And so, I will aim to do this justice like I do every year that I can. I'll give the album, short bit on why I liked it, and two must-listen tracks. Notes:
There are a handful of mixtapes and EPs that aren't on the list due to not being full length and/or studio releases, but they're worth mentioning. Freeway and Girl Talk's Broken Ankles was a surprising jam this summer, Isaiah Rashad's Cilvia Demo is maybe one of the albums I spun the most this year, and I'm no longer ashamed to say that I haven't found a situation in my life that Migos' No Label 2 can't fix. On to the albums.
There are a handful of mixtapes and EPs that aren't on the list due to not being full length and/or studio releases, but they're worth mentioning. Freeway and Girl Talk's Broken Ankles was a surprising jam this summer, Isaiah Rashad's Cilvia Demo is maybe one of the albums I spun the most this year, and I'm no longer ashamed to say that I haven't found a situation in my life that Migos' No Label 2 can't fix. On to the albums.
25.) Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Why: I definitely believe in the bravery of this album, perhaps so much that I've been able to overlook the (very few) glaring flaws inside the music. If we are to still rely on what's left of punk rock to be a jarring confessional space, then I believe that this album does the work. I think Laura Jane Grace takes us to an uncomfortable place, and I think that is necessary. More than anything, I think the album uses punk's anger, rebellion, and disgust towards the world to paint a glorious biography.
Must-Listen Tracks: "True Trans Soul Rebel", "Black Me Out"
24.) Trey Songz - Trigga
Why: Fully understanding that Trey Songz is fairly unremarkable in what he aims to do, I still really enjoy this album. Trey Songz has been making the same exact song for the better part of five years, and while I don't necessarily think he should be rewarded for that, I think this is the first time it has been effective over the course of a full body of work. I love this album in the same way I loved The Dream's Love Vs. Money in 2009, though I loved that album considerably more. There are so few flagrantly commercial R&B albums that don't apologize for their own skin. We get fewer and fewer each year. And so when one is done in a manner that does the balancing act of giving you slickly produced songs catchy enough to sing along to, but explicit enough to not do it in public, I celebrate that.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Dead Wrong", "All We Do"
23.) Grouper - Ruins
Why: This album doesn't really surround you, or fill up a room like Grouper's past efforts. There isn't the frantic need to keep up with every sound happening at once. On this album, it's almost like the sound is barely there at all. The album passes through you, like a ghost. This is Liz Harris' most accessible album yet, and she gets there by stripping down to pretty much just her voice, and a piano. Occasionally there are sounds of crickets closing out songs, or creaks in the background of an arrangement. There.There are parts of this album where I felt almost uninvited. And so, it isn't to be enjoyed without some level of discomfort, but see it through. This is the best Grouper effort to date.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Holding", "Lighthouse"
22.) Spoon - They Want My Soul
Why: It seems that I didn't like this album as much as most everyone else, which is surprising only due to how often I have championed the work of Spoon prior to this album. I say this still saying that it's one of the best albums of the year, but perhaps not the world beater that I was hoping for. Still, even in its most uneven moments, it is a marvel. The middle of the album, from "Do You" to "Let Me Be Mine" do the best work here, blending new wave and soul while still maintaining all of the band's pop music sensibilities.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Let Me Be Mine", "New York Kiss"
21.) Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Why: There isn't any reinvention of the wheel here, as far as classic (or...basic...) metal imagery goes. There's smoke drifting through trees, there's some flames, the horizon is burning, etc and so forth. But I think Primordial has always been able to succeed in the sometimes flailing metal genre by being so unafraid to embrace an evolution of their sound. This album marked a particularly huge leap forward for me, as someone who had become slightly bored with them over the past few years. The drawing of their Celtic roots is evident here, and they blend with various forms and sub-forms of heavy metal to create an album that dissects humanity's pain through a lens of genuine empathy. I can forgive them for leaning on some classic metal tropes in the process.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Come The Flood", "Babel's Tower"
20.) Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata
Why: Madlib is Madlib, and will always be one of the most prolific and gifted producers in the game. No one really needs to be sold on Madlib. On the flipside, I had cooled a bit on Freddie Gibbs over the past year. Not due to his skill, but more due to his spotty and inconsistent output. Madlib is the ultimate teammate. He somehow manages to bring the best out of everyone on this album, even getting an incredible guest turn out of the criminally mediocre Mac Miller on the title track.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Supplier", "Shitsville"
19.) Tennis - Ritual In Repeat
Why: It's pretty simple. I'll stop loving Tennis album when their formula stops working so well. It's really simple. Alaina Moore's voice rubbing up against really dark arrangements that turn over into harmony packed choruses. Sometimes, when you have a band with 3 or less people, the formula is all that matters. I'm sure we'll get bored with Tennis' 70's influenced dream-pop, but it isn't boring for me yet. I don't need them to be the band that takes risks. I get fed that in almost every other musician I'm hearing. I just need them to keep going back to the well and doing what works until they have nothing left there. I'm not saying that they aren't capable of artistic growth, I'm just saying that I'm alright with them not exploring that. No one asked Shaquille O'Neal to shoot 3's.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Never Work For Free", "Timothy"
18.) Asher Roth - RetroHash
Why: I'm almost entirely sure that no one listened to or purchased this album except for me and ten other people. And how did this happen to Asher Roth, by the way? When are we going to let Asher Roth out of the doghouse for putting out a debut single (and album) that he clearly didn't want to do? He's since had an incredible career while wallowing in the deepest corners of the underground with weirdly long hair. RetroHash is the fun, and smart studio album that I think most people who have followed Roth for years expected. What's most exciting, for me, is the idea that this album is just a start when it comes to Roth's experimenting with sound, and bending genre expectations. It does suffer from being a bit inaccessible in spots. But, perhaps it's a middle finger to everyone who kept screaming "Why can't Asher Roth just grow up already?" He did, and no one cared to listen anymore.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Pull It", "Fast Life"
17.) Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Why: In my post-college years, I was maybe the only one of my friends who had a Jenny Lewis poster in his apartment. It hung in my dining room for years, Lewis holding a bottle of wine in one hand, and 40 dollars in the other. The poster was torn in a move by a friend (I use the term loosely). All of this is to say, I have loved Jenny Lewis almost as long as I have loved albums produced by Ryan Adams, and to have a marriage of those two things made this an easy selection. Making it easier is how far Lewis reaches into her bag on the album, mixing together hints of the Bangles, the Eagles, and the writing of Randy Newman. I've never really had any doubts about Lewis' songwriting ability, but it hasn't been highlighted as freely as it is all through this album, and it is a pleasure to hear it being fully realized.
Must-Listen Tracks: "She's Not Me", "Late Bloomer"
16.) PUP - Pup
Why: This is kind of what would happen if we got a punk album out of Weezer before they started to make bad music, and if they first listened to Modset Mouse's Lonesome Crowded West. It is truly the realization of the shape of punk to come, with gang vocals, ripping guitar riffs, and infectious choruses. They're probably better songwriters than most of the punks chopping away at tunes right now, but that's not really something we should punish them for, right?
Must-Listen Tracks: "Reservoir", "Guilt Trip"
15.) Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Why: I don't know when, but somewhere along the way, we got into this idea of sonically complex and/or "conscious" hip-hop not being accessible to the "average" hip-hop fan (which is a term I hope dies off for good in 2015). I like this album more than most because I think it does what so many sophomore albums refuse to do. It sticks to the same blueprint as the first album, and then expands on it. This album, for me, was basically like their near-classic debut, but on steroids. Ishmael Butler isn't the easiest MC to track with, and hasn't been since his days with Digable Planets, but trying to keep up with him makes the album a bit more fun.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Dawn In Luxor", "Solemn Swears"
14.) Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Why: I was actually way higher on this album (like, top three high) earlier in the year. Like one or two albums each year, it suffered from simply coming out so early in the calendar that it watched a handful of albums pass it up, which is saying nothing of the music. Angel Olsen has maybe the most warm, engaging, and comfortable voice in pop music right now. Even through its flaws and occasional cracks, the voice is serving as an instrument, one that does not take away from any song. I don't know if there's an album that I've heard like this one in recent years. An album where a singer carries it in a way that feels like the voice is doing it all on its own.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Lights Out", "High And Wild"
13.) Cloud Nothings - Here And Nowhere Else
Why: This record serves as a full-on assault of the senses. A very brief one, only clocking in at about 30 minutes. The more I spun it, the more I realized that this is an album that showcases the work of a drummer better than any I heard this year, and maybe last year. Jayson Gerycz creates an absolute urgency in the groove, while also building a wall for Dylan Baldi's songwriting to break down over and over again.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Just See Fear", "Giving Into Seeing"
12.) Ought - More Than Any Other Day
Why: There are few things I understand less than all of the sub-genres of punk, except for art-punk. Because I grew up (in part) on Talking Heads. And so when I see a band touting itself as art-punk, I go in with high expectations. No one in Ought is as singularly talented or unique as David Byrne, but this album does a lot of the same work with tongue in cheek songwriting, infectious grooves, and some unsettling (but fun!) subject matter. It seems like a major sticking point of art-punk is being smart enough to be angry at the world, but not driven enough to tell people what they need to do about it. The legacy continues.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Habit", "Gemini"
11.) Iceage - Plowing Into The Field Of Love
Why: Here's easily my favorite album title of the year, and the record itself doesn't disappoint. I didn't find myself connecting with 2011's New Brigade or 2013's You're Nothing, and so I was about ready to write off the Danish punks for good, but this album does what those didn't. Maybe it's the more dialed down sound, or the abandoning of some of the overly hardcore elements that I didn't find to work, but on this effort, you can really hear the instruments coming together in unison. The risks like string arrangements, mandolins, and horns pay off in areas where they maybe wouldn't have before.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Against The Moon", "On My Fingers"
10.) Aphex Twin - Syro
Why: I actually think that if not for the work that Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest did last year, the world would be less willing to buy into how good of an album this actually is. IDM albums crossing over into mainstream consciousness is becoming less and less rare with each passing year, with "genre" becoming a more and more disposable term. It's tough to say that this is a huge leap from the last proper Aphex Twin release (2001's Drukqs), because we've seen Richard D. James evolve pretty publicly over the last decade or so. Still, this album may shock some by how it frantically races from one sound to the next with almost no warning. A pleasurable listen, I'd say even for the IDM finger waggers.
Must-Listen Tracks: (I think it's best if this album is listened to as a whole thing/experience.)
9.) Big K.R.I.T. - Cadillactica
Why: While fans of southern hip-hop spent most of 2014 fawning over Outkast's nostalgia-based money grab of a reunion (let's just call it what it was), and wondering what happened to "the good old days", K.R.I.T. released an album that sounds like it was molded in 1990's Atlanta. Largely a celebration of rims and speakers, K.R.I.T. does what he usually does. Thrives as a storyteller who is fearless in content and delivery. Unlike 2012's Live From The Underground, where he often times sounded clumsy and unsure, K.R.I.T. spends most of Cadillactica sounding entirely confident, as he should.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Soul Food", "Mt. Olympus"
8.) St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Why: The best thing that I think happened to Annie Clark the person, and then St. Vincent the musician was the confidence that seemed to come after 2011's Strange Mercy, and the collaborative effort with David Byrne that followed. It's almost like she gave herself the permission to bounce from one musical approach to another, sometimes within the same song. It suits her well on this album, which is kind of like a musical picstitch of her career to this point, topped off with one of her classic ballads thrown in at the end.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Severed Crossed Fingers", "Psychopath"
7.) Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
Why: I really cannot put this album any higher. I remember thinking before it came out that there was almost no way that any album could top it. Not just hip-hop album, any album at all. And so, it isn't like this album is a letdown by any measure, it just isn't perfect. "Love Again" is a song that shouldn't have made it on to any finished album. Without question. That song alone dragged this album down. Still, it is an album that was as timely as it was devastating. El-P continues to do some of the best production work of his career, and the album gets (for my money) the best guest turn of the year from Zach de le Rocha on the jarring "Close Your Eyes And Count To Fuck"
Must-Listen Tracks: "Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)", "Angel Duster"
6.) Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
Why: It's an album that is filled with equal parts joy and terror, and it doesn't try to reconcile the two at any point. That's the best selling point that I can make for this album, and that is to say nothing of the melodic dissonance, the inventive songwriting, or the incredible album title.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Little Ones Run", "What We Loved Was Not Enough"
5.) Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Why: I think, more than any other FlyLo album, you may actually have to be willing to invest in jazz to connect with You're Dead! but, I think the payoff is worth it, even if you have no interest in jazz, or don't give a fuck about Herbie Hancock (which, like. That's an entirely different issue that I have with you.) It's a concept driven album, but that doesn't narrow down the range of music traveled throughout. Even Snoop sounds briefly resurrected during his guest spot.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Never Catch Me", "Tesla"
4.) YOB - Clearing The Path To Ascend
Why: Truthfully, I found Pallbearer's Foundations of Burden to be a bit more boring than most people seemed to. YOB gives us what I think is the best metal album of the year, and I'm not sure how close it is. This thing is a monument to musicianship, and songcraft, something that metal snobs can never stop whining for. In one of the many "frontman puts out album in the wake of a divorce" records this year, it remarkably holds up better than the others. It gives us lyrics not concerned with life, but merely existence, which I understand isn't the most cheerful thing to turn up, but is sometimes the most necessary.
Must-Listen Tracks: "In Our Blood", "Country Down"
3.) Beck - Morning Phase
Why: It really feels like less of an album and more of a book. The settings move and change, the imagery remains sharp, and the journey you're on is very present. I understand and appreciate the criticism of Beck's later, post-Sea Change work. But I think he gets his mojo back on this one.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Blackbird Chain", "Oxygen"
2.) The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Why: It is entirely possible to get bored even with talking about and praising an album that you absolutely love, as I learned with The War On Drugs this year. The blend of Americana and shoegaze really works here, even though the guitar heroics (fantastic as they are) get a little tedious in spots. It is a masterpiece, even if it is one that you don't return to as much as you think you should.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Red Eyes", "An Ocean In between The Waves"
1.) FKA twigs - LP1
Why: In all honesty, the gap between #3 and the top two is pretty large. And I kind of think both of the top two albums are interchangeable, given the day. What pushes LP1 slightly over the edge is how it sustains and improves over the course of multiple listens. The War On Drugs made a great album, but I felt a very clear ceiling on it, as a listener. Re-listening to LP1, even late in the year, revealed new gems, each time. I have a hard time labeling the album as an R&B album, which I suppose it what it is at its core. It seems too inventive, maybe too cold and distant, and it doesn't fall back on any of the R&B tropes that we've come to expect. The beats are minimal, the album is subtle, chilling, and has relentless vision.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Pendulum", "Two Weeks"
THE 1/2 ALBUM:
Kelis - Food
The 1/2 album usually serves as an album that just missed, or an album that I liked a lot/maybe more than most people. Food is a little weird, a lot of fun, and really risky. We don't talk enough about how Kelis has continued to be effective in the reinventing of herself and her sound throughout her career. Much like the Asher Roth record, I really wish that more people listened to (and/or purchased) this album.
Why: Fully understanding that Trey Songz is fairly unremarkable in what he aims to do, I still really enjoy this album. Trey Songz has been making the same exact song for the better part of five years, and while I don't necessarily think he should be rewarded for that, I think this is the first time it has been effective over the course of a full body of work. I love this album in the same way I loved The Dream's Love Vs. Money in 2009, though I loved that album considerably more. There are so few flagrantly commercial R&B albums that don't apologize for their own skin. We get fewer and fewer each year. And so when one is done in a manner that does the balancing act of giving you slickly produced songs catchy enough to sing along to, but explicit enough to not do it in public, I celebrate that.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Dead Wrong", "All We Do"
23.) Grouper - Ruins
Why: This album doesn't really surround you, or fill up a room like Grouper's past efforts. There isn't the frantic need to keep up with every sound happening at once. On this album, it's almost like the sound is barely there at all. The album passes through you, like a ghost. This is Liz Harris' most accessible album yet, and she gets there by stripping down to pretty much just her voice, and a piano. Occasionally there are sounds of crickets closing out songs, or creaks in the background of an arrangement. There.There are parts of this album where I felt almost uninvited. And so, it isn't to be enjoyed without some level of discomfort, but see it through. This is the best Grouper effort to date.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Holding", "Lighthouse"
22.) Spoon - They Want My Soul
Why: It seems that I didn't like this album as much as most everyone else, which is surprising only due to how often I have championed the work of Spoon prior to this album. I say this still saying that it's one of the best albums of the year, but perhaps not the world beater that I was hoping for. Still, even in its most uneven moments, it is a marvel. The middle of the album, from "Do You" to "Let Me Be Mine" do the best work here, blending new wave and soul while still maintaining all of the band's pop music sensibilities.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Let Me Be Mine", "New York Kiss"
21.) Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Why: There isn't any reinvention of the wheel here, as far as classic (or...basic...) metal imagery goes. There's smoke drifting through trees, there's some flames, the horizon is burning, etc and so forth. But I think Primordial has always been able to succeed in the sometimes flailing metal genre by being so unafraid to embrace an evolution of their sound. This album marked a particularly huge leap forward for me, as someone who had become slightly bored with them over the past few years. The drawing of their Celtic roots is evident here, and they blend with various forms and sub-forms of heavy metal to create an album that dissects humanity's pain through a lens of genuine empathy. I can forgive them for leaning on some classic metal tropes in the process.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Come The Flood", "Babel's Tower"
20.) Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata
Why: Madlib is Madlib, and will always be one of the most prolific and gifted producers in the game. No one really needs to be sold on Madlib. On the flipside, I had cooled a bit on Freddie Gibbs over the past year. Not due to his skill, but more due to his spotty and inconsistent output. Madlib is the ultimate teammate. He somehow manages to bring the best out of everyone on this album, even getting an incredible guest turn out of the criminally mediocre Mac Miller on the title track.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Supplier", "Shitsville"
19.) Tennis - Ritual In Repeat
Why: It's pretty simple. I'll stop loving Tennis album when their formula stops working so well. It's really simple. Alaina Moore's voice rubbing up against really dark arrangements that turn over into harmony packed choruses. Sometimes, when you have a band with 3 or less people, the formula is all that matters. I'm sure we'll get bored with Tennis' 70's influenced dream-pop, but it isn't boring for me yet. I don't need them to be the band that takes risks. I get fed that in almost every other musician I'm hearing. I just need them to keep going back to the well and doing what works until they have nothing left there. I'm not saying that they aren't capable of artistic growth, I'm just saying that I'm alright with them not exploring that. No one asked Shaquille O'Neal to shoot 3's.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Never Work For Free", "Timothy"
18.) Asher Roth - RetroHash
Why: I'm almost entirely sure that no one listened to or purchased this album except for me and ten other people. And how did this happen to Asher Roth, by the way? When are we going to let Asher Roth out of the doghouse for putting out a debut single (and album) that he clearly didn't want to do? He's since had an incredible career while wallowing in the deepest corners of the underground with weirdly long hair. RetroHash is the fun, and smart studio album that I think most people who have followed Roth for years expected. What's most exciting, for me, is the idea that this album is just a start when it comes to Roth's experimenting with sound, and bending genre expectations. It does suffer from being a bit inaccessible in spots. But, perhaps it's a middle finger to everyone who kept screaming "Why can't Asher Roth just grow up already?" He did, and no one cared to listen anymore.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Pull It", "Fast Life"
17.) Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Why: In my post-college years, I was maybe the only one of my friends who had a Jenny Lewis poster in his apartment. It hung in my dining room for years, Lewis holding a bottle of wine in one hand, and 40 dollars in the other. The poster was torn in a move by a friend (I use the term loosely). All of this is to say, I have loved Jenny Lewis almost as long as I have loved albums produced by Ryan Adams, and to have a marriage of those two things made this an easy selection. Making it easier is how far Lewis reaches into her bag on the album, mixing together hints of the Bangles, the Eagles, and the writing of Randy Newman. I've never really had any doubts about Lewis' songwriting ability, but it hasn't been highlighted as freely as it is all through this album, and it is a pleasure to hear it being fully realized.
Must-Listen Tracks: "She's Not Me", "Late Bloomer"
16.) PUP - Pup
Why: This is kind of what would happen if we got a punk album out of Weezer before they started to make bad music, and if they first listened to Modset Mouse's Lonesome Crowded West. It is truly the realization of the shape of punk to come, with gang vocals, ripping guitar riffs, and infectious choruses. They're probably better songwriters than most of the punks chopping away at tunes right now, but that's not really something we should punish them for, right?
Must-Listen Tracks: "Reservoir", "Guilt Trip"
15.) Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Why: I don't know when, but somewhere along the way, we got into this idea of sonically complex and/or "conscious" hip-hop not being accessible to the "average" hip-hop fan (which is a term I hope dies off for good in 2015). I like this album more than most because I think it does what so many sophomore albums refuse to do. It sticks to the same blueprint as the first album, and then expands on it. This album, for me, was basically like their near-classic debut, but on steroids. Ishmael Butler isn't the easiest MC to track with, and hasn't been since his days with Digable Planets, but trying to keep up with him makes the album a bit more fun.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Dawn In Luxor", "Solemn Swears"
14.) Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Why: I was actually way higher on this album (like, top three high) earlier in the year. Like one or two albums each year, it suffered from simply coming out so early in the calendar that it watched a handful of albums pass it up, which is saying nothing of the music. Angel Olsen has maybe the most warm, engaging, and comfortable voice in pop music right now. Even through its flaws and occasional cracks, the voice is serving as an instrument, one that does not take away from any song. I don't know if there's an album that I've heard like this one in recent years. An album where a singer carries it in a way that feels like the voice is doing it all on its own.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Lights Out", "High And Wild"
13.) Cloud Nothings - Here And Nowhere Else
Why: This record serves as a full-on assault of the senses. A very brief one, only clocking in at about 30 minutes. The more I spun it, the more I realized that this is an album that showcases the work of a drummer better than any I heard this year, and maybe last year. Jayson Gerycz creates an absolute urgency in the groove, while also building a wall for Dylan Baldi's songwriting to break down over and over again.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Just See Fear", "Giving Into Seeing"
12.) Ought - More Than Any Other Day
Why: There are few things I understand less than all of the sub-genres of punk, except for art-punk. Because I grew up (in part) on Talking Heads. And so when I see a band touting itself as art-punk, I go in with high expectations. No one in Ought is as singularly talented or unique as David Byrne, but this album does a lot of the same work with tongue in cheek songwriting, infectious grooves, and some unsettling (but fun!) subject matter. It seems like a major sticking point of art-punk is being smart enough to be angry at the world, but not driven enough to tell people what they need to do about it. The legacy continues.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Habit", "Gemini"
11.) Iceage - Plowing Into The Field Of Love
Why: Here's easily my favorite album title of the year, and the record itself doesn't disappoint. I didn't find myself connecting with 2011's New Brigade or 2013's You're Nothing, and so I was about ready to write off the Danish punks for good, but this album does what those didn't. Maybe it's the more dialed down sound, or the abandoning of some of the overly hardcore elements that I didn't find to work, but on this effort, you can really hear the instruments coming together in unison. The risks like string arrangements, mandolins, and horns pay off in areas where they maybe wouldn't have before.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Against The Moon", "On My Fingers"
10.) Aphex Twin - Syro
Why: I actually think that if not for the work that Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest did last year, the world would be less willing to buy into how good of an album this actually is. IDM albums crossing over into mainstream consciousness is becoming less and less rare with each passing year, with "genre" becoming a more and more disposable term. It's tough to say that this is a huge leap from the last proper Aphex Twin release (2001's Drukqs), because we've seen Richard D. James evolve pretty publicly over the last decade or so. Still, this album may shock some by how it frantically races from one sound to the next with almost no warning. A pleasurable listen, I'd say even for the IDM finger waggers.
Must-Listen Tracks: (I think it's best if this album is listened to as a whole thing/experience.)
9.) Big K.R.I.T. - Cadillactica
Why: While fans of southern hip-hop spent most of 2014 fawning over Outkast's nostalgia-based money grab of a reunion (let's just call it what it was), and wondering what happened to "the good old days", K.R.I.T. released an album that sounds like it was molded in 1990's Atlanta. Largely a celebration of rims and speakers, K.R.I.T. does what he usually does. Thrives as a storyteller who is fearless in content and delivery. Unlike 2012's Live From The Underground, where he often times sounded clumsy and unsure, K.R.I.T. spends most of Cadillactica sounding entirely confident, as he should.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Soul Food", "Mt. Olympus"
8.) St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Why: The best thing that I think happened to Annie Clark the person, and then St. Vincent the musician was the confidence that seemed to come after 2011's Strange Mercy, and the collaborative effort with David Byrne that followed. It's almost like she gave herself the permission to bounce from one musical approach to another, sometimes within the same song. It suits her well on this album, which is kind of like a musical picstitch of her career to this point, topped off with one of her classic ballads thrown in at the end.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Severed Crossed Fingers", "Psychopath"
7.) Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
Why: I really cannot put this album any higher. I remember thinking before it came out that there was almost no way that any album could top it. Not just hip-hop album, any album at all. And so, it isn't like this album is a letdown by any measure, it just isn't perfect. "Love Again" is a song that shouldn't have made it on to any finished album. Without question. That song alone dragged this album down. Still, it is an album that was as timely as it was devastating. El-P continues to do some of the best production work of his career, and the album gets (for my money) the best guest turn of the year from Zach de le Rocha on the jarring "Close Your Eyes And Count To Fuck"
Must-Listen Tracks: "Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)", "Angel Duster"
6.) Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
Why: It's an album that is filled with equal parts joy and terror, and it doesn't try to reconcile the two at any point. That's the best selling point that I can make for this album, and that is to say nothing of the melodic dissonance, the inventive songwriting, or the incredible album title.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Little Ones Run", "What We Loved Was Not Enough"
5.) Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Why: I think, more than any other FlyLo album, you may actually have to be willing to invest in jazz to connect with You're Dead! but, I think the payoff is worth it, even if you have no interest in jazz, or don't give a fuck about Herbie Hancock (which, like. That's an entirely different issue that I have with you.) It's a concept driven album, but that doesn't narrow down the range of music traveled throughout. Even Snoop sounds briefly resurrected during his guest spot.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Never Catch Me", "Tesla"
4.) YOB - Clearing The Path To Ascend
Why: Truthfully, I found Pallbearer's Foundations of Burden to be a bit more boring than most people seemed to. YOB gives us what I think is the best metal album of the year, and I'm not sure how close it is. This thing is a monument to musicianship, and songcraft, something that metal snobs can never stop whining for. In one of the many "frontman puts out album in the wake of a divorce" records this year, it remarkably holds up better than the others. It gives us lyrics not concerned with life, but merely existence, which I understand isn't the most cheerful thing to turn up, but is sometimes the most necessary.
Must-Listen Tracks: "In Our Blood", "Country Down"
3.) Beck - Morning Phase
Why: It really feels like less of an album and more of a book. The settings move and change, the imagery remains sharp, and the journey you're on is very present. I understand and appreciate the criticism of Beck's later, post-Sea Change work. But I think he gets his mojo back on this one.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Blackbird Chain", "Oxygen"
2.) The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Why: It is entirely possible to get bored even with talking about and praising an album that you absolutely love, as I learned with The War On Drugs this year. The blend of Americana and shoegaze really works here, even though the guitar heroics (fantastic as they are) get a little tedious in spots. It is a masterpiece, even if it is one that you don't return to as much as you think you should.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Red Eyes", "An Ocean In between The Waves"
1.) FKA twigs - LP1
Why: In all honesty, the gap between #3 and the top two is pretty large. And I kind of think both of the top two albums are interchangeable, given the day. What pushes LP1 slightly over the edge is how it sustains and improves over the course of multiple listens. The War On Drugs made a great album, but I felt a very clear ceiling on it, as a listener. Re-listening to LP1, even late in the year, revealed new gems, each time. I have a hard time labeling the album as an R&B album, which I suppose it what it is at its core. It seems too inventive, maybe too cold and distant, and it doesn't fall back on any of the R&B tropes that we've come to expect. The beats are minimal, the album is subtle, chilling, and has relentless vision.
Must-Listen Tracks: "Pendulum", "Two Weeks"
THE 1/2 ALBUM:
Kelis - Food
The 1/2 album usually serves as an album that just missed, or an album that I liked a lot/maybe more than most people. Food is a little weird, a lot of fun, and really risky. We don't talk enough about how Kelis has continued to be effective in the reinventing of herself and her sound throughout her career. Much like the Asher Roth record, I really wish that more people listened to (and/or purchased) this album.
