Here's some of mine. Listened to the fewest whole albums in many many years. Just got impatient with the huge amount of noise to signal. Probably missed a ton of good music by not experimenting more. But anyway...
Rating - Band - Album - Comments
9.5 - Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold - Yes it's really a 2012 album, but I think a bunch of us got turned onto to it (by Schwenko?) late that year. Became kind of an obsession. Great album and most exciting live band of the year too.
9.5 - The Ocean Blue - Ultramarine - What a gem - musically, lyrically, production-wise. More than I could have hoped a revival album could be.
9.0 - Savages - Silence Yourself - It' a really good album but there's no matching their live experience. I really like it, but the band's sense of self-import is starting to rub me the wrong way.
8.5 - My Bloody Valentine - M B V - It takes up exactly where Loveless left off, and to some critics that was a bad thing. It's not innovative but that's okay. Love it.
8.0 - MF/MB - Colossus - It has all the right bits - shiny and dark moments, electronic and guitar stuff. A fine listen that could use some better singles IMHO.
8.0 - The Fauns - Lights - Fine 2nd album. Swirly pysch goodness with some melody.
8.0 - Goldfrapp - Tales of Us - A concept album really. Have to be in the right mood. I like it just because it's someone doing exactly what they want to be.
7.5 - Yo La Tengo - Fade - Feels like a real writer's and musician's album - quality throughout. Can't helping feeling though that it's missing some emotional grab.
7.5 - Telekinesis - Dormarion - They sound very new wavey live but a bit more surfy on record. Joyous band that just haven't quite synthesized "it" onto record.
7.5 - The Secret History - Americans Singing in the Dark - An album that's really just for Secret History fans - lots more Smithstastic guitar strumming and lyrics but not quite the same highs in songwriting.
7.0 - British Sea Power - Machineries of Joy - Some joy here and there for sure but disappointing for anyone but an avid fan.
7.0 - Hookworms - Pearl Mystic - More swirling psych goodness but a bit too relentless without enough bright moments.
7.0 - Mazes - Ores & Minerals - Bit of old NY garage with some kinda Dylan moments. A good retro soundtrack that could use some more singles beyond the outstanding Skulking.
7.0 - OMD - English Electric - It's like they haven't missed a stop. Only slight problem is that they haven't missed a mid-80s step versus their earlier sound.
7.0 - Pacific Air - Stop Talking - A really well-constructed indie pop album - that's all it is. Will be too cookie-cutter in the current indie vein for some. It just sounds good.
7.0 - Swim Deep - Where the Heaven Are We - There's a lot of 90s Britpop and Indiepop in here. There's not great tracks but it's really tuneful listening as an album.
7.0 - Wax Idols - Discipline and Desire - Has more Siouxsie than even Savages. First impressions are that it will be epic, but it's sameyness and unrelenting nature don't let it be. Just good then.
6.5 - David Bowie - The Next Day - A few cool moments, some good roots sounds, but not a great album…still Bowie though!
6.5 - Deerhunter - Monomania - Tough to mentally sort this out. No singles per se. Decent listen depending on the mood.
6.5 - Girls Names - The New Life - A more gothy Bunnymen maybe? All the sounds are there but just a bit short of really compelling.
6.5 - Porcelain Raft - Permanent Signal - Really wanted to like this more. Has a lot of the sparkling sound and dreamy lyrics I like, but it just never hits its stride.
6.5 - Shout Out Louds - Optica - There's just something missing here - that pure, shimmering, exuberant joy isn't quite there.
6.0 - Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune - I'm supposed to like this as a new wave fan, but the album just doesn't quite hit the mark. Couple fine singles tho.
6.0 - Wire - Change Becomes Us - I had high hopes when I heard they were reworking some old material and sounds. They've honestly done better with their recent de novo material.
5.5 - The Mary Onettes - Hit the Waves - They've been accused of pastiche before and I disagreed, but now... Seems like a parroting of new wave without their old magic melodies.
5.0 - The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law - Tried to like it, heck, love it, but they've honestly lost their original narrative. Hope they get it back. Maybe one good track.
2.0 - White Lies - Big TV - Yikes. I had some hopes that these critically panned kids would find a way to shine. They haven't.