2013 is shaping up to be another big year for releases from staple indie bands of the ’90s. While you can expect new albums from , , , and , there’s still a plethora of material being released from emerging and not-quite-as-established artists.
As with all beginning-of-year lists, though, this one is incomplete. Undoubtedly, there will be many albums released during the next 12 months that no one is currently aware of, but itap a good bet that these six albums will be on year-end lists alongside some of the biggest surprises. Here are some of the most anticipated indie rock albums of 2013.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra — “II” (2/9, Jagjaguwar)
2011 self-titled debut grabbed rave reviews and many good words, but the much needed critical groundswell didn’t quite culminate in the band’s entrance into the wider popular discussion. Unknown’s sound — which could be described as a west coast, drug-addled warp of Grizzly Bear — didn’t quite catch fire, but it has the potential. If “II” is anywhere near as good as the debut, Unknown Mortal Orchestra may have a very big 2013.
Low — “The Invisible Way” (3/19, Sub Pop)
Low’s sound remains as singular as it did when it’s first album, “I Could Live In Hope,” was released in 1994. Preparing to release the 10th studio album, the group’s brand of slowed-down emo rock (arguably their best album is titled “Things We Lost In The Fire,” for Pete’s sake) seems almost more popular now than at any other point in its career. If the excellent November 2012 — which it very likely is — “The Invisible Way” will be an album not easily compared to other 2013 releases.
Cloud Nothings — TBA (TBA)
are certainly a young band, and can — at times — show its age. But older influences , such as the pretty ugliness of Pavement and angst of Nirvana, naturally bleed through frontman Dylan Baldi’s songwriting. The group’s 2012 album “Attack On Memory” may have the most true-to-the-music title of any record in 2012, and while there’s little info on the new record (apart from Baldi claiming it to be noisier and less straightforward), it will no doubt be a reprieve from the current musical landscape of subtlety and reverb.
My Bloody Valentine — TBA (TBA, though likely very soon)
Itap been 21 years since “Loveless,” last studio album. So yes, if “Loveless” was a human, it would be able to drink by now. But thatap all okay, because My Bloody Valentine’s impact on shoegaze jams and ’90s guitar music can’t be overstated. The group posted to its Facebook page that the new album was completed on Dec. 24, and as it will be released through the band’s web site, the wait shouldn’t be too much longer (at least not another 21 years). Get ready for an aural assault.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs — TBA (TBA)
Few groups have made as much of an imprint as New York’s in the past decade. While the band’s punk roots morphed and mutated for 2009’s danceable “Itap Blitz,” there’s no indication of what direction the trio’s sound has taken for the new album. The only info available at the moment “DNA upgrades, spontaneous evolution and NEW YEAH YEAH YEAHS RECORD ARRIVING SPRING 2013! finally.” If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have proven one thing, though, itap that they’re more versatile than their early work ever suggested.
Sun Kil Moon and the Album Leaf — “Perils From the Sea” (4/30, Caldo Verde)
This is the dark horse. While they aren’t the biggest names, the Album Leaf and Sun Kil Moon have been pumping out down-tempo, study-worthy music for years. Never before, however, have these kindred musicians collaborated on a full-length. The record promises the lush string and organ arrangements of the Album Leaf’s Jimmy LaValle with the accessible lyricism of Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek. Look for this to be a sleeper album on critics’ lists.
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Indie music blogger Nic Turiciano is a writer in Fort Collins. You can follow him on Twitter at @nic_turishawno or email him at nturiciano@gmail.com.
