While the Punktastic Reader Awards has just concluded and we’re counting the votes!, the PT staff have put together a democratic list of our favourite albums of 2013. It should probably be in your top 10 best of “Best Ofs” of the year – if we say so ourselves – and you can see the thing in full below.
We’ll be publishing the individual choices that made up the list later, but for now revel in our fantastic collective music taste:
Top 20 Albums of 2013
#01 The Wonder Years – ‘The Greatest Generation’
Punktastic has a long history of being obsessed with pop punk, and The Wonder Years cemented their reputation as the best in the game this year with the release of their stunning ‘The Greatest Generation’ album. I’m still playing this all the time, and it was always going to take a lot to beat it.
– Tom Aylott, Editor [sc:Twitter username=”aylott”]
#02 Fall Out Boy – ‘Save Rock and Roll’
‘Save Rock & Roll’ was the perfect comeback album from one of our collective favourite bands, and it (re) cemented Fall Out Boy’s status as kings of the genre. It features probably the best collaboration of 2013 in the form of the title track, and the best opener of the year in ‘The Phoenix.’ A complete triumph from start to finish.
– Chris Marshman, Reviews Editor [sc:Twitter username=”chrismarshmanPT”]
#03 Direct Hit – ‘Brainless God’
How do you follow up an absolutely hit filled debut album? With Brainless God, of course. An instant hit with me – this is the sound of 4 guys taking pop punk to the next level. Anthemic and fast paced – it has everything I wanted in a sequel. FUCK YOU, GET PUMPED.
– Mark Gadong, Video [sc:Twitter username=”Mark_Gherkin”]
#04 Deafheaven – ‘Sunbather’
Unsurprisingly, Sunbather has appeared at the top-end of almost everyone’s end-of-year lists across the music world. Black metal purists might have found it harder to swallow and the term ‘post-black metal’ might make others groan, but this IS an incredibly engulfing record. Contemplating both light and dark in equal measure within a wholly post-metal mixing pot of black metal, shoegaze and post-rock, Sunbather is as overwhelmingly uplifting as it is tragic and bleak.
– James Fox, Writer [sc:Twitter username=”Fox1038″]
#05 Off With Their Heads – ‘Home’
‘Home’ isn’t the first time Off With Their Heads smashed through their gruff exterior with melody, but it just might be the most insanely catchy the band have ever sounded. Tracks such as lead single ‘Nightlife’ rival any of this year’s pop classics, while packing one swift punch with traditional guitar riffs and Ryan Young’s gritty vocals. It’s pop and punk, but it’s never pop-punk.
– Ben Tipple, Radar Editor [sc:Twitter username=”bentipple”]
#06 Captain, We’re Sinking – ‘The Future is Cancelled’
Anthemic emo-rock delivered with a great energy and some of the darkest and most poignant lyrics on any release this year. Pennsylvania’s Captain, We’re Sinking seem to have sailed under the radar for many but this diverse and adventurous album will live long in the memory of those that have heard it.
– Tom Beck, Writer [sc:Twitter username=”HeyMercedes”]
#07 AFI – ‘Burials’
AFI fared immeasurably better with 2013’s ‘Burials’ than its predecessor, delivering gritty, clever and anthemic rock track after track, proving that they still have the ability to deliver stadium sized jams around a quarter of century into their career. Havok sounds immense on tracks like ‘Deep Slow Panic’ and ‘Greater Than 84’, and ‘Burials’ is pretty much banger after banger. We’ve got our fingers crossed for some European appearances next year off the back of it as well. Oh!
– Tom Aylott, Editor [sc:Twitter username=”aylott”]
#08 The Swellers – ‘The Light Under Closed Doors’
‘The Light Under Closed Doors’ is polished and concise, and while it may lack the tempo of past albums, The Swellers still manage to capture feelings of melancholy and longing really effectively. This is well produced and accessible pop-punk which remains captivating throughout – there isn’t a stale moment on this stellar release, and it’s more than earned it’s place on this list.
– Samarth Kanal, Staff Writer [sc:Twitter username=”fecklesswaster”]
#09 Nails – ‘Abandon All Life’
Far from alienating the majority of people with their trademark abrasive sound, Nails have come of age with ‘Abandon All Life’, a deeper look into their reportoire of collective talent than was the case with their ubiquitous 2010 effort ‘Unsilent Death’. ‘Abandon All Life’ has led Nails into the PT staff’s top 10 albums of 2013 just by being a great example of the genre, and has an extra dimension to it that their early works lacked. Inspiringly intense, but measured.
– Mike Scott, Writer [sc:Twitter username=”mike_liotl”]
#10 The Front Bottoms – ‘Talon of the Hawk’
The last Front Bottoms album is one of the best things we’ve ever heard and so the new offering from them this year had a lot to live up to. It is a fantastic record that carries on with the catchy melodies, great lyrics and just a whole load of raw, heartfelt emotion. ‘Twin Size Mattress’ is one of the best songs of the year and I’ve not seen anyone at a live show not singing along to every track on this album with their eyes closed like they mean it. The Front Bottoms still have the ability to unite and relate to their audience and really make them feel part of their gang. We can’t wait to see what they do next.
– Maryam Hassan, Visual Media Editor [sc:Twitter username=”maryamphotos”]
Rest of the Top 20 albums:
#11 Touche Amore – ‘Is Survived By’
#12 Alkaline Trio – ‘My Shame is True’
#13 Deaf Havana – ‘Old Souls’
#14 Bring Me The Horizon – ‘Sempiternal’
#15 Iron Chic – ‘The Constant One’
#16 FIDLAR – ‘FIDLAR’
#17 Max Raptor – ‘Mother’s Ruin’
#18 Weekend Nachos – ‘Still’
#19 The Bronx – ‘The Bronx (IV)’
#20 RVIVR – ‘The Beauty Between’
Top 10 EPs of 2013
#01 Moose Blood – ‘Moving Home’
Tipped as ones to watch in 2013, Moose Blood certainly delivered. This Canterbury quartet’s debut EP, ‘Moving Home’, kicked off a fantastic year for the band and they’ve rode on a crest of the emo-rock revival since. Here you have heartfelt and passionate tracks with a really raw and innocent character and quite frankly it’s the best EP a UK band have released in some time. In ‘Bukowski’ the band have a genuine contender for track of the year too, even more so in a live setting where the crowd are frequently louder than the band themselves. 2014 is already looking very exciting for Moose Blood and we can’t wait to see where they go next.
– Tom Beck, Writer [sc:Twitter username=”HeyMercedes”]
#02 Gnarwolves – ‘Funemployed’
Brighton punx Gnarwolves are only ever getting bigger. Their mid-year release ‘Funemployed’ saw the songwriting prowess of Thom Weeks firing off larger than ever before, delivering four individually outstanding tracks that knock pretty much anything UK-punk-2013 out of the park. Vocally, they have really developed into a band that can deliver snarling barks one minute and melodic retorts the next, always catchy and always sing-able and six months later, still so good.
– James Fox, Writer [sc:Twitter username=”Fox1038″]
#03 Home Advantage – ‘Cadet’
Home Advantage’s ‘Cadet’ features six brilliant tracks that take you straight back to the height of the glorious summer that we’ve just had, and you can’t fight the impulse to smile at the melody on ‘Markers From Home’ or get your groove on to ‘(The Sands Of) San Lorenzo.’ ‘Cadet’ is the first step in what could be an incredibly successful road for Home Advantage, and I can’t wait to hear more.
– Chris Marshman, Reviews Editor
#04 Mike Petruccelli – ‘No Refrain’
Don’t you just love that Chicago ‘sound’? Mike plays the kind of sincere acoustic punk rock that makes the Chicago scene stand out. I was lucky enough to meet Mike earlier in the year and safe to say he’s an inspiration to me and all his peers.
– Mark Gadong, Video [sc:Twitter username=”Mark_Gherkin”]
#05 Against Me! – ‘True Trans’
The courage it takes to undertake gender reassignment is for most unimaginable, especially when you find yourself transfixed in the public spotlight. ‘True Trans’ is commendable not only for Laura Jane Gable’s ability to pen beautiful acoustic melodies, but also for her decision to lay it all out on the table. Bittersweet to the core, this was the most brutally honest record of the year.
– Ben Tipple, Radar Editor [sc:Twitter username=”bentipple”]
Rest of the Top 10 EPs:
#06 Touche Amore / Pianos Become The Teeth – ‘Split EP’
#07 Don Broco – ‘You Wanna Know’
#08 Pet Symmetry – ‘Two Songs About Cars. Two Songs With Long Titles.’
#09 Lonely The Brave – ‘Backroads’
#10 Sam Little – ‘Don’t Leave This Ship’