The Soundtrack Of My Life's Top 25 Albums Of 2013

Oh, what a wonderful time 2013 has been!  As another year comes to an end, we look back and realize just how many fantastic albums were released.  Along with the arrival of a new year comes the treacherously amusing task of creating a "best of" list.  This year I've even included clickable album titles, so you can grab each one if you feel the urge.  So without further delay, here are The Soundtrack Of My Life's top twenty-five albums of 2013.

25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

24. Hunx And His Punx - Street Punk
23. Bastille - Bad Blood
22. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
21. Devendra Banhart - Mala
20. Arctic Monkeys - AM
19. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
18. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
17. Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
15. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
14. Small Black - Limits Of Desire
13. Pet Shop Boys - Electric
12. Icona Pop - This Is...
11. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

10. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City

9. Haim - Days Are Gone

8. M.I.A. - Matangi

7. Savages - Silence Yourself

6. Lorde - Pure Heroine

5. Kate Nash - Girl Talk

4. Doldrums - Lesser Evil

3. Goldfrapp - Tales Of Us

2. James Blake - Overgrown

1. David Bowie - The Next Day

Friday I'm In Love - 13/9/13

Friday I'm In Love is a weekly feature.

Highlights of what I loved over the past week.

Week = Friday to Friday.

May include things of a non-musical variety.

Goldfrapp - Annabel

Following the release of "Drew', Goldfrapp's latest video is another stunning and intimate collaboration with filmmaker Lisa Gunning.  "Annabel" was inspired by Kathleen Winter's novel, also called Annabel.  It tells the story of an intersex child raised as a boy, only to feel otherwise.  The video, or rather short film, explores the ideas of gender identity and what it means to be boy, girl, or even both.

Goldfrapp's new record, Tales Of Us, is out now. The album dabbles in character study, as each song is focused on a different name and persona. You can grab a copy of the album at Goldfrapp's store or here.  It's absolutely beautiful and if you loved Felt Mountain, then this record is for you.

Goldfrapp - Drew

It's been a few years since Goldfrapp's 2010 retro synth-pop album, Head First.  Alison Goldfrapp has been less than generous while discussing that record, even going so far to say "I didn’t like the last album very much.  I’m not very proud of that one."  While some may agree with her, I find it to be quite enjoyable every now and then.  It can be a bit overwhelming in the ABBA sense if you're not in the mood for it, but there really are some great moments.

This September, the duo will release the follow-up to Head First.  Tales Of Us is shaping up to be a highly anticipated return to form.  I say that because they've just released a video for the record's lead single "Drew" and it sounds like signature Goldfrapp, sans 80's revival tunes.  The video was directed by Lisa Gunning and features Alison in a black and white clip. There's a bit of nudity, but it's handled in a classy way.  The song is actually alarmingly beautiful and we can only hope that the full album is equally stunning.  Check out the video and look for Tales Of Us on September 9, via Mute Records.

Pre-Order: Goldfrapp - "Tales Of Us"