My Top 20 Albums of 2014

Getting it in just under the wire before the end of 2014 -- it was a really good year in music with strong comeback albums by quite a few artists.  Here, submitted for your approval. are my Top 20 Albums for 2014.  

20. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything - (Fiction / Concord)
19. Sloan - Commonwealth - (Yep Roc)
18. The Antlers - Familiars - (Anti-)
17. St. Vincent - St. Vincent - (Loma Vista)
16. Prince - Art Official Age - (Warner)
15. J Mascis - Tied to a Star - (Sub Pop)
14. Cymbals Eat Guitars - LOSE - (Barsuk)
13. The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast - (Sub Pop)
12. Sun Kil Moon - Benji - (Caldo Verde)
11. Posse - Soft Opening - (Beating a Dead Horse)
10. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There - (Jagjaguwar)
  9. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2 - (Mass Appeal)
  8. Caribou - Our Love - (Merge / City Slang)
  7. Spoon - They Want My Soul - (Loma Vista)
  6. The Lees of Memory - Sisyphus Says - (Side One Dummy)
  5. Real Estate - Atlas - (Domino)
  4. Tweedy - Sukierae - (dBpm)
  3. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams - (Pax-Am)
  2. Justin Townes Earle - Single Mothers - (Vagrant)
  1. Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways - (RCA)

In my opinion, there was no more important piece of music recorded this year than the Foo Fighters record. It should not be judged merely on the merit of the music pressed to vinyl, but as a document of the history of music in eight great cities across America. I urge everyone to watch the brilliant HBO series 'Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways' as there is nothing more important in the survival of our music heritage than the history of what has come before us. A respect of the history that we are obligated to pass on to any of our children who are either fans of music or aspire to be a musician themselves. The project, as a whole, gets my vote for Album of the Year.

Happy New Year!

My Top 20 Albums of 2013

My Top 20 Albums of 2013

This list is very, very late this year -- but I had a lot to sort out this year, then the whole process got away from me -- but now finally I've finished and I can close out 2013 once and for all!  

20.  Mudhoney - Vanishing Point - (Sub Pop)

Their best work in quite some time. 

19. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City - (XL)

I found this to be slightly more uneven than some of the reviews that I read, but still a good record.

18. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - (Columbia) 

It drops off a bit towards the end, perhaps a bit long at 79 minutes, but there's a lot of good and some great stuff here.

17. Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana - (Carpark)

When Speedy Ortiz hit their mark, they're among the best records I've heard this year, when they miss -- they tend to miss badly, which makes for a rather interesting listening experience.

16. Bill Callahan - Dream River - (Drag City)

Perhaps a poor man's Tom Waits? Impossible to pin-point. Somewhere between Tom Waits, Gil Scott-Heron and Justin Townes Earle lives a world where Bill Callahan fits right in. 

15. Local Natives - Hummingbird - (Frenchkiss/Infectious)

This is a band with an idea, they know what they want to be.  They write with feeling and create their music as a whole piece, not individual tracks. Stumbles slightly at the end, but a really good album front to back.

14. Kanye West - Yeezus - (Def Jam)

Kanye's personal shortcomings are well discussed -- he's more misogynistic than ever, but there's true art here in building the beats and the grooves that make up Yeezus. 

13. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight the More I Love You - (Anti-)  

Neko has the voice of angels, the voice of America.  She can sing the phone book and make it sound important. 

12. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest - (Warp)

Boards of Canada take a blank canvas and paint imagery through the use of synthesizers and drum machines and minimal tape looping.  It's interesting work that is easy to listen to. Perhaps this generation's Tangerine Dream.

11. Phosphorescent - Muchacho - (Dead Oceans)

This was one of the first albums I bought in 2013 and it became a favorite right away. 'Song for Zula' is an instant classic.

10. Mazzy Star - Seasons of Your Day - (Rhymes of an Hour)

17 years after their last release, Mazzy Star return. It's a beautifully produced record with stunning vocals and crisp, clear instruments. 'California' is stunning.

9. Arcade Fire - Reflektor - (Merge)

Beautifully structured record, marvelously produced.  A little experimental -- a departure. Maybe not quite as good as 'The Suburbs', but another building block on a fantastic body of work.

8. Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork - (Matador)

Drops off a little at the end, but a very underrated effort by Josh Homme and company.

7. Phoenix - Bankrupt! - (Glassnote)

Again, a drop-off from their previous two efforts, but there are still ten more songs full of pop hooks that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head. 

6. Mikal Cronin - MCII - (Merge)

Cronin's songs all recall a 70s pop bliss that Matthew Sweet used to do very well, but has been absent from for awhile.  Catchy songs.  Pop music hooks done with an indie flair -- really fun listen.

5. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt - (Don Giovanni)

Does a great job of just changing things up constantly.  'Coast to Coast' and the positively beautiful 'Lively' are two of the stand out tracks here that show both sides of the band's spectrum. 

4. Fuzz - Fuzz - (In the Red)

The best pure rock album I've heard in awhile. Part Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Monster Magnet and Comets on Fire. This is an album that absolutely must be played LOUD!

3. Deafheaven - Sunbather - (Deathwish) 

There's been a lot written about this record this year. Don't expect to get it on the first listen, or possibly even the second.  The vocals are going to turn a lot of people right off -- but to not see that the vocals are just another instrument adding to the beautiful canvas that Deafheaven have built with 'Sunbather' would be missing the point. This is an album that rewards repeated listening, preferably on headphones with your favorite adult beverage.

2. Califone - Stitches - (Dead Oceans)

Califone -- a band who I really hadn't clicked on my radar release just a gem of a record here. Beautiful songwriting.  Terrific production with a thousand moving parts.  Things buzz all around, swirling guitars, noodling keyboards buzzing and tweeting.

1. The National - Trouble Will Find Me - (4AD)

Another stunning record from perhaps the finest band in America.  A band that keeps challenging themselves and never rest on their laurels -- always trying to best their last record.  'I Need My Girl', 'Pink Rabbits', 'I Should Live in Salt', 'Demons', 'Heavenfaced'... all new classics.