Best Of The Year 2013: First Quarter Update

As we've done every three months since the beginning of 2011, we will again be doing quarterly updates in 2013. All of the staff here at MuzikDizcovery listed our top five albums that we've heard so far in 2013, and wrote up little blurbs about why we love these albums. We really hope you check out the albums on our lists, as I'm sure most of them are very dear to us. There's a very wide variety of music that you'll find on these lists, as groups such as Owel, Autre Ne Veut, Justin Timberlake, K Sera, The Story So Far, My Bloody Valentine, Youth Lagoon, Foals and Frightened Rabbit all have mentions from at least two of our staff members, so we guarantee that there will be at least one artist on here that you will end up loving. Check out all of our lists below.

Album Review: Foals - Holy Fire

Album Rating: A-

The descriptions that emerged of Foals’ new sound on their third release Holy Fire alluded to both experimentation and a smooth transition to the live stage. Interviews with frontman Yannis Philippakis saw words such as “swampiness” and “heat” used repeatedly; unsurprising given the setting in which Holy Fire was conceived. Recorded primarily live in a serene riverside location with mainly insects for company, the band even went as far as dropping any tracks which “didn't sound good in the environment.” Such strict resolve is not only commendable but is excellent news for fans who are already accustomed to their energetic, visceral live performances. Holy Fire is more experimental than Foals’ previous releases and it covers more ground than the winsome Antidotes or the progressive Total Life Forever, as it creates a bridge between their début and their sophomore release whilst also exploring new territory.

Artist of the Day: Foals

It's probably pretty safe to say that Oxford-based quintet Foals have made something of a name for themselves. Their debut, Antidotes, can in all likeliness be entirely blamed for thousands upon thousands of now 20-something indie kids. The unique blend of naive energy and tight, math-rock style was eagerly lapped up by both press and public, inspiring a love for indie not seen since the peak of Bloc Party's own fanfare. The band soon followed with Total Life Forever, a leap into maturity so drastic that the two albums are often referred to as completely separate eras in the band's discography, named pre-beard and post-beard respectively in reference to the frontman's choice of facial hair. Total Life Forever introduced electronic elements, a focus on progression and an all-round dreamier palette. The opposite side of Antidote's frantic coin.

In little under a week Holy Fire will be released. We'd never dream of listening to the leak here at Muzikdizcovery, so we can only guess that the album might possibly be more experimental, less focused, possibly a little patchy yet still pretty excellent. That's just a guess, though. As stated: we'll be waiting for the official release.

Official Site