Give or take a few weeks, 2013's midpoint is upon us. After almost six months of new music, it's that time of year when we pause to catch our breath, get our bearings and share our love for the albums that defined the first half of 2013.
For the rest of the year, if we find ourselves loving a new rock album, we'll ask, "But is it as good as Savages' Silence Yourself"? When a dance record arrives that has us feeling particularly euphoric, we'll inevitably compare it to Disclosure's Settle. Every incoming slice of soulful pop is going to find itself stacked up against Laura Mvula's Sing to the Moon.
Of course, not every artist fits so easily into a genre, and unsurprisingly, it's often those unclassifiable recordings that have stuck with us thus far. David Lang's Death Speaks is inspired by Schubert and performed by members of The National and My Brightest Diamond. Maria Schneider and Dawn Upshaw mine the overlapping ground between jazz and classical music. Darcy James Argue references John Philip Sousa and LCD Soundsystem. Hey, what would a multi-genre list be without a few multi-genre albums?
So, with that, please enjoy our favorite albums of 2013 so far. There's a little something for everyone, with bonuses for those who like their boundaries blurry.
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