10. Any of these runnersup (in alphabetical order): Against Me! | Transgender Dysphoria Blues; Dave & Phil Alvin | Common Ground: Songs of Big Bill Broonzy; Carla Bozulich | Boy; Le Butcherettes | Cry is For the Flies; Rosanne Cash | The River & The Thread; Chain & the Gang | Minimum Rock N Roll; Neneh Cherry | Blank Project; Eric Church | The Outsiders; Rodney Crowell | Tarpaper Sky; Brody Dalle | Diploid Love; Drive-By Truckers | English Oceans; Duck Sauce | Quack; EMA | The Future’s Void; Kelis | Food; Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks | Wig Out at Jagbags; Bob Mould | Beauty & Ruin; Conor Oberst | Upside Down Mountain; Ratking | So It Goes; Schoolboy Q | Oxymoron; Todd Terje | It’s Album Time; Pharrell Williams | G I R L



9. Damon Albarn

Everyday Robots



Will the real Damon Albarn please stand up? Yes and no. The Blur/Gorillaz/GBQ/etc. frontman’s solo debut is definitely his most personal work. But it also finds the ever-enigmatic singer-songwriter hiding in plain sight, dressing his post-modern balladry and arch pop with plenty of electronics and cameos.



8. Beck,

Morning Phase

Beck’s in another one of his moods. With good reason, it seems. Returning to duty after self-proclaimed romantic and health crises, the eccentric troubadour revisits the dour environs of his 2002 breakup disc Sea Change, drifting alone in a netherworld of sombre melodies, ghostly textures and sighing introspection.



7. The Afghan Whigs

Do to the Beast



The best comebacks remind you what you’ve been missing. After 15 years, Greg Dulli and his underappreciated Cincinnati outfit reconvene to deliver another deliciously decadent disc of modern rock ’n’ soul, played with dark, muscular propulsion and sold with swaggering confidence. It’s the perfect Beast.



6. Old 97's

Most Messed Up



Messed. Blessed. Depressed. Distressed. Obsessed. Regressed. Repressed. Undressed. Foul-mouthed singer-guitarist Rhett Miller and his Old 97’s are all of these on this alcohol-fuelled slate of raw-boned, rambunctious roots-rock gems about dissipation, dysfunction and disconnection. You’ll be impressed.



5. The Roots

… And Then You Shoot Your Cousin



Art and souls go hand in hand on The Roots’ brilliantly executed concept album. The former comes in the eclectic score that melds hip-hop, soul and gospel to haunting neo-classical strings and avant-garde recordings. The latter shows up in sharp lyrics that examine the chasm between spirituality and morality. Sit still, shut up, listen and learn.





4. The Lawrence Arms

Metropole



Punk’s not dead. But it is feeling old. The Chicago trio spend their time navigating the seas of midlife crisis and mortality — but not going gentle into that good night, thankfully. Full of buzzsaw guitars, sprinting beats and poppy harmonies, these tracks crackle with life-affirming urgency. This is music by grownups for grownups. That never gets old.



3. Jack White

Lazaretto



Jack White is not sorry. Nor should he be. Picking up where his breakup album Blunderbuss left off, the singer-guitarist’s solo followup channels his post-divorce rage, resentment and alienation into another potently personal disc — and a stone-cold killer collection of crunching blues-rock, laid-back country-honk and proggy skronk.





2. St. Vincent

St. Vincent



Annie Clark has truly come into her own. It’s about time. The singer-guitarist’s fourth St. Vincent release is her most refined and streamlined, balancing musical virtuosity, artistic ambition and crowd-pleasing accessibility in its slate of wonderfully weird indie-pop and her angularly fuzzy fretwork. It’s time you got acquainted.





1. Swans

To Be Kind



The missing word in that title is cruel. And it’s a crucial one. Those acquainted with Swans may anticipate that cruelty and kindness are, as usual, the twin poles of the doom-gods’ 13th album. Those who aren’t in the loop will find little can prepare them for the monumental power of To Be Kind. With 10 tracks that cover two-plus hours — and fuse post-rock grandeur, no-wave funk, industrial noise, primal punk and more — this sprawling beast of fearsome intensity and awesome majesty is the polar opposite of easy listening. Ignore at your peril.

Twitter: @darryl_sterdan

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca



