Six months in and 2013 is proving to be an exciting, surprising and fantastic year for music. My Bloody Valentine surprised us with m b v, suddenly releasing the record at midnight on a February Saturday after 20 years of silence. Followed months of teasing, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories discoed into everyone’s hearts (maybe). The Knife’s 90-minute opera Shaking the Habitual was fantastically jarring and promoted progressive ideals, all while shaking bodies. And the second half of the year already promises so much, with Kanye West’s newest album Yeezus promising to be as bold, shocking and gritty as its promotion.

It may be bit early for “Best of 2013” lists, but it‰’s the middle of 2013 and we‰’re excited to share our most-repeated new albums from the last six months. This week, read about some of WVAU‰’s favorite records released in 2013.

To follow up their dreamy, nostalgic masterpiece Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter have given us Monomania, their ugliest, most abrasive record yet.

What‰’s so surprising is that underneath the jagged guitars and distorted vocals lie the band‰’s most immediate songs to date. “Dream Captain‰” combines a swaggering performance from Bradford Cox with a maddeningly catchy guitar riff to form the closest resemblance to a pop song the band has made, while the rollicking “Pensacola‰” recalls the twangy side of the Black Lips.

Still, it‰’s impossible for Cox to contain his demons in his music, which becomes particularly evident during the title track when his repeated cries of “mono-monomania‰” are swallowed by roaring feedback.

While Deerhunter may be one of this era‰’s most unpredictable bands, it has proven itself as one of the most reliable.