Archive | Top 10 Songs and Albums of 2014 RSS feed for this section

Top 10 Songs of 2014 – #6: “Duvan” by Amason

6 Dec

amason

I would like to whisk us off to Sweden for a moment, where the artist behind our #6 top single of 2014 resides. Amason is a quintet comprised of busy musicians, almost all of them associated with other projects, including Dungen, Idiot Wind, and Miike Snow. They’ve pooled their talents for Amason’s debut EP, but “Duvan” is the first taste we’ve gotten of their upcoming album, Sky City.

This is what indie rock should be. The upbeat tempo drives you through the song, but the lead vocals and notable whoo-hoos from Amanda Bergman are gripping. I also am partial to lyrics that don’t make sense, which I think Amason delivers fairly well here. I get the sense that this is a song about a relationship (aren’t they all?), but specifics are beyond me. Well done.

Amason released an EP last year with five songs that have somehow placated their fan base until now. They released the tracklist for their upcoming LP, and the only duplicate tracks from the EP are “Älgen” and “Went to War,” so I am excited to hear the other 9 new tracks (not including “Duvan”). I have listened to “Duvan” at least 100 times, and I still love it; if the whole album holds up as well as that single does, then Amason may have a top album of 2015 on their hands. For now, though, “Duvan” will have to stick with being a top track of 2014.

Sky City will be out 1/27 on Fairfax Recordings. Find more information on Amason on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.

Tags:

Top Songs of 2014 – #7: “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance

6 Dec

milky-chance-530205dad2d35

 

We are bending the rules for the next hit. Milky Chance, the eccentric German folk/rock duo, hit it big with its hit “Stole Dance” (our only band/song rhyming couple on the list) in 2013. And when I say big, I mean really big. Seemingly countless charts (usually in the top 10) and 500,000 sales in the United States. While I first heard of this song back in 2013 because if its tremendous popularity around the globe, it didn’t truly take off on U.S. radio stations until 2014, and much of the country first heard of the hit in 2013. That said, “Stolen Dance” is finding its way onto the 2014 chart at #7.

After three years of work on this song, Clemens Rehbein and Philipp Dausch released it in 2013 and it almost immediately found tremendous success; it has eclipsed 90 million YouTube views as I write this. The reason for the success is simple; the song is excellent.

The song, which tells the story of intense loneliness, features music that matches the melancholy lyric. Clemens Rehbein’s voice is drenched in a lagubrious tone that matches the lightly plucked guitar and persistent electronic percussion. The chorus is a bit livelier, but the song is majestic because of its ostensible monotone. In all reality though, Rehbein and Dausch create a song that creates the impression of bedragglement. Yes, that is a partial neologism. Initially the listener thinks the song is eclectic, weird, and tries to run through it to avoid getting poured on, but around a minute into the piece the listener acquiesces and just allows the song to pour over them like an immense rainstorm. In that there is some serious beauty. Well done sirs!

Find out more about the band on its Facebook, Twitter, and Webesite

Tags: , , , ,

Top 10 Songs of 2014 – #8: “Almost Human” by Monarchy

4 Dec

Monarchy

There are many layers to beautiful music. The songs that truly stand out tend to make their mark with a combination of moving lyrics, memorable vocals, perhaps even an earworm of a hook. But it’s the emotion behind the music that brings us back over and over to gush over how much we love it. Monarchy takes note of this and pulls no punches with the title track of their latest EP, “Almost Human.”

Before you grimace at me for sharing a song that is completely autotuned, internalize those vocals. This is not just a love song, it is an embodiment of what love can do. We expect autotune from Monarchy, being a successful electronic duo, but it has a true purpose here: a song that proclaims to be “almost human” with natural vocals is a lie. With a voice that is convincingly not human, these lyrics gain honesty.

Now revel in the other of the layers of this track. The a capella hums and harmonies alone are enough to stop anyone in their tracks. The lyrics are written like a sappy love letter, but sung as if those feelings would never fade.

“Come be free don’t be afraid anymore
You and me, we’ll cast off our burdens

Now, now we can smile for love
Shine for eternity in our love
All the riches of your heart are mine
No one could better your design
And you, you make me feel almost human

Dark was the road, tires spitting stones at us
Falling down, we’ve been to bed with recklessness

Nothing else matters with you in my world

Nothing else matters with you in my world

Nothing else matters with you in my world…”

As a bonus, you can immerse yourself in a seven-and-a-half minute rendition of “Almost Human,” slowed to 98 BPM. And they took out the spatial electronics in the background, so you don’t miss a single word. Nurture it, download it, cry with it. This is a special piece of music. It stuck with me, and has earned its rightful place as one of the best tracks released this year.

Buy Monarchy’s EP, “Almost Human,” here. Find more info on the duo on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, and YouTube.

Top 10 Songs of 2014 – #9: “Beware the Dog” by The Griswolds

4 Dec

The Griswolds

Formed in 2012 and signed to Wind-up Records in 2013, The Griswolds continued its meteoric rise to Indie stardom in 2014 with the release of its first album Be Impressive in August. And impressive it was. Tremendously impressive. The Sydney-based band’s infectious style of sticky pop tunes that beat around your mind like a maniacal drum circle is simply unavoidable. Unavoidable. This might be the best one-word description I can give to the #9 song on the Music Court’s top 10 countdown: “Beware the Dog”

The first song vocalist Chris Whitehall and lead guitarist Daniel Duque-Perez wrote together, “Beware the Dog” combines an odd lyric with a Spanish-style beat carried by an unavoidable guitar riff; there is that word again. Seriously, though, just listen to that riff: simple, clean, and catchy as heck! The song moves with creative percussion and island synth, but perhaps most impressive is the choral call and response that peaks with the wonderful line:

“We used to walk where the wild things grow
But now you’re f**king crazy.”

The song continues with chants at the bridge and a culmination of all instrumentation and vocals that wraps up the song wonderfully. It’s a ditty in every sense of the word, but one that drips with true melodic weight and a mixture of lyrical sarcasm and seriousness. Put simply, the song is enjoyable and as catchy as the cold, but it is a cold you just want to keep getting. If this is what 2014 held for the Griswolds, I for one cannot wait for the upcoming years!

For more information on the Griswolds visit the band’s Facebook, Twitter, or Website

Tags: , , , ,

Top 10 Songs of 2014 – #10: “Something Had to Give” by COMPNY

2 Dec

compny

To kick off our Top Ten Singles of 2014, I present you with a catchy, hymn-like tune from British newcomers, COMPNY.

Selfishly, this takes a spot in my top songs solely due to those first few piano notes; every time I hear them, I think of “Falling,” the theme song of David Lynch’s masterful Twin Peaks. That is to say, I was immediately pulled in by the prospect of mystery and darkness. The song is much brighter than this though, which is what held my attention. The choir of voices that chant the track’s chorus is too pleasing to ignore. Turn this track up, leave it on repeat for a few hours, and you’ll come back world-weary, full of melancholy. But that’s where we thrive.

You can buy COMPNY’s debut AA-side single, “Begging Me to Come Back”/“Something Had To Give” here. Connect with COMPNY via Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, and YouTube.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →