My Top Ten artists of 2013!

Hello! Welcome to my first blog post in a while, to say the least. I have decided to do a countdown of my 10 top favourite artists of 2013; this is a different format to my blog last year, where I listed my top 5 songs of the year. This is because I saw a handful of gigs in 2013, so it felt wrong to focus on songs ahead of artists. Worry not, though, because for each artist I will choose a song to recommend, so it's the best of both worlds, really! Also, muchlike last year, the list will be my favourite artists I listened to during 2013, so the list isn't restricted to solely acts who released music in 2013.

10. Rudimental (Drum 'n' Bass)

I discovered Rudimental as the support act for Plan B when I went to see him on February 9th. As a live act, they were pretty much perfect. Drum 'n' bass music is very easy to get into within a live atmosphere, which led to the majority of the crowd all jumping along to the fast beats, having a blast. Rudimental aren't the stereotypical drum 'n' bass act of a man behind a computer effectively pressing the play button; they had live instruments (including a trumpet player, guitar, keys), along with vocalists supporting them, including the brilliant John Newman and the marvelously lion-haired Ella Eyre (photo below). 

Of the 5 big acts I saw in 2013, this was the most I felt an audience were enjoying a support act; pretty impressive considering they weren't even the main support act, being only the initial support act (being followed by Labrinth 30 minutes later). So impressed was I with their performance, that it ended up being one of only two albums this year that I pre-ordered (this is not due to a lack of great 2013 releases, more due to finances restricting me to a small number of buys). As it turns out, for some of the songs on the album they actually used recordings of them playing the instruments live for the "studio" versions. Safe to say the live energy is captured within the album. If you are into Drum 'n' Bass, their album Home is very highly recommended.

As for a song recommendation, I can only pick their huge 2013 hit Waiting All Night. Partly because the video is heart-warming and nice (if completely un-related to the song). Partly because the song is, in my opinion, utterly brilliant. Mainly because of lion-girl Ella Eyre, though.

9. The Gaslight Anthem (Punk Rock)

The Gaslight Anthem were introduced to me by my good friend Dan in 2013. I say "introduced"; I had heard many great things about them from Dan in 2012, but never had the impetuous to give one of their albums a try. This all changed when Dan bought me a copy of The '59 Sound on CD, an album I very quickly fell for. Released in 2008, it is another album that is full of energy, which supplement well-constructed tales of love and loss throughout the album. In terms of rock albums, it's right up there with the best in terms of my personal enjoyment. 

I went on to acquire the rest of their discography by the end of the year, with Handwritten having some similarly brilliant, well-written, high-octane tracks, but I haven't given much time to the others yet; whenever I go to play The Gaslight Anthem, my fingers can't resist giving The '59 Sound a play in its entirety. It's a rock masterpiece, make no mistake. 

One of my favourite songs from the album is The Patient Ferris Wheel; give it a spin!

8. Jake Emlyn (Rap)

Jake Emlyn is probably the least-known of my list, which is emphasised by the fact he hash a mere 46 listeners on last.fm. Let this not be indicative of his talent, though; he's an underground star-in-the-making. What first struck me about the man was his image; a rapper who wears make-up, ear-rings, and in his own words "looks like baby spice". It is genuinely wonderfully refreshing in the often homophobic and sexist world of rap to have a man who isn't scared of dressing so femininely - especially as he is a straight man, which makes it all the more mould-breaking in terms of his contemporaries - but still with the incredible level of confidence and lyrical skill for his music to to the talking.

His music is a mixture of tongue-in-cheek mockery and strong wordplay on a catchy electronic backdrop. A man who is both poetic and funny; for every moving piece of writing, there's a line where he says "some people call me Albino Al Pacino". He also refers to himself as "the Cockney Willy Wonka". I find him wonderfully surreal and original.

I'm white-trash like Kate Nash,

A savage on the beat you need to have this on repeat,

It's like I'm Madness at their peak; without the Baggy Trousers,

I'll be rocking skinny jeans until my penis can't breath.

I'll put the full music video for his song containing the above lyrics - Wonka Hath Landed - below. If anything, I am sure this man will intrigue you.

If you are interested in more of this man's work, you can get his debut EP for free from his bandcamp: http://jakeemlyn.bandcamp.com/

7. Kings of Leon (Alternative Rock)

2013 saw the return of rock-kings (don't excuse the pun) Kings of Leon, both in presence on the chart and live scene, but most importantly in the hearts of long-time fans after the disappointed that was 2010's Come Around Sundown. I would probably rate Kings of Leon as my favourite rock band of all time, and I was lucky enough to see them in July. They played my favourite ever Kings of Leon song, Trani, which my good friend Jon filmed - you can see the video here! We were rather far back, so you can't see much, but the audio still gives me goosebumps.

Later in the year saw the release of their latest album, Mechanical Bull, a return to their consistent brilliance that was shown in their first 4 albums. I will be short and sweet with Kings of Leon - as a MASSIVE band, I am sure most readers will have made their mind up regarding whether they want to listen to their music or not. If you're still on the fence (or haven't heard any of their latest work), feel free to give Tonight a listen!

6. The Fratellis (Blues Rock)

ANOTHER artist I saw live in 2013. I'd say of all the major BANDS I saw live (The Darkness, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis), that The Fratellis were the very best I saw. The atmosphere was electric (a cliché thing to say, but it really was incredible), and they played most of their brilliant songs from their first - and in my opinion, still their best - album.

They also played all of their 2013 release, We Need Medicine. A strong 3rd release that very much slid under the radar in terms of radio and TV coverage alike, it is more bluesy and low-energy in comparison to their initial two offerings, in many ways - in comparison to their 2nd album - for the better. Jeannie Nitro was the highlight the first time I heard the album in full, I loved singing along to this track live, and it is still my favourite off their latest album now (NOTE: skip to 25:49 in this video to listen to the aforementioned track).

5. The Spook School (Punk/Pop)

The Spook School are a little-known punk/pop band from Edinburgh who sing infectious, catchy songs fueled by a real sense of fun. Their website describes each member with purely this image:

I think this succinctly gets across the very endearing nature of the band; more interested in having fun than selling albums. They have a wonderful independent charm; upon receiving a LP and T-shirt I ordered off their bandcamp, I also received a handwritten letter thanking me for the purchase, and saying "have fun looking sexy wearing your T-shirt in Tring!" - the lovely personal touch you can only get from artists who truly care about their fans.

Their music is at times heartfelt and moving, and at times silly and tongue-in-cheek. Everything they make is damn enjoyable, though. Common themes of their songs are sexuality, gender and having fun. 

My favourite song by them is Here We Go; it is a catchy, wonderful track. However, it is of lower-recording quality than their album release, Dress Up - which, if you were wondering, was the 2nd album of 2 that I pre-ordered this year. To give you a better chance of being swayed into loving them, I will attach a video of their lead single from the album, where they cover Niall in paint just for the fun of it. Fuck, I love this band.

4. Plan B (Rap/Soul)

To save me time expressing my love of Plan B, I shall direct you to my review of his gig I went to earlier this year.

As for which song you should check out, you can't go wrong with many of his work...Despite the fact there is far more mainstream songs available, I am going to take a risk with this song. It's the first song from his debut album, which was very aggressive gangster rap. In this track, he goes into the mindset of many of the horrible kids from urban parts of East End London where he grew up, and exposes the aggressive and sick way that some people occur. It starts out as aggressive and in-your-face as possible, the phrase "fuckin' cunts" said within the first sentence, before the reveal midway through the song that the protagonist is only 14, at which point it becomes more tongue-in-cheek, mocking the youth who think they are adults, ultimately ending with the protagonist declaring "I got an ignorant mentality...so arrogant nothing will get through to me, never!", showing a very true-to-life attitude that is as scary in its realness as it is moving in its poetic delivery. If you can stomach very dark, aggressive gangster rap with bitingly intelligent undertones, have a listen.

"Trust me blood, you don't wanna make this hard,
Hand over your money, your phone, and your Pokémon cards."

3. Vince Kidd (Soul/Pop)

As with Plan B, I have linked to my review of Vince Kidd's gig I went to earlier this year, a gig which I have awarded as being the best gig I went to in 2013!

The song below is a demo from Vince's forthcoming album, an album he is saying will be primarily soul-based. Based on this recording, I am very excited to hear the rest of it! Beautifully sung beautiful lyrics. Can't get much better than that.

2. John Newman (Soul)

John Newman is man a first discovered when he was supporting Rudimental at Plan B's gig. His album, Tribute, is one I only first listened to in November, but I instantly fell in love with it. 

The album starts with a list of artists who have inspired John; the lists includes a bunch of greats, including The Who, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Adam Ant and Kings of Leon to name just six. The result of being inspired by such esteemed and talented artists? A fucking brilliant album, that's what. Tribute is my album of 2013 (my friend Matt made the same choice in his own top 10 list, as it happens!). If I had discovered it earlier in the year - indeed, if the album had been released earlier than October - John Newman would have had a real shot at being my artist of the year, too.

Why is it so good? One element is the music behind Newman; a Motown-inspired sound that is very similar to Plan B's 2010 release The Defamation of Strickland Banks, it is both catchy and moving, with an instantly classic sound to it.

Lyrics are very important when it comes to music I truly love. In this case, the lyrics are sublime. The whole album is co-written and co-produced by John Newman, and the content is mainly concerned with the debris of a bad break-up. The one song that isn't - smash #1 hit Love Me Again - was written about Ella Eyre, John Newman's girlfriend at the time of release. The fact they have broken up since the album was release only serves to give the heart-break lyrics all the more poignancy. 

But it isn't just the lyrics; it's the delivery. Newman has soul. I don't mean "he sings soul songs", or "he has a soulful-voice"; he has soul when he sings. They are songs about his experiences, his pain, and you can feel that in his voice when he sings. That is what separates a person singing about their own experiences from, say, someone singing a song written by someone else, a song they told producers they "didn't really connect with", but releasing it anyway because the producers told them it would get to number 1 (as was the case with Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go?). The feeling within his songs; this is what makes John Newman true artist. He can give me goosebumps with his voice. 

The song I will share is Losing Sleep. You can dance to it; you can get shaken up by the beautiful, distinctive vocals; whatever you do, enjoy it.

1. Aiden Grimshaw/Aiden (Drum 'n' Bass/Electronic)

My artist of the year accolade goes to Aiden Grimshaw! Another snap with my friend Matt, as it happens, so clearly we've made great choices. 

I had listened to one song by Aiden Grimshaw in 2012; I heard it, thought "this is damn good", but didn't follow this and really give his album (released October 2012) a listen until January. This was a time where I was getting messed about by people who I cared about, so the timing of me hearing this album - one that was, once again, inspired by a painful break-up - was perfect.

A bit of background on the man; he was a contestant on The X Factor in 2010, the last series I watched it. He finished 9th, before spending 2 years working out what style of music he wanted to release, what he wanted his sound to be; he then released Misty Eye, an album full of songs he co-wrote with a writing partner. Far from the typical X Factor trope of rush-releasing an album of lazy covers within 3 months to take advantage of the publicity, then. Ultimately, it didn't sell brilliantly, reaching #19 in the charts, but it did get a 4-star review from The Guardian; I am sure most true artists would rather have critical acclaim than a quick flash of sales followed by obscurity.

Before Misty Eye, my interest in Drum 'n' Bass music was very small. I liked a couple of Chase 'n' Status songs that featured Plan B, and that was pretty much it. I associated it with loud club music with no substance behind the quick beats. This album changed that.

The lyrics are deep, moving, and beautiful. On the opening track Hold On, Aiden sings "Strong faith and blind eyes, strong faith and blind eyes", it moves me to remember times where I have been in love, believing "they care about me, this will work out", unable to see the truth due to love. 

"My eyes are opening,

Inside this broken thing."

"You hold my hand,
We're together but we're separate".

"This time I'm frozen in,

Exposed, I'm caving in".

The above extracts are from What We Gonna Be; there are bloody fantastic lines spread through the album, perfectly encapsulating how it feels to be broken, damage, lost, to see the thing that meant the most to you in pieces before you. In terms of songwriting, I genuinely rate Misty Eye as some of the very best I have heard. Hauntingly brilliant, all song in a wonderfully fragile manner, with helpings of irresistibly beautiful falsetto.

Since Misty Eye, Aiden Grimshaw has change his artistic direction, becoming simply Aiden, and focussing on electronic music. While I far prefer the drum 'n' bass output, it is still lyrically fantastic, and I have to compliment him on showing such versatility. 

"I've had a lot of love, 

But you never have enough, 

I'm through with chasing fairytales."

Back to Misty Eye; it contains my song of the year, the 100000% belter Is This Love. I absolutely adore it. The gorgeous falsetto, the beautiful and dark lyrics, and then the utterly knock-out breakdown at the end, as Aiden sings:

"Bitter situations, 

Sometimes we all want out,

Vicious regulations, 

From time to time we need some help."

It also sums him up as an artist that instead of having his face all over the music video, he simply has a 3-second cameo walking past the couple. It's about the music and telling the story of the song, very refreshing from the usual videos of artists screaming "LOOK AT ME, GIVE ME ATTENTION!"

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments of any of the songs/artists below if they so inspire you to do so. :)

Tom.