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

21 Dec

10299100-576709759114405-8967171133444390332-n-1404933223

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.

Tags: , , , , ,

Top 10 Albums of 2014 – #5: Tremors by SOHN

19 Dec

sohn

A poppier iteration of James Blake, SOHN stole my attention throughout the whole month of April when Tremors dropped. It endured all year, and now here it is, the fifth best album of the year. Because love lost is more than just painful, it’s poetry.

This album does not overwhelm. It remains steady and engaging, but somehow managed to take hold of all my senses as I listened to it. The vocals are soft and endearing, and the lyrics are polite and honest. For all the reasons that it shouldn’t be an album to bother listening to, it becomes an album not to miss.

The opening track, “Tempest,” displays his favorite mixing technique of layering cut melodies over one another to create a rhythm for the song to follow. He adds in gentle lyrics and a bass line, and even some drums make the song danceable. And then he strips it down again, just to enjoy the echoes in the background with the original rhythm. And the rest of the album follows. “The Wheel” makes it very clear that, although his lyrics can seem simple and cliché at times, they work with all the emotional levels of music behind it. “Bloodflows,”my favorite track on the record, gives the appeal of focusing on SOHN’s heartbreak with an average, even banal melody behind the vocals, then breaks my own heart with the riff halfway through the song.

Tremors is not an unexpected album but it pulls no punches. Like your favorite Radiohead album, you are unable to focus on anything but SOHN as the tracks wear on. A beautiful snapshot of the status quo, Tremors is one of 2014’s best albums.

Tremors is out now. For more information on SOHN, visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Soundcloud.

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

19 Dec

11-hozier.w529.h352.2x

 

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 10 Albums of 2014 – #7: Photay by Photay

17 Dec

photay

What a year for Aphex Twin. Syro in its own right is an instant classic, making it onto many of these top ten lists that are going around. He also released a set of tracks that could easily have made up another double-album on his Soundcloud. I’m sure it took a load off, finally releasing material he had written and been working on since the 90s. Coincidentally (or serendipitously?), it was also a good year for longtime fan, Evan Shornstein. As well as probably celebrating new Aphex Twin, Shornstein, under the moniker Photay, celebrated his own (mini) album release.

The eponymous record begins with a detox. I found this ironic, because, rather than have signs of painful withdrawal, the track builds up and foreshadows what is ahead. Then I realized I wasn’t cleansing myself of the toxins of the music, I was using the music to cleanse myself. I let Seafloor lift me up during “Deconstruct”; the sassless horns were my scripture. The brass on the entire album is stunning, complementing the smart basslines and beats. I shuddered at the static tickling my eardrums. “Illusion of Seclusion” is the vinyl finale, promising a wondrous infinite unknown. But the digital bonus tracks won’t just leave it there.

The final three tracks are their own act, all part of the epilogue. It is the evening in a dusty town, where you can hear fun being had without you. You let your nostalgia warm you. (But the seclusion is an illusion.) You are invited inside to dance, and suddenly there are people around you, so many people. You had no idea this many people could even be near you, how many people are there? How small are we in comparison?

Photay (the mini album) is out now via Astro Nautico. (Photay is also a full length release available on his Bandcamp.) For more information on Photay, follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.

Tags:

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

17 Dec

Alt-J_-_This_is_all_yours

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.”

<p>

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.

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →