Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Best Albums of 2014


And here it is, the end of another year, another year-end list:

Honorable Mention:

Tinariwen           
Emmaar
Key track: “Arhegh Danagh”

Marissa Nadler 
July
Key track: “Drive”

EMA     
The Future's Void
Key track: “3Jane”

Lantlôs 
Melting Sun
Key track: “Melting Sun I (Azure Crimes)”

Richard Reed Parry        
Music For Heart and Breath
Key track: “Quartet For Heart and Breath”

Pharmakon       
Bestial Burden
Key track: “Body Betrays Itself”

Mr Twin Sister  
Mr Twin Sister
Key track: “Crime Scene”

Liars      
Mess
Key track: “Mess On a Mission”

Pallbearer          
Foundations of Burden
Key track: “Ashes”

Various Artists  
Hyperdub 10.1
Key track: “Expected”


And the top 50:

50.  Perfect Pussy           
Say Yes to Love
Key tracks: “Interference Fits”, “Dig”

49.  White Lung
Deep Fantasy
Key tracks: “Down It Goes”, “Snake Jaw”


48.  Ex Hex         
Rips
Key tracks: “Outro”, “Radio On”


47.  Lone            
Reality Testing
Key tracks: “2 is 8”, “Cutched Under”

46.  Arca            
Xen
Key tracks: “Thievery”, “Now You Know” 

45.  Bing and Ruth          
Tomorrow Was the Golden Age
Key tracks: “Twtga”, “Strange Wind”

44.  Owen Pallett            
In Conflict
Key tracks: “In Conflict”, “On a Path”

43.  Andy Stott 
Faith In Strangers
Key tracks: “Violence”, “Faith In Strangers”

42.  Azealia Banks           
Broke With Expensive Taste
Key tracks: “212”, “Ice Princess”

41.  Lykke Li      
I Never Learn
Key tracks: “I Follow Rivers”, “I Never Learn”

40.  Parquet Courts        
Sunbathing Animal
Key tracks: “Instant Disassembly”, “Dear Ramona

39.  The Antlers
Familiars
Key tracks: “Palace”, “Hotel”

38.  Hundred Waters      
The Moon Rang Like a Bell
Key tracks: “Murmurs”, “Down From the Rafters”

37.  Ben Frost    
A U R O R A
Key tracks: “Venter”, “Flex”

36.  Cloud Nothings       
Here and Nowhere Else
Key tracks: “Psychic Trauma”, “I’m Not Part of Me”

35.  Ty Segall     
Manipulator
Key tracks: “The Singer”, “The Faker”

34.  Gruff Rhys 
American Interior
Key tracks: “American Interior”, “The Swamp”

33.  tUnE-yArDs
Nikki Nack
Key tracks: “Water Fountain”, “Time of Dark”

32.  Wild Beasts
Present Tense
Key tracks: “Wanderlust”, “Mecca”

31.  Ought          
More Than Any Other Day
Key tracks: “Habit”, “Pleasant Heart”


 
30.  Clark            
Clark

Key tracks: “Unfurla”, “Winter Linn”







 
29.  Steve Gunn              
Way Out Weather

Key tracks: “Milly’s Garden”, “Shadow Bros”







 

28.  Shabazz Palaces      
Lese Majesty

Few hip-hop artists in recent years have proven to be as sonically complex and pleasing as Shabazz Palaces. Essentially expanding off of the blueprint of their outstanding debut Black Up, Lese Majesty contains a bevy of detailed otherworldly, space-aged sonic collages that, in and of themselves, represent awfully satisfying listening. Throw Ishmael Butler’s often mystifying wordplay on top and you have yourself a very worthy follow-up to an album that’s practically already achieved classic status. Whether critiquing consumerism or rapping about some obscure mysticism, Butler isn’t always the easiest MC to follow, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun trying.

Key tracks: “Motion Sickness”, “They Come In Gold”


27.  Thom Yorke              
Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

Key tracks: “Guess Again!”, “Nose Grows Some”







 

26.  Sun Kil Moon           
Benji

Key tracks: “Carissa”, “Ben’s My Friend”







 

25.  Iceage         
Plowing Into the Field of Love

Key tracks: “The Lord’s Favorite”, “Forever”








24.  A Sunny Day In Glasgow      
Sea When Absent

A Sunny Day in Glasgow had long established their pop smarts even if they had a knack for obscuring their melodies amidst a gauzy haze. On Sea When Absent, the band shows what happens when they pull the veil back and put their melodic abilities on display. Sure, the shoegaze guitars and muddled synths are still here, but they serve more of a supporting role this time around. As it turns out, taking a new approach was an inspired decision as songs like “The Things They Do to Me” and “Bye Bye Big Ocean (The End)” are some of their most rewarding to date.

Key tracks: “Bye Bye Big Ocean (The End)”, “Crushin’”




23.  Brian Eno / Karl Hide             
High Life

Key tracks: “Lilac”, “Return









22.  How to Dress Well   
"What Is This Heart?"

Key tracks: “Repeat Pleasure”, “What You Wanted”








21.  Future Islands          
Singles

Key tracks: “Seasons”, “Spirit”









20.  Damon Albarn         

Everyday Robots

Key tracks: “Everyday Robots”, “The History of a Cheating Heart”

  






 

19.  Grouper      
Ruins

Key tracks: “Holding”, “Call Across Rooms”


 






18.  Sharon Van Etten   
Are We There
 
Key tracks: “Your Love Is Killing Me”, “Every Time the Sun Comes Up”




 

17.  Swans         
To Be Kind

Key tracks: “Oxygen”, “A Little God In My Hands”









16.  Angel Olsen              
Burn Your Fire For No Witness

Key tracks: “High and Wild”, “Hi-Five”










15.  Real Estate 
Atlas

Key tracks: “Had to Hear”, “Talking Backwards”










14.  FKA Twigs   
LP1

Key tracks: “Pendulum”, “Two Weeks”










13.  Caribou       
Our Love

Key tracks: “Can’t Do Without You”, “Our Love”









12.  Flying Lotus              
You're Dead!

Key tracks: “Never Catch Me”, “Coronus, The Terminator”









11.  Ariel Pink    
pom pom

Key tracks: “Picture Me Gone”, “Put Your Number In My Phone”










10.  Spoon         
They Want My Soul

Key tracks: “Do You”, “Inside Out”








 
9.  Todd Terje   
It's Album Time

It finally happened. We finally received that long-awaited full-length from one of Norway’s most consistent producers. Not only that, but the album actually met all of the unreasonably high expectations placed upon it. If singles like “Inspector Norse” and “Strandbar” suggested an album of party-ready jams, the resulting album was even more adventurous. It’s an ecstatic, genre blending mix of electro-funk and space disco, but that’s oversimplifying things. Terje even restlessly manages to slip a little Calypso in. Considering the album’s generous use of live instruments alongside soaring analog synths, comparisons to Random Access Memories were inevitable, but It’s Album Time is a far more unwieldy affair. It’s an album that proves that those early singles were no fluke; if anything, they were just a tip of the iceberg.

Key tracks: “Inspector Norse”, “Delorean Dynamite”


8.  Mac DeMarco            
Salad Days

Let’s face it, it’s getting harder and harder to square Mac DeMarco’s immature behavior — be it endearing or downright disgusting — with the increasing sincerity of his music. With lines like “Watching my life pass right in front of my eyes,” Salad Days reaches striking new levels of introspection. Even musically speaking the album stretches out into territory that’s a bit more sophisticated, right down to the Beach House-esque chiming synths and stately lead guitar. Sure, even amid his most contemplative moments, nothing about his work feels heavy; there’s always a boyish charm lurking beneath the surface (see the line “What mom don’t know has taken its toll on me”). He may be opposed to growing up any time soon but he’s certainly growing artistically.

Key tracks: “Passing Out Pieces”, “Salad Days”


7.  Run the Jewels           
RTJ2

Key tracks: “Crown”, “Angel Duster”









6.  Beck
Morning Phase

Key tracks: “Blackbird Cage”, “Waking Light”









5.  Aphex Twin  
Syro

Key tracks: “minipops 67 [Source Field Mix]”, “XMAS_EVET10 [Thanaton3 Mix]”








4.  Perfume Genius        
Too Bright

If Too Bright’s hushed, piano-based opener “I Decline” didn’t give any indication that major changes were afoot for Perfume Genius, the album’s strident second track announced them with bravado.  Stirring synths buzzing around a haunting chorus of “oohs,” the sparse quiet of Perfume Genius’ past was been replaced with something altogether soaring and fully fleshed out. It stands to reason that the track harnesses Mike Hadreas’ most confident performance to date. If the album’s grander scale necessarily removes some of the intimacy we’ve come to expect from Hadreas, it still retains the melancholy beauty that has always made Perfume Genius so special.

Key tracks: “Queen”, “Grid”




3.  The War on Drugs     
Lost in the Dream

“Red Eyes” is as blistering as it is blissed out; like much of their fantastic 2014 full-length Lost in the Dream, the song’s waves and washes of ambiance rub up against the electric charge of the band and the results are dazzling. Sure, the lyrical message put forth by singer Adam Granduciel is a bit ambiguous, but the urgency of his delivery conveys the message loud and clear. The song’s description of running in the dark is the perfect metaphor; this is the sound of a band in need of an escape route. Utilizing the best tricks Springsteen once had up his sleeve to an often breathtaking affect, “Red Eyes” is the cinematic result of The War on Drugs finding that way out through its own joyous craft. 2014 was a turbulent year on a global scale and with “Red Eyes,” The War on Drugs provided us with our own escape, if even for just five minutes.

Key tracks: “Red Eyes”, “An Ocean In Between the Waves”




2.  St. Vincent   
St. Vincent

If each of St. Vincent’s album covers have been largely indicative of the tone awaiting the listener, the self-assured, silver haired Clark sitting on her thrown donning St. Vincent definitely gives light to where her headspace is these days. It’s been a gradual transformation, but at this point, the coyness of her debut Marry Me has been completely stripped away. The album is certainly Clark’s most confident to date as she stridently jumps from one approach to another (a confidence that is definitely earned after the brilliant Strange Mercy). From the Dap Kings’ horn blasts of “Digital Witness” which echoes her work with David Byrne, to the robotic frenzy of “Birth In Reverse” reminiscent of Strange Mercy’s more aggressive side, the album essentially provides the perfect snapshot of her career up until this point. It even comes complete with a classic Clark ballad, the stunning closer “Severed Crossed Fingers.”

Key tracks: “Prince Johnny”, “Digital Witness”




1.  D'Angelo and The Vanguard
Black Messiah

In the final hour, D’Angelo returns with a timely end of the year stunner.

Key tracks: “Another Life”, “Prayer”








Please check out the list my fellow Treble staffers and I voted on as well (you’ll probably recognize some of the blurbs on this list).

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