Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

If I had to pick a theme for the music I loved in 2013, it would have to be more pop-forward albums from artists that have generally worked in more esoteric spaces. I’m talking Tegan and Sara’s Heartthrob, Sara Bareilles’s The Blessed Unrest, Birdy’s Fire Within, and Cut Copy’s Free Your Mind. The year also saw the release of a then sixteen-year-old Lorde’s instantly iconic debut Pure Heroine. What a fun year!

Top 10 Albums

1. Heartthrob (Tegan and Sara): For those of us who’d known Tegan and Sara as darlings of the Canadian indie scene, their move to ‘80s inspired dance pop was a shock. But it was also a huge success. Led by bona fide hit “Closer,” and also featuring infectious songs like “I’m Not Your Hero,” “Drove Me Wild,” and “How Come You Don’t Want Me,” this is an all-time favourite album for me.
2. The Blessed Unrest (Sara Bareilles): It’s a matter of record that Sara Bareilles was often in a push-pull dynamic with her label during this era, but I think this album strikes the perfect balance between her indie and theatrical sensibilities and radio-friendly pop production. Six songs from it made my year-end playlist, so yeah, I think it worked!
3. Native (OneRepublic): While not really a ‘stomp-clap’ artist, there’s no doubt that OneRepublic benefited from being at least stomp-clap-adjacent during this window of that subgenre’s popularity. “Counting Stars” is a generational anthem, but the album also includes great songs like “What You Wanted,” “Burning Bridges,” and “Feel Again.”
4. Midnight Memories (One Direction): While they were instantly popular due to their obvious charisma, it took a while for One Direction to figure themselves out musically. For me, things really clicked with this album.
5. Trouble Will Find Me (The National): This is as typical a The National album as you’ll get, but for my elder millennial heart, that’s a very good thing.
6. Pure Heroine (Lorde): Lorde was sixteen when this album was released. SIXTEEN. It’s amazing to me that some people can find their voices that young and make such a huge impact.
7. racine carrée (Stromae): Is it weird that my favourite rapper is a Belgian francophone? It shouldn’t be. Who else could make a heartbreaking song the Rwandan genocide (“Papaoutai”) a bop danced to in clubs around the world?
8. Free Your Mind (Cut Copy): While only one song just sneaked into my end-of-year playlist (”Walking in the Sky”), this is a deep album that rewards patient listeners.
9. All This Bad Blood (Bastille): I think it’s safe at this point to consider Bastille a one-hit-wonder (”Pompeii”), but things come together throughout this album to make it their most successful effort for me by far.
10. Fire Within (Birdy): Birdy first got attention for her 2011 album of covers, so it was interesting to see what she’d do with her own music. And, with singles like “Strange Birds” and “Wings” leading the way, it’s safe to say that she did quite a bit.

Other Albums of Note

In this section I’ll focus on three impressive debuts by bands that in their own ways left a huge mark on the music world.

• The 1975 (The 1975): This self-title debut features “Chocolate” and “Robbers,” songs which not only left their mark on the year in music but also stamped the band with their iconic and instantly recognizable sound.
• Days Are Gone (HAIM): Another impressive debut, this introduced the world to the effortlessly cool Haim sisters. I’m so glad 2025’s I quit, my favourite album of that year, fulfilled the promise we see here in songs like “The Wire.”
• The Bones of What You Believe (CHVRCHES): CHVRCHES are for me quite possibly the quintessential 2010s band and this debut album has all the synth-poppy promise that would would bloom on their next album.

Top 10 Songs

1. “I Choose You” (Sara Bareilles): If anyone ever tells you it’s impossible to write a realistic love song, this is the counter-example. And for this reason, it is very likely my favourite love song ever. (Favourite lyric: “I am under-prepared, but I am willing”)
2. “Closer” (Tegan and Sara): The first time I pressed play on this song, I knew a new era had dawned for Tegan and Sara, and I knew it was going to be an era I’d love. (Favourite lyric: “Here comes the breath before we get, a little bit closer / Here comes the rush before we touch, come a little closer”)
3. “Harlem” (New Politics): No matter how much I love synth-pop, there will always be a big place in my heart for guitar-driven rock. And in 2013, no song filled this spot better than this one. (Favourite lyric: “I spend my money on the regular miracles”)
4. “Diana” (One Direction): This song perfectly captures the joyful and youthful spirit that made One Direction the phenomenon it was. (Favourite lyric: “You’ve been lonely, you don′t even know me / But I can feel you crying”)
5. “Safe and Sound” (Capital Cities): While technically released as a single back in 2011, it’s the lead single from Capital Cities’ 2013 album, and for me is a perfect distillation of 2013 music, and, really, millennial music in general (hand claps and all). (Favourite lyric: “You could be my luck / Even if the sky is falling down / I know that we’ll be safe and sound”)
6. “Young and Beautiful” (Lana Del Rey): Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Great Gatsby may have been a bit of a flop, but at least it gave us this all-time Lana song. (Favourite lyric: “Hot summer nights, mid-July / When you and I were forever wild”)
7. “Applause” (Lady Gaga): ARTPOP may not be one of Lady Gaga’s most beloved albums, with good reason, but I love this banger about fame and the drive to perform. (Favourite lyric: “Pop culture was in art, now art’s in pop culture, in me”)
8. “How Come You Don’t Want Me” (Tegan and Sara): This is not the most lyrically interesting song, but its plaintive melody and repetitive lyrics beautifully portray what it feels like when the one you love has moved on to someone new. (Favourite lyric: “One day soon / I won’t be the one who waits for you”)
9. “Brave” (Sara Bareilles): This song is a beautiful wish to see a friend break free from their timidity. As someone who struggled with timidity for a long time, it means a lot to me to this day. (Favourite lyric: “You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug”)
10. “Royals” (Lorde): It’s always ironic when a song against the trappings of fame and celebrity propels an artist into stardom, but when it’s as good as this one, it’s not surprising. (Favourite lyric: “But every song’s like / Gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin’ in the bathroom / Bloodstains, ball gowns, / trashin’ the hotel room / We don’t care”)

Other Songs of Note

• “Wrecking Ball” (Miley Cyrus): While perhaps best known for its much-watched, much-discussed, and much-parodied televised performance, this is a great pop song in its own right.
• “Wake Me Up” (Avicii): This song is what happens when you filter ‘stomp-clap’ sounds through a DJ’s lens, and it was inescapable in 2013.
• “I Love It (feat. Charli xcx)” (Icona Pop): It seems like every couple years, the world just needs a bratty celebration of youthful excess and few are better than this one.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “Changing of the Guard” (Holy Ghost!): I love it when a fairly minor artist comes out with a song I absolutely love, and for me in 2013 that surprise song was Holy Ghost!’s “Changing of the Guard.”

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “Blurred Lines (feat. Pharrell Williams)” (Robin Thicke): Even in the moment most of were pulled between this song’s great groove and its gross themes. Needless it say, it has not aged well.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]