2013 Calvin Awards: Best Album

By Kim Hollis

February 18, 2013

Blue Boy.

After a year and a half hiatus, The Killers returned with new album Battle Born, which impressed us enough to come in sixth amongst our voters. Although early sessions in developing the album proved to be contentious for the band members, they soon found their groove and delivered a collection of songs that would thrill fans, including "Runaways", which was the debut single. Apparently a little time apart is good for the soul.

If you're wondering where all the major label artists are, look no further. Pink comes in at #7 in our voting with her newest album The Truth About Love. She channels some very raw emotion into some powerful lyrics, with accompanying music that is as catchy as anything she's ever done before. With titles like "Blow Me (One Last Kiss) and "Slut Like You", you kind of know what you're getting, and yet Pink goes above and beyond in delivering raunchy, sassy stuff that you just love to sing.

The Walkmen chose to collaborate with producer Phil Ek for their newest album, Heaven, and while that name might not mean much to you on its own, you might take notice when you hear that he's produced past albums for Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and the aforementioned The Shins. It's a lush, upbeat, optimistic album, a record that the A.V. Club calls "dad-rock" because of its adult themes. Now that the Walkmen have been working together for the better part of a decade, they've matured, and it shows in their sound and their lyrics.




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Ninth place goes to quite possibly the greatest songwriter/poet of our time, Bob Dylan. Like so much of his work, in Tempest he deals with those eternal and universal themes of love and death, going to some darker places than he traditionally has. Dylan wrote every song on the album himself with the exception of the fantastic "Duquesne Whistle", which he co-authored with Robert Hunter (the primary lyricist of The Grateful Dead). Mood shifts take place not just between songs but within songs. Ardent fans will find much to love, but even people who have never admired Dylan in the past can find haunting truths present in Tempest.

Our final top ten slot is taken up by another debut artist. This time it's Alabama Shakes with their album Boys and Girls. It's probably no coincidence that our 2012 favorite Jack White has toured with this up and coming garage band; his ear for talent is unmistakable. It's a blues explosion that establishes them as a future force to be reckoned with. Just writing this paragraph has put "Hold On" in my head as an earworm I may not be able to dislodge for several hours.

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Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture



Top 10
Position Album Artist Total Points
1 Blunderbuss Jack White 84
2 channel ORANGE Frank Ocean 44
3 The Carpenter The Avett Brothers 42
4 Port of Morrow The Shins 40
5 My Head Is an Animal Of Monsters and Men 33
6 Battle Born The Killers 32
7 The Truth About Love Pink 31
8 Heaven The Walkmen 29
9 Tempest Bob Dylan 28
10 Boys and Girls Alabama Shakes 26




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