Top Tracks 2014 Part IV 79 - 70

79. High Spirits – Can You Hear Me (You Are Here)

High Spirits play a very nostalgic blend of heavy metal. Although I was never really found of the originals, this one excites me thoroughly. The yearning guitar solo, the quite sentimental and simplistic lyrics – it transports one to simpler days of rock music.



78. Sam SmithMake It To Me (In The Lonely Hour)

Sam Smith blew up this year. Rightfully so, as his is heartfelt pop music with a very honest and fragile vibe. Make It To Me reiterates distance and disparity in love, and everyone in an empathic state of mind will understand the longing Smith sets in motion.

Sam Smith 'Make It To Me' (Live) from Lemonade Money on Vimeo.


77. Shinichi AtobeButterfly Effect (Butterfly Effect)

I don´t listen to a lot of Japanese house/electronic musicians, but I find a similarity in Atobe and one of my favorite artists Susumu Yokota. Butterfly Effect is a lucid dance track. The crystal clear bell sample is layered strikingly above the beat and the repetition has a ceremonially feel to it – a beautiful experience of dance music.



76. The HotelierYour Deep Rest (Home, Like Noplace Is There)

The opening says it all. Swaying, emotional pop punk. The slow chorus gives life to the narrative of fearing death and seeing it in a loved one who died. Heartfelt and with great songwriting The Hotelier deliver emotion long sought in similar acts.



75. United NationsF#A#$ (The Next Four Years)

The Next Four Years was released under one of my favorite imprints Temporary Residence Limited, and I get why. For all their punk and hardcore influence, United Nations deliver on a much grander scale. F#A#$ is the perfect example for this as the mid-section evokes a fine post-rock sentiment of despair only to develop into a loud and abrasive screaming fit suited for losing your shit on a concert filled with darkened spirits.



74. Jeff GraceHe´s In The House (Cold In July OST)

Cold In July stands as one of the best independent movies I saw this year. It delivers thrills and suspense, a gripping lead performance by Micheal C. Hall and this magnificent soundtrack by Jeff Grace. For all its southern drawl and backyardy feel, the synthesizer work could easily been set to a space exploration movie, but the strange desolation and the delicate violence are reflected perfectly in those cold sounds. A perfect combination that is thinking outside the box.



73. S. CareyAlpenglow (Range Of Light)

The musicians around and in Bon Iver should form a posse like A$AP or ProEra, maybe calling themselves MIAU - Melancholy Infused Acoustics United. Alpenglow starts of on a very uplifting note but progresses into a diminutive dream. A song losing its clarity like going head first into the foggy woods only to fall to your knees and sob over the disarray brought by intuition.



72. HualunFarewell (Farewell)

If you want to hear Chinese instrumental rock, Wang Wen might be the first answer, but Hualun would be the better one. I can never put my finger on it, but I feel a certain kind of sadness speaking in their music and Farewell captures the feeling of contemplation in order to regenerate lost activity splendidly. Hopefully 2015 will bear a new full experience by Hualun.



71. The RootsThe Dark (Trinity) (...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin)

This year´s effort by The Roots saw them taking the complex narrative spirit of Undun and turning it into a truly experimental record. The Dark for all this might be at best a haunting reprise on Redford and the bleakness of a hustler’s life. Three killer verses, a full band playing hip hop music, the formula never fails.



70. CathedralsWant My Love (Cathedrals EP)

Cathedrals are fairly new but might catch wide attention in the years to come. It´s the stripped down use of electronics that is liked by many but the full and resonant voice channeling a strong r´n´b songstress make this music capable of conquering the radio and even Pitchfork. 



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