Saturday 3 January 2015

TheRobster's Top 10 albums of 2014 (part two)

Here's the other five of my top 10 albums of 2014. One or two surprises? Or pretty much what you expected? Have I missed out something you love? Let me know your top picks of the year in the comments section.


'Pe'ahi' - The Raveonettes
Without a doubt the Danish duo's best album to date. It's definitely their angriest with buzzing guitars and wickedly nasty lyrics, yet still dreamy and tuneful in keeping with their previous work. My album of the year - it's that good!

Soundtrack:

'Indie Cindy' - Pixies
Look, Pixies circa 2014 were never going to be like the Pixies of 1989, even if they had never broken up in the first place. Once you consider that, you realise what a good record 'Indie Cindy' actually is. Although there's two or three songs on here that wouldn't have sounded out of place on 'Bossanova' or 'Trompe Le Monde', I wouldn't want the greatest band of my lifetime to make a record that sounded like one they made before, so good on 'em. Quality!


Soundtrack:

'Breakfast' - Teleman
One of MrsRobster's top picks of the year, and who am I to argue? In fairness, it is a really good record. Melodic and melancholic, it shows off the quality tunes and lyrics that graced the best work  of Pete and the Pirates (of which three-quarters of Teleman were members) while retaining enough originality to stand on its own as a more than worthy debut.


Soundtrack:

'Beauty And Ruin' - Bob Mould
It's Bob Mould - it's all you need. Chunky riffs, good tunes, a bit of screaming here and there - yep, all present and correct. Another triumph, and a great album for the car, especially to get you going in the morning.


Soundtrack:

'Soused' - Scott Walker & Sunn O))) 
Bizarre, compelling, difficult and terrifying in equal measures. The very idea of such a collaboration between a legendary 60s crooner and drone metal exponents is intriguing enough, but the fact I found myself gripped from start to finish proves to me it's more than pure folly. Great to listen to on headphones as there are all sorts of things going on in the background - just don't play it around small children or the easily frightened!

Soundtrack:

And a few honourable mentions...
'Inspiral Carpets' - Inspiral Carpets Really rather good comeback album;
'St. Vincent' - St. Vincent One of the critics' choices of the year, and for good reason;
'World Peace Is None Of Your Business' - Morrissey He's still got it, you know;
'Shelter' - Alcest Symphonic French shoegaze at its finest;

That'll do for now...

3 comments:

  1. That Ravonettes album is a real grower! It's been getting a lot of time in my car the past few weeks! I agree that the Morrissey album is a good one. I am not at all worried that he has passed his sell by date as an artist and I have to figure all the drama surrounding him has to lead to at least a few great songs every few years.
    As for the Scott Walker + SunnO))) album, there is really nothing else like it that I know. It is drama, emotion, power and fear all culled together with one of the great singers of any era and a band that will never allow itself to be co-opted. It's the collaboration of the Millennium.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I keep meaning to listen to the Bob Mould album and keep forgetting to.
    Swiss Adam

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some really good albums on the list, in particular Bob Mould and Teleman. Took me a while to get into Indie Cindy but glad I persevered. Haven't managed to listen to Scott Walker's collaboration yet, but yourself and Echorich have made me want to give it a go...

    ReplyDelete