AllMusic 2014 Year in Review
Favorite Electronic Albums
Electronic music continued its surge in 2014, drawing attention with releases like the long-awaited new album from Aphex Twin, as well as the wildly eclectic fifth LP from Flying Lotus, and the latest from long-running Warp Records act Plaid. Dig into our editors' full list of their favorite electronic albums of 2014.
Even bleaker, more industrial, and decayed than Darren Cunningham's previous set of experimental electronic music.
The Manchester-based producer swaps digital for analog gear, retains vocalist Alison Skidmore, creates some of his harshest and gentlest sounds.
Meticulously edited patchwork of dense and otherworldly synth sounds from former members of Labradford.
Anchored by bass lines that zip and glide, this is one of Richard D. James' most inviting releases, a bright progression from his Analord series.
The producer's debut album delivers uniquely emotional, organic music that revels in its state of flux.
The duo's first album in five years feels like the vivid, celebratory missing link between Remedy and Rooty.
Composed in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, this dark, menacing set is the enigmatic composer's masterpiece thus far.
A deeply subtle and finely tuned ambient multimedia work by this captivating San Francisco artist.
Warp mainstay Chris Clark returns to the tiles with invigorating techno and balances it with evocative ambient material.
First album without guest vocalists from this producer known for pioneering the merger of electronica and indie rock.
The second album from Viennese producer and musician Oliver Johnson is a beatific trip filled with spiraling melodies.
Acid, old-school house, and cutting-edge indie dance come together in Alkan's excellent mix.
Sixth solo album from this pioneering electro-acoustic musician sees him revisiting the heights of his most pop-leaning work.
Complex but accessible Afrofuturist techno from King Britt and a handful of women who lend their voices.
Steven Ellison confronts mortality and pushes four genres forward at once.
Cold, thrilling, and direct electro album from the mysterious Murder Capital artist Gesloten Cirkel, who raises the bar for electro long-players on his debut effort.
Inspired by ghost towns, Hauschka's first solo album in nearly a decade teems with fascinating, melancholic musical life.
Ryan Hunn's gorgeously abstract debut album makes good on the promise of his singles.
James Brooks / Land Observations
Inspired by the traditional European trek, Land Observations delivers a lusher, more assured version of its hypnotic guitar experiments.
![Tropics of Love [2LP+CD]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004145590/front/400/heRQAYWpvHL8p2-mJeauRASijaXJlYnq0St31qpAJWo=.jpg)
The producer, and head of the Tigersushi label, offers a sweet collection of warm and soft house music.
The Swedish group's fourth, mostly self-produced album is highlighted by a handful of stormy ballads.
A creative and enticing release from Mark Van Hoen and Louis Sherman that recalls the mid- to late-'70s works of Harmonia, Cluster, and Brian Eno.
A relaxed but no less joyous set from Matt Cutler, his second album for Belgium's mighty R&S.
Incorporating piano, violin, and vocals, the follow-up to Sketches from New Brighton builds on its riveting, sometimes unsettling, mood.
Ex-Emeralds guitarist's most ambitious work to date, branching out from solo guitar to include expanded instrumentation.
Martijn Deykers' all-analog third album offers his richest amalgamations of house, techno, and dubstep yet.
Four years after the re-release of 1986's Traveler's Advisory, the composer's excellent debut album from 1981 is reissued.
Emotive downtempo hybrids of house and techno, worthy of front-to-back, dimly lit listening, supported by Actress.
Long lost on the album front, the French producer returns with an excellent LP-sized slab of house and electro.
The Manchester-based producer returns with an economical effort that's funkier and firmer than previous forays.
Debut album from instrumental hip-hop producer that follows in the footsteps of some of the greats of the genre.
Now a quartet featuring members of Efterklang and Telekinesis, Orcas' second album gives their ambient pop more structure and majesty.
Pharmakon veers her punishing sound in a more viscerally unsettling direction on her second album for Sacred Bones.
The pioneering electronic duo's sixth album distills and updates the brainy whimsy of their late-'90s heyday for the 21st century.
EX: Performed Live at the Guggenheim NYC
Minimal techno legend returns with his first proper album in over ten years.
Andrea Mangia returns with a collection of globally minded fantasias full of surreal sonic depth.
Third album from dark electronic duo finds synthetic sounds meshing nicely with lushly cinematic string arrangements.
The Icelandic trio's haunting sophomore record intertwines their electronic influences with eerie melodies and lyrics taken from 19th century poetry.
A gleaming, long-in-the-making combination of left-field electronics, alternative R&B, and futuristic jazz released on Flying Lotus' label.
The producer's second full-length offers a more dynamic, disciplined take on his sunny moods and watercolor melodies.
The trio's debut is full of subtly compelling, shape-shifting tracks that compare favorably with the xx and How to Dress Well.
Half-threatening, half-punishing collision of dub, ragga, grime, and other strands -- a masterstroke from Kevin Martin and crew.
The band's third album adds some obvious '80s elements, and further synthesizes and improves their unique brand of dance-pop.
![Death After Life I-VIII [Bonus Tracks]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004061335/front/400/uMJ8fcW3yzw3N8Jp25vWbVWnbEN5fCjifro6xhIBuB4=.jpg)
Death After Life I-VIII [Bonus Tracks]
Dark debut album from Chicago-based abstract techno producer crafts a shadowy hybrid from elements of acid, juke, and minimal house.
Let's Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time
The experimental guitarist/composer's commentary on nostalgia is more seamless and engaging than ever on his second full-length.
Various Artists
Celebrates the past, present, and future of electronic music as well as one of the most venerable sites selling it.
The producer's blunt, industrial-tinged second album makes for riveting, if uneasy, listening.
Second album from this Books spinoff improves greatly on the first with more spacious and thoughtful compositions.