Best Albums of 2014

Every year I like to make my own list as well as read a ton of others... I am a music junkie and in some small way continuing to follow the music scene lets me stay a little younger. In any case this year I really dug these albums and hope to give a listen to whatever interesting shit you guys listened to this year as well. These aren't really in a specific order other than the first one. I just numbered them to keep track of how many I had picked.

Top Albums 2014

1/ Jonas Hellborg : Jazz Raj/Art Metal ... chances are no one here will like this album but it's by far my most listened to disc this year. Hellborg is a virtuoso bassist who got his start playing with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and jamming with John McLaughlin. So that puts him into some kind of fusion jazz territory. But he's always been a bit of a metal head with a real funky soul. He played bass on half of the tracks on PIL's "Compact Disc" album (with Ginger Baker on drums). Since his soul mate Shawn Lane passed away a few years ago Hellborg has been quiet but he teamed up with Swedish guitar wizard Mattias Eklundh for an album a few years ago and it was promising.. this album is what it was promising. Tight compositions, great solo's, this is fun music if you can give it a chance and it is filled with technical wizardry.. it really is more of a musicians album but it is absolutely the best kind and surprisingly accessible to those who don't play. The music is sort of Indian classical jazz metal fusion if that helps at all. It's much more listenable than that sounds though.


2/ Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer: Bass and Mandolin ... Well these two musicians are, very likely, the best who ever lived on their respective instruments. The album is entirely instrumental (like the first selection) and filled with beautiful compositions. They play some guitar, piano, octo-mandolin but mostly it is a duets album of Double bass and Mandolin. You wouldn't think that could work but Edgar Meyer is a great composer and plays his bass like it's a violin (he once won a fiddle competition on his double bass!). They sound wonderful together.


3/ Sturgill Simpson: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music ... One of the best country albums released in years. Only John Murry's the Graceless Age can stand beside it. Sturgill sings kind of like Waylon Jennings but is a much more clever songwriter and a more self aware artist. His singing is phenoenal but his lead guitar player is a real revelation as well... not since Danny Gatton have I heard someone play like that. This is a beautiful album filled with introspective lyrics and songs simply about having a good time. My favorite lines are "Where reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain" and "A pictures worth a thousand words but a word ain't worth a dime." Every song is a gem on this disc.


4/ Open Mike Eagle: Dark Comedy ... some great hip hop here. How often do you hear a hip hop artist talk.. seriously, about changing his kids shitty diaper? This is a wonderful collection of tunes that certainly do live up to their name sake but are also a bit of a deconstruction of hip hop. A funny deconstruction with lots of cleverness and an ability to joke like a child in the same breath. It's underground without being arrogant or dismissive.


5/ Tanya Tagaq: Animism - Goddamn listen to this album. It's fucking brilliant. Tanya Tagaq is one of Canada's most interesting and progressive acts. This album feels composed but is mostly improvised based on light sketches. The throat singing is truly terrifying at times but she can counter that with borderline operatic melodies that haunt you long after the music ends. There are some lyrics but this bold artistic statement is not made clear by the lyrics themselves... you must listen to the tunes and the energy will come alive for you. This is a weird album but it is also equally amazing and at first it might seem too progressive or out there.. stick with it, there is a pop sensibility hidden behind all the weirdness.


6/ Sage Francis: Copper Gone ... it's amazing that all these years later Sage Francis still sounds like an angry young man, a hungry artist desperate to prove something. He is practically a legend at this point with a long and colorful career. He's fat and ready to retire right.. well I don't know if it was his break up or what but he sounds every bit as energized as he ever has and this is one of his better collections of songs.


7/ Ty Seagull: Manipulator ... Ty Seagull doesn't appeal to me. His hipster sensibilities feel at odds with everything I think about music. But this album moves me for some reason and after each listen I was sure I didn't like it but it found it's way into my stereo again and again somehow. After several attempts to dislike it I had to admit it had it's hooks in me like it or not. I can only imagine how much people would like this is they were already White Stripe fans or something like that. This is a well made album with some great playing and songwriting. It's a rock record, a real deal rock record that feels like it was recorded with an actual band.


8/ Billy Joe Shaver: Long in the Tooth ... A new album from BJS is always cause for celebration. One of America's greatest songwriters puts out his first in seven years and it's almost perfect. The second track sees him trying some weird rap experiment that doesn't totally work but the rest of the album sings. "It's hard to be outlaw when you're not wanted anymore" is a great line on an album full of them. BJS remains one of the most quotable songwriters in the business.


9/ Epic Rain: Somber Air ... Icelandic Hip Hop... I'm getting addicted to these guys. I'm not sure why either. The lyrics alternate between cheesy slam poetry and honestly wonderful, the music is cleverly DJ'd in a east European folk meets Tom Waits kind of way and the singers they use sound ethereal and creepy. At times it seems like a really cheesy record but there is some nice atmosphere on here.. it's very cinematic, much like their last record what really attracts me is that after I listen to one of their discs I almost always start writing right away. No matter how good I think they are they inspire me to work. That is worth a lot to me.


11/ Indian – From all Purity .. in your face metal. The first song is called "Rape" so let that sink in. This disc is fucking unapologetic and goddamn serious. It is terrifying, dark, dirty, and takes it's time fucking you hard for the whole time it lasts. I don't know what kind of metal this is but it's an amazing record both conceptually and musically. Don't play it near children or any one with heart problems.


12/ Future Islands- Singles ... Silly yet earnest post Talking Heads pop that feels great and is just a little too challenging for radio. So if you want to enjoy a pop record but don't want to feel insulted, this is your best bet this year.


13/ Tishomingo String Band – Dangerfield ... I can include my own album right? I like this one and think it may be the best thing we've done. Kind of a prog grass thing and our banjo player is a damn virtuoso ... ah fuck it. I can't write about this because all I remember is sitting in the goddamn studio for hours on end trying to get certain tracks just right. No click tracks, no bed tracks, this was time consuming.


Things I'm missing... St. Vincent .. still haven't heard her new one. Beck's new disc... It's ok but really boring. John Murry's Califorlornia.. it's a great album but after last years amazing "The Graceless Age" it's hard to put this one on a list this year. Busdriver -Perfect hair.. after two listens it sounds pretty good, but he's not walking any new ground, we've heard him do this before, many times. Mastadon -- Once More Round the Sun ... look I liked the Hunter ok but that was the first pop metal album they did so I could accept it. This disc marks the first time they've repeated themselves and it bored me to tears unfortunately. Each of their first five discs offers something new.. this one does nothing... also, I heard a lot of metal bands with quantized drums that are compressed and all sound the same.. goddamn does anyone play live metal with real drums anymore?

I saw the Black Keys last week and St. Vincent opened. I'm not really sure what to make of her/them. Weird as fuck but not weird in an over the top raucously fun sort of way. Just weird. Like Blondie and Bowie awkwardly meeting at a rave and doing a line together in uncomfortable silence obfuscated by blasting electronica on the PA.

Her weird robot leg shuffling thing with the strobe lights still creeps into my thoughts at odd times.

Black Keys killed it though.

charlest wrote: I saw the Black Keys last week and St. Vincent opened. I'm not really sure what to make of her/them. Weird as fuck but not weird in an over the top raucously fun sort of way. Just weird. Like Blondie and Bowie awkwardly meeting at a rave and doing a line together in uncomfortable silence obfuscated by blasting electronica on the PA.

Her weird robot leg shuffling thing with the strobe lights still creeps into my thoughts at odd times.

Black Keys killed it though.

Great description!

I've loved her ever since this:



But neither of her albums were as strong as this live clip so I keep waiting for her to deliver on this promise. I didn't buy the new disc for fear that she still can't do it.

I don't mind the Black Keys either but most days I'd rather just listen to old Willie Dixon or Muddy Waters records.. I don't see them as that different than the old Chicago Blues scene. But they're all right. Honestly I haven't given them much of a chance beyond a couple of listens.

That's a good clip. I honestly didn't know anything about her before seeing her live so it was very strange. She did rip up a couple solos that were pretty great. Overall though I was either weirded out or bored.

I like The Black Keys but I'm not a fan boy. I like a lot of their early stuff better than their newer. I'm a huge Jack White/White Stripes fan though. The Black Keys do sound like the old Chicago Blues scene but they have a bit of a heavier modern edge (at least their old stuff) that appeals to me.

Here's a few I liked from my very not-extensive view of 2014's music.

Jack White - Lazaretto
Spoon - They Want My Soul
St. Vincent

A couple older more mainstream bands recorded albums that were improbably their best in a long time. I really liked Weezer's new album, which is actually good without any real qualifications. And at the risk of seeming mega-uncool, I thought that the new U2 album was probably their best since Achtung Baby.

San Il Defanso wrote: Here's a few I liked from my very not-extensive view of 2014's music.

Jack White - Lazaretto
Spoon - They Want My Soul
St. Vincent

A couple older more mainstream bands recorded albums that were improbably their best in a long time. I really liked Weezer's new album, which is actually good without any real qualifications. And at the risk of seeming mega-uncool, I thought that the new U2 album was probably their best since Achtung Baby.

I've been tempted by Weezers new disc but I haven't even listened to Pinkerton yet so maybe I should give that a shot first...

U2's newest album was ok. I, like everyone else in the world, was gifted a copy. That was nice of them despite the ridiculous internet backlash.

Never heard of Spoon... I'll be off to check that out, thanks.

I don't think I've listed to a full album that was released in 2014.
Instead I've been going back in time and getting into the old blues guys: Junior Kimbrough, Albert King, Little Sonny, Robert Johnson, Roy Bucannan, Snooks Eaglin, Hound Dog Taylor.

As a guitarist JJ you should check into Robert Johnson...Assuming you haven't already. One of the first of the 27 Club also.

But as for 2014...I guess I should seek out some newer stuff.

Probably St. Vincent. She's definitely getting into that Klaus Nomi/Grace Jones artsy weirdness thing. Record is just killer.

Future Islands, I dunno...I think they are one of those bands that has one really great song and the rest is in the shadow of that one song, regardless of quality.

I don't know what else I'd pick here, really...

Fun.

Runner-UP:

$wingin Utter$ - Fistful of Hollow



My favorite american street punk band. Any year they put out an album they are in contention. They had a dry spell from about 2001-2011 (various side projects), but have put out kick ass albums the past three years that rival any of their 90's material. I expected it to deliver and it did. The Smiths nod in the title is a bonus.

Winner:

Chromeo - White Women



Historically this sort of thing hasn't been my genre, but they killed it with this album. The whole thing from top to bottom is solid. Not a dud on the album. Still in heavy rotation and still singing along...at work...and yeah, it's embarrassing...

Damn...here's two more

VonTush... oh I know my Robert Johnson pretty well. My old man introduced me that stuff at a very young age. RJ was a great folk songwriter and a fun guitarist as well. I love me some old delta blues stuff. It has a nice spooky quality.

Barnes.. I don't expect much on my list would appeal to you. The only things on there I would recommend you check out are Tanya Tagaq's Animism and potentially Indian. I was more looking for what you liked this year.

Jeff.. nice list with lots of video's... I'll be checking that out later when I have some time.. thanks for the effort dude.

I think the new D'angelo record might have a spot on my list...DAMN good classic soul...very reminiscent of "There's a Riot Goin' On"...dank, not very commercial R&B...really digging it.

Michael Barnes wrote: I think the new D'angelo record might have a spot on my list...DAMN good classic soul...very reminiscent of "There's a Riot Goin' On"...dank, not very commercial R&B...really digging it.

You mean the one that came out yesterday?

Thansk for the list, JJ! I've just got some stuff to check out.

Michael Barnes wrote: I think the new D'angelo record might have a spot on my list...DAMN good classic soul...very reminiscent of "There's a Riot Goin' On"...dank, not very commercial R&B...really digging it.

I literally JUST queued this up in Google Music, and I really like it so far. It might be one of the best of the year.

Royksopp: Do It Again