Top Albums of 2014: The Top 10

January 15, 2015

#10) Sun Kil Moon – Benji [Caldo Verde; released 2/11/2014]

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I’ve never been in a huge fan of Mark Kozelek, musically or personally, but in 2014 he at least impressed me by the former (while still being his usual dickish self thanks to his bizarre feud with The War On Drugs, so halfway there) with Benji, a beautiful collection of songs that pull off the rare feat of being personal yet immensely relatable.

#9) Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal [What’s Your Rupture?; released 6/3/2014]

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The follow up to last year’s breakout Light Up Gold, Sunbathing Animal is the first of two releases for the band in 2014 (the other as Parkay Quarts) and shows a group maturing, while still retaining the DIY garage-rock ethos. This is a more ambitious album, but as intelligent and catchy as their previous work.

#8) Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 2 [Mass Appeal; released 10/24/2014]

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The year’s best hip-hop album, RTJ2 is the second album from Killer Mike and El-P, who seem to bring the best out of each other whenever they team up. This is a visceral listen, an angry airing of grievances largely needed after the civil unrest that unfortunately defined much of 2014.

#7) Strand of Oaks – HEAL [Dead Oceans; released 6/24/2014]

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A similar album, in spirit, to last year’s album of the year Muchacho from Phosphorescent, labelmate Strand of Oaks has created a cathartic gem full of rock ‘n’ roll songs dealing with personal turmoil and nostalgia for the transformative power of rock music.

#6) Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues [Total Treble; released 1/21/2014]

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The first release from the group since lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender, is as courageous an album as I’ve ever heard. 2014 was a defining year for the transgender community – Jared Leto’s Oscar winning portrayal, Laverne Cox’s Emmy nomination, the Grantland fiasco, the success of Transparent, etc. – and Grace’s honesty shown in these 10 punk-rock songs shines as a beacon of hope for those involved in the movement, as well as those struggling to understand.

#5) Cymbals Eat Guitars – LOSE [Barsuk; released 8/26/2014]

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In what I consider 2014’s most underrated album, the New Jersey based quartet’s third, and best, release uses their 90’s indie-rock style to take a spirited look at life and loss in the eyes of someone entering their quarter-life. It’s nine songs of guitar drenched rock, with a heart that elevates this album to astonishing heights.

#4) Spoon – They Want My Soul [Loma Vista; released 8/5/2014]

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The first release since their under appreciated 2010 album Transference, the Austin indie-rockers return to form with an album that better fits alongside 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, generally thought of as the band’s best work. They Want My Soul is one of 2014’s most consistent records with not a dud in the bunch appeasing all those that felt betrayed by Transference’s deviations.

#3) Sharon Van Etten – Are We There [Jagjaguwar; released 5/27/2014]

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An absolute monster of an album, Sharon Vet Etten has created gut-punch of a record full of personal songs that make this the most emotionally draining release of 2014. Self-produced by Van Etten, who felt she had something to prove after 2012’s breakout Tramp was lauded largely due to Aaron Dessner’s involvement, Are We There establishes Van Etten as a monumental voice in indie-rock.

#2) St. Vincent – St. Vincent [Loma Vista; released 2/25/2014]

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Using David Byrne inspired theatrics, the fourth, and possibly best, album from Annie Clark is another incredible release from my favorite artist. Clark has always been able to pair her anxious skittishness with accessible pop tunes – while shredding on guitar, of course – and St. Vincent is no different, only this time showing even greater ambition and innovation from one of the most talented songwriters and musicians we have today.

#1) The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream [Secretly Canadian; released 3/18/2014]

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In what should come as no surprise, my album of the year is the majestic and stunning Lost In The Dream, the third album from Philadelphia band The War On Drugs. Adam Granduciel has crafted his masterpiece, 10 meticulously constructed Springsteen and Petty inspired classic-rock songs, serving as an expression of Granduciel’s demons, all the while being completely devoid of pretensions. With half the tracks over 6 minutes long, most build up to a climax of various proportions, whether they involve an emphatic “Woo!” and guitar solos of my song of the year “Red Eyes” or a Bruce Hornsby styled saxophone solo of “Eyes To The Wind”, but all do so organically. There’s no contrivances here as this is real, life-affirming, stuff which invites the listener to come as you are and get out of it whatever you feel you need.

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A Round of Sound: 2013 Mixtape

January 18, 2014

2013 Mixtape

Finally, it’s time for the annual playlist that caps off my countdown. Rather than do a ranking of favorite songs, I choose to compile what I think is a good representation for the year in music, all on an 80 minute CD-R. Per the norm, plenty of my favorite songs couldn’t find their way on here due to length, or production techniques of the track, so in some cases I’ve got songs on here that aren’t even my favorite from its respective album.

Other notes: I managed to squeeze 20 tracks onto this years mix, same as last year. This is a very top 25 heavy playlist, as only two songs show up from albums outside my top 25. Those songs being The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s “Gig Life” and Tegan and Sara’s “Closer” from their very nice album Heartthrob, my #35 album of the year, which is the lowest ranked album to find a song on my playlist in 2013. Of the remaining tracks, 10 come from albums in my #11-#25 range, and 8 from albums in my top 10. The only top 10 albums that don’t have a representative on my mix are Sunbather and Reflektor. As always, the order of the Mixtape is not a ranking, but rather an order based on how the song appears on its respective album.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist, and after the jump you can listen to every track if you so choose. I’ve also created Rdio and Spotify playlists, the latter of which is embedded below. (Note, “new you” isn’t available on either service.)  There’s also my Amazon.com list which has my entire top 25 albums of the year, nice and neat in a one page form (and access to my all my lists since 2001). And last but not least, this is the 6th straight year Amy Boyd has stepped up to provide me my album art. She actually spent part of her birthday working on this, but that’s why she gets paid the big bucks. (Disclaimer: there are no bucks being transferred, much less big ones.)

2013 was a great year for music, and a very tough act to follow. Let’s see what you got, 2014.

1) “Closer” – Tegan and Sara :: Heartthrob
2) “You & I” – Local Natives :: Hummingbird
3) “The Mother We Share” – Chvrches :: The Bones of What You Believe
4) “KV Crimes” – Kurt Vile :: Wakin On a Pretty Daze
5) “Backyard Skulls” – Frightened Rabbit :: Pedestrian Verse
6) “Counting” – Autre Ne Veut :: Anxiety
7) “Song for Zula” – Phosphorescent :: Muchacho
8) “Borrowed Time” – Parquet Courts:: Light Up Gold
9) “Royals” – Lorde :: Pure Heroine
10) “Step” – Vampire Weekend :: Modern Vampires of the City
11) “The Wire” – Haim :: Days Are Gone
12) “Byegone” – Volcano Choir :: Repave
13) “Sea of Love” – The National :: Trouble Will Find Me
14) “Dropla” – Youth Lagoon :: Wondrous Bughouse
15) “new you” – My Bloody Valentine :: m b v
16) “Hold On, We’re Going Home” – Drake :: Nothing Was The Same
17) “Avocado, Baby” – Los Campesinos! :: No Blues
18) “She Will” – Savages :: Silence Yourself
19) “Gig Life” – The World Is A Beautiful Place… :: Whenever, If Ever
20) “Doin’ It Right”  – Daft Punk :: Random Access Memories


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Top Albums of 2013: #11 thru #25

January 15, 2014

The Countdown can now begin with my 15 albums that make up #11 through #25. There’s really no logic governing which albums I chose to do a write up for here. I didn’t want to write something about all of them, but felt like a few deserved a little blurb.

#25) Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold

921387d28bf0e2139f423d80fc68bca7-98Initially self-released in 2012, Light Up Gold was picked up by New York based label What’s Your Rupture? and rereleased in 2013 to rather great critical praise, so yeah technically a reissue, but barely, so I’m breaking my own rules here. This is the proper debut for the Brooklyn-based quartet and it’s an infectious group of clever punk-rock songs. 15 tracks are crammed on to this LP, and fly by at 34 minutes. The style is youthful, yet smart, garage band rock sung with a loose and free exuberance that’s about as self-assured a debut as you’ll find.

[“Stoned and Starving” – Light Up Gold]

#24) Drake – Nothing Was The Same

#23) The Flaming Lips – The Terror

#22) Volcano Choir – Repave

48b03af986a72f037681efd7bc62bcc5-98The second album from the Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) side project is a much more straightforward release eschewing the spacey atmospherics of Volcano Choir’s debut, and it’s all the better for it. Not to say Unmap didn’t have its moments, or was even failure, far from it. It was an avenue for Vernon, along with collaborators Collections of Colonies of Bees, to experiment with the ethereal and create a unique listening experience.  However, Repave is much more accessible and consists of gorgeous songs more in line with the Vernon repertoire that could easily fit on his most recent Bon Iver effort, most notably back to back tracks “Comrade” and “Byegone”. This is an album that acts as an expansion of the Bon Iver sound, which is what many fans hoped for when this project was announced.

[“Comrade” – Repave]

#21) Laura Marling – Once I Was An Eagle

#20) Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium

8dc1fe13ace2e297ed7cb7bf0ab87858-98No stranger to concept albums, Okkervil River returns to the craft with their seventh album and ATO debut, The Silver Gymnasium, which was inspired by frontman Will Scheff’s hometown of Meriden, New Hampshire. Taking place in the 80’s, this album is a nostalgic look at adolescence during that era and an ominous, yet reverent take on youthful naivety transitioning to cynical adulthood. Scheff captures the time and place perfectly with songs that while not quite displaying the manic energy of previous albums, in some ways are as smart and well written as anything in the band’s catalog.

[“Down Down The Deep River” – The Silver Gymnasium]

#19) Deerhunter – Monomania

#18) Los Campesinos! – No Blues

#17) Kanye West – Yeezus

#16) Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze

#15) Autre Ne Veut – Anxiety

559ccd7c89360cee66599eb55a88d0d8-98Autre Ne Veut is the stage name of Brooklyn musician Arthur Ashin, an artist so private, largely thanks to a social anxiety disorder, that he didn’t even reveal his identity until two years after his 2010 debut album. His appropriately titled follow up, Anxiety, is an emotional juggernaut, yet refuses to let its heaviness get in the way of some damn good alt-R&B songs. These are accessible and immediate tunes making the album an enjoyable and rewarding listen thanks in no small part to the opening two tracks, each respectively song of the year contenders. Trying to decide if I prefer “Play By Play” and its explosive chorus or the dark, yet catchy, anxiousness of “Counting” more is a debate just not worth having when they’re both done this well.

[“Play By Play” – Anxiety]

#14) My Bloody Valentine – m b v

#13) Savages – Silence Yourself

4aeee188108d93ccf899aba9ce884465-98In a year for very successful female pop debuts, consider Savages the antithesis of all those groups, not in success, but in sound. Silence Yourself isn’t marketable polished pop, but rather loud abrasive post-punk done in such a forceful way to create a refreshing listen full of genuine angst and intensity. Savages is a female quartet from London, whose debut album was one of the more highly anticipated releases of 2013, thanks in part to their song “Husbands” which emerged in the summer of 2012. “Husbands” appears on Silence Yourself, but it’s “She Will” that emerges as the best track here displaying the confidence and swagger of these girls.

[“She Will” – Silence Yourself]

#12) Local Natives – Hummingbird

#11) Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse

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