, and debut album, \u2018Distal\u2019<\/em> had already left a lasting impression on some of us here at Already Heard<\/strong>, thanks to the band\u2019s knack for combining punk\u2019s dirty tones with unusual, dynamic, rhythms. Yet what really hit home, more than their delicate balancing act, was their ability to channel emotion with a fierce passion, giving every track both intellectual and emotional pay-offs.<\/p>\n ‘Knots\u2019<\/em> is an exponential multiplication of everything that ‘Distal\u2019<\/em> was (and is). The five voices intertwine in a tidal wave of tones and textures, yet give off an entirely coherent whole, always on the ready to bash you in the face with power and feeling. They\u2019ve managed to make their songs sound less intricately complex on a first listen, while every consequent spin reveals layer after layer of finely orchestrated instrumentation. The album is also eminently more varied, going from the emotional roundhouse kick of ‘Interiors\u2019 <\/em>to more expansive, patient, and post-rock-leaning ‘Standards and Practices\u2019<\/em>. Slow-burners, amp-busters, intimate interludes, moments of overwhelming beauty, some of intense and raw power\u2026 and every listen is like listening afresh. Astounding. (JBL)<\/p>\n Everyone knows it\u2019s difficult to write a second album, but what about after you\u2019ve mastered that? What if you\u2019re third album is also incredibly well received, and your band is seemingly growing in popularity with everyone album released? How hard does is then become to keep up the pattern? Especially if you are, as Paramore<\/strong> were before the release of this year\u2019s self-titled LP, into your fourth year of not releasing an album, with older fans getting restless and new fans ready to jump on board. Well, we can\u2019t speak for how hard it is, but we can let you all know that Paramore<\/strong> are one of the few more commercial bands that seem to actually be able to still create albums better than their previous effort – even as far as four albums into their career.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a pretty distinct change in the overall feel of this album when compared to the likes of \u2018Brand New Eyes\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Riot!<\/em>\u2019, but Paramore<\/strong> still kept their reliable and previously successful spine of pop-punk and alt-rock throughout the whole thing. The changes came when building around it, with catchy choruses and melodies that are to be expected in chart topping singles rather than a pop-punk record. If you put all those things together and execute them perfectly, as done here, you have a sure fire recipe for success in terms of the kind of audience you\u2019re going to reach. Paramore<\/strong> are finally at that level where they are accessible and enjoyable to absolutely anyone, which is definitely what they were going for with this record. It has every kind of song you could possibly want, yet it doesn\u2019t sound disjointed at all \u2013 so in summary: it\u2019s perfect. (JH)<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been reading Already Heard<\/strong> for the past 12 months, then you\u2019ll know we\u2019ve got a soft spot for this Philadelphia pop-punk band. 2011\u2019s ‘Suburbia I\u2019ve Given You All and Now I\u2019m Nothing\u2019<\/em> was always going to be a difficult record to succeed yet with ‘The Greatest Generation\u2019<\/em> The Wonder Years<\/strong> have done just that.<\/p>\n As always they\u2019ve taken the \u201cstandard\u201d pop punk style and added sincere lyrics to it with songs such as ‘Passing Through A Screen Door\u2019<\/em>\u00a0and \u2018We Could Die Like This\u2019<\/em> having meaning and substance. Whilst \u2019 \u2018I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral\u2019<\/em> is the near-perfect finale that brings the whole album into perspective, both musically and lyrically. (SR)<\/p>\n If \u2018Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me\u2019<\/em> is Breaking Bad, then \u2018Is Survived By\u2019<\/em> is The Wire. By this analogy, it is in terms of how long the quality and impact takes to click. From the very start, patience is required on a tense and emotional journey. By the end, a feeling of awe and wonder engulfs the listener as to what they have heard. It is to no surprise that we at Already Heard have placed the third full length from Touch\u00e9 Amor\u00e9<\/strong> in such a high position on our Top 10 Albums of the Year list.<\/p>\n Approaching themes of mortality, identity and legacy, lead vocalist Jeremy Bolm once again strikes a core in the human psyche and soul. Musically, the L.A. post-hardcore quintet has expanded on their constant evolution, foraying into a sea of shimmering melody. In fact, this record contains the most well-written melodies of the year. For all its glorious shine though, the aggression is still present, with Bolm\u2019s pedantic screams and Elliott Babin\u2019s furious drumming. Quintessential picks include the self-examining catharsis of ‘DNA\u2019 <\/em>and the watery mid-tempo build on ‘Harbor\u2019<\/em>. However, it is the final three tracks which fix the emotional profit on this album\u2019s duration. The slow-burning to grandiose summit \u2018 Non-Fiction\u2019<\/em>, the adrenaline sonic rush of ‘Steps\u2019<\/em> and the poetically serene masterpiece of the title track; these are without question three of the best songs this band has written in their lifetime. ‘Is Survived By\u2019<\/em> is a rewarding masterpiece, which betters itself on each listen. (Aaron L)<\/p>\n So. Already Heard\u2019s favourite album of 2013 is Deafheaven\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018Sunbather\u2019<\/em>. A wilfully obscure choice, one might say. Not on your life, my friend. It\u2019s an utterly staggering piece of work, a record that is unrelentingly brutal and visceral at points, coruscating and beautiful at others, and constantly exhilarating – record-breaking numbers of music lovers have had to have the bottom half of their jaw surgically reattached to their face after listening to this album*.<\/p>\n *N.B. – may not actually be true.<\/p>\n The acrid, wilted heart of black metal beats at the centre of this record, but it\u2019s combined with the textures of shoegaze and the cinematic sounds of post-rock to create a turbulent maelstrom of an album that tempers its lulls with swells tantamount to lip-biting musical ecstasy. From astonishing curtain-raiser ‘Dream House\u2019 <\/em>to the awesome (the word employed here in its original sense) penultimate track ‘The Pecan Tree\u2019, <\/em>calling through the bleak eponymous track and the breath-taking centrepiece ‘Vertigo\u2019<\/em>, the San Franciscans have created an instantly iconic work here, and is easily one of the best metal albums released in recent years. Even if you\u2019ve never listened to a black metal record in your life, I can think of few better places to start. Simply stunning.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to head on over to our Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> page to share your thoughts on our list and let us know your choices for Record of the Year.<\/i><\/p>\n Words by Sean Reid (SR), James Lloyd (JL), Jay Sullivan (JS), James Berclaz-Lews (JBL), Antony Lusmore (AL), Ollie Connors (OC), Aaron Lohan (AaronL), Rosie Kerr (RK) and Joe Hart (JH).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2013 has been another eventful year in music; countless tours, dozens of festivals, reunions, breakups and much more but most importantly it has been an outstanding year for music. As we head towards the end of the year, the time has come for Already Heard to reveal it\u2019s Top 10 albums of 2013. As always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2329,395],"tags":[11182,679,925,1501,10754,4198,926,6742,1729,7253,928,1475],"class_list":["post-25575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-record-of-the-year","tag-11182","tag-arcane-roots","tag-biffy-clyro","tag-captain-were-sinking","tag-crash-of-rhinos","tag-deafheaven","tag-mallory-knox","tag-off-with-their-heads","tag-paramore","tag-record-of-the-year","tag-the-wonder-years","tag-touche-amore"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxymz1krut1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n10. Arcane Roots – Blood & Chemistry<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxymzhr7Yi1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n9. Captain, We\u2019re Sinking – The Future Is Cancelled<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn03KKO21qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n8. Biffy Clyro – Opposites<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn0vyQKI1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n7. Mallory Knox – Signals<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn1dT2aM1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n6. Off With Their Heads – Home<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn1tcuAy1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n5. Crash of Rhinos – Knots
\n<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn2fn1ty1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n4. Paramore – Paramore<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn2sqenA1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n3. The Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn3d84S71qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n2. Touch\u00e9 Amor\u00e9 – Is Survived By<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_inline_mxyn4trPrq1qztcot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n1. Deafheaven – Sunbather<\/h2>\n