Instead of covering a single album this issue, I took some advice and decided to go over my favourite 7 songs and albums of 2014 so far. It’s been a quiet year compared to last, when we were looking forward to releases from Daft Punk, Vampire Weekend, Kanye West, and Chance the Rapper. However, this isn’t to say that there hasn’t been some great music released this year as well:
Songs:
7. Beyoncé – XO
6. Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me
What sets Dylan Baldi, lead singer of Cloud Nothings, apart from other innumerable punk singers is his ability to craft indelibly melodic hooks and then get them to work in the context of a hard-charging punk song. Although his voice, a bratty whine, occasionally has difficulty keeping up with the vocal acrobatics, the shoutalong chorus is easily one of the catchiest pieces of depression released this year: “I’m not telling you what I’m going through.” The drums pummel along behind him, giving the song an urgency to go along with its unprecedented accessibility.
5. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azealia – Problem
4. Coldplay – Magic
“Still believe in magic / Yes I do / Of course I do.” On one hand, “Magic” is a Coldplay single through and through: the pretty falsetto, the wordless vocal bridges, the hope permeating throughout it. But look deeper and there is something different about it; it’s restrained (for Coldplay) and the hope is counterbalanced by themes of loss. Ghost Stories was Chris Martin’s break up album and “Magic” is the greatest break-up song they’ve ever written.
3. Future ft. Andre 3000 – Benz Friendz (Whatchutola)
Normally when another rapper features on a Future album, they fall into his weird emo-rap orbit. Many even try their hand at his signature Auto-Tuned croon. The notable exception, from Future’s new LP Honest, is “Benz Friendz.” Andre 3000 comes out from his seclusion and Future lets him take the song to his own strange place, content to come along for the ride. Although the theme is ostensibly similar to Kanye’s classic “Gold Digger,” Andre spends some time navel-gazing (“White button downs and emery scrubs/I had to write her birthday down because my memory sucks”) while Future jolts the song to life with his sung/yelled chorus.
2. Sun Kil Moon – Ben’s My Friend
Mark Kozelek, aka Sun Kil Moon, is having a pretty normal day for the duration of “Ben’s My Friend.” He goes shopping with his girlfriend, eats lunch, calls up his family, and goes to a Postal Service concert. The devil is in the details, however: the lampshades he bought cost $350, the walls of the restaurant are covered “with sports bar shit,” his dad is fighting with his girlfriend, and then the real kicker – the Postal Service, fronted by Ben Gibbard of the song’s title, is playing a show to 8000 young people while Kozelek stands in the back. He went because Ben’s his friend, but he can’t find a place to park, he’s too old, his feet hurt. So he leaves early to sit alone in his hot tub and ruminate: “and it was quiet, and I was listening to the crickets / and Ben’s still out there selling lots of tickets / and though I know there’s a tinge of competitiveness / But Ben’s my friend and I know he gets it.” But then by the end of the song, his jealousy and depression fade, and Kozelek is back in the studio recording the last song on his album, which turns out to be this one.
1. How to Dress Well – Repeat Pleasure
How to Dress Well is the work of a single twenty-something named Tom Krell. Back in 2010 he was one of the pioneers of the indie RnB movement, colloquially known as PBRnB, along with others such as Frank Ocean, Miguel, and the Weeknd. On “Repeat Pleasure,” a single from his forthcoming LP, he pushes the boundaries of traditional RnB, melding it with soft-rock and even electro. His clear falsetto is high in the mix and his older murky production has also been stripped away, leaving chiming acoustic guitar, sprightly handclaps, and whispering choirs. It is music that defies categorization in the best way possible.
Albums:
6. Future – Honest
5. Beyoncé – BEYONCÉ
“Probably not gonna make no money off this, oh well” Beyoncé sings at the end of “Haunted.” BEYONCÉ went on to sell 800,000 copies in its first week on iTunes alone, making it the best selling album of all time in the iTunes store. Either way, there was no way that she wasn’t going to make money off of this thing. But I understand what she meant. BEYONCÉ is not the same animal as previous hit-laden LPs 4 or I Am… Sasha Fierce. It’s deeply dark and experimental; synthesizing sounds from underground RnB artists like the Weeknd and the xx. There are no surefire hits like “Halo” or “Countdown,” and Beyoncé intermingles her singing with whispered raps. It’s a weird album for sure, not just relative to other female pop artists, but objectively as well. But it is incredibly cohesive, both thematically and aesthetically, and an extremely immersive listen.
4. PUP – PUP
3. Sun Kil Moon – Benji
2. The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
Lost in the Dream is a study in muted contradictions. The music is smooth and calm, harking back to the soft-rock heroes of the 80s: Rod Stewart, Don Henley, and Tears for Fears. The songs are long and meandering, taking time to open up and reveal their beauty. But the lyrics reveal something different. All songs focus on anxiety or dread or despair, with the mood spiralling downward even as the music buoys it. It’s a startling juxtaposition, and because of it, Lost in the Dream is an album you can either put on in the background, or dive into the lyrics with headphones, alone in your room.
1. The Hotelier – Home, Like NoPlace There Is
Emo is still a word that causes dirty looks from a lot of people in my demographic. In spite of this, there has been a huge resurgence of emo music in the last two years, with bands looking past the genre’s pop stage in the mid 00s (which was also great), and back to second wave emo bands like American Football, The Promise Ring, and Sunny Day Real Estate. The Hotelier’s new album is a perfect introduction to this genre revival: it has a perfect mix of twangy Midwestern singing and hardcore-indebted screaming, it has twinkly guitars and punishing riffs, and, true to its genre, it has the most confessional and emotive lyrics I’ve heard all year. With its focus on addiction, loss, and death contrasted with huge choruses, Home, Like NoPlace There Is is the most visceral and best album of 2014 so far.
Leave a Reply