Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

93845

Column

Songs of 2013: Frightened Rabbit, Wild Beasts, Drenge and more pick their favourites
Songs of 2013: Frightened Rabbit, Wild Beasts, Drenge and more pick their favourites
rleedham by Robert Leedham December 4th, 2013

'Tis the season to snog Samantha at the office party, vom in a trash can and regret nothing in the morning. Yep, 2013 is all set to evaporate after a month of festive celebrations and end of year lists (You can find all of DiS' year-end best of 2013 coverage compiled on one handy page by clicking here).

Drowned In Sound's official best albums and singles compendiums will be published later this week. If you've been glued to the site over the last 12 months, Robin Thicke's double-triumph shouldn't come as a surprise. As for the also-rans, My Bloody Valentine, Foals and Money have apparently done quite well.

Before the big reveal, we asked some of our best-loved bands to share their favourite tracks from the last year. Blood Red Shoes, Rolo Tomassi, The Icarus Line, Perfume Genius, Au Revoir Simone and many more purveyors of song all got involved. One of them chose a ditty from 1979.

Musicians. You just can't trust them.

Rihanna

Stay (feat. ft Mikky Ekko) (Island Records)

Another triumph from the guy who brought you Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games'. Simple chords, familiar melodies... yet somehow still fresh sounding; immediate, beautiful, with some subtle intricacies. The way great pop should be.

Interestingly, I first heard this in the back of a taxi after a tense argument with the driver over where the hell he thought we were going. To cure the awkward silence, he cranked on the radio.... to this. Even more awkward, perhaps. Gordon Skene, Frightened Rabbit

Daft Punk

Within (Columbia Records)

Sensitive robots get me every time. - Heather D'Angelo, Au Revoir Simone

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

Push The Sky Away (Bad Seeds Ltd)

I finally got the chance to see them live this year. Stood in a litter strewn field in Somerset, with seagulls dive bombing overhead and a slight nip in the air, this track had me shaking and shivering in the palm of their hand. Eoin Loveless, Drenge

Sky Larkin

Loom (Wichita)

A genuine, proper pop song, with claws. I listened to this over and over again. Tom Fleming, Wild Beasts

Daughter

Smother (4AD)

I didn't get into the album that much but Smother by Daughter is one song I've listened to a lot. A very beautiful/sad and well-written song both lyrically and musically. James Spence, Rolo Tomassi

Katy Perry

Roar (Capitol Records)

Sorry. DiS readers who will hate me for this but it's a fucking excellent pop tune and hasn't really been beaten by anything else this year. Grant Hutchison, Frightened Rabbit

Alex Chilton

My Rival (Last Call Records)

Not made in 2013 or even re-released in 2013 but it was on the stereo all the time. Joe Cardamone, The Icarus Line

Daft Punk

Get Lucky (Columbia Records)

It got played a little crazy town too much, but when I first heard that song I really felt like I was gonna explode! They were beyond brilliant to get both Nile & Georgio. Erika Forster, Au Revoir Simone

Blood Orange

Chamakay (Domino Records)

Hits all the spots. Especially that first vocal run. Perfume Genius

FKA twigs

Water Me (Young Turks)

Simple, weird and beautiful. Great video too! Olafur Arnalds

Body Parts

Helpless Child (Father/Daughter Records)

This is actually a friend's band from LA who just released their debut record last month, and I am a huge fan of what they're doing. Their music feels like what David Byrne would do with Michael Jackson/Quincy Jones-style production, and this song is the ballad on the album, and probably their most epic. It's fully-realized, unabashed pop music, and it's not my normal thing, but they just sell it and own it so well that I'm hooked. Kelcey Ayer, Local Natives

Pond

Giant Tortoise (Modular)

I love the Flaming Lips vibes and the huge ridiculous riff (obvs). Ryan, Menace Beach

Splashh

Feels Like You (Universal Music)

We took this band on tour with us to the States earlier this year and I fell in love with this song. Y'know some songs make you reminisce of a certain time or of people, well this song does that to me and makes me smile. Laura-Mary, Blood Red Shoes

Oceansize

You Can’t Keep A Bad Man Down

This didn’t come out this year (not even close!), but I picked up the second Oceansize album again this summer having not listened to it for a long while. This song is the most played album on my phone by a considerable margin and is still one that makes people in the street look at me funny when it playing. Has one of the most beautiful, immersive and devastating middle sections of any proggy song ever. The rest of the song’s not bad either. Olugbenga, who's also a member of Metronomy

Join the conversation

So that was the Best of 2013 verdict from a bunch of so-called professionals. To shout about your own infinitely better favourites from the year gone past, head over to the Drowned In Sound messageboards.

We're pulling together a playlist of everyone's favourites. That way you can listen to them all at your leisure with the help of Spotify and a smart device. Huzzah!

Oh, and here's a playlist of all of the above for you...


You can find all of DiS' year-end best of 2013 coverage compiled on one handy page by clicking here



LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees

Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


Left-arrow

More Than Words #3: The Art and Music...

Mobback
94186
93844

SAVAGE PIXELS #25: The Best Video Gam...

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE
Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND