Top Ten Albums of 2014

While 2014 wasn’t a terrific year for music I still found myself branching out and actually listening to more. As a result I actually had a harder than usual time compiling this list and there are plenty of albums that deserve some sort of mention that I just don’t have the time to write about. Releases from the likes of Hauschka, Young Windows, Phantogram, Flying Lotus, Boren and Der Club of Gore, blah blah blah. I just haven’t had the time to really give everything a chance, I haven’t even listened to the new Wu-Tang or At the Gates albums once for God’s sake. Anyway, here’s some notables before I get to the top ten.
Cynic – Kindly Bent to Free Us

Metal-heads will gorge themselves on complaining about when a prog-metal band becomes decidedly less metal (see two of my choices on the list below) but I’ve never understood why with a band like Cynic. Let’s face it, Focus was in 1993 and even it was chock full of the melodic fusion and almost jazzy prog riffing that Cynic has since become known for, they’ve never been very much of a death metal band. However it’s not the lack of heaviness that made Kindly Bent to Free Us fall short of my list. While still a great modern prog-rock album, KBtFU more or less just further explores the melodic moments of Traced in Air rather than making the kind of creative leap that that particular album presented. Then again, that album was also preceded by a 15 year silent gap, so maybe modern day Cynic are now just finally getting comfortable.

Mogwai – Rave Tapes

I never thought I’d see the day when a new Mogwai album doesn’t make it onto my annual top ten list, but while Rave Tapes is satisfactory through and through, it seems to lack the dynamic bombast that commonly flavors the Scotts’ music. This album stands as an exploration of the more “rock” side of Mogwai’s sound.

Helms Alee – Sleepwalking Sailors

I don’t know if Helms Alee got alot better or if I was just an idiot when I gave them an initial listen back in their Hydra Head days, but Sleepwalking Sailors was one of the freshest heavy music releases that I heard all year. This record avoids all the usual sludge rock tropes with song construction that’s smart, unpredictable, accessible, and heavy in all the right places without ever wearing thin. Speaking of their former label, you can rely on exceptional things in store when a band moves from Hydra Head to Sargent House. Colossal, fuzzed-out bass rides with ritualistic, pounding percussion and Ben Verellen’s other-worldly howls when the post-punk clean guitars and vocal harmonies aren’t lulling you into a false sense of security.

Boris – Noise

I wrote a review on this in an entry not too long ago so I don’t feel as I have much more to say about this one, but this and the next three albums are ones that were very close to making it to the top ten. Noise is quintessential Boris in that it’s heavy, fun, and truly all over the place stylistically.

BadBadnotGood – 3

Who would have known what BBnG had in them once they stopped the hip-hop covers? Although in all fairness I think it took the previous two albums’ worth of growth and touring for these kids to get to the point where they could release an album like this one. This record transcends all that they’ve previously done and also transcends any potential pigeon-holing in the process, it’s just good instrumental music.

Swans – To be Kind

I already know the hearesy I’ve committed to some by not including this one in the top ten, but I’m pretty sure I would if I simply had more time to let it grow. So far it hasn’t hit me as hard as The Seer did, but it’s already clear to me that this is an exceptionally varied and ambitious record that delivers the kind of ritualistic intensity that Swans fans expect. Another triumph for Gira and company, harrowing and enlightening as always.

Steve Reich – Radio Rewrite

I’m ashamed to say I didn’t realize this came out this year until about last week, especially since the compositions of Steve Reich have probably been the thing that I’ve listened to the most this year. Jonny Greenwood’s performance of Electric Counterpoint is stunning enough, and I have a feeling that this one would ended up in the top five if I simply had gotten it in time and really let it sink in.

Top ten albums of 2014:

10. Temples – Sun Structure

I didn’t know this band until I happened to catch their set at ACL, which ended up being by far the best thing I heard all weekend. While their live performance certainly had more “oomph” as they sometimes do with loud volumes and rows of state of the art monitors, it’s still no secret that the mock late 60’s era production quality was still a big part of what Temples were going for here. It’s been ridiculed by some as being too faithful of a reproduction of the kind of records that this band has obviously been influenced by, but Sun Structure makes up for it’s fabled “lack of freshness/originality” with some seriously good songs. Anyone can ape the sounds of their favorite era of music, but not everyone can write songs that stand toe to toe with their biggest influences. “Golden Throne” is covered in dark, sexy haze while “Keep in the Dark” is jaunty, late 60’s FM radio. “Mesmerize” easily stands out as the strongest song, but the thing that makes Sun Structure so great is that it’s pretty consistent in supplying quality tracks even when they display considerably different moods. Only time will tell if Temples have it in them to rise above the over-satured “psych-pop” label, but for now they’re doing more than just hitting the Echorec then channeling Strawberry Alarm Clock and Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd.

9. Alcest – Shelter

It makes sense that when the French Deafheaven (yes, I know Alcest came first) becomes the French Sigur Ròs some polarizing opinions will flare up. And when a fan of atmospheric black metal drops a needle on a track like “Opale” some seriously pissed-off and not so politically correct words will appear on message boards. Not only am I not usually taken to this brand of belly-aching, but another one of the reasons that I learned to love Shelter is that I never really listened to it expecting anything in particular. Honestly I don’t even really listen to it as a post-rock album, I see Shelter the same way I see M83: a fun combination of shoegaze flavor in dreamy dance pop. I can admit that the aforementioned “Opale” is saccharine and hams it up too much, but tracks like “Delivrance” still hold some of the dark European under-current that made Alcest’s former albums so engaging. Shelter is certainly an emotionally evocative album, but it’s not for everyone.

8. Nothing – Guilty of Everything

I still think that the hype-train wrongfully put this album way ahead of their excellent Downward Years to Come EP in everyone’s minds, but there’s still no arguing that this is potentially the best shoegaze being made right now. All the components are here: bleak lyrics, walls of fuzz/reverb, hushed vocals, and bright melodies that will stay wedged in your brain while still bringing about that dull, forlorn ache that only well executed early 90’s rock can. But Nothing wouldn’t be anything special if they simply recited the rule book. Instead they leave their footprint on the washed-out punk of “Bent Nail” and the superb title track, which lulls you in with it’s cleverly docile chord changes before the walls fall around you in the chorus. The influences aren’t hard to point out, but Guilty of Everything is a grower that shows in time that it stands toe to toe with it’s predecessors. Bring the earplugs if you’re going to see them live.

7. Opeth – Pale Communion

There’s a reason that the two decade old Swedish prog-metal band Opeth have done pretty well for themselves and maintained enviable fan crossover. They’ve always been exceptionally good at making albums that listen like nice, juicy love letters to those of us who like our prog mischevious and dancing in the woods with dark elves at midnight. Yet they make it palatable and well-produced enough that it goes down nice and smooth regardless of whether you’re a modern extreme metal fan, a 50 year-old with a faded Yes t-shirt, or maybe something else entirely. Pale Communion offers no new surprises, but by continuing to leave out the death growls that were absent in 2011’s Heritage it leaves the evil to be discovered in other ways. Keys make up a huge part of Pale Communion‘s sonic repertiore including, of course, the sinister Deep Purple-esque organ that has become the salt and pepper of Opeth’s past decade worth of material. The songs themselves are as well-constructed as always; complex yet always well-rooted and surprisingly accessible. The performances are stellar and Martin Mendez is as always, a very adept yet tasteful bass player for this band.

There’s nothing here that metal-heads would traditionally call “heavy”, but most of us will hear the abundance of evil in “Cusp of Eternity” and “Goblin”. At the end of the day this is still melodic Opeth at their best though, if you didn’t like albums like Damnation or Heritage then you’re likely to hate songs like “River” and “Faith in Others”. However I tend to think that these lighter moments yield some of Mikeal’s best songwriting yet. Pale Communion gets it right where you expect it to, but it’s lack of identity leaves a little something to be desired and doesn’t rank anywhere near as high in my book as albums like Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, or even Watershed, but still, if you’re a fan of this kind of thing I don’t need to tell you this is quality stuff.

6. Mastodon – Once More Round the Sun

Despite the fact that there are songs on Mastodon’s latest LP that are monsters, the main reason I can’t see it as ranking as high as their past records is the lack of identity that Once More Round the Sun possesses. While each previous Mastodon album made a distinct statement and moved forward from the last, this latest one tends to feel like The Hunter pt.2 in alot of places. In that I simply mean that the band’s signature sludge and prog blend has become so embedded in their sound that you can still hear it plenty in this simpler, more condensed songs, but that only occasionally are they using these tools to build something completely new (Aunt Lisa, etc.). However there are far worse things and Once More Round the Sun is still a plenty worthy Mastodon record.

The opener “Tread Lightly” is an absolute beast and shows how capable Mastodon have become at creating melodic metal/hard rock songs while still keeping their trademark aggression intact. The song’s main riff is as complex as it is badass and Troy’s howling has hardly sounded more urgent or menacing that it does in this chorus. It even has an awesomely triumphant bridge, and at barely over 5 minutes the song hits all the sweet spots. However, even though the structure is largely recycled, songs like “The Motherload” and “High Road” are almost too catchy and feel like the band’s attempt at classic metal radio, even with the latter sporting the heaviest Mastodon riff since Leviathan. The production is glossy but not as overpolished as The Hunter, and Troy’s bass grinds along without the buzzy underlying tone he used to be known for. While things taper off a bit in the middle the album builds it’s strength back up in the last several tracks. The guys chose an awesome ending and yet another opportunity to feature Scott Kelly of Neurosis, but this time it’s actually for the closest thing to a Neurosis song that Mastodon have ever come. While Mastodon didn’t exactly floor me with this record, they’re still the band you know and love.

5. Watter – This World

Watter’s debut LP might not be thought of as an album intended to “wow” or make waves amongst critics and the popular music forum, but that my friends, is why I’m not a regular music critic. This World is an cornucopia of rich sounds set to “steamroll” and you better be ready to commit yourself to it if you want to know it’s greatness. Watter is a newly formed group made up of contributors from Grails and Slint and even features bass work from the legendary Tony Levin of King Crimson (and many others) fame. Combine that with the fact that this record was released on Temporary Residence and it pretty much goes on this list by default. But even though you’re expecting awesomeness, it’s the ways in how this album is awesome that will surprise you. The low end stalks and shifts while arrays of synths/keys and various electric/acoustic guitars slowly convene on a pilgramage for a sort of sonic enlightenment .When not brooding on the slow-burning kraut/psych/post-rock of songs like “Rustic Fog” Watter might just pull something out like the synth driven, minor key, and fairly uptempo rock of “Digital Camo”. The arrangements are simple enough but this is a sonic voyage. As a result, it might be the anticipation for the payoff that comes with “Small Business”, but when it comes time for that by-the-book pentatonic riff to appear at 5:35 it tears out of your speakers with an assuredness you wouldn’t expect.

4/3. Mono – The Last Dawn/Rays of Darkness

I don’t consider this cheating since I’m taking up spaces 4 and 3, but I really can’t decide which of Mono’s new duel LPs I love more. Which is fitting really when you think of how the band meant for these to be sister albums to indulge the polar extremes of what they do. I’ve always regarded Mono to be of the highest order in the whole post-rock business but they knew that they couldn’t go on making the same heart-wrenching album forever. While For My Parents may have showed them exploring a more neo-classical compositional style it still left something to be desired. The same cannot be said for these two records though, both of them together not only re-instate all the reasons that this band is so incredible at what they do but it also gives new ones. However, each of these records deserves to reviewed individually to be fair.

The Last Dawn was to be thought of as the lighter and more agreeable record, yet the gorgeous “Kanata” still sneaks in some uneasy piano chords. Even when reaching for their most melodic effort it’s impossible for Mono to not be the most creative band in their genre. They even tread some new ground with the jubilant pop-gaze of “Where We Begin”, one of the only Mono songs I can recall done in a major key. It turns out on this piece and “Cyclone” that even on Mono’s lighter side you can’t escape the tremolo-picked wall of sound that you expect from them. Even without it’s other half, The Last Dawn is good enough that it would have been a worthy release and better than For My Parents

As I’m hoping you’ve guessed, Rays of Darkness is the darker record. I was surprised to find that “darker” didn’t necessarily mean “sludgier” this time around given the almost post-metal of certain tracks from You Are There. Once I gave myself time to fully absorb this record I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard though. The first track is apocalyptic post-rock with dissonant pitch bends and Mono’s usual crescendo prowress. While I said that this album doesn’t suggest post-metal there are still few bands outside of that genre who aren’t GY!BE that can make an ending this jarringly intense and emotional at the same time. The next track is something completely different altogether; a hypnotic riff that surprisingly doesn’t crescendo and that different instruments such as horns arrive with different variations on. The song does still move at a glacial pace though, and despite the riff’s simplicity it’s beauty grows with each repetition. The second half of the album is pure, cathartic, emotional purging, showing that even with Tetsuya of Envy supplying screamed vocals that Mono still perform chamber rock with the virtuosity and knowledge of a world renowned symphony, but with the heart of a punk band.

2. Madlib and Freddie Gibbs – Pinata

The highly anticipated collaboration LP between Madlib and Freddie Gibbs isn’t just the best hip-hop album of the year, it renders almost all the hip-hop I’ve heard this decade obsolete. Legendary producer/dj/rapper/multi-instrumentalist Madlib has had no trouble before proving that his trademark beats and sampling style are all that are needed for a winning combination with emcees like MF Doom and I don’t need to tell you that the (not) arguably perfect Madvilliany brought out the best in both of them. This LP may be every bit as good, but Freddie is a much different emcee that Doom, so anyone expecting the same experience is in for a surprise. Gibbs spits pure fire on every one of these tracks, while I’ll admit his flow gets close to Tupac’s territory here and there it’s still a welcome change for modern rap. He’s also not exactly working in the same lyrical realm as the other Stones Throw emcees that you might be more commonly used to hearing with Madlib’s beats, as titles like “Thuggin'” can probably clue you in on. But I’ve got to give the guy credit and say that despite how hard his lyrics are, if they weren’t intelligent and well thought-out then this album wouldn’t be anywhere near as awesome as it is.

Madlib’s side of the collab shows his beats a little more reigned in than on certain records, you won’t hear quite as many of his bizarre and obscure samples but it ends up working toward the records’ strength. The beats are so Dilla-esque in some places that you might almost forget who you are listening to, but I’ve always said that if there would ever be another Dilla it would be this dude. If you’re unsure that this chocolate and peanut butter combination couldn’t get any better just check out the smooth, head-bob bliss of “High”… or any other song off Pinata really. Easily the best rap album I’ve heard since 2009.

1. Pink Floyd – the Endless River

Come on, did you really think that anything else but the first Pink Floyd studio album in 20 years would end up at number one of my year-end list? When else will I get an opportunity to put a Pink Floyd album at number 1? But jokes aside, I couldn’t honestly put this album at the top if I didn’t think it deserved to be there, but that’s not to say that we’re dealing with Animals or Meddle here. I’ve always thought that David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason did a pretty good job with The Division Bell, it wasn’t perfect by any means but it made sense for what a Pink Floyd album in the 90’s should have been. Therefore, with the majority of this new LP having been written and recorded during the same time period, I had realistic expectations. However, I was pleased to see those expectations exceeded in ways.

The main reason I find The Endless River hard to compare with the rest of the Pink Floyd back catalogue is also the main reason I was so excited for it; the fact that it’s entirely instrumental except for one song. While in my opinion, their greatest moments have always come during the pieces where they were allowed to stretch out a little (Echoes, Shine On you Crazy Diamond, etc.) I was still surprised about how the lack of vocals makes this album feel pretty un-Pink Floyd overall. But that’s not to say that I think vocals/lyrics should have been forced, the grand appeal of The Endless River is that it’s a musical, wordless cinematic journey, the theme that it fits is up to you. When playing this one for the first time a smile crept across my face when “It’s What We Do” started. Here’s a song that sounds like a cross between “Welcome to the Machine” and a movement of “Shine On…” kicking off an album that I was worried would be too contemporary. As always, Gilmour’s guitar is tasteful yet at the forefront, with gentle touches of E-bow guitar to go along with his usual strat/fuzz/delay combo of choice. While right off the rip the sounds are largely textural in an almost new-age Brian Eno manner, this is still Pink Floyd. Wright is all over this thing on every track too, with his signature Hammond, Farfisa, VCS3 synths, etc. The keyboard player is seemingly the driving force for alot of this record which serves as a great farewell to such a great artist.

Side 1 flows steadily in usual Floyd down-to-mid tempo while the drama is upped a little on Side 2. Mason gives some nice drum theatrics on “Skins”, but I have my disagreements with how “Anisina” was done. As a major key piano ballad that could have been on A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the band makes the poor choice of putting saxophone and clarinet here of all places when they would have worked much better on several of the other pieces. It definitely takes away from the song, but Side 3 starts to pick up the slack. “Allons-Y” parts 1 and 2 harken back to the up-tempo, guitar-driven rock of “Run Like Hell”, and are incredibly bridged by Wright’s haunting playing of the Royal Albert Hall church organ from when they played there in 1968. That they had a recording of this and made it work with the record so well is an impressive feat alone. But the true gripping beauty of the album resides in side 4, with the less rock but more evocative moments such as “Calling”. The album’s single and only song with vocals “Louder than Words” is solid post-Waters Floyd, even with trademark female backing vocals and a lush coda, but the lyrics fall short of really standing up to Pink Floyd quality.

The Endless River is great enough I agree that the material warranted releasing, but it still makes you wonder what David and Nick would be capable of if they got back together and did a true collaboration with Roger Waters. But then again given the wordless dreaminess of this final (supposedly) release I can’t help but think they might not have much to agree on these days musically. If nothing else, one cannot contest that The Endless River is a smooth-flowing and seemlessly arranged record that takes a legendary name into perhaps the only territory where it would really make sense in 2014. RIP Richard Wright.