Albums
of the year
2014
Last year my goal was to shorten the reviews in my annual top albums post, but I failed miserably. This year, however, time was more limited – in a good way luckily (maybe because I interviewed two of my favorite bands: Lush, and Slowdive!) – and I’ve finally reached my goal. That’s even with 20 albums reviewed, up four from last year. I think I’ll keep this introductory shorter as well. As you can see, to the left is a playlist of a song from each of the albums that I think represents what makes each album great. Oh, and it’s Spotify, so you may need to have an account or something, not entirely sure how that works. Figure it out, or check out the song titles to find them somewhere else. Lastly, note these are in no particular order. They’re all great in their own individual ways, and thus albums at the bottom are JUST as important as those at the top. Enjoy, and feel free to comment if you want – and thanks for reading! Or not.
1
Ariel Pink
Pom Pom
Mr Ariel Pink, whose hipster-ness tops every hipster you’ve ever encountered, is back with what’s being called his first solo album, but based on it’s sound and press release, is his most collaborative to date. Before signing to legendary UK indie label 4AD, Pink released a number of home-recorded albums and gained a large cult following, despite, but probably due to the rough DIY aesthetic sound of the releases. I’ve only heard one of those albums, and the quality is not for me, even though I can hear inklings of songs that I would potentially enjoy. Now he’s released his third for 4AD, and it’s a big surprise what a near-masterpiece this is. Don’t get me wrong, Pink continues to annoy the crap out of me on songs like “Jell-o” and even the album’s opener, “Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade”. But then you hear utter gems like “Lipstick”, “Black Ballerina”, “Dayzed Inn Daydreams”, “Not Enough Violence” and “Goth Bomb”, and they are so good it makes you want to investigate these “annoying” songs more. On further listen, the contrast between songs as the incredibly beautiful “Picture Me Gone” and the hilariously insane “Exile on Frog Street”, is what keeps me listening. One moment I can’t believe my ears how a song so beautiful can come from such an oddball of a person, the next I can’t believe that same person created a song that’s so annoying but so perfectly executed I still have to admire it. This album is beautiful, frustrating, fascinating, exhilarating, odd, mysterious, and like any great album leaves you guessing at every moment. It doesn’t get weirder yet more perfect than this. Succumb to its madness.