#10: Tune Yards: Nikki Nack
I never saw myself enjoying a Tune Yards album, but luckily Nikki Nack came along this year and really blew me away. Few albums this year were as colorful and oddly dark as the one that Tune Yards managed to put together. It has incredibly strong pop songs mixed in with sociopolitical and serious topics, a mixture that works so well it turned a former hater into a fan.
#9: Timber Timbre: Hot Dreams
The day that Timber Timbre put out an album I don't love will be a truly sad day indeed. Fortunately, I don't see that happening any time soon because Hot Dreams is simply their best album, ever. It (like the album above) mixes pop song structures with incredibly dark sounds and subjects. However, this album also contains an element that Timber Timbre always incorporate; a looming sense of doom and creepiness that makes songs like the title track take on a completely different meaning when analyzed closely. The perfect album for the month of October, or really any month.
#8: Mac Demarco: Salad Days
Ahh, the most chilled-out album of 2014. Sure, it isn't anything radically different from Mac's last album, but I still found myself putting this album on repeat all throughout the summer and beyond. Salad Days is the sound of an artist sticking with his guns, despite anyone's judgment or criticism. Luckily for Mac, the critics still kick back after a log day and mellow out to the smooth grooves of tracks like "Blue Boy".
#7: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Pinata
The tough as nails rhymes of Freddie Gibbs and the never disappointing production of Madlib come together and make Pinata a true modern classic in the gangsta rap genre. The sound of this album is just so masterful and irresistible; every time I put this on I lose myself in the smooth, crispy samples and satisfying drum kicks. Plus you have Freddie Gibbs putting together his best rhymes ever, and even bringing in some pretty great features as well.
#6: Future Islands: Singles
To be honest, I thought this album would be my album of the year for a good while, but then a lot of albums that were just as great came out and I had to make a decision. But don't let this album's place stop you from listening to this years finest pop album. Singles shows Future Islands working with a cleaner recording and writing their tightest hooks and choruses, ever. Plus it's always a joy to hear the vocals that this band brings to the table; soulful and slightly off their rocker.
#5: Swans: To Be Kind
I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment when it comes to rock music. I like it loud, dark and twisted, and that is exactly what Swans do on a regular basis, but especially on their latest serving of pain, To Be Kind. This album is relentless in all of it's facets, but most importantly, it was (to me) endlessly enjoyable. I've sat through this albums 2 full hours over a half dozen times since it's release, and I've gone back to cuts like "Oxygen" and "Just a Little Boy" many more times than that. This is rock music at it's most eccentric and mesmerizing.
#4: Perfume Genius: Too Bright
Mike Hadreas changed his sound up on Too Bright, and I think it payed off in a big way. We get to hear his voice more clearly, and we get to see him incorporate more sounds and attitude into his usually downbeat, contemplative music. It may not be my favorite in his discography, but that has more to do with the time and place his last album hit me and less to do with the actual quality of the music on Too Bright, which is easily his most cohesive and approachable album to date. I'm happy to see Mike strutting his stuff and still writing excellent tunes in the process.
#3: Run The Jewels: RTJ2
If you remember last year's list, you'll recall that I said that anything with both Killer Mike and EL-P was bound to end up on my top 10... well that's still the case. However, I actually think that the dynamic duo did one better, and put together an even stronger album than their debut. RTJ2 is thoroughly enjoyable and darn near perfect with really only one track standing out as "good, not great". This has been on constant rotation since the day it came out, and will continue to for the foreseeable future.
#2: Iceage: Plowing Into The Field Of Love
When these fine young Danes came out with their sophomore album You're Nothing I was incredibly close to putting it on that years list, but I thought that with just a bit more substance, Iceage would be an undeniably great band; and that is exactly what they did with their latest album, Plowing Into The Field Of Love. To me, this is the album that all future modern goth-rock and post-punk albums should be compared to because Iceage are on a whole other level on this LP. From the moment that "On My Fingers" starts, I'm one hundred percent lost in this album until the very end. Add to that the years best rock song (in my opinion) "The Lord's Favorite" and I can no longer hide the fact that I love this album from top to bottom. Utterly amazing.
#1 Sun Kil Moon: Benji
This may not be a surprise if you've been following the blog, but I think that this album is flawless. Yeah, not a single track on this album is even remotely bad or anything less than superb. From the moment I first heard it all the way through, I knew this was the only acceptable spot for it when it came to end of the year lists. The amount of emotion here is staggering, and it is one of the few folk albums that after listening to it, I felt like I knew the artists better on a human level. The stories on display here range from heartbreaking, to inspiringly sad and heartwarming. The perfect picture of an artist who is experiencing life on the other side of middle age.
No comments:
Post a Comment