Top Albums 2014 Part I 50 - 41

50. Future Islands – Singles

Like many this year I learned about Future Islands through their Letterman performance of “Seasons (Waiting On You)” and Samuel T. Herring´s stage antics. What started as a synthpop band playing pretty much revivalist tunes became a really interesting listen as Herring´s powerhouse performance was so over the top, I had to rewatch it to get that it wasn´t my speakers lagging. The duck-dancing aside, Herring stretched and drowned his voice, becoming guttural as singing for a metal act. And it is exactly in this guttural quality, where some might even say, it is pretty much amateurish, where the appeal of Future Islands is hidden. There are far more interesting bands instrumentally, but it´s the strange introspection and slobbish singing that keeps them in your mind and Singles a great listen from front to back. 

49. S. Carey – Range Of Light 

When knowing that S. Carey is one of the musicians in Bon Iver, correlating the two acts is inevitable. It almost seems as Range Of Light and last year´s Repave by the Volcano Choir, another band from the wide array of musicians in Bon Iver, are different versions of the music Justin Vernon would make. This is largely due to the very organic, stripped down acoustic vibe of all these acts and the falsetto singing dominant in many songs. The trick in distinguishing these acts from another is to look at their relation to their biggest influence: nature. Nature, as portrayed in and from Bon Iver, seems to be a grand entity, evoking the sublime. The ones perceiving it are unknowingly immersed into it, perception becomes being perceived as much as perceiving. S. Carey in his solo effort does set a clear distinction between him as the spectator and nature as object of observation. Therefore his music strikes a much clearer chord most of the time and doesn´t lose itself in lengthy expositions or ambiance. Don´t get me wrong, there is much beauty set in motion here, but Range of Light is much more concrete in its approach and might reach those who feel like sleeping through Justin Vernon´s falsetto.

48. Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour

If you are looking for a heartfelt lover’s record, In The Lonely Hour is the second best choice of 2014 (can´t fuck with Tough Love). Sam Smith dwells on almost every aspect of relationship and love: Not being appreciated in “Good Thing”, the emotional repercussions of one-night stands in “Stay With Me” or quite simply not being able to say what love resides in you because it certainly is not mutual. The matters might be simplistic and Smith keeps the lyrics on a very understandable and never cryptic level. But just as with the instrumentals remaining almost always in a very swaying and mid-tempo manner, there is beauty in simplicity (he cut back on the gospel vibe for the next record, though). In The Lonely Hour should be taken in while in the right mood otherwise the cheesiness might be overwhelming. I myself won´t be returning to this record for some time as when filled with the prayers of love, the pain will also seep in and be relived equally. (And fuck this "La La La" bonus track).

47. Recondite – Iffy

Finding the right words for Iffy is not easy. Recondite returns with an effort that seems to be unrestricted and free from any conceptual notion. The whole album is a further exercise in his style of house / electronic music which I´ve come to associate deeply with the acid house tag, even if that doesn´t wholly apply. Iffy just works with the natural tendencies of movement without being explicit dance music. Most of the time there is a throbbing heartbeat in the front or back and almost every song tends to have the structure of a rising motion to it, either through an actual synth rise or the pace gradually picking up. While this sounds boringly in description, you can fall into almost each and every track in the matter of seconds and as a whole Iffy is a listen to find focus as much as to diverge in hazy dreaming. 

46. United Nations – The Next Four Years

“Serious Business” is the opener to The Next Four Years and was equally my introduction to United Nations, which threw my off quite a bit. It is harsh and abrasive, the way you´d expect punk rock to be. On its own this is perfectly fine, but only with the second track you´ll get the full extent of the music by United Nations. The slow/fast – quiet/dynamic is pretty much standard for most bands that expand on the general ideas of doing “post”-something music. United Nations however don´t seems to rely on these parts and the approach of “switching it up”. The slow progressions and melodic parts come natural and not as breathing space or genre-bender. For the most part you´ll get unforgiving punk rock music with tortured screaming, hectic drumming and blasting guitars. For the length of only 29 minutes their craft lies in drowning you with every single song, be it under two minutes or the lengthy “F#A#$” clocking in over seven minutes. The rawness might throw many off, but The Next Four Years, when given attention will develop and like many dense albums show itself being full of gems to return to.

45. PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR 2

The emergence of Party aka Jahron Anthony Brathwaite with his self-titled mixtape was pretty the manifestation of his name, all caps included. It was a quick listen, fast enterprise. As if you know that you´ll have to get up at eight o´clock the next morning and thus drink faster, talk rasher and if possible, convince to girl to come with you as stupendously as possible. Two by Brathwaite in contrast is having a good time and taking your time. While content wise there haven´t been many great shifts and the focus still lies on women, Brathwaite´s production gains serious weight with more time to get his points across. If one thing, his influence on Drake´s Nothing Was The Same is felt strongly through this record. He has a feeling for the smooth and floating in building a beat. The kicks and drum hits are just as one point as the synth drone that fills the canvas of most songs. Far more then listing to his music to seduce the person of your liking (if that should ever work with music like this) his record is for listening with headphones and at a loud volume. All in all it´s still Party, but we´ve gotten older and cut back on binge drinking which doesn´t mean that there is not the option of becoming wasted.

PARTYNEXTDOOR - Recognize ft. Drake from PARTYOMO on Vimeo.

44. Logic – Under Pressure

When trying to position Logic in the realm of rap music, his own commentary provided through an (idiotic and completely unnecessary) robotic voice “Thalia” might be of some help as he states other musicians and directors as influence. At first, this is very underwhelming as hip hop in general is the art of sampling and reference. But this also points to Logic not being about the drugs as some rappers, the aestheticism as the whole of A$AP Mob or even the social commentary as say for example Kendrick Lamar. He has all these notions and themes in him, but the expression it seems to me is first and foremost that of a musician. The songs speak for themselves and even the narrative built around his life experience is not set as gravely as something in the lane of good kid. Productions wise Logic never goes out of his way, delivering clean and comprehensible beats. His rapping is top notch and skillful. If one artists should make his way onto the radio and be heard for his internal qualities it should be him. And major props for “Nikki”. This level of introspection and lyricism while singing about the routine drug of tobacco seems a first in this genre.

43. Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again

 

This is the best energetic uplift you can get in short 19 minutes. Joyce Manor don´t make it overtly complex, the words seem made up as they go along playing and for that quality still holds some killer lines. With two line quotables like “I Wish You Would Have Died In Highschool / So You Could Be Somebody´s Idol” in “Heated Swimmingpool” or “The sand, your shoes, your point of view/ Erase your face in a dumb cartoon” the vocals will stick to your mind and will mend the naivety of the instrumentals with somewhat reflexive nostalgia. “In The Army Now” shows their introspection going beyond personal relationships and expands on the general feeling of Never Hungover Again dealing with the problems of being a kid from the suburbs seeking acceptance and some sense in a world far bigger than one’s own youthful comprehension is able off.

42. Adna – Night

When thinking about the rise of Nordic pop acts of the recent years, the uplifting and electronic seems to be in focus. Most female artists are renowned for having an eccentric vibe and a danceable/experimental approach to their music. In Adna we find the opposite of this trend. Recorded in only five nights, Night is the epitome of nocturnal and intimate music. Instrumentation wise the lack of electronics with an reliance only on guitar, piano and drums with the occasional cello finding its way in, Night becomes dense in its very own way. There is space and the unknown in the atmosphere, akin to the actual night filling your vision with darkness only through the lack of light – space taken up via emptiness. Adna delivers her vocals confidently and most of her songs find the only rising notion in her voice becoming stronger and louder over time, finding confidence in her own line of thought. Night stands as a perfect debut album and I wish for Adna to develop in this line. The worst turn her music could take would be the interruption of higher demands and bigger ideas set by genre and listeners asking for something more understandable. The intricacy of a nocturnal monologue is pretty much enough and full of meaning in itself. 

Listen to the whole thing here.

41. Childish Gambino – Because The Internet (STN MNT Kauai)

Although this was released late in 2013, it does easily qualify as one of the best albums this year. As of now, Childish Gambino is no longer just a troll on the face of hip hop and rap music, he is a forward thinking and well-grounded figure. Because The Internet follows a play Donald Glover himself wrote and the single tracks are to be understood as acts of the play. I haven’t had the chance to read his play yet, but undeniably he put very much energy into sequencing and conceptualizing his songs. And as I can´t really get a grasp of the higher sense yet, the other distinguishing feature of this collection of songs becomes apparent: They speak very much for them self and are as varied as maybe the whole career of another artist. Gambino gives you the trap shit on “WOLDSTAR”, the dreamy tune on “The Worst Guys” and the fully experimental on songs like “No Exit” or “Zealots Of Stockholm”. Following his words might be crucial and very satisfying, but Because The Internet as an aural experience is fully immersive and a milestone for the future of hip hop. Lastly, I can only advise those who abstain from rap music to give Childish a try, his approach is bigger than genre. Additonally, while smaller in scale his STN MNT Kauai project sees him giving his version of Atlanta trap music on one side and going full r´n´b on the other side. For a year with three project, none of them disappointed.