Albums of the year 2014

RDW

Albums, remember them? Some people still buy them, apparently. Enough for the NME, Rolling Stone, Q, The Guardian ('we're down with the kids'), and various trendy websites to publish their annual lists. But none of these matter. Only one list matters. The Bottom Bracket Albums of the Year! So post your nomination(s) here. If two or more people choose the same one, we can even have some sort of poll and announce a winner. Will it be Gastronomicon by Slugdge? Critically acclaimed St Vincent by St Vincent? That record by Damon out of Blur? Only you can decide. Post at least one. Five if you can be arsed. Ten if you're some sort of obsessive muso. A playable link would be handy. A line or two explaining why it doesn't suck would be welcome. Sarcastic criticism of everyone else's choice is encouraged.

Mine is LP1 by FKA twigs ( https://play.spotify.com/album/7mpQVIMZ2iNnAfqodqvdhz ).

So an album without a proper title written, sung and co-produced by a former backing dancer and fashion magazine cover model isn't going to be much good, is it? As it turns out, it's excellent - 40 minutes of intense, hypnotically layered vocals and fractured beats that works as a proper album, not just a bunch of songs bundled together for release. I've not heard anything that comes close to it this year.

Recent live performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-WXVk2ZSxU
Her beautifully strange videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/twigstv

mr_goo

Got to be this. Cannot recall them ever producing a duff album and quite impossible to name my top 5 tracks of all time from them as there are simply too many excellent tracks to choose from.

flipp

+1 for AC/DC or Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways

pblakeney

Well, I only bought nine albums this year.
A bit disappointing but not bad for an old geezer.
In no particular order:-
Mountings by Vandenburg's Moonkings.
Simplicity by Tesla.
Left In The Dark by Tarja.
Roslyn by The Sore Losers.
Futurology by Manic Street Preachers.
The Complete Studio Recordings by Joe Satriani.
Someday World by Brian Eno & Karl Hyde.
Magic Mountain by Black Stone Cherry.
Angus & Julia Stone by Angus & Julia Stone.

I really must listen to Rock Or Bust, and Big Music by Simple Minds.

Let rip if you like. I won't care.

sarm34

AC/DC all the way everything else is just utter pants

RDW

With 3 votes, AC/DC surges to an early lead, unaffected by the sad departure of Malcolm Young or the Phil Rudd case!

rick_chasey

Slim pickings.

Ultraviolence.

exlaser

Ac/dc are always good. But my album of the year is " Going Back Home" by wilko johnson and roger daltrey.

napoleond

Ac/dc do absolutely nowt for me.
Looking back the only album I've bought that was released this year (except classical) was the Pixies one but even then I had most of the songs already from the EPs they released. I've bought a shed load of CDs though.
Might need to start buying Uncut again.

Edit: Syro by Aphex Twin

Another edit: bought the 'new' Pink Floyd album. It's ar5e.

rick_chasey

Ah forgot Syro.

Enjoyed ultraviolence more though - conceptually an interesting album.

Syro's just more of the same (which isn't a bad thing).

RDW

Ultraviolence, the Lana Del Rey album?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQKttFRKBI
Good call, like this.

napoleond

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ah forgot Syro.

Enjoyed ultraviolence more though - conceptually an interesting album.

Syro's just more of the same (which isn't a bad thing).

Need to check that out.

Yeah, I liked Syro but there was nothing 'new' on it so to speak...

Edit: ordered Ultraviolence and her first album too.

src1

St. Vincent is my favourite albums of the year with honourable mentions to Lost in the Dream by The War on Drugs, LP1 by FKA twigs and Our Love by Caribou.

Most disappointing (I was hoping for great things) was Alt-J with This is all Yours. I've tried, but it's just nowhere near as good as their first album.

rick_chasey

NapoleonD wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ah forgot Syro.

Enjoyed ultraviolence more though - conceptually an interesting album.

Syro's just more of the same (which isn't a bad thing).

Need to check that out.

Yeah, I liked Syro but there was nothing 'new' on it so to speak...

Edit: ordered Ultraviolence and her first album too.

First album is pretty weak TBH.

2nd is fantastic. As long as you don't mind a scorned woman whaling and moaning. Basically every character and person in the album is horrible in some form or other.

napoleond

Rick Chasey wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ah forgot Syro.

Enjoyed ultraviolence more though - conceptually an interesting album.

Syro's just more of the same (which isn't a bad thing).

Need to check that out.

Yeah, I liked Syro but there was nothing 'new' on it so to speak...

Edit: ordered Ultraviolence and her first album too.

First album is pretty weak TBH.

2nd is fantastic. As long as you don't mind a scorned woman whaling and moaning. Basically every character and person in the album is horrible in some form or other.

Cancelled the 1st

VTech

Best album of the year for me is Sia with 1000 forms of fear.

Stunning album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTTn0KjHsY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILTZ8qZbNK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEMIvuSRmvE

rick_chasey

NapoleonD wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ah forgot Syro.

Enjoyed ultraviolence more though - conceptually an interesting album.

Syro's just more of the same (which isn't a bad thing).

Need to check that out.

Yeah, I liked Syro but there was nothing 'new' on it so to speak...

Edit: ordered Ultraviolence and her first album too.

First album is pretty weak TBH.

2nd is fantastic. As long as you don't mind a scorned woman whaling and moaning. Basically every character and person in the album is horrible in some form or other.

Cancelled the 1st

Nice one.

Loretta Damage

This year's top listens for me:

Teleman - Breakfast
Daniel Avery - Drone Logic
Elbow - Take Off and Landing of Everything
London Grammar - If You Wait
Temples - Sun Structures

Also bought this year but released in 2013 is Back to Land by Wooden Shjips, probably my personal big find for this year. If you like dirty West Coast Psych with heavy guitars then this if for you. Love it and have down loaded their whole back catalogue.

verylonglegs

I bought 3 released this year, Teleman, First Aid Kit and Royal Blood.

thirstynomad

Pale Communion by Opeth

southdownswolf

Best album for me by far this year is Royal Blood's eponymous debut album.

smoggysteve

Mr Goo wrote:

Got to be this. Cannot recall them ever producing a duff album and quite impossible to name my top 5 tracks of all time from them as there are simply too many excellent tracks to choose from.

Save yourself money buying the new AC/DC album and buy and older one since the all sound exactly the f@*king same anyway.

Ber Nard

Trying to think back on what I've bought that was released this year but one that springs to mind is Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes. Much better than I thought it was going to be.

Ber Nard

Just remembered You're Dead by Flying Lotus. The video for Never Catch Me is brilliant.

laurentian

Indy Cindy - Pixies

napoleond

Just listening to Ultraviolence. It's ace!
Given St Vincent a couple of listens. Meh. First track is ok, rest just sounds exactly the same as each other.

orraloon

Paulo Nutini - Caustic Love. just been listening to him live on R2
Yusuf - Tell 'Em I'm Gone

Flâneur

Sam Smith
Hozier

maybe that is just my current mood. There are albums with better songs out there but as complete works, not many albums have hit me this year, even those that the press tell me should

CHRISNOIR

Best album - Sunn O))) and Scott Walker, 'Soused'. Honourable mention for Aphex Twin.

I can't think of a year when I've bought less albums - certainly current releases.

pipipi

Perturbator "Dangerous Days" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vsf3zYppP4

Normally I'd be voting for ACDC or something similar but this got played on 5Live Film Review (Kermode and Mayo) and it's like an 80s soundtrack to a horror film. Now If you had described it like that I wouldn't have bothered listening but they played it and I was surprised how much I liked it. Slow keyboards with a hint of menace.

Dodgy album cover though!

type:epyt

My album of the year by the proverbial country mile is Conversations by Woman's Hour ... Subtle indie electro sitting somewhere between Dubstar and Cocteau Twins ...

https://soundcloud.com/secretlycanadian ... -her-ghost

Not a great year for albums overall, but honourable mentions to La Roux - Trouble In Paradise, Owlle - France, Oh Land - Earth Sick and Nina Persson - Animal Heart.

edit: Biggest disappointment was Claudia Brucken's 'Where Else' ... maybe it was better when she took 10 years between albums.