AllMusic Loves 2014
Dec. 12, 2014
If anything can be said about 2014—and a lot can be said and it has been elsewhere—it's that there was a ton of new music to enjoy. It was the kind of year where it was easier to revel in abundance than rally around consensus picks for Album of the Year. That said, there are some titles that pop up again and again among the editors' lists. Run the Jewels, Sturgill Simpson, and the War on Drugs, three of the most celebrated LPs of the year, do show up often on AllMusic Loves 2014, but so do the glorious noise of Sleaford Mods, the haunting hippie mysticism of Robert Plant, the hard-rocking power pop of Mary Timony's Ex Hex, Neneh Cherry's Blank Project, EMA's impressionistic The Future's Void, Flying Lotus' progressive You're Dead!, and Angel Olsen's fearless Burn Your Fire for No Witness. Every artist mentioned above gave us reasons to love 2014.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Miranda Lambert - Platinum
Ex Hex - Rips
Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters - lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
Aaron Freeman - Freeman
Lee Ann Womack - The Way I'm Livin'
Tune-Yards - Nikki Nack
EMA - The Future's Void
Little Big Town - Pain Killer
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Sam Hunt - Montevallo
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class
Charli XCX - Sucker
King Tuff - Black Moon Spell
Holland-Dozier-Holland - The Complete 45s Collection: Invictus, Hot Wax, Music Merchant 1969-1977
Bob Dylan and the Band - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes - Complete
Chuck Berry - Rock & Roll Music Any Old Way You Choose It: The Complete Studio Recordings Plus
Jerry Lee Lewis - The Knox Phillips Sessions: The Unreleased Recordings
Various Artists - The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1: 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from "Nashville West"
Various Artists - The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2: 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from "Nashville West"
The "5" Royales - Soul & Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales 1951-1967
Various Artists - Step Inside My Soul: Rare '70s and Modern Soul
Little Feat - Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990
Mickey Jupp - Kiss Me Quick, Squeeze Me Slow: The Collection
Stories - Stories Untold: The Very Best of Stories
Peggy Lipton - The Complete Ode Recordings
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Various Artists - Cracking the Cosimo Code: 60s New Orleans R&B and Soul
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - CSNY
Various Artists - Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country Rock, Vol. 1 – 1966-1968
Various Artists - Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' by the Bayou: Rompin' & Stompin'
Various Artists - The Soul of Designer Records
Various Artists - Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles
Various Artists - Lou Adler: A Musical History
Keith Allison - In Action: The Complete Columbia Sides Plus!
John Bush [Spotify]
Considering Mac DeMarco topped my list of 2014 albums, and Kurt Vile was #1 on my 2013 list, I think it's safe to say that at long last, I've found a couple stoner jam bands to truly call my own. Ariel Pink just kept getting freakier and freakier this past year, and most of my favorite records were by artists finding new and clever ways to recycle those gold sounds of indie yesteryears (Cheatahs, Eagulls, Ex Hex, Real Estate, Temples, Beck, Spoon). And despite strong material from Jennifer Hudson and Jessie Ware and Marsha Ambrosius, I'm still patiently waiting to fall back in love with contemporary R&B and rap.
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Real Estate - Atlas
Cheatahs - Cheatahs
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Ex Hex - Rips
FKA Twigs - LP1
Temples - Sun Structures
Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita
EMA - The Future's Void
Liars - Mess
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Peaking Lights - Cosmic Logic
Tune-Yards - Nikki Nack
Phantogram - Voices
Ariel Pink - Pom Pom
Arca - Xen
Beck - Morning Phase
Eagulls - Eagulls
Fear of Men - Loom
Mac DeMarco - "Passing Out Pieces"
Cheatahs - "Mission Creep"
Real Estate - "Talking Backwards"
EMA - "So Blonde"
Fear of Me - "Vitrine"
FKA Twigs - "Pendulum"
Warpaint - "Love Is to Die"
Flying Lotus - "Moment of Hesitation"
Jessie Ware - "Tough Love"
Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Peaking Lights - "Telephone Call"
The Horrors - "So Now You Know"
Ex Hex - "Don't Wanna Lose"
The Pack A.D. - "Big Shot"
OFF! - "It Didn't Matter to Me"
Liars - "Vox Tuned D.E.D."
Temples - "Mesmerise"
Ariel Pink - "White Freckles"
Eric Church - "Cold One"
The War on Drugs - "Under the Pressure"
Heather Phares
Arca - Xen
EMA - The Future's Void
Ex Hex - Rips
FKA Twigs - LP1
Grouper - Ruins
His Name Is Alive - Tecuciztecatl
Liars - Mess
Mica Levi - Under the Skin
Lust for Youth - International
Mr Twin Sister - Mr Twin Sister
Nick Nicely - Space of a Second
Pere Ubu - Carnival of Souls
Perfume Genius - Too Bright
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Torn Hawk - Let's Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time
Trust - Joyland
Vessel - Punish, Honey
Tim Sendra
Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again
Temples - Sun Structures
Lunchbox - Lunchbox Loves You
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Comet Gain - Paperback Ghosts
Future Islands - Singles
Gulp - Season Sun
Wunder Wunder - Everything Infinite
Nicholas Krgovich - On Sunset
Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
3108 - 3108
The John Steel Singers - Everything's a Thread
Ex Hex - Rips
Alvvays - Alvvays
Vic Godard & Subway Sect - 1979 Now!
Death from Above 1979 - The Physical World
Sleaford Mods - Chubbed Up +
BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL
Matt Collar
From Theo Croker's sophisticated and soulful Dee Dee Bridgewater-produced AfroPhysicist to Dirty Loops' inspired, technically dazzling mix of fusion and R&B, Loopified, there was plenty of stylistically diverse energy going on in 2014. It was year of creative ironies with electronic artists releasing moody, arty albums (FKA Twigs, Hunterchild) and jazz artists releasing upbeat, dance-y albums (Takuya Kuroda, Craig Handy). It was also the year I reviewed one of the most emotionally difficult albums I've ever had to listen to with Jimmy Greene's heartbreaking tribute to his daughter, Beautiful Life.
Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow
Otis Brown III - The Thought of You
John Coltrane - Offering: Live at Temple University
Theo Croker - AfroPhysicist
Dirty Loops - Loopified
Bryan Ferry - Avonmore
FKA Twigs - LP1
Jimmy Greene - Beautiful Life
Craig Handy - Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
Hunterchild - Hunterchild
The Jezabels - The Brink
Takuya Kuroda - Rising Son
Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Mystery Skulls - Forever
Jeremy Pelt - Face Forward, Jeremy
Rumer - Into Colour
Somi - The Lagos Music Salon
Mark Turner Quartet - Lathe of Heaven
Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham
Mark Deming
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
Sonic Avenues - Mistakes
Wussy - Attica!
Single Mothers - Negative Qualities
Ben Vaughn - Texas Road Trip
Peter Stampfel & the Brooklyn & Lower Manhattan Banjo Squadron - Better Than Expected
Tweedy - Sukierae
Peter Buck - I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again
Sweet Apple - The Golden Age of Glitter
Death of Samantha - If Memory Serves Us Well
Fan Modine - Cause Célèbre
Blue Snaggletooth - Beyond Thule
Old 97's - Most Messed Up
Thompson - Family
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
The Fleshtones - Wheel of Talent
OBNIIIs - Live in San Francisco
The Muffs - Whoop Dee Doo
Ume - Monuments
Lucinda Williams - Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
Thom Jurek
Calle 13 - MultiViral
Romeo Santos - Formula, Vol. 2
Juan Luis Guerra - Todo Tiene Su Hora
Ibibio Sound Machine - Ibibio Sound Machine
Jason Eady - Daylight/Dark
Dianne Reeves - Beautiful Life
Moreno Veloso - Coisa Boa
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Ray Bonneville - Easy Gone
Mary Gauthier - Trouble & Love
La Santa Cecilia - Someday New
Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
Otis Brown III - The Thought of You
Juanes - Loco de Amor
Nicola Conte - Free Souls
Norma Winstone/Klaus Gesing/Glauco Venier - Dance Without Answer
Opeth - Pale Communion
Ana Tijoux - Vengo
Andy Kellman [Spotify]
D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Jesse Boykins III - Love Apparatus
Electric Wire Hustle - Love Can Prevail
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
The Bug - Angels & Devils
Fhloston Paradigm - The Phoenix
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Taylor McFerrin - Early Riser
Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers
Aphex Twin - Syro
Meshell Ndegeocello - Comet, Come to Me
Theo Parrish - American Intelligence
Ekoplekz - Unfidelity
Melanie De Biasio - No Deal
Zara McFarlane - If You Knew Her
Lone - Reality Testing
Klara Lewis - Ett
Rainer Veil - New Brutalism
Flying Lotus - "Never Catch Me"
Vince Staples - "Hands Up"
Alice Smith - "Shell Shock"
Bok Bok - "Melba's Call"
Hiatus Kaiyote - "By Fire"
King - "Mister Chameleon"
Juce - "Call You Out"
Bilal - "Sirens II"
DeJ Loaf - "Try Me"
Teyana Taylor - "Request"
Social Lovers - "So Right"
Holly Herndon - "Chorus"
Andy Stott - "Violence"
Anushka - "Atom Bombs"
Herbert - "One Two Three"
Gazelle Twin - "Belly of the Beast"
Usher - "Good Kisser"
The Jack Moves - "Doublin' Down"
Kindness - "World Restart"
Richard H. Kirk - "Never Lose Your Shadow"
James Christopher Monger [Spotify]
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
John Southworth - Niagara
BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL
Temples - Sun Structures
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
Alt-J - This Is All Yours
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Behemoth - The Satanist
Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters - lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar
Matt Jones & The Reconstruction - The Deep Enders
Jungle - Jungle
Jim Roll - The Continuing Adventures of the Butterfly Kid
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Marianne Faithfull - Give My Love to London
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
TV on the Radio - Seeds
Owen Pallett - In Conflict
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Opeth - Pale Communion
Sinéad O'Connor - "Dense Water Deeper Down"
Alvvays - "Archie, Marry Me"
BRONCHO - "Class Historian"
Total Control - "Safety Net"
Thompson - "Family"
Prince - "FUNKNROLL"
Greylag - "Another"
The Apache Relay - "Katie Queen of Tennessee"
Iamamiwhoami - "Chasing Kites"
Delta Spirit - "Push It"
Childhood - "Solemn Skies"
Perfume Genius - "Queen"
Honeyblood - "Bud"
Luluc - "Without a Face"
Sabina - "Won't Let You Break Me"
St. Vincent - "Digital Witness"
The War On Drugs - "Red Eyes"
Lykke Li - "No Rest for the Wicked"
The Hidden Cameras - "Skin & Leather"
SOHN - "Artifice"
Timothy Monger
If each year didn't yield surprises or unexpectedly reorganize my taste buds then it would be time to stop listening altogether. I've never understood Pavement, so what is Stephen Malkmus doing on my year end list? Sleaford Mods stole punk back from undeserving 18-year-olds who didn't know what to do with it. The lead singer of Brazilian Girls made my favorite album of the year. Roger Waters wrote his best song in ages and it's on a Marianne Faithfull record. With so many new releases now available on vinyl, it was a great year for enjoying LP's in their entirety which is also a surprise since all signs seemed to indicate that we'd be living in a straight-up singles culture by now. Thanks, 2014. I'm grateful to have no idea what's going on.
Sabina - Toujours
Luluc - Passerby
John Southworth - Niagara
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Cibo Matto - Hotel Valentine
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Toumani Diabaté / Sidiki Diabaté - Toumani & Sidiki
Beck - Morning Phase
Matt Jones & The Reconstruction - The Deep Enders
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Marianne Faithfull - Give My Love to London
Alt-J - This Is All Yours
Martin & Eliza Carthy - The Moral of the Elephant
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Temples - Sun Structures
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Erlend Øye - Legao
Real Estate - Atlas
Phil Ajjarapu - Sing Along Until You Feel Better
Guy Blakeslee - "Smile On"
Fauna Flora - "Happy Hour"
Donna Regina - "Holding the Mirror for Sophia Loren"
I Was a King - "Pet Cemetery"
We Are Catchers - "Tap, Tap, Tap"
The Fresh & Onlys - "Animal of One"
Merchandise - "Enemy"
Celestial Shore - "Gloria"
Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Michael Jackson - "Love Never Felt So Good"
Jim Oblon - "When I Was a Cowboy 1911"
Smoke Fairies - "Are You Crazy?"
Tune-Yards - "Water Fountain"
The Phantom Band - "The Wind That Cried the World"
Bellowhead - "Moon Kittens"
Gemma Ray - "Motorbike"
Spoon - "Do You"
The New Mendicants - "Sarasota"
The Hidden Cameras - "Skin & Leather"
James Yorkston - "Guy Fawkes' Signature"
Sean Westergaard
As I get older, I struggle to remember what I listened to yesterday, let alone what's been released all year long. As a result, my list is not so much a "Best of 2014" list as a "Here's a bunch of albums I can recall from 2014 that I played more than a couple times at home because I liked them" list, presented in an unranked semblance of alphabetical order.
Bushman's Revenge - Thou Shalt Boogie!
Henry Butler/Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9 - Viper's Drag
Jim Campilongo - Dream Dictionary
Captain Beefheart - Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972
The Cellar and Point - Ambit
Nels Cline Singers - Macroscope
Fripp & Eno - Live in Paris 28.05.1975
Happy Family - Minimal Gods
Kazutoki Umezu Kiki Band - Sanagi no Yume
King Crimson - Starless
Krokofant - Krokofant
Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Enfant Terrible
Monomyth - Further
My Brother the Wind - Once There Was a Time When Time and Space Were One
People - 3xawoman: The Misplaced Files
Anthony Pirog - Palo Colorado Dream
Steelism - 615 to Fame
Tackhead - For the Love of Money
John Zorn - The Testament of Solomon
John Zorn - Transmigration of the Magus
James Wilkinson
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Real Estate - Atlas
Horsebeach - Horsebeach
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
The Delines - Colfax
Alvvays - Alvvays
Beck - Morning Phase
Neil Young - Letter Home
Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt
Thurston Moore - The Best Day
Jon Brooks - 52
Warpaint - Warpaint
Inspiral Carpets - Inspiral Carpets
Ultimate Painting - Ultimate Painting
Allo Darlin' - We Come from the Same Place
Allah-Las - Worship the Sun
Julie Byrne - Rooms with Walls and Windows
Foxygen - ...And Star Power
Mattew Garbutt [Spotify]
Allah-Las - Worship the Sun
The Baron Four - Out of the Wild Come...
Collocutor - Instead
The Coral - The Curse of Love
Cowbell - Skeleton Soul
Get the Blessing - Lope and Antilope
The Growlers - Chinese Fountain
Mazes - Wooden Aquarium
Nick Waterhouse - Holly
Olivia Louvel - Beauty Sleep
Pike Cavalero - Torro
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
Ray Lugo & The Boogaloo Destroyers - ¡Que Chévere!
The Satelliters - More of the Satelliters
Sixteen & the Sidewinders - Blood in My Coffee
Soft Walls - No Time
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
Temples - Sun Structures
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Woods - With Light and with Love
The Arrogants - "Mr. Evil"
Childhood - "You Could Be Different"
Crystal Stilts - "Delirium Tremendous"
Dan Sartain - "Pass This On"
Foxygen - "Coulda Been My Love"
The Greg Foat Group - "By the Grace of God, I Am"
Inspiral Carpets - "Spitfire"
J.D. McPherson - "I Wish You Would"
Lee Fields & the Expressions - "Just Can't Win"
Les Grys-Grys - "Hot Gully Wind"
Matt Berry - "Take My Hand"
Pharrell Williams - "Happy"
Reigning Sound - "Never Coming Home"
La Roux - "Uptight Downtown"
La Sera - "Kiss This Town Away"
Shannon & the Clams - "Mama"
The Thanes - "Dishin' the Dirt"
The Youth - "Come On"
Tindersticks - "Whispering Guns"
Wild Billy Childish & CTMF - "He Wore a Pagan Robe"
John D. Buchanan
A great and eclectic year for music which saw many ace releases in the ambient, techno, metal, folk, and movie score genres, as well as my beloved visual kei. These genres are so different there's no point in trying to compare them, so my choices are presented in no particular order.
Every Time I Die - From Parts Unknown
Ital - Endgame
Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line
CV313 - Dimensional Space
Hauschka - Abandoned City
James Farm - City Folk
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 300: Rise of an Empire
Nightmare - To Be or Not to Be
Otto A. Totland - Pinô
Sukekiyo - Immortalis
Yagya - Sleepygirls
Within Temptation - Hydra
Julie Fowlis - Gach Sgeul (Every Story)
Jon Mueller / Duane Pitre - Inverted Torch
Loscil - Sea Island
Today Is the Day - Animal Mother
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Jonas Kopp - Beyond the Hypnosis
Vladislav Delay - Visa
Reagenz - Periodic Table
Scott Kerr
We Were Promised Jetpacks - Unravelling
Honeyblood - Honeyblood
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
Mogwai - Rave Tapes
Modern Baseball - You're Gonna Miss It All
GRMLN - Soon Away
Alvvays - Alvvays
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love
Grouper - Ruins
Royal Blood - Royal Blood
Cayetana - Nervous like Me
Swans - To Be Kind
Death Vessel - Island Intervals
Samaris - Silkidrangar
Owl John - Owl John
Cheatahs - Cheatahs
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
Aneet Nijjar
Gesloten Cirkel - Submit X
Torn Hawk - Through Force of Will
Swans - To Be Kind
Grouper - Ruins
Sd Laika - That's Harakiri
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Violet Poison - Non Sequitur
Philipp Quehenberger - Content
Ben Frost - A U R O R A
The Spacey Bruce Lacey - The Spacey Bruce Lacey: Film Music & Improvisations
Tom Ellard - 80s Cheesecake
Shit & Shine - Powder Horn
Vessel - Punish, Honey
The Body - I Shall Die Here
Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
Boris Blank - Electrified
Dean Blunt - Black Metal
Mica Levi - Under the Skin
V/Vm - The Death of Rave (A Partial Flashback)
Jack Ruby - Hit & Run
James Pearce
Jenny Hval & Susanna - Meshes of Voice
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Ital - Endgame
FKA Twigs - LP1
Klara Lewis - Ett
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Broken Twin - May
Sunn 0)))/Ulver - Terrestrials
Mondkopf - Hadès
Swans - Oxygen
Ian William Craig - A Turn of Breath
Adult Jazz - Gist Is
Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers
clipping - CLPPNG
Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita
Ekoplekz - Unfidelity
patten - Estoile Naiant
AK/DK - Synths + Drums + Noise + Space
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
Óbó - Innhverfi
Rich Wilson
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Singer's Grave/A Sea of Tongues
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Eagulls - Eagulls
Posse - Soft Opening
The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast
S. Carey - Range of Light
Chumped - Teenage Retirement
The Delines - Colfax
Bear Trade - Blood and Sand
Swans - To Be Kind
SHXCXCHCXSH - Linear S Decoded
Violet Poison - Non Sequitur
GRMLN - Soon Away
Thurston Moore - The Best Day
Talker - Talker
Mitski - Bury Me at Make Out Creek
Mogwai - Rave Tapes
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Miranda Lambert - Platinum
Ex Hex - Rips
Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters - lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
Aaron Freeman - Freeman
Lee Ann Womack - The Way I'm Livin'
Tune-Yards - Nikki Nack
EMA - The Future's Void
Little Big Town - Pain Killer
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Sam Hunt - Montevallo
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class
Charli XCX - Sucker
King Tuff - Black Moon Spell
Holland-Dozier-Holland - The Complete 45s Collection: Invictus, Hot Wax, Music Merchant 1969-1977
Bob Dylan and the Band - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes - Complete
Chuck Berry - Rock & Roll Music Any Old Way You Choose It: The Complete Studio Recordings Plus
Jerry Lee Lewis - The Knox Phillips Sessions: The Unreleased Recordings
Various Artists - The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1: 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from "Nashville West"
Various Artists - The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2: 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from "Nashville West"
The "5" Royales - Soul & Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales 1951-1967
Various Artists - Step Inside My Soul: Rare '70s and Modern Soul
Little Feat - Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990
Mickey Jupp - Kiss Me Quick, Squeeze Me Slow: The Collection
Stories - Stories Untold: The Very Best of Stories
Peggy Lipton - The Complete Ode Recordings
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Various Artists - Cracking the Cosimo Code: 60s New Orleans R&B and Soul
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - CSNY
Various Artists - Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country Rock, Vol. 1 – 1966-1968
Various Artists - Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' by the Bayou: Rompin' & Stompin'
Various Artists - The Soul of Designer Records
Various Artists - Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles
Various Artists - Lou Adler: A Musical History
Keith Allison - In Action: The Complete Columbia Sides Plus!
John Bush [Spotify]
Considering Mac DeMarco topped my list of 2014 albums, and Kurt Vile was #1 on my 2013 list, I think it's safe to say that at long last, I've found a couple stoner jam bands to truly call my own. Ariel Pink just kept getting freakier and freakier this past year, and most of my favorite records were by artists finding new and clever ways to recycle those gold sounds of indie yesteryears (Cheatahs, Eagulls, Ex Hex, Real Estate, Temples, Beck, Spoon). And despite strong material from Jennifer Hudson and Jessie Ware and Marsha Ambrosius, I'm still patiently waiting to fall back in love with contemporary R&B and rap.
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Real Estate - Atlas
Cheatahs - Cheatahs
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Ex Hex - Rips
FKA Twigs - LP1
Temples - Sun Structures
Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita
EMA - The Future's Void
Liars - Mess
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Peaking Lights - Cosmic Logic
Tune-Yards - Nikki Nack
Phantogram - Voices
Ariel Pink - Pom Pom
Arca - Xen
Beck - Morning Phase
Eagulls - Eagulls
Fear of Men - Loom
Mac DeMarco - "Passing Out Pieces"
Cheatahs - "Mission Creep"
Real Estate - "Talking Backwards"
EMA - "So Blonde"
Fear of Me - "Vitrine"
FKA Twigs - "Pendulum"
Warpaint - "Love Is to Die"
Flying Lotus - "Moment of Hesitation"
Jessie Ware - "Tough Love"
Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Peaking Lights - "Telephone Call"
The Horrors - "So Now You Know"
Ex Hex - "Don't Wanna Lose"
The Pack A.D. - "Big Shot"
OFF! - "It Didn't Matter to Me"
Liars - "Vox Tuned D.E.D."
Temples - "Mesmerise"
Ariel Pink - "White Freckles"
Eric Church - "Cold One"
The War on Drugs - "Under the Pressure"
Heather Phares
Arca - Xen
EMA - The Future's Void
Ex Hex - Rips
FKA Twigs - LP1
Grouper - Ruins
His Name Is Alive - Tecuciztecatl
Liars - Mess
Mica Levi - Under the Skin
Lust for Youth - International
Mr Twin Sister - Mr Twin Sister
Nick Nicely - Space of a Second
Pere Ubu - Carnival of Souls
Perfume Genius - Too Bright
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Torn Hawk - Let's Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time
Trust - Joyland
Vessel - Punish, Honey
Tim Sendra
Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again
Temples - Sun Structures
Lunchbox - Lunchbox Loves You
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Comet Gain - Paperback Ghosts
Future Islands - Singles
Gulp - Season Sun
Wunder Wunder - Everything Infinite
Nicholas Krgovich - On Sunset
Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
3108 - 3108
The John Steel Singers - Everything's a Thread
Ex Hex - Rips
Alvvays - Alvvays
Vic Godard & Subway Sect - 1979 Now!
Death from Above 1979 - The Physical World
Sleaford Mods - Chubbed Up +
BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL
Matt Collar
From Theo Croker's sophisticated and soulful Dee Dee Bridgewater-produced AfroPhysicist to Dirty Loops' inspired, technically dazzling mix of fusion and R&B, Loopified, there was plenty of stylistically diverse energy going on in 2014. It was year of creative ironies with electronic artists releasing moody, arty albums (FKA Twigs, Hunterchild) and jazz artists releasing upbeat, dance-y albums (Takuya Kuroda, Craig Handy). It was also the year I reviewed one of the most emotionally difficult albums I've ever had to listen to with Jimmy Greene's heartbreaking tribute to his daughter, Beautiful Life.
Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow
Otis Brown III - The Thought of You
John Coltrane - Offering: Live at Temple University
Theo Croker - AfroPhysicist
Dirty Loops - Loopified
Bryan Ferry - Avonmore
FKA Twigs - LP1
Jimmy Greene - Beautiful Life
Craig Handy - Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
Hunterchild - Hunterchild
The Jezabels - The Brink
Takuya Kuroda - Rising Son
Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Mystery Skulls - Forever
Jeremy Pelt - Face Forward, Jeremy
Rumer - Into Colour
Somi - The Lagos Music Salon
Mark Turner Quartet - Lathe of Heaven
Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham
Mark Deming
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
Sonic Avenues - Mistakes
Wussy - Attica!
Single Mothers - Negative Qualities
Ben Vaughn - Texas Road Trip
Peter Stampfel & the Brooklyn & Lower Manhattan Banjo Squadron - Better Than Expected
Tweedy - Sukierae
Peter Buck - I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again
Sweet Apple - The Golden Age of Glitter
Death of Samantha - If Memory Serves Us Well
Fan Modine - Cause Célèbre
Blue Snaggletooth - Beyond Thule
Old 97's - Most Messed Up
Thompson - Family
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
The Fleshtones - Wheel of Talent
OBNIIIs - Live in San Francisco
The Muffs - Whoop Dee Doo
Ume - Monuments
Lucinda Williams - Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
Thom Jurek
Calle 13 - MultiViral
Romeo Santos - Formula, Vol. 2
Juan Luis Guerra - Todo Tiene Su Hora
Ibibio Sound Machine - Ibibio Sound Machine
Jason Eady - Daylight/Dark
Dianne Reeves - Beautiful Life
Moreno Veloso - Coisa Boa
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Ray Bonneville - Easy Gone
Mary Gauthier - Trouble & Love
La Santa Cecilia - Someday New
Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
Otis Brown III - The Thought of You
Juanes - Loco de Amor
Nicola Conte - Free Souls
Norma Winstone/Klaus Gesing/Glauco Venier - Dance Without Answer
Opeth - Pale Communion
Ana Tijoux - Vengo
Andy Kellman [Spotify]
D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Jesse Boykins III - Love Apparatus
Electric Wire Hustle - Love Can Prevail
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
The Bug - Angels & Devils
Fhloston Paradigm - The Phoenix
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Taylor McFerrin - Early Riser
Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers
Aphex Twin - Syro
Meshell Ndegeocello - Comet, Come to Me
Theo Parrish - American Intelligence
Ekoplekz - Unfidelity
Melanie De Biasio - No Deal
Zara McFarlane - If You Knew Her
Lone - Reality Testing
Klara Lewis - Ett
Rainer Veil - New Brutalism
Flying Lotus - "Never Catch Me"
Vince Staples - "Hands Up"
Alice Smith - "Shell Shock"
Bok Bok - "Melba's Call"
Hiatus Kaiyote - "By Fire"
King - "Mister Chameleon"
Juce - "Call You Out"
Bilal - "Sirens II"
DeJ Loaf - "Try Me"
Teyana Taylor - "Request"
Social Lovers - "So Right"
Holly Herndon - "Chorus"
Andy Stott - "Violence"
Anushka - "Atom Bombs"
Herbert - "One Two Three"
Gazelle Twin - "Belly of the Beast"
Usher - "Good Kisser"
The Jack Moves - "Doublin' Down"
Kindness - "World Restart"
Richard H. Kirk - "Never Lose Your Shadow"
James Christopher Monger [Spotify]
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
John Southworth - Niagara
BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL
Temples - Sun Structures
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
Alt-J - This Is All Yours
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Behemoth - The Satanist
Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters - lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar
Matt Jones & The Reconstruction - The Deep Enders
Jungle - Jungle
Jim Roll - The Continuing Adventures of the Butterfly Kid
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Marianne Faithfull - Give My Love to London
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
TV on the Radio - Seeds
Owen Pallett - In Conflict
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Opeth - Pale Communion
Sinéad O'Connor - "Dense Water Deeper Down"
Alvvays - "Archie, Marry Me"
BRONCHO - "Class Historian"
Total Control - "Safety Net"
Thompson - "Family"
Prince - "FUNKNROLL"
Greylag - "Another"
The Apache Relay - "Katie Queen of Tennessee"
Iamamiwhoami - "Chasing Kites"
Delta Spirit - "Push It"
Childhood - "Solemn Skies"
Perfume Genius - "Queen"
Honeyblood - "Bud"
Luluc - "Without a Face"
Sabina - "Won't Let You Break Me"
St. Vincent - "Digital Witness"
The War On Drugs - "Red Eyes"
Lykke Li - "No Rest for the Wicked"
The Hidden Cameras - "Skin & Leather"
SOHN - "Artifice"
Timothy Monger
If each year didn't yield surprises or unexpectedly reorganize my taste buds then it would be time to stop listening altogether. I've never understood Pavement, so what is Stephen Malkmus doing on my year end list? Sleaford Mods stole punk back from undeserving 18-year-olds who didn't know what to do with it. The lead singer of Brazilian Girls made my favorite album of the year. Roger Waters wrote his best song in ages and it's on a Marianne Faithfull record. With so many new releases now available on vinyl, it was a great year for enjoying LP's in their entirety which is also a surprise since all signs seemed to indicate that we'd be living in a straight-up singles culture by now. Thanks, 2014. I'm grateful to have no idea what's going on.
Sabina - Toujours
Luluc - Passerby
John Southworth - Niagara
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit
Cibo Matto - Hotel Valentine
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Toumani Diabaté / Sidiki Diabaté - Toumani & Sidiki
Beck - Morning Phase
Matt Jones & The Reconstruction - The Deep Enders
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Marianne Faithfull - Give My Love to London
Alt-J - This Is All Yours
Martin & Eliza Carthy - The Moral of the Elephant
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Temples - Sun Structures
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Erlend Øye - Legao
Real Estate - Atlas
Phil Ajjarapu - Sing Along Until You Feel Better
Guy Blakeslee - "Smile On"
Fauna Flora - "Happy Hour"
Donna Regina - "Holding the Mirror for Sophia Loren"
I Was a King - "Pet Cemetery"
We Are Catchers - "Tap, Tap, Tap"
The Fresh & Onlys - "Animal of One"
Merchandise - "Enemy"
Celestial Shore - "Gloria"
Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Michael Jackson - "Love Never Felt So Good"
Jim Oblon - "When I Was a Cowboy 1911"
Smoke Fairies - "Are You Crazy?"
Tune-Yards - "Water Fountain"
The Phantom Band - "The Wind That Cried the World"
Bellowhead - "Moon Kittens"
Gemma Ray - "Motorbike"
Spoon - "Do You"
The New Mendicants - "Sarasota"
The Hidden Cameras - "Skin & Leather"
James Yorkston - "Guy Fawkes' Signature"
Sean Westergaard
As I get older, I struggle to remember what I listened to yesterday, let alone what's been released all year long. As a result, my list is not so much a "Best of 2014" list as a "Here's a bunch of albums I can recall from 2014 that I played more than a couple times at home because I liked them" list, presented in an unranked semblance of alphabetical order.
Bushman's Revenge - Thou Shalt Boogie!
Henry Butler/Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9 - Viper's Drag
Jim Campilongo - Dream Dictionary
Captain Beefheart - Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972
The Cellar and Point - Ambit
Nels Cline Singers - Macroscope
Fripp & Eno - Live in Paris 28.05.1975
Happy Family - Minimal Gods
Kazutoki Umezu Kiki Band - Sanagi no Yume
King Crimson - Starless
Krokofant - Krokofant
Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Enfant Terrible
Monomyth - Further
My Brother the Wind - Once There Was a Time When Time and Space Were One
People - 3xawoman: The Misplaced Files
Anthony Pirog - Palo Colorado Dream
Steelism - 615 to Fame
Tackhead - For the Love of Money
John Zorn - The Testament of Solomon
John Zorn - Transmigration of the Magus
James Wilkinson
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Real Estate - Atlas
Horsebeach - Horsebeach
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
The Delines - Colfax
Alvvays - Alvvays
Beck - Morning Phase
Neil Young - Letter Home
Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt
Thurston Moore - The Best Day
Jon Brooks - 52
Warpaint - Warpaint
Inspiral Carpets - Inspiral Carpets
Ultimate Painting - Ultimate Painting
Allo Darlin' - We Come from the Same Place
Allah-Las - Worship the Sun
Julie Byrne - Rooms with Walls and Windows
Foxygen - ...And Star Power
Mattew Garbutt [Spotify]
Allah-Las - Worship the Sun
The Baron Four - Out of the Wild Come...
Collocutor - Instead
The Coral - The Curse of Love
Cowbell - Skeleton Soul
Get the Blessing - Lope and Antilope
The Growlers - Chinese Fountain
Mazes - Wooden Aquarium
Nick Waterhouse - Holly
Olivia Louvel - Beauty Sleep
Pike Cavalero - Torro
The Proper Ornaments - Wooden Head
Ray Lugo & The Boogaloo Destroyers - ¡Que Chévere!
The Satelliters - More of the Satelliters
Sixteen & the Sidewinders - Blood in My Coffee
Soft Walls - No Time
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
Temples - Sun Structures
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Woods - With Light and with Love
The Arrogants - "Mr. Evil"
Childhood - "You Could Be Different"
Crystal Stilts - "Delirium Tremendous"
Dan Sartain - "Pass This On"
Foxygen - "Coulda Been My Love"
The Greg Foat Group - "By the Grace of God, I Am"
Inspiral Carpets - "Spitfire"
J.D. McPherson - "I Wish You Would"
Lee Fields & the Expressions - "Just Can't Win"
Les Grys-Grys - "Hot Gully Wind"
Matt Berry - "Take My Hand"
Pharrell Williams - "Happy"
Reigning Sound - "Never Coming Home"
La Roux - "Uptight Downtown"
La Sera - "Kiss This Town Away"
Shannon & the Clams - "Mama"
The Thanes - "Dishin' the Dirt"
The Youth - "Come On"
Tindersticks - "Whispering Guns"
Wild Billy Childish & CTMF - "He Wore a Pagan Robe"
John D. Buchanan
A great and eclectic year for music which saw many ace releases in the ambient, techno, metal, folk, and movie score genres, as well as my beloved visual kei. These genres are so different there's no point in trying to compare them, so my choices are presented in no particular order.
Every Time I Die - From Parts Unknown
Ital - Endgame
Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line
CV313 - Dimensional Space
Hauschka - Abandoned City
James Farm - City Folk
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 300: Rise of an Empire
Nightmare - To Be or Not to Be
Otto A. Totland - Pinô
Sukekiyo - Immortalis
Yagya - Sleepygirls
Within Temptation - Hydra
Julie Fowlis - Gach Sgeul (Every Story)
Jon Mueller / Duane Pitre - Inverted Torch
Loscil - Sea Island
Today Is the Day - Animal Mother
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Jonas Kopp - Beyond the Hypnosis
Vladislav Delay - Visa
Reagenz - Periodic Table
Scott Kerr
We Were Promised Jetpacks - Unravelling
Honeyblood - Honeyblood
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
Mogwai - Rave Tapes
Modern Baseball - You're Gonna Miss It All
GRMLN - Soon Away
Alvvays - Alvvays
King Creosote - From Scotland with Love
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love
Grouper - Ruins
Royal Blood - Royal Blood
Cayetana - Nervous like Me
Swans - To Be Kind
Death Vessel - Island Intervals
Samaris - Silkidrangar
Owl John - Owl John
Cheatahs - Cheatahs
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
Aneet Nijjar
Gesloten Cirkel - Submit X
Torn Hawk - Through Force of Will
Swans - To Be Kind
Grouper - Ruins
Sd Laika - That's Harakiri
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Violet Poison - Non Sequitur
Philipp Quehenberger - Content
Ben Frost - A U R O R A
The Spacey Bruce Lacey - The Spacey Bruce Lacey: Film Music & Improvisations
Tom Ellard - 80s Cheesecake
Shit & Shine - Powder Horn
Vessel - Punish, Honey
The Body - I Shall Die Here
Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
Boris Blank - Electrified
Dean Blunt - Black Metal
Mica Levi - Under the Skin
V/Vm - The Death of Rave (A Partial Flashback)
Jack Ruby - Hit & Run
James Pearce
Jenny Hval & Susanna - Meshes of Voice
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Ital - Endgame
FKA Twigs - LP1
Klara Lewis - Ett
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Broken Twin - May
Sunn 0)))/Ulver - Terrestrials
Mondkopf - Hadès
Swans - Oxygen
Ian William Craig - A Turn of Breath
Adult Jazz - Gist Is
Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers
clipping - CLPPNG
Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita
Ekoplekz - Unfidelity
patten - Estoile Naiant
AK/DK - Synths + Drums + Noise + Space
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
Óbó - Innhverfi
Rich Wilson
Perc - The Power and the Glory
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Singer's Grave/A Sea of Tongues
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Eagulls - Eagulls
Posse - Soft Opening
The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast
S. Carey - Range of Light
Chumped - Teenage Retirement
The Delines - Colfax
Bear Trade - Blood and Sand
Swans - To Be Kind
SHXCXCHCXSH - Linear S Decoded
Violet Poison - Non Sequitur
GRMLN - Soon Away
Thurston Moore - The Best Day
Talker - Talker
Mitski - Bury Me at Make Out Creek
Mogwai - Rave Tapes