As usual, I spent most of the year listening to music that was at least a decade old, but there were still some pretty good records that came out this year. My top ten:
Alt-J: This Is All Yours - I can’t pinpoint exactly why I didn’t get into Alt-J’s first record, but I know that I listened through it once and wasn’t caught. I’ve since become a fan of the band and their debut album, but that wouldn’t have happened if genre-bending “Left Hand Free” hadn’t drawn me into to giving the band a second chance with This Is All Yours. The album is more rock oriented and features some more experimental song structures than the band’s debut. I’m still not completely on board with the vocal style, but this album is solid beginning to end.
Beck: Morning Phase - Beck’s last few LPs were okay, but were a far cry from the classics that remain in his back catalog. Beck stated the album was intended to be a companion to Sea Change, as if the similarities in cover art weren’t enough of a clue. With that in mind, this album exceeded all expectations for me. Like Sea Change, the album is lush and intimate, and reminds the listener of Beck’s sometimes fleeting humanity. I listened to this album more than any other new release this year.
Eno / Hyde: Someday World - Any record produced by Eno is likely to appear on my personal best of list; and if he happens to be contributing non-ambient music, the album is a lock. The first of two released from the duo this year, Someday World is Electro-Pop, with heavy use African percussion and horns focused through Eno’s always futuristic lens. Coupled with Hyde’s self-realizing vocals and lyrics, the album has an apocalyptic charm to it. Surrounding the album’s release, Eno made several statements expressing his boredom with repetition in pop music. Someday World’s greatest strength is that songs like “Daddy’s Car” or “A Man Wakes Up” are still incredibly catchy, despite the non-traditional song structures.
Frankie Cosmos: Zentropy - Greta Kline seems to agree with Eno: repetition in music is boring. With ten songs that rarely run more than two minutes each, Frankie Cosmos proves that if a song has only one or two good parts, that’s all it needs. The album comes across as if GBV finally found their sweet side, with more interesting guitar parts. If you read my list last year, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Greta Kline and Aaron Maine’s other band, Porches, who will be rolling a new LP in 2015.
Mac DeMarco: Salad Days - DeMarco may be the goofiest guitar hero in rock music has. This album is fun and more accessible than his last LP. The songs remind me of a more psychedelic version of Big Star, warm and weird at the same time. While I like this album a lot, it wouldn’t have made the list if I didn’t feel as though 2014 was a bit of a down year for new releases.
Spoon: They Want My Soul - I don’t think that any other band has been as consistently good for as long as Spoon has. It’s not as though they’ve been reinventing the wheel here or anything, just a fresh batch of smart American rock and roll. Favorite tracks: “Inside Out” and “The Rent I Pay”
Swans: To Be Kind - It’s more rock and less opera than The Drift, by equaling as horrifying as Walker’s classic.
Tweedy: Sukierae - This album features some of the most straight-forward rock songs Tweedy (Jeff) has written in years. As much as I love Nels Cline, I’ve almost forgotten what an incredible guitar player Tweedy is. And by recording an album with his son, Jeff has come full circle with Dad Rock, which gives me hope that the next Wilco album will be better than the last.
Woods: With Light and With Love - Woods has always had a knack to find balance and cohesion from seemingly conflicting rock influences. The title song of With Light and With Love sounds like Mark Linkous cut a track with American Beauty era Dead, and I mean that as a compliment in the highest regard. That being said, much of the album finds the band moving to a more mainstream sound, shedding the freak folk tag that has be applied to the band since their inception. The band has progressed in that manner with each album they’ve released, but they’ve hit a high note here and “Moving to the Left” is the band’s catchiest tack to date.
No comments:
Post a Comment