Curated by Nasa, Justin, and Shea.
With the new year on the horizon, looking back on the past year is inevitable — everyone gets swept up in the nostalgia, and we’re no different — but for our end-of-the-year contribution, we wanted to try something a little different.
Here are our favorite albums of 2014, which you’ve seen done time and time again, but unlike the other lists, we have consciously avoided forcing them into some arbitrary hierarchy. That said, we’ve curated a list of established and emerging artists who have truly inspired us this year. So please dive in, get lost in this year’s abundance of diverse work, and know that any of these records would make for an awesome holiday gift.
Karen O Crush Songs
Leader singer, fashion icon, music video director — there’s little that the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O can’t do. But for as big and wide-ranging as her artistic talents may be, her most recent endeavor, the solo album Crush Songs, strips away all of the glitz and glam and dials it back. At its heart, Crush Songs is an inviting, lo-fi snapshot of a time when O was disillusioned with love, when the only answer to the uncertainty of her personal life seemed to be sneaking away with a guitar and recording her most intimate and uncensored thoughts in private. What followed is a quick, beautiful, and immensely vulnerable collection of songs that charm just as much as they soothe, and we couldn’t be more grateful for such poignant honesty.
The Growlers Chinese Fountain
The Growlers, one of the most recognized ambassadors of surf-rock and all things West Coast, switched things up on their latest album, Chinese Fountain. In addition to their trademark sound – strained gravelly vocals, guitar twang, warm organ tones, reverb – the band flirts with both the elements of dance music and the virtues of crisper mixing, which make for an impressive sonic evolution for the beach goths. But don’t worry – that much-loved hangover grit is still there; it’s just taken the time to brush its teeth and put on some pants.
Shabazz Palaces Lese Majesty
Lese Majesty is a pulsing, experimental hip-hop album from Shabazz Palaces, a duo made up of Ishamael Butler and Tendai Maraire. With equal measures of electronic ambiance, clever wordplay, and nontraditional song structure, Lese Majesty is a tour-de-force of avant garde artistry and genre innovation.
Ariel Pink Pom Pom
Ariel Pink’s deeply weird solo effort also turned out to be one of the best pop albums of the year. Pink mixes raw, honest emotion with scathing social commentary on tracks like “Picture Me Gone” and takes aim at his haters on the carnival-esque opener “Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade.” The punchy synths and glittering guitars almost have us forgiving him for all of the weird shit he said this year. Almost.
TOPS Picture You Staring
TOPS tout tender, soulful indie rock, and their most recent album from Artbutus Records, Picture You Staring, proved that their bright, easy charm is in good supply. We connected so much to TOPS’ album and catchy vibes that we had to know more, and so we sent out Ashley Opheim to spend a day with the friendly bunch and report back with what makes them tick. Check out her journey with the band here.
Julian Casablancas + The Voidz Tyranny
Tyranny is an invigorating protest record (which seems wildly appropriate as of late), but, more so, it is evidence that Julian Casablancas + the Voidz are a fresh force to be reckoned with and that JC is refusing to rest on his laurels within the safe pigeonhole of legacy. Did I mention that we have an exclusive interview with these guys coming up in issue three? Be on the look out!
Fear of Men Loom
Loom is the dark, atmospheric full-length debut from Fear of Men, and it as artful and it is infectious. This collection of swirling, guitar-driven tracks are held together by Jess Weiss’ simultaneously sweet and haunting pop melodies and evocative lyrics. The emotional intelligence weaving its way through the album is palpable, and to dig a little deeper into how she does what she does, we hit up Weiss about her views on books, art, and life. Check out that interview here.
Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence
Sultry, cinematic, smoky-voiced, Lana Del Rey is a muse to many, us included. The songstress dropped the noir, Kubrick-inspired album Ultraviolence over the summer, and the celebratory journey into loneliness and art was met immediately with critical praise. Simply a soaring, introspective must.
Sharon Van Etten Are We There
The Brooklyn singer-songwriter bares all on her latest release, blurring the lines between personal diary and artistic expression. Are We There chronicles the harrowing task of leaving an abusive lover behind and Etten’s subsequent attempts to pick up the remaining pieces of herself moving forward. Brassy horns juxtapose delicate guitars on “Tarifa,” which is, quite possibly, one of the best tracks of the year.
Angel Olsen Burn Your Fire For No Witness
From folksy stompers to hypnotizing, melancholic ballads, Angel Olsen traverses a soundscape dynamic and vast, and does so with compelling ease – a fact never more apparent than on her album Burn Your Fire for No Witness. Olsen, somehow both fragile and bold, captivates in ways very few can rival.
Beverly Careers
Beverly is an equally sunny and fuzzy pop project powered by Frankie Rose and Drew Citron. Brandishing psychedelic sing-a-longs, pulsing punk riffs, and wispy desperation, their debut full-length Careers marks the excellent, collective beginning of their own. Read our interview with Drew here.
ScHoolboy Q Oxymoron
ScHoolboy Q’s third album, Oxymoron,is a startling exploration of Q’s autobiography, with instrumentation that’s as layered and nuanced as his storytelling. Featuring a slew of talent, from 2 Chainz to Kendrick Lamar, the sheer technical prowess is more than enough to draw in any rap aficionado, but it’s the candidness of Q’s dark, personal subject matter that will sit with you long after the album is through.
Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal
Parquet Courts are punk as hell. And while the production values on Sunbathing Animal may have felt a little cleaner than those on Light Up Gold, making things decidedly less punk, the sheer ferocity of the music certainly makes up for it. I saw these boys at Lollapalooza and it’s safe to say that these bouncy, forward-moving new tunes translate well to a live setting. The meandering blues rock of “Instant Disassembly” and full-frontal assault of the title track exemplify the expanded sonic palette of these unabashedly New York rockers.
Spoon They want my soul
Spoon has been a mainstay of the indie scene for over two decades, and their most recent release, They Want My Soul, is proof that they’ve still got their chops – and plenty of innovation, too. There’s always been a sort of indefinable authenticity behind their artful, guitar-driven sound, and this journeying album showcases the versatile depths of both their lyrical honesty and musical prowess.
Caribou Our love
Dan Snaith has always been able to mix fidelity, sleek and shadowy synths, and pop-oriented, upscale beats into something unique, which is where Caribou’s Our Love comes in. Floating between hook-oriented dance music and more traditional EDM, Caribou has created a collection of tracks that not only appeal to the wide-ranging tastes of electronic fanatics, but also an entrancing introspective investigation into love itself.
Aphex Twin SYRO
It’s been over a decade since Aphex Twin dropped an album, and while Syro is generally more of the same, fans couldn’t be any more delighted to know that Richard D. James hasn’t missed a beat since 2001’s Drukqs. Rich textures, pulsing beats, and endless layers of synth and ambiance propel Syro well beyond much of the today’s electronic landscape. Simple yet masterful.
Future Islands Singles
Talk about a breakout record. Future Islands skyrocketed into the indie hive mind following the release of this dynamite collection of alternative synth pop tunes — though I’m sure the rave review from David Letterman following their eclectic performance (see: Samuel T. Herrings strangely fluid dance moves) on his show didn’t hurt, either. From Herring’s vocals that glide effortlessly from theatrical bass to impassioned crooning, to their simple yet super effective layering of bass, synth, and drums, Future Islands projects both unbridled confidence and a deep sense of vulnerability
Twin Peaks Wild Onion
Twin Peaks have mastered a winning combination of party-read rock ‘n’ roll, pop melodies, and gravelly punk vocals on their sophomore album Wild Onion. Not to mention, they tore off the roof of Baby’s All Right during their tour with the Lemons — literally. Read our interview with the boys here.
Cloud Nothings Here and Nowhere Else
Cloud Nothings’ fourth full-length is a snapshot of a band arriving at their sound. Since pairing with famed producer Steve Albini on 2012’s Attack on Memory, Dylan Baldi’s once-solo project has transformed into a full-band affair, producing some of the most concise, straightforward punk rock of the last decade. Baldi’s raspy howl on songs like “Psychic Trauma” result in a surprisingly affecting listen.
EMA The Future’s Void
Flitting effortlessly between bitter and heart-wrenching, EMA’s The Future’s Void showcases a vast emotional and sonic spectrum, where the tracks are just as likely to incorporate stinging synth and industrial drum loops as they are reverb-soaked vocals and tender piano accompaniment. This noisy folk artist has as much venom as she does vulnerability, and it’s this two-pronged approach to both music and contemporary media and technology that makes this album a entrancing find.
FKA Twigs LP1
This full-length debut turned the increasingly popular “alternative R&B” genre on its head, so much so that Twigs herself proclaimed “Fuck alternative R&B!” in an interview with The Guardian last August. Twigs croons over skittering electronic beats on tracks like “Pendulum,” “Video Girl,” and the revolutionary “Two Weeks” — an effect that creates an oddly hollow, otherworldly aural sensation. LP1 is the product of an artist gifted with full creative control and the ability to weave her unique personality into all aspects of a project.
Wye Oak Shriek
Ditching guitars for synths, Wye Oak ventured into uncertain territory on Shriek. But the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward they say, and this outrageously versatile duo found immense success in their tinkering. Jenn Wasner’s wispy, effortless vocals glide atop hypnotizing bass-heavy grooves, and the cumulative soundscape — almost painterly in depth and vibrancy — is piercing and dreamy.
Alvvays Alvvays
Alvvay’s self-titled debut joins the lo-fi indie pop conversation, but rather than getting lost beneath the noise of an already oversaturated genre, this album takes the old tricks — fuzzy guitar and bass, bright synth accompaniment, striking female vocals — and reinvigorates them, honing a sound that somehow skirts ’60s psych, shoegaze, and ’80s downer pop. A strong, melancholic release.
Mac DeMarco Salad Days
Mac DeMarco would like you to think that he’s grown up, and with Salad Days as his testament, he might have a decent argument. Though his onstage antics haven’t changed much at all, the themes encompassing his latest release are undoubtedly more mature than those of 2012’s 2. His riffs are less jizzy and a bit more jazzy, his lyrics more rounded, poignant, and reflective. It’s as if DeMarco, quite literally, is saying goodbye to the teenage absurdities and Viceroy cigarettes that he ever so idolized in the past.
Alt-J This is all yours
To follow 2012’s An Awesome Wave, Alt-J’s critically-acclaimed, Mercury Prize-winning debut album, seemed like no easy task. Fans were skeptical, especially after the departure of bassist Gwil Sainsbury. But with their sophomore album This Is All Yours, Alt-J proved more than capable, offering up an album of spirited, hallucinogenic sound that takes you deep into a labyrinth of vocal and instrumental harmony. Take that sophomore slump.
Perfect Pussy Say Yes to Love
Say Yes To Love is an album about noise: the guitar riffs are bawdy and bruising, the drums fast, and the bass overwhelming. Perfect Pussy capitalize on these big levels of distortion and feedback, creating a powerhouse punch for singer Meredith Graves’s obscured vocals. Tough, taut, and in your face, this quick gem is the mark of a solid career starting to bloom.
Beck Morning Phase
This melancholic release from the famed L.A. musician is nothing short of a triumph. Promoted as a “spiritual sequel” to Sea Change, Beck’s somber, serious 2002 breakup album, Morning Phase had a lot to live up to, but the warm melodies and sweeping orchestral arrangements proved more than worthy. “Morning,” “Heart Is A Drum,” “Blue Moon,” “Wave,” and “Waking Light” all earned their respective places in Beck’s already enormous “classic” song catalogue, making Morning Phase one of the most satisfying releases from the artist in recent years.
The War On Drugs Lost In The Dream
Real Estate Atlas
St. Vincent St. Vincent
Whether it means a change in sound or just the first steps of new project, the self-titled album generally marks a turning point in an artist’s career. This isn’t necessarily the case with Annie Clark’s St. Vincent, as this LP merely refines the sound she’s been exploring for the last decade. Following the clean, sterilized stylings of 2011’s Strange Mercy, Clark returned with a crunchier, though no less paralyzing, collection of tunes that showcased her prophetic songwriting capabilities and incredible knack for melody.
Kevin Morby Still Life
This collection of songs from the former Woods bassist is his most mature offering to date. Detailing his cross-country move from New York to Los Angeles, Still Life boasts an exceptional amount of self-examination that was absent from his debut LP, Harlem River, yet still includes the wonderfully colorful cast of characters to be expected from a Kevin Morby release. Highlights include the horn-heavy “Parade” and jubilant album opener “The Jester, The Tramp, & The Acrobat.”
Sun Kil Moon Benji
Mark Kozelek’s tireless musical output really challenges the term “quality over quantity.” His consistency with Sun Kil Moon, his quasi-solo project, damn near matches the great string of albums he released with Red House Painters in the ’90s and early ’00s. Benji feels like the culmination of his efforts to date — the bowtie on Kozelek’s melancholic gift to the world. Reflecting upon a variety of his relationships while obsessing over the frailty of life, the aging songwriter ends up crafting the ultimate self-reflective memoir. Powerful stuff, indeed.
The Men Tomorrow’s Hits
Cymbals Eat Guitars LOSE
Theophilus London VIBES
Lushes What Am I Doing
Warpaint Warpaint
For their self-titled sophomore album, Warpaint unleashes a kaleidoscopic punch of dream pop, art rock, and psychedelic. The refusal to remain within the constraints of any one genre might prove jarring for some listeners, but the deft execution of all these fluctuating moods is nothing short of captivating. Somber, haunting, sexy — the restless atmospheres and cadences here will keep you intrigued time and again.