Search This Blog

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Top 20 albums of 2014



1. Aan - Amor ad Nauseum
So my favorite album this year consists of 9 very great songs of total 9 tracks. The band's own description of their music is this:AAN is a fearless experimental pop band from Portland, Oregon mixing heavily textured guitars with rich vocal harmonies.” I think that suits them well.
Favorite track: “Bubble bath Bop”.



2. Rivulets – I Remember Everything
With only 5 or 6 good songs of a total of 10 tracks, Rivulets' melancholic album really got into my heart.
Favorite track: “Ride On, Molina”



3.Secret Colours - Positive Distractions
With so many good songs it was easy to rank this psychedelic pop/rock album as number three.
Favorite track: “Get to the Sun”. 



4. The Wytches – Annabel Dream Reader
Annabel Dream Reader is a hell of a tough album. It is garage/surf rock with psychedelia of the greatest sort.
Favorite track: “Summer Again”.



5. Thurston Moore – The Best Day
This album reminds me of my favorite Sonic Youth album, “Murray Street”.
My favorite track: “Speak to the Wild”.



6. I Was a King – Isles of Yours
The greatest Norwegian band this year.
Favorite track: “Oslo Share”.



7. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation
BJM's 14th album proves they are still capable to produce a lot of great songs. Their concert at John Dee was one of my favorite shows this year.
My favorite track: “Vad Hände Med Dem?”



8. The Horrors – Luminous
I heard this band for my first time at some bar in Oslo this year, and the bartender urged me to check out The Horrors' latest album. I got hooked.
Favorite track: “So Now You Know”.



9. The Vickers – Ghosts
Finally a great Italian psychedelic rock band! A lot of good pearls on this album.
Favorite track: “All I Need”.



10. Creepoid – S/T
Creepoid's second album is a bit darker, heavier and better than the first one.
Favorite track: “Sunday”.



11. Mark Lanegan Band – Phantom Radio
Not as good as “Funeral Blues”, but it has a lot of quality songs.
Favorite track: “The Killing Season”. 



12. Dark Horses – Hail Lucid State
British stunning psych-rock with a pinch of electronica. A new band for me, makes me want to check out their previous two albums.
Favorite track: “Live on Hunger”.



13. Ultimate Painting – S/T
The Guardian gave this album full score, and that is quite reasonable. The cheerful rock is easy to enjoy, it reminds me of The Clean, Liam Finn and even Mazes and Veronica Falls, the bands the two members are from.
Favorite track: “Ten Street”. 



14. Die Nerven – Fun
The German punk/noise/garage rock band is grand. The music is raw and some of songs make my head bang without noticing.
Favorite track: “Rückfall”. 



15. Total Control – Typical System
When I first listened to “Flesh War” I thought this Australian band would give me an album ranked in my top five. That track is superb, post-punk influenced, makes me think of Joy Division. The rest of the songs are unfortunately not in the same quality, but there are still some other highlights.
Favorite track: “Flesh War”.



16. Parquet Courts - Content Nausea
This American garage/rock band gave out two full length albums this year. They should waited, collected the material and given out one instead, in my opinion. The thing is, Content Nausea has maybe four or five really great songs, the rest of the album consists of short “in-between songs” and noisy annoying tracks. The music is a bit similar to Pavement and The Clean.
Favorite track: “Uncast Shadow Of A Southern Myth”. 



17. Tweedy – Sukierae
Jeff Tweedy, foreman of Wilco, has delivered a long nice album consisting of twenty (!) nice songs of different calibers. I think about seven of them are noticeable good, the rest is a bit monotonous.
Favorite track: “Slow Love”. 



18. Yuko – Long Sleeves Cause Accidents
This exciting Belgian band reminds me of Radiohead and Blonde Redhead. A great album.
Favorite track: “Justine Part 1”.



19. Gulp – Season Sun
Welsh indie pop quartet that reminds me a bit of Electrelane and the Low Frequency in Stereo.
Favorite track: “Seasoned Sun”.



20. Spoon – They Want My Soul
There are about three really cool tracks on this album, and that is that.
Favorite track: “Inside Out”.






Albums from 2013 that I liked a lot:
Courtney Barnett - The Double ep
The Wave Pictures - City Forgiveness
Tripwires - Spacehopper
Kevin Morby - Harlem River
Dead rabbits - the Ticket That Exploded
Toy - Join the Dots
The Underground Youth - the Perfect Enemy for God
Grim Tower - Anarchic Breezes
Kiev - Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth
Flyying Colours - s/t

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Babadook (2014) – 7,5/10
Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) – 8/10
Before I Disappear (2014) – 9/10
Groundhog Day (1993) – 7/10
I Origins (2014) – 9/10
The Equalizer (2014) – 8/10
Gone Girl (2014) – 9/10, better than the book

Gave up:
  • The Newsroom Season 1 (after episode 7)
  • What We Do in the Shadows (2014)