The Best Albums of 2014
2014 saw the beginning of a grime revival in the UK, initiated by the success of Meridian Dan’s “German Whip” featuring Big H and Jme. The song reached number 13 in the UK Singles Charts. Two months after that, Skepta reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart with his single “That’s Not Me” featuring his brother Jme. Two months later, Lethal Bizzle released the single “Rari WorkOut” featuring Jme and Tempa T, which also charted, peaking at number 11 in the UK Singles Charts. A wave of new successful young grime MC’s also began to emerge, such as Stormzy, AJ Tracey, Novelist, Jammz, and Lady Leshurr. Here are all of the 2014 albums ranked.
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10. Ultraviolence (Lana Del Rey)
“I get a bit sad listening to her music, because – well, in the first place because of her music of course, but also because I notice I will never feel the full extent of her music because her music is mostly made for and from the perspective of women.”
9. They Want My Soul (Spoon)
“If I have to identify my favorite Spoon album, I think this is it. It’s hard to say why, because every Spoon album is great and has something special to offer. I think “They Want My Soul” is the one that stands out for me because of its feel, of how the songs seamlessly follow each other, and because of its hits (Outlier, Inside Out, Rainy Taxi, and They Want My Soul are among my favorite Spoon tracks ever). The spoon is awesome and this album too!”
8. Piñata (Freddie Gibbs & Madlib)
“Piñata” does not represent a revolution in rap, we can even call this album nostalgic. Nostalgic of the time when we wore a pair of Jordans, where we did not have a cell phone and where Biggie was alive. But “Piñata” remains a very successful record, both in terms of production and performance of Freddie Gibbs.”
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7. Black Messiah (D’Angelo And The Vanguard)
“Black Messiah is a low-key album, one that takes time to fully absorb and that can be difficult to categorize. It contains elements of neo-soul and hip hop, but it’s the smoky, sexy grooves that D’Angelo sinks into on tracks such as “Really Love” that sets this album apart from its peers. Pitchfork calls it “a study in controlled chaos,” which seems about right, given that the album was over a decade in the making.”
6. St. Vincent (St. Vincent)
“Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, has consistently delivered quality throughout her career, and on this self-titled album, she sharpens her music’s edges to near perfection. In her review for Pitchfork, Lindsay Zoladz writes, “St. Vincent continues Clark’s run as one of the past decade’s most distinct and innovative guitarists, though she’s never one to showboat. Her harmonic-filled style bears the influence of jazz (she picked up a lot of her signature tricks from her uncle, the jazz guitarist Tuck Andress) and prog rock, two genres known to embrace sprawl.”
5. Salad Days (Mac DeMarco)
“Magnificent album by Mac, the songwriting seems so easy for him, also the effects he puts in the songs are amazing without killing the chill atmosphere of the album Salad days is a charming and melancholy album, parts of the album are a little flavorless but when it works it is quite enjoyable.”
4. Run The Jewels 2 (Run The Jewels)
“El-P and Killer Mike pack one hell of a punch in their short yet oh so sweet second LP “Run The Jewels 2″. In less than 39 minutes, they tackle a huge range of matters with intelligence, clarity, and focus. The production is killer and the lyricism is astounding and this remains so throughout the entirety of the album. A breath of fresh air.”
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3. Benji (Sun Kil Moon)
“The lyrical style is experimental but immediately accessible and mesmerizing. The stripped-back but intricate fingerpicked guitar and light percussion adds to the intimacy of the album. An experience similar to Sufjan Steven’s Carrie & Lowell.”
2. To Be Kind (Swans)
“Rarely has an album been so visceral and so well-realized simultaneously. The frightening aspect behind it all is that it seems to flow through the band so effortlessly, almost as vessels for transcendent music powered by an unseen force.”
1. Lost In The Dream (The War On Drugs)
“Lost in the Dream was my front door to the War On Drugs. And I was completely overwhelmed by their music. This album is a floating beauty. I always like to listen to it entirely for it’s like one long musical adventure from the beginning to the end. Love it!”