There are so many firsts for this year. This is the first year that I’ve felt really overwhelmed with the number of albums I didn’t get a chance to listen to. This is the first year with a with a toddler in the house. This is the first year I’m posting a Best Songs playlist (see the end of the post), and in some respects, I feel like I had more time for songs than for albums.
So with that introduction, the 2014 albums that went from a blossoming romance to lifelong partners are:
1. The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream
2. Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
3. Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
These albums got under my skin. Ryan Adams was
the incredible soundtrack to my first trip to the US (where I also saw him live). Angel Olsen’s beautiful voice held my hand while I made some difficult decisions this year. The War On Drugs was my constant companion through my most challenging professional, and most rewarding personal year. I bought all these albums on vinyl.
All the runner-up lovers, in no particular order
- Beck – Morning Phase
- Hozier – Hozier
- Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso
- Elbow – The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
- Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
- Weezer – Everything Will Be All Right in the End
- Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
The nice albums that just didn’t stick
- Jenny Lewis – The Voyager
- First Aid Kit – Stay Gold
- Rosanne Cash – River & the Thread
- Jack White – Lazaretto
- Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain
Albums that went over my head
- St. Vincent – St. Vincent
- FKA Twigs – LP1
- Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence
- Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
- The Black Keys – Turn Blue
Albums I still need to listen to. Some of these may have made THE list, but…toddler
- Lucinda Williams – Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
- Swans – To Be Kind
- Sun Kil Moon – Benji
- Luluc – Passerby
- Rodrigo Amarante – Cavalo
- The Antlers – Familiars
- Tweedy – Sukierae
- Hurray for the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes
- Flying Lotus – You’re Dead
- Alvvays – Alvvays
- Thurston Moore – The Best Day
- Ty Segall – Manipulator
- Leonard Cohen – Popular Problems
- Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
- Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes
- Mogwai – Rave Tapes
- Eagulls – Eagulls
- Robert Plant – Lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar
- The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers
- Damien Jurado – Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son
- Foxygen – …And Star Power
- The Flaming Lips – With A Little Help From My Fwends
For the rest, here’s my Best Songs of 2014 playlist
I leave you with a 2-hour playlist of my Top 30 Tracks. Technically a Top 29, because GRMLN’s “Of Nothing” isn’t available on YouTube (yes, this is still happening). You can, however, listen to it on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/07-of-nothing
A last final note…
The Decemberists snuck in two tracks this year from their forthcoming album (January 2015). I thought it was a little unfair to include it into the top tracks because they’ve just come along, but yeah, this is my new crush…
WROK 