The AV club's 23 Best Albums of 2013
Every year, The A.V. Club invites our regular music writers and staff to pick their favorite albums of the past 12 months. While in previous years we asked contributors to allot weighted points on up to 15 records, this year we went a more straightforward route. Writers were asked to pick their top 10 records and rank them in order, with their favorite getting 10 points, their second favorite nine, and so on. We then tallied up the points to arrive at our very democratic best-of list. (In the event that two albums tied for points, the record with the greatest number of votes prevailed.) It made for a diverse, rewarding mix of 23 different records we loved this year, ones that we hope you’ll love as well. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites of the year in our readers’ poll.
10. Fall Out Boy, Save Rock And Roll (19 points)
It’s simply a coincidence that the return of Fall Out Boy happened the same year as a resurgence of mainstream interest in emo. But the parallels are fitting: The Chicago-bred quartet was a direct descendent of the Midwestern hardcore and punk scenes of the late ’90s, and its immense popularity a decade ago marked the last time emo was a household term. Still, Save Rock And Roll reinforces that Fall Out Boy has never been interested in scene-driven limitations or genre pigeonholing. The band’s unabashedly pop-leaning comeback record touches on hip-hop, dance-punk, ’80s pop, theatrical hard rock, and soul, while diverse guest stars add grit (Courtney Love slurring rambling slam poetry on the punk surge “Rat A Tat”) and glamour (Elton John purring in tandem with Patrick Stump on the piano-heavy title track). Save Rock And Roll is more impressive in how it eschews escapist lyrics and themes in favor of discussing the difficult realities of adulthood-whether that pertains to career pressure, failed relationships, personal responsibilities, or simply missing the way things used to be. The members of Fall Out Boy are growing up along with their fans-and their music is more meaningful because of it. [AZ]
Source