As the year comes to end, people are starting to reflect It's been a hard year for the world, but some great music came out of it. Here are my top ten albums of 2014.
1. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
If you had asked me what my top album of 2014 would be in 2013, I would have probably said RTJ2. It's funny how things sometimes actually work out. Killer Mike and El-P have been proving that their worth listening to since the beginning of their respective careers, but people were too stupid to listen. With their debut as a duo, they proved they were a force to reckoned with. With the sequel to that album, they prove they are the force to be reckoned with. No one else came close to them this year. Both El-P and Killer Mike are formidable rappers separately, but together they complement each other so well. Killer Mike's brutal Southern flow meshes amazingly with El-P's technical New York sound. And holy hell, El-P's production is miles ahead of what anyone else is doing. For many people like me who needed a release with the hell of a year we had, this album did exactly that without letting down for a moment.
2. Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy
I feel like I have to justify this album being so close to the top of my list for some reason, which is ridiculous. It's on almost no one else's lists I've read, which is insane because this album is amazing. I have listened to this record probably more than any other album this year, even more than my number one pick. Open Mike Eagle has been consistently fantastic throughout his career, but this release goes light years beyond where he had been previously. The album switches between devastatingly funny to devastatingly sad in moments. Mike's delivery has intimate urgency that I just don't hear from other rappers. The production is as nuanced as Mike's rapping, which is saying something because Mike proves himself to be a fantastic rapper on this album yet again.
3. Swans - To Be Kind
I have a confession to make, I haven't actually listened to this whole album. Yes, it's my third favorite album of the year and I haven't actually listened to the whole thing. Sure, I've heard the whole thing in bits and pieces, but I haven't just sat down and listened to it. I made it through the first disc, but that's it. I'm going to put it on this list because it's an amazing album and just because I can't sit through two hours of ear-breaking music doesn't mean that I don't absolutely love this album.
4. Aphex Twin - Syro
Syro is not the best thing Aphex Twin has ever put out, but it's definitely up there. With so much hype behind this album, it's amazing it lived up to any of it. This is the kind of album an artist should release after a hiatus if they don't have an m b v in them. This album didn't break any new ground like other Aphex Twin releases, but that doesn't mean it isn't great.
5. Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright In The End
It's a weird feeling to have a Weezer album in my top ten list. I'm one of those Weezer fans; I haven't liked anything since Pinkerton, but I sure love those first two albums. I liked this album when I first listened to it, but since then it's grown on me more and more. It's really nice to have a good Weezer album in the world that's between Pinkerton and Maladroit in terms of quality, and actually gets closer to Pinkerton with each listen.
6. Clark - Clark
I have a lot of trouble putting this album into words, which is bad when you need to put an album into words for a blog post. This album goes into so many directions at once, but it doesn't feel crowded in the least, every moment feels tightly orchestrated. Clark manages to blend IDM, pop, and so much more into this one album. And holy hell, is it catchy. These songs will be stuck in your head for days and the best part is, you'll be happy they're there.
7. Priests - Bodies and Control and Money and Power
DC's Priests debut album is deceptively simple, but there is so much more than just what appears on the surface. The band blends punk, post-punk, and surprisingly shoegaze at moments to create an album that sounds like nothing else. Every instrument blends together beautifully, but still manage to heard by their self. I could write a whole blog post about Katy's amazingly strong voice and lyrics, but this one blurb about this fantastic debut will have to do.
8. Protomartyr - Under Color Of Official Right
If I had to describe Protomatyr's official debut in one sentence, it would be if the album that Interpol would have released if they had formed in 2008, but there's so much more to this record than that description provides. Joe Casey's vocals are devastatingly beautiful and come close to matching the magnificence of Ian Curtis. The instrumentation is surprisingly catchy under this brooding voice, but that risk works out fantastically.
9. Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love
Perfect Pussy deliver an absolutely brutal noise punk record in a year clouded by softness in music (War On Drugs, Grouper, Sharon Van Etten, etc.), but still manage to sound more beautiful than most of those artists. Pounding drums and Meredith Graves percussive voice blend perfectly with screeching guitars. Even if you can't tell what Meredith Graves is saying all of the time, it's clear that it's important.
10. tUnE-yArDs - nikki nack
Merrill Garbus's third record proves to be her best. Dense both musically and lyrically, this album turns pop music upside down and inside out through interesting rhythms and instrumentation. The record manages to be both accessible and complex, which makes for a great listen.
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