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Top Albums of 2014 – #4: Strange Desire by Bleachers

21 Dec

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Back in November I lauded Bleachers as the purveyors of ridiculously catchy music that refused to leave the musical amalgamation that is my mind. My opinion of the band has not really changed; although, I must say that Jack Antonoff’s project has moved in my mind from just plain catchy to musically skilled and complex; Antonoff melds a theatrical pop sound fit with expeditious percussion and dulcet instrumentation with the essential quality of catchiness, which the songs most certainly have.

Bleachers released its debut LP Strange Desire in July of this year and several singles have been cherry picked from the album, each cherry perfectly ripe and delicious. Singles like “I Wanna Get Better” and “Rollercoaster” have hit the charts with a mini fervor, similar to Antonoff’s last uber-successful project (Fun). I think the songs have also just scratched the surface of popularity; in fact, I see a remarkably successful 2015 for Antonoff and his fellow bandmates.

Strange Desire is an 11-track affair with tracks featuring Grimes and Yoko Ono – yes, Yoko Ono. The first four tracks are all super hits in my mind; seriously, the tracks are each monumental jaunty pop pieces that get feet tapping and heads nodding. The ethereal, heavenly keys and 80s-esque harmony of “Wild Heart” is followed by the key-driven, percussion-soaked harmony-laden swooning “Rollercoaster,” which is the perfect hit-the-road-and-drive-anywhere song. This is followed by an Arcade Fire-like “Shadow,” which moves with a creative rhythm section and ends with a twangy guitar riff that leads into this:

“I Wanna Get Better,” which is one of the best songs of the year, is a melodic agglutination of anthem vocals, sprawling harmonies, infectious keys, and rock-out percussion. The song just kicks some much butt, and it is tempting to just listen to it on repeat. Plus, I must say it fits the New Years theme quite well because doesn’t everyone want to get better.

Check out more from Bleachers on its website, Facebook, or Twitter.

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Top 10 Albums of 2014 – #6: Hozier by Hozier

19 Dec

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Andrew Hozier-Byrne has always had a great voice; the son of a musician and former vocalist for Irish choral group Anúna, Hozier, as he is known mononymously, features a soulful, canonical croon that creates a saturnine environment that is as deep and dark as it is oddly inviting and pious. Hozier is a vocal contradiction – a paradoxical combination of ardor and mournfulness. His music follows along with the formula, bluesy and lugubrious mixed with Stax records southern soul and upbeat Black Keys’ like rhymes. It is inviting and mesmerizing; one is immediately attracted to Hozier’s voice and rhythm; plus, the lyrics feature an eclectic gospel religiousness that only the credulous would believe is reverent.

Hozier released his eponymous first album back in September, and the album features staples like “From Eden” and “Take Me to Church.” It received predominately positive criticism when it was released and is looked at favorably in the top 10 album lists, including the Music Court’s list. While many cite the two songs above as those that spark the album’s daedalus and popularity, I have been drawn to a different song: “Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene.

The song begins with segmented guitar that bounces with the rhythm like a downcast Christmas song. This drives into a percussion-riff, harmonized chorus that uses Fleet Foxes-like harmony and a Black Keys-like solo to wrap it us; in this chorus, Hozier reveals his vocal range, which is quite impressive.

The 13-track release is a passionate debut by a rising Indie/rock superstar. It is well worth a close listen straight through. You’ll be surprised with Hozier’s exciting diversity. He is a musical chameleon; he can change into mostly anything. Listen and enjoy.

Enjoy this cover of “We are Young” by Hozier (just for kicks).

Top Albums of 2014 – #8: “This is All Yours” by alt-J

17 Dec

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English Indie band alt-J (actually a Latin delta – alt-J on a keyboard gives you a delta) is actually very much like the symbol that gives the band its name. alt-J, like a delta, is perfectly harmonious and synchronized, a equal splash of 3 lines all meeting together to form a perfect triangle. alt-J, similarly, is an array of colorful sounds, a palette of droning Indie pop/rock that sticks to you like a hot summer day and, like that day, blazes a warm sun on you and invites you to get soaked by the tunes.

This is All Yours, the band’s second studio album, is a 13-track testament to how to create a successful album. The album swoons to a mystical rhythm that creates a wonderful array of music – like the colors on the album – that is just delightful. It has met with tremendous success since its release in September of this year. Perhaps the best track on the album is the one that has received the most play of late, “Left Hand Free.”

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The song’s initial riff is gruff like gravel and the vocals match it – it’s almost like a calculated move by an older drunk individual who is able to control his alcohol; I mean that as a dear compliment. There is also something quite malicious and mischievous about the music; I feel like something bad is happening, but I don’t know what it is. It’s strange. It doesn’t sound like anything around today, and because of this unidentifiable swagger – fit with synth horns and 60s keyboard – the song and album finds a way onto the Music Court track.

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Top 10 Albums of 2014 – #10: After the Disco by Broken Bells

15 Dec

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There was a time, I figure, in the wee morning hours of a Saturday in the 1970s when the last remaining bell-bottomed disco dancers stumbled onto the street, tired and bedraggled with sweat and the last remnants of a Donna Summers song, when the disco was physically empty but still bulging with the swollen heat of the night. In that small gap before the clean-up crew cleansed the disco in advance of another night of musical debauchery is where I picture Broken Bells’ second LP release, After the Disco, set and recorded. I have this image of band members James Mercer and Brian Burton climbing onto the weary stage and playing a few tracks to a crowd of memories; the music, a delightful mix of spacey modern disco tracks mixed with an alternative rock groove 20-30 years before its time. This thought exhilarates me, so much so that After the Disco is #10 on the list of top albums of 2014.

After the success of its eponymous debut in 2010 and follow-up EP in 2011, Broken Bells, a super-group made up of Shins’ frontman Mercer and revered producer Burton, was urged to release a follow-up, and After the Disco is that, a wildly entertaining, drawn-out, alt/space/rock agglutination of musical influences and decades. The album was recorded with a 4-piece choir and the 17-piece Angel City String Orchestra, which was conducted by Daniele Luppi, Danger Mouse’s partner on the 2011 album Rome. The album met with much praise, reaching the top spot on the Billboard Top Rock Album and Alternative Album chart and #3 on the Top 200 Albums list. It is an 11-track ode to music in the late 70s and early 80s, a depiction of a difficult musical transition that featured fizzling disco and incipient punk.

“Holding on for Life” is the top track on the album. It features the airy voice of Mercer in front of a tamed disco-like beat that shines like a slowed disco ball, almost like a disco track slowed down to a steady but unhurried pace. It is a song that just needs to be listened to, so I will let it do the talking.

You can check out the rest of the album on Broken Bells’ website. Make sure to follow the band on Facebook and Twitter

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Top 10 Songs of 2014 – #2: “Mess is Mine” by Vance Joy

10 Dec

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Vance Joy (James Keogh) is not afraid of messes. A veteran of the Victorian Football League (before he left behind is football career to pursue music), Vance Joy, I’m sure, experienced many messy situations on the field. Heck, the mess might have been his, but the #2 song of 2014 is tinged with a bit of irony, because there is nothing messy about “Mess is Mine,” and there lies the draw of Vance Joy’s delightful tunes.

Since the release of “Riptide” in 2013, Vance Joy has taken the singer-songwriter genre by the storm; he has even received a good amount of mainstream radio play from the song, which peaked in the Top 10 on music charts in five countries. That was 2013, though, and this is a 2014 list. Vance Joy did release his first studio LP Dream Your Life Away in July, however, and with the album came the single “Mess is Mine.”

What makes this song good? The opening riff is inviting like a warm home or cup of hot cacao. Vance Joy’s conversational vocal turns him into a polish troubadour, and he sings with an effortless quality that is refreshing. The percussion varies from what sounds like a muted snare hit to organized hand claps, much in the vein of a less produced Phillip Phillips song. An old man river lead-in culminates into an ardent chorus followed by an agglutination of instruments and a Ritter-like howl. The song combines so many influences into a sprawling piece of vocal and instrumental beauty; it is pastoral in its simplicity, and the string-laden bridge is wonderful. Excellent song from a tremendous new artist – expect a whole lot more from Vance Joy.

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