Year End Round Up: Favorite Tracks of 2014
Alright. More than half way into January 2015, here are my favorite tracks of 2014. I spent this year discovering a lot of older music, but here's a list of all the tracks that I listened to on repeat and that were (almost) all released in 2014. The list is in no particular order.
TL;DR? I also compiled all the tracks that are available into a SoundCloud playlist.
Caribou- Can’t Do Without You
The groove is infectious, and the steady swell of the track blossoms into what turned out to be the soundtrack of my summer.
Powerful political and personal statement from Mike Hadreas. The perfect pop sensibilities of this track embolden the underlying intensity of his message. Plus the video is epic.
My Brightest Diamond- Pressure
I have to admit certain bias here, as my choir babes from Khorikos provided back up vocals on this track. That being said it's a layered and engaging track that features the outstanding vocals and arrangements that I've come to expect from Shara Worden. And a marching band on speed.
Teen Flirt ft. Denise Gutiérrez- Her Fake Name is Sofia
Denise Gutiérrez released some great collaborations this year, but this one is my favorite. The video complements the track beautifully, creating a visual account that feels like a series of stolen moments.
Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting on You)
This track came out right before my birthday, and probably was at least 80% responsable for getting me through the dismal New York winter. The Polar Vortex stood no chance against Samuel Herring and his sweet, sweet dance moves.
St. Vincent- Digital Witness
Annie Clark is my spirit animal. Another pop gem with important stop and think lyrics.
How to Dress Well- Repeat Pleasure
On Repeat. Pure pleasure.
French-Cuban twins that also sing in Yoruba? What more could you want? Cultural fusion at it's youthful best.
Ana Tijoux is one of the most on her game female rappers out of LatAm right now, and she exists in a space that pulls from old school Latin hip hop tradition (rapping with a social conscious, integrating indigenous traditions- i.e. pan pipes) while still feeling fresh and avoiding kitsch. Her anti-colonialist anthem is made even more powerful with the guest verse from Shadia Mansour.
Chris Staples- Dark Side of the Moon
Simple, beautiful, and powerful. Hit me hard as I spent a lot of this year thinking about getting older, the future, and what kind of person I want to be. This is a musical capsule of many of my own conclusions.
Weirdness that I can't quite get a full grasp on. Which is why I love it.
Weirdness that I can totally get a grasp on and love. In addition to loving her aesthetic, I love her ownership of her image. Girl loves what she loves, looks and sounds the way she wants, and apologizes to no one.
With 'Benji', Sun kil Moon has put together an album of tiny epics of the most mundane and simultaneously out of this world stories, occurrences, and deaths. Lots of deaths. Such a compelling return to songwriter as storyteller.
Bubbly, Caribbean synth-pop.
This is sort of a cheat, because technically Beyonce's self-titled album dropped in 2013. I do not care, and am including it here because it's pop perfection with an attitude.
I would LOVE to see Nils Frahm live, which I think is truly his element. That being said, live album 'Spaces' does a surprisingly good job of capturing the delicacies of his performances in a record.
This whole track has such a disconnected, isolated, and paranoid feel. "It's just us two, Helena...And the city is a radio inside." Also, that guitar riff, tho.
I had a lot of changes in my life this year, and this track was centering and calming in a way that very little else was for a while.
BONUS: Son Lux- Lost it to Trying (Technically, this came out in 2013, but it's JUST SO GOOD!)
Looking back at this list, my takeaways are that 2014 belonged squarely to the ladies. Keep it up, musical lady friends.
stormborns
pixelskylines
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
dailybridgerton
izzy806
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