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NOFAYs 2013: Seb Law – Online Editor

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Welcome to The NOFAYs 2013: The Notion Office’s Favourite (note: not ‘Best’) Albums of the Year, our take on the now-ubiquitous end-of-year list.

We don’t normally partake in the monotonous routine of compiling EOY lists, made with the intent of bragging about a b-side that no one has ever heard about. However, this year is different, because we felt like we should give you a hint of some of the albums that had been circulating the office stereo for the best part of, well, every day. Some to the point that we are collectively singing the intro before the track has even started playing. Kind of like the uplifting cafeteria sing-a-long in a (not the) high school musical, only with four grown men who really liked Yeezus. (Except Seb, who recently called Mr. West “Kim K after she swallowed a thesaurus.”) Now, that doesn’t mean that we are going to bore you with words-on-words-on-words about albums that were reviewed the first time round. Instead, we are just going to let you know why they received more plays than a teenage fangirl who just received #Bangerz, which *SPOILER ALERT*: didn’t make it onto any of our lists.

Oh right, now for the lists. In the ‘best collection of crew neck sweatshirts this side of the Atlantic’ corner we have the worded wisdom of our online editor, Seb Law…

Bondax – XLR8R Mix
The soundtrack to my summer, hands down. I could wax lyrical about their “blissed-out Balearica” yet again, but you will have read all that in my interview with them in Notion 065. If this is any indication of the direction their album is going in, I’m into it. Hands-down best mix of the year (closely followed by Flight Facilities’ Triple-J mixes).

Daft Punk – RAM
An obvious choice, maybe, but this record has more depth and layers than anything else I’ve heard this year. Absolutely crazy and sometimes downright annoying, this is the future classic of 2013, the one that your kids will ask you about (if you educate ‘em right).

Janelle Monae – Electric Lady
The best live performance I saw all year was undoubtedly Janelle Monae at the Roundhouse (even at the album launch, when she was singing over 4 of the album tracks, she had more stage presence that 95% of acts I’ve seen). Electric Lady is a future cult classic, and hasn’t left my iPod since I pestered the PR relentlessly for a copy. Not only that, the rap at the end of QUEEN makes me tingle every time I hear it.

V/A – Cosmic Machine
This is so ridiculous, I couldn’t NOT include it. Subtitled ‘A Compilation of French cosmic & electronic avant-garde 1970-1980’, this is the sort of thing I always end up buying in record shops and then hammering incessantly, much to the annoyance and bemusement of the other desks in my vicinity. If you think RAM is a bit tame, this is the record for you.

Myron & E – Broadway
It only dawned on me recently that this record, which could have been so easily dismissed to the landfill pile of promos outside our office, is an example of perfect & subtle songwriting at its best. It doesn’t shout, or try to bowl you over, it’s just great pop songs written by a duo that are truly, madly, deeply in love with soul music.

Little Boots – Nocturnes
Another iPod essential – Little Boots’ disco-noir is pretty much my perfect old-school pop record. Do I need to write more? [Ed: No.] Great.

Out Cold – Invasion of Love
Like Myron & E, there’s a delicious subtlety to this record, which for me reads like an 21st-centuryfied version of Hot Chip’s first LP ‘Coming On Strong’. Yes I know that was released in ’04, whatever. Invasion of Love is chock-full of pretty little breakdowns, heartfelt lyrics and gorgeous moments. I also had no idea, until I read the press release much later (duh!) that this record also marked Simon Aldred’s coming out. Just makes me love it even more, I’m such an old romantic.

Rhye – Woman
Simply beautiful downtempo electronica, ‘Woman’ is the ultimate hangover record, which probably explains why it’s had SO MANY plays on the Notion stereo.

Charli XCX – True Romance
If Boots is my old-school poptastic record, Charli is totally nouvelle. Like a lot of my other faves, this is full of layers, sounds and touches that give all the songs much more texture and hence playability, but Charli is redefining what pop music is. Maybe she’s too ahead of her time, but this record deserves to be heard by everyone, everywhere. Especially me, on the nightbus (for a third consecutive time).

JT – The 20/20 Experience (1 & 2)
If you mashed together all of my favourite records, you’d probably get something approximating the JT double-record. It’d probably take a raincheck on the subtlety and songwriting finesse, but this is my party album of the year, and also reignited my love for ‘Justified’, which now lives on my desk for drunken Friday office tunes. #YAY

Elli Ingram – Sober
This 5-track EP dropped into my inbox unannounced direct from management, and was one of my best gigs this year for many reasons, chief among which is Elli’s fantastic lyric writing, deadpan delivery and nouvelle realism approach to songs. Alright, that’s a bit pretentious, but listen to ‘Sober’ on a hangover and all will be revealed. Definitely one to watch for 2014.

- Seb Law

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