Top Ten Albums of 2014 – #1: 0 by Low Roar

How many of you have bought an album this year? If you did, you probably bought it digitally. If not, there’s a solid possibility that you are instead a vinyl enthusiast (read: purist) and you got something on wax. But the chances of either (I won’t even bother talking about CDs) were slim. Slowly, the album is becoming less and less important, but I implore us all to reverse this trend. A well-constructed full length album is the holy grail, and Low Roar has delivered 2014’s best with 0.

Combining lyrics, sounds, and rhythms is simple enough that even a celebrity teen mom can do it. Doing it well is a whole ‘nother ballgame. There is a profound effect from 0 that hits from all sides, right from the start. The debut track, “Breathe In,” is a full seven minute, slow-burning epic, enrapturing from the very beginning. The length is important, mostly because it sets this album apart from the rest of the pack; too often do songs stop short before reaching their full potential. This is not to say that all of 0 requires your undivided attention to appreciate. Take “In the Morning,” which comes in under a minute and a half; it proves that emotion in a message can be palpable, no matter how long it takes to say it:

“I want you to know

I need you to know

I love so much more each morning.”

To read more on my opinion of 0, check out my review from earlier this year, and be sure to check back in with the Music Court for more Low Roar news in the coming weeks.

It is a shame that we have stopped listening to albums. Are we too lazy to give an hour of new sounds a chance? Ruminating on a compilation of one artist’s musings, in the order that they have carefully curated, makes us think critically about what it means to be a true artist. Unfortunately, as with the growing ease to create music, we have an epidemic of everyone being a critic, and dismissing new music from completely unknown artists as quickly as they will laud a new track whose claim to fame is not having any treble. Instead of allowing ourselves the opportunity to internalize something we’ve never heard before, we opt for something easier, something that we don’t need to think critically about. Music is too large a part of all of our lives to waste it on tunes that we’ve heard before, and that we don’t even really care about. If you care about nothing else from this truly disappointing year, care about Low Roar, and pick up a copy of 0 today.

Find more information on Low Roar via their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.