25 Best Albums Of 2013
10. Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven 
R Plus Seven exists as a microcosm, a world of appropriated sounds and jingles. One minute, we are led through sun-bleached exotica reimagined through MIDI presets; the next, a dense undergrowth of dislocated vocal cuts and stuttering machinery. On paper, the whole affair may sound cold, calculated and perfunctory, but in reality it is pulled off with such compositional flair that it becomes a deeply involving, emotional record. Previous Oneohtrix Point Never releases have breathed life into defunct technology (the Rifts compilation) and reawakened old television advertisements (Replica), and indeed R Plus Seven takes the throwaways of music culture unfashionable trance-like synths, chintzy saxophones and brings them to the forefront of his densely crafted sonic tapestry. The record ebbs and flows with dismembered sound in a warped, hyperreal dreamscape which bustles and skitters as much as it lulls and drifts, but for all the surface glimmer, the thematics embedded within the layered production affirms the self-awareness that it possesses. "Still Life" and its Jon Rafman-directed video hints at the dangerous, disturbing presence of the Deep Web, while "Problem Areas" embraces its arpeggiated strings with an angular sense of humour that almost seems like a critique of the ubiquity of ready-made software packages and presets. The Oneohtrix Point Never project has always been about finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places, and it's clear that this album is no different in that respect. Above all, though, R Plus Seven uncovers familiarity in the alien, giving it an eerie sense of humanity amid the connotations of lifelessness: to borrow the title of Walter Benjamin's famed essay, it's a truly engaging, magical work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. Words by Joe Sherwood
9. Savages - Silence Yourself
The debut album from this UK-based post-punk quartet is aggressive in all the right places, as vocalist Jehnny Beth lets her Patti Smith flag fly with provocative lyrics and full-throttle yowling worthy of anything released during the genre's creative peak. I actually dislike the label post-punk, because, to me, the ideas and irreverence in the face of outdated societal mores espoused by the artists never really went away. In a mainstream vacuum, punk may have fallen out of favor once its style was co-opted by the culture at-large, but these four women have brought it back in a way that is dripping with credibility. Listen to the clarinet solo on Marshal Dear, and you'll hear a band in total control of its collective powers. Much of the album is soaked in a moody 1980s mystique reminiscent of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, but the Savages sound is just as forceful as either of those bands. They're influenced by everything that came before them yet have enough oomph and originality to avoid being labeled a retread. The songs crackle with more life than most mainstream bands combined, because they appear to have an agenda beyond mere entertainment value. Beth and company have something to say, and they're not afraid to express themselves via voracious production. Because it's their debut, the wait-and-see approach is tough to resist, but the writing is sharp and the message written on the inside of the CD cover is a sign of things to come. Words by David Hens
8. The Knife Shaking - The Habitual
If you'd ever considered directing a sprawling epic of a film, based on the premise that in some distant future robots had inherited the Earth, but that they had to go through their kind of prehistoric phase first, then this year you found that film's soundtrack in The Knife's fourth album. I realise the premise of that film doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's your film, not mine. I'm just the soundtrack advisor. Though if you run with it, just imagine robot jungles, robot animals, and robot tribes, all inhabiting a mechanical landscape like the episode of Futurama where robots 'evolve', but dystopian as hell. Shaking the Habitual sounds like that world would sound. Over the course of its considerable runtime, the Swedish sibling duo of synths continue to delve further into their more experimental and expansive side. A side to them that has continued to come to front with each new album since their synthpop beginnings, and become apparent in their side projects as well. Shaking the Habitual sees the pair further melding their unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms with large sections of harrowing ambience, more abrasive synth sounds, a wider array of instrumentation that brings an element of world music to proceedings, unusual song structures with ambitious lengths, and some of their most striking vocals to date. This may not be an easy listen for most at first, but when this album clicks with you (if not right away) it will really click, and even though this is difficult, industrial, and experimental, The Knife still know how to write a 'thumper' and aren't shy about displaying that ability in among the robot jungle, because robot tribes like to rave sometimes too. Words by Morgan Roberts