Year-End Critics' Polls 2014

xp Lex, you've summed up my feelings about Asiatisch and Future Brown.

asiatisch isn't offensive in that it's literally just art school project wank that's only relevant inside its hermetically sealed bubble but future brown, from the name and its connotations (and, indeed, origins) to the ooh-so-edgy bringing in of hitherto-mostly-ignored hood artists to this extremely bourgeois milieu to the apparent way no one can see the immense privilege at the heart of it...ugh. album's dry as fuck obv.

Yeah it is dry. I don't know enough about the members' backgrounds to have an opinion on their privilege. It's not new for middle-class artists to work with MCs is it? But I don't have much invested in the politics of grime so maybe I'm missing something. At least Tink and 3D Na'tee sound great on it.

not a tink fan but na'tee, shawnna and timberlee in particular have sounded fantastic for many years in many places including their OWN records (and i don't think they've outdone themselves in any way here), because they're incredible talents, and received 1/100000000000th the attention of this

cant totally believe that RTJ at number one. my krazy life was better, as far as high profile rap albums.

I love both albums but RTJ2 is clearly the one that's gonna find favour with a broader cross-section of p4k writers.

i didn't even like RTJ2 by RTJ standards but i can't even imagine a world in which it isn't white indie writers' token pick. obviously YG was miles better, which is why i expected this result from p4k.

i like RTJ2 much more than RTJ. Voted for it and YG in my top ten.

Yeah that's the least surprising Pitchfork choice imaginable. An album that recalls PE is going to appeal more than a very good gangsta rap album. Personally I think RTJ2 is stronger front-to-back anyway but then I have corny indie fuxxor tendencies.

i like RTJ2 much more than RTJ.

why is this out of interest? i enjoyed RTJ in a lukewarm way (doubt i'll ever properly enjoy el-p's beats) but RTJ2 seemed even more awkward and annoying than usual, had no desire to return at all

I'd be interested to read some smart writing about why YG is more than just a very good gangsta rap album. I feel like I'm missing what makes it great.

Tiny Mix Tapes - Favourite 50 Music Releases 2014
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/2014-favorite-50-music-releases-of-2014

50. Lil Herb - Welcome to Fazoland (NLMB)
49. The Body - I Shall Die Here (RVNG Intl.)
48. T C F - 486669f0e9b8990384108f3d54c6a8f… (Self-Released)
47. Ai Aso - Lone (Ideologic Organ)
46. Ninos Du Brasil - Novos Mistérios (Hospital)
45. Lee Gamble - Koch (PAN)
44. Death Grips - niggas on the moon (Third Worlds)
43. The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do the Heathen Rage? (Thrill Jockey)
42. Gem Jones - Admiral Frenchkiss (Goaty Tapes)
41. Burial Hex - The Hierophant (Handmade Birds)
40. Beyoncé - Beyoncé (Columbia)
39. Sun Araw - Belomancie (Sun Ark/Drag City)
38. Objekt - Flatland (PAN)
37. James Ferraro - SUKI GIRLZ (Self-Released)
36. Fear Of Men - Loom (Kanine)
35. Dean Blunt - Skin Fade (Self-Released)
34. White Suns - Totem (The Flenser)
33. FKA Twigs - LP1 (Young Turks)
32. Fennesz - Bécs (Editions Mego)
31. Kane West - Western Beats (PC Music)
30. Swans - To Be Kind (Young God/Mute)
29. Call Super - Suzi Ecto (Houndstooth)
28. Aphex Twin - Syro (Warp)
27. Ariel Pink - Pom Pom (4AD)
26. Magic Eye - Babylon (Not Not Fun)
25. Perfume Genius - Too Bright (Matador)
24. Jenny Hval & Susanna - Meshes Of Voice (SusannaSonata)
23. Actress - Ghettoville (Werkdiscs/Ninja Tune)
22. Pharmakon - Bestial Burden (Sacred Bones)
21. 18+ - Trust (Houndstooth)
20. Arca - Xen (Mute)
19. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata (Madlib Invazion)
18. Valerio Tricoli - Miseri Lares (PAN)
17. Lil B - 05 Fuck Em (Self-Released)
16. Lotic - DAMSEL in DISTRESS (Janus)
15. PC Music - PC Music x DISown Radio (PC Music/DIS Magazine)
14. Sun Kil Moon - Benji (Caldo Verde)
13. E+E - The Light That You Gave Me To See You (Self-Released)
12. copeland - Because I’m Worth It (Self-Released)
11. C L E A N E R S - Real Raga Shit Vol. 1 (Bootleg Tapes)
10. iLoveMakonnen - iLoveMakonnen EP (Self-Released)
09. Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers (Modern Love)
08. D/P/I - MN.ROY (Leaving)
07. Giant Claw - DARK WEB (Orange Milk/Noumenal Loom)
06. Ian William Craig - A Turn Of Breath (Recital)
05. Kevin Drumm / Jason Lescalleet - The Abyss (Erstwhile)
04. Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused (4AD)
03. GFOTY - Secret Mix (PC Music)
02. Grouper - Ruins (Kranky)
01. Dean Blunt - Black Metal (Rough Trade)

think i preferred the copeland record to the dean blunt but only listened to each once so yep great post

i like RTJ2 much more than RTJ.

why is this out of interest? i enjoyed RTJ in a lukewarm way (doubt i'll ever properly enjoy el-p's beats) but RTJ2 seemed even more awkward and annoying than usual, had no desire to return at all

― lex pretend, Wednesday, December 17, 2014 10:55 AM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dunno really! It strikes me as a party record in a way the debut doesn't. In fact in that regard it reminds me of Wu-Tang Clan's Iron Flag (a record I seem to be alone in totally venerating). The beats feel more kinetic than before. Also (alongside the typically great Killer Mike raps) it has a lot of surprisingly-good El-P raps. Like this from "Crown":

Down with the shame
Down with the shame
Carried the flag in some other men's name
Loaded my weapon and swore to them vengeance and stepped with aggression right into the fray
Into the haze
Into the murk
Told me to prove to them what I was worth
"We’ll teach you to move without mercy and give you the tools to go after the causers of hurt
You'll become death
You will take breath
This is for everything you’ve ever loved
Use all the pain that you’ve felt in your life as the currency go out and trade it for blood
You are not you
You are now us
We are the only ones that you can trust
You’ll become fear
They’ll become dust
Before this moment you didn't mean much
You are the smoldering vessel of punishment born to do nothing but justify us
Give us your empathy we’ll give you lust
Let yourself go my son time to grow up
Give up your childish obsession with questioning
Anything we don't tell you is irrelevant
Everything you've ever been is replaced by the metal and fire of the weapon you clutch"

ok "more of a party record" was not what i was expecting. i feel like r.a.p. music was ten times the record than either RTJ and that had super-diminishing returns for me.

re: YG, i guess it is a great gangsta rap record, but there's no "just" about that. it's really danceable at its best, i feel that's important.

A Closer Listen - ACL 2014: Top Ten Experimental
http://acloserlisten.com/2014/12/17/acl-2014-top-ten-experimental/

Cliff Dweller ~ The Dream in Captivity (Patient Sounds)
Erik K Skodvin ~ Flame (Sonic Pieces)
Felix Kubin ~ Chromdioxidgedächtnis (Gagarin)
Loren Connors ~ My Brooklyn (Analogpath)
Marcus Fjellström ~ Lichtspiel Mutation 2: Alechsis (Dronarivm)
Nicola Di Croce ~ Fieldnotes (Oak Editions)
Public Speaking ~ Within Patterns (Self-released)
Squanto ~ Basement Tropic (Lily Tapes and Discs)
United Bible Studies ~ Doineann (A Year in the Country)
Valerio Tricoli ~ Miseri Lares (PAN)

i've listened to the copeland and blunt albums quite a bit and personally feel black metal is the grower of the two

There are 7 hiphop albums on the pitchfork list in a year where they only bnm'd 2. It was kinda the same last year. For some reason, rap consistently gets lower review-scores and less accolades compared to how much their writers like them. It's really weird. Or really, it's not.

rtj2 is better than the first one. it has more energy and confidence to it, like they know someone is listening to them now, whereas with the first one, it felt like a bit of an experiment, 'lets see what this is like'. i like the album but think it has too many corny indie choruses for my liking. love that el-p still divides people, even though hes more accessible than EVER. *scratches head* YG is more than just a good gangsta rap record, its like a redefinition of a good gangsta rap record (more musically, than lyrically). but even then its a fucking brilliant gangsta rap record, not just a good one.

anyway, black messiah is better than all these albums.

Spoon is one of my favorite bands ever, but on what planet is They Want My Soul Better than the St. Vincent self titled record?

El-P says that the first RTJ used beats he already had lying around for his next solo record whereas this one was made from scratch and I think it shows. Tracks like Early and Crown go somewhere new, sonically and emotionally.

One thing that mutes my YG love is his lyrics. DJ Mustard does a lot of the heavy lifting on that record. Would have loved more in the vein of Meet the Flockers.

Thing is that YG just has such explosive presence and flow and that makes him a perfect foil for Mustard (who otherwise tends to work with vocalists who are average at best). After years of slow autotuned shit and laconic drawl over sluggish beats it's just so refreshing to hear an acclaimed rap record with such force and energy.

True. It's just one of a few hip hop albums this year where there was a ceiling on my enjoyment - a certain something missing - which is probably why RTJ2 felt so welcome.

hip-hop was so amazing for singles this year but not much of that translated into albums; still two rap albums in my EOY top 10 though (yg and gangsta boo/la chat)

Yes it's been fantastic for singles.

I'd be interested to read some smart writing about why YG is more than just a very good gangsta rap album. I feel like I'm missing what makes it great.
--Re-Make/Re-Model

it's that goddamn momentum-killing "do it to ya," I swear, if you cut that awful track it flows almost perfectly imo

I bought that record in one of my "trying to check up on whatever's popular with the goons this year" sprees. First listen it just felt mediocre. Deleted from ipod. Listened to the Schoolboy Q record more, but that one was pretty frontloaded, imo.

xp the skits are way way worse than "do it to ya" (which is the worst actual song, yes) for momentum-halting, really wish i could delete them. they're so LONG

the skits are def meh, and although they do add story details they're far from essential.

taking up half the running length of "bicken back being bool" with material that is not the music of "bicken back being bool" is inexcusable

I'm not really a fan of the R&B tracks clogging up a lot of the second half but it also has Smokin' & Drinkin' on it and that ensures I keep listening, but I don't know how anyone could listen to the first five tracks or so and not immediately sit up and take notice.

the bonus trax "459" and "bompton" are 100% essential too, esp the former

I got it in April a couple weeks after the buzz and...it was OK? Its brevity was attractive and hence easy to overrate. I kept "I Just Wanna Party" and the Drake collab briefly.

Resident Advisor - Top Albums 2014
http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?2332

20. Wen - Signals
19. Fatima - Yellow Memories
18. Edward - Into A Better Future
17. Max Graef - Rivers of the Red Planet
16. Call Super - Suzi Echo
15. FKA twigs - LP1
14. Answer Code Request - Code
13. Dean Blunt - Black Metal
12. Todd Terje - It's Album Time
11. Head High - Megatrap
10. Moodymann - Moodymann
9. Joey Anderson - After Forever
8. Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
7. Francis Harris - Minutes of Sleep
6. The Bug - Angels & Devils
5. Objekt - Flatland
4. Aphex Twin - Syro
3. Gesloten Cirkel - Submit X
2. HTRK - Psychic 9-5 Club
1. Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers

HTRK is kind of a weird choice for them but i do love that album

19. Fatima - Yellow Memories
16. Call Super - Suzi Ecto
8. Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
7. Francis Harris - Minutes of Sleep

:)

No Terrence Parker no credibility.

I couldn't really get my head around that Francis Harris record, it sounded like an amazing party going on in the next room, without my being able to get to it. Like it was impressive in its sound design but I couldn't find much to love about it.

Back to YG, it may be front-loaded, but if you leave out "Do It To Ya" (or if you like "Do It To Ya," which, you know, the piano is nice) it's front-loaded with 10 amazing tracks in a row.

the R&B run on My Krazy Life rules. it lends color to the album while staying within its character in a way that a lot of Mustard R&B hits wouldn't if they were on the album instead.

"me & my bitch" is fine, but do it to ya is hopelessly skewered, imo, by tee flii's crap singing.

No Terrence Parker no credibility.

Glaring omission from RA, but I am not surprised.

oh hey somebody else likes United Bible Studies! (many xps to NickB)

i thought of you sleeve as i c&ped that one

listened to the valerio tricoli for the first time today (it's finally up on spotify). that was pretty good and a lot more to listen to there than your average recording of abstract scrunching noises

it's that goddamn momentum-killing "do it to ya," I swear, if you cut that awful track it flows almost perfectly imo

― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, December 17, 2014 8:11 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

do it to ya is an amazing song i will hear no more of this

the R&B run on My Krazy Life rules. it lends color to the album while staying within its character in a way that a lot of Mustard R&B hits wouldn't if they were on the album instead.

― christmas with the canks (some dude), Wednesday, December 17, 2014 8:59 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes

i've listened to the copeland and blunt albums quite a bit and personally feel black metal is the grower of the two

Black Metal is really great. I wouldn't have anticipated that it'd be one of my favorite records this year. Guitar tracks have got some classic 4AD Lonely Is An Eyesore era vibes.

Slash finally made it onto a list! And Brody Dalle, Linkin Park, Slipknot, and lots of stuff I never heard of (Architects & Marmozets #1-2).

http://www.kerrang.com/26297/top-50-rock-metal-punk-albums-2014/

aw yeah i love the kerrang list every year