ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014

Have I got long players for you!

Yes.

Albums playlist at Spotify

http://i.imgur.com/zxPyngW.jpg

77 BABYMETAL Babymetal [236 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]

haha perfect

man troll gas beany jim-jam

I liked 'Gimme Chocolate' well enough but not sure I have the stamina for a whole album tbh

Is it actually metal, or is that name "ironic"?

Iconic start!

k-pop female vocals over rock (based on gimme chocolate the rest may be different)
xp

why 77 for albums & tracks?

77 is a sacred number on this forum

okay 'line' has some metal growling backing vox going on

it's metal + j-pop, more or less

8 votes w roughly 30 points per vote is not a huge hurdle to clear

I half-feel like seeing the rest of the rollout will spoil the perfectness of Babymetal being the first album revealed on the countdown

(btw I stand by "perfectness")

a low hurdle...for Menace Ruine!

If you like your female-sung metal actually written by a woman, that is ;)

77 is the number of times Tom Ewing chanted "rockism" in front of a mirror to wish ILX into existence.

This is p cool obv, listening now :)

haha this is so ilm

BABYMETAL, yes! Gimme Chocolate is not representative of the whole album (and imo is one of the weaker tracks). I agree it's not a records you can digest easily all in one go, rather like a 1LB chocolate bar in fact. Great in small doses though.

dun get baby metal. sounds like the internet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBF_QLDK6w

Isn't this the band that Marty Friedman is the music director for or something? I just remember seeing him and Paul Gilbert together for that Cacophony album in guitar magazine ads back in the 80s. (I know he went on to play in Megadeth, but I'd already stopped listening to them by the time he got there.)

There's a fun novelty aspect to Gimme Chocolate I guess, but I can't say I'm really enjoying this.

no, he does a different band

can we have youtubes be linked and not embedded in this thread? otherwise it gets more and more taxing to load as it expands

yes plz

Gimme Chocolate just missed the top 77 tracks (84)

Surprisingly good album the Babymetal one. Doki Doki Morning still rules 3 years on.

This other track I'm listening to now, Megitsune, is much better

http://i.imgur.com/esEEHHs.jpg

76 CHER LLOYD Sorry I'm Late [239 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]

i liked the album but i just didn't feel compelled to revisit it when i was putting together my EOY lists

BABYMETAL is better than this

Wow, shocked but delighted to see Cher Lloyd make it. Such a shame what a flop this album was, lots of potential hit singles just wasted.

CL in the 40s on my EOY list. Bought the CD on the strength of stanning here. Not as likeable as her debut, but s'alright.

Thought it was a lot better than her debut even though there isn't anything as amazing as Superhero on there.

Need beta blockers to listen to BABYMETAL while working.

Cher Lloyd looks dreadfully ill/existentially null. What's the best/most representational track from this album?

babymetal - the first i heard of this band was when a civil servant friend who gets more drunk than almost anyone i know casually mentioned them. i'm intrigued by the concept despite metal not being for me (not even kitty), will probably check this out when i'm not in a café

cher lloyd - YESSSSS so happy this snuck in. it's been noted a lot that pop discourse in 2014 increasingly seemed to only revolve around the same 5 names over and over again, and non-megastar pop artists feel like they're all in limbo to an extent - this vicious cycle of their irrelevance making them irrelevant in a lot of critics' eyes, their music having nothing to do with any of it.

cher lloyd has surprised me several times in her career - her sugary bubblegum debut had nothing to do with the hard-ass swagon lightning bolt i first loved on the x factor and this depressed, despairing album of emo ballads (leavened with a few bratty party songs, sure) has nothing to do with either (i guess you could link it back to her x factor cover of "stay"). she sounds so weary on it all - "human" is a highlight here - and even though hardly anyone bought it and no critics cared, it was an album i kept returning to in 2014

also, "sweet despair" co-written with beth ditto, and "bind your love" as an example of a non-downer.

i thought this album was leagues better than the actual crowning-a-new-megastarlet move of ariana grande's second album

Yeah, Bind Your Love is the one I'd go with. Should have been the third single (She didn't even make it to a third single)

lex this music is definitely not for me, but I really appreciate you putting this album into context

i thought this album was leagues better than the actual crowning-a-new-megastarlet move of ariana grande's second album

― lex pretend, Monday, January 26, 2015 10:50 AM (59 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that i will agree with

yeah i made the comparison bc more than once that opinion has been scoffed at as just unthinkable because ariana sold a shit ton of records so how could cher lloyd possibly have made a better album

The main thing I get from Ariana Grande is an overwhelming desire to apologize to Toni Braxton and Anita Baker for ever saying they didn't enunciate enough.

oooh what’s WRONG with you / no the problem is not my ATTitude / but you’re EW / just not my type / and the next time I won’t be so polite!!!!!!!!!!

and "alone with me" being the best closing song of all time <3

album's like 70 positions too low

http://i.imgur.com/85lDQkc.jpg

75 MICA LEVI Under the Skin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [242 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]

Is that the first film soundtrack ever to have placed?

listening to cher lloyd, really digging "bind your love"

wooooo under the skin!

Mica (chu) is one of my favourite musicians currently operational and everything she* touches turns to sonic ecstasy, including that recent Feeling Romantic...mixtape she* did. Haven't heard this yet as I'm waiting to see the film. Soon, though. I'm sure this is fucking brilliant.

*not sure which gender pronoun Mica is currently using so correct me if this is wrong! :)

A surprise, but we all seem to have loved the kubrickian/tarkovskian film. Eerie drones and thumps leavened with strident insistent string motifs, but stands surprisingly well outside the films context. Particularly on Halloween.

Does anyone have an opinion on: Micachu & The Shapes & London Sinfonietta - Chopped and Screwed (2011)?

Mica is the only one so far I've seen perform a Cornelius Cardew graphic score.

also, "sweet despair" co-written with beth ditto, and "bind your love" as an example of a non-downer.

― lex pretend, Monday, 26 January 2015 15:50 (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This isn't something I'd usually listen to, but 'Bind Your Love' has a certain woozily infectious appeal. For me to like this a lot would require a significant increase on the emo component. As in, actual blood spilled.

Under the Skin! Best film and film soundtrack of 2014 perhaps...

...including that recent Feeling Romantic...mixtape she* did.

*not sure which gender pronoun Mica is currently using so correct me if this is wrong! :)

― ear sirrom (imago), Monday, 26 January 2015 16:04 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, that was wonderful!

Also of note, Levi just joined the reborn BBC Radiophonic Workshop, lead by Matthew Herbert, so this won't be the last we hear of her(?).

Yeah I should check this out. Mica's great! I hope she continues to do stuff with the Shapes as well

wow, nice the see the under the skin s/t place! especially brilliant in context, but a fascinating listen on its own.

I've only heard bits of this but I like the Feeling Romantic Feeling Ill record. didn't think this was how she'd evolve

loved this. didn't vote for it.

I've been meaning to watch this movie. It's on my netflix list. I'm going to wait until I've seen the movie before listening to the soundtrack.

i really hated the shapes album i heard, really awful. Is this much better?

I wasn't that into the shapes either but I love this (I also really like the chopped & screwed album mentioned above)

Need to listen to Under the Skin on its own, loved the music in the context of the film.

http://i.imgur.com/jD8Xcla.jpg

74 NOURA MINT SEYMALI Tzenni [243 points, 8 votes]

mice

uh I mean "nice"

mice.

this looks interesting!

Great stuff so far. Have heard exactly none of these albums. Only found out about Babymetal the other day and it looks fun.

whoa, mice

yeah that's hairy mice indeed

haha i hate babymetal but i am so happy to see them kick off this poll i cant even

For those seeking to get closer to the roots here (without the flanged guitar and drum kit) seek out: Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba - Moorish Music from Mauritania (1990).
I'd love to discover Noura is one of Dimi's daughters on that cover, but I doubt it.

SHE IS! Dimi Mint Abba is her step-mother.

http://petattack.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/talented_mice_10.jpg

Mordy pressed this onto me n let's say I was quite IMpressed

this is terrific so far

So is this a rockier version of traditional Mauritanian music then?

The psych-funk version, yes.

This poll is exceeding expectations after the (relatively) narrow remit of the tracks poll. Already we've had Japanese idol/metal crossover, ambient soundtrack music, UK pop and outernationalism and we've only just started. Brill!

http://i.imgur.com/9neQ0lu.jpg

lol

yay seymali

http://i.imgur.com/WHq5fdg.jpg

73 REAL ESTATE Atlas [254 points, 9 votes]

INDIE

Alt-ass, morelike

Mica! My #1. When Jonny Trunk played the whole s/t on his Resonance fm show near the start of the year was a transcendent 2014 moment for me. After that, what was going to top my albums list was NID. Works really well in the context of the movie too.

is this just an audiobook of real estate listings or what

lol gr80 beat me to it

Aaww sweet little indie album. Talking Backwards is quite lovely!

The Noura Mint Seymali is spectacularly great imo! My #2. Best non-metal guitar rock album I've heard in ages.

I really liked the Under the Skin score in the context of the movie but have not yet listened to the score on its own.

This feels like I was listening to it longer ago than this year.

Real Estate are like WoD, but at least not hyped beyond their worth. They make for pleasant background listening; almost ambient indie music. Great for summer days, breezy afternoon picnics in the grass, melty plastic watchstraps, ant infestations, oily-looking ham slices...

damn if this is placing this low i p much have no hope of seeing Horsebeach place.

If you feel like a gothy balearic Real Estate sounds nice check out Horsebeach

don't you mean Beach Horse?

;-)

Ohh so nice that Under the Skin placed! Love hearing that while driving at night.

Indie that i like! Love Real Estate. Loving the poll so far

"well, we were sort of going for the vibe of an oily-looking ham slice."

"more than one. like slices, actually. oily-looking ham slices.

"yeah, slices. i should have said slices."

babymetal is really interesting because it's 100% legitimate j-pop vocals over commensurably legitimate metal. getting that to work as well as it does is probably pretty challenging.

re: real estate, "They make for pleasant background listening; almost ambient indie music" – OTM. i can't really remember this album but i know i didn't mind it, and their first one still has an alluring haze to it (and the end of "beach comber" is a double rainbow).

also i love this gradual result rollout, if it weren't 2am in seoul i'd be here all day

i do like this album tho, pretty good album. didn't vote for it.

I cut it off my ballot I think to make 25 so im really pleased it made it.

((and to clarify, by 'j-pop vocals' i don't mean poppy vocals sung in japanese, i'm referring to the composition of the melody lines as much as their performance/production))

preferred Ducktails to Real Estate, but I don't mind this at all

I have to say, nothing makes me more interested in checking out a band than finding out they make music for the contemplation of oily ham

re: Mica Levi - why does it always always has to be: psychotic blah blah = pull out yer neighbourhood avant-classical type moves out of the bag. Probably the weakest part of that film.

this noura mint seymali is great, thanks to whoever voted for it!

Mauritanian psych-funk sounds fun. As does ambient indie to be fair. Will give them both a go.

"fake blues" from some early real estate single is still one of my very favorite 3-4 min of chillout indie ever. have opined elsewhere that it seems to be ripping off mark knopfler's local hero sndtrk (in a good way). experienced diminishing returns with the band tho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHx8ZhYsigQ

^ album version not quite as good

sorry, meant for that to be a link :(

digging the Real Estate. thanks ILM!

i didn't vote this year but i am going to follow thread because these results are more promising than the singles for me
love under the skin sdtk, big fave in my house
love noura too -- she makes it sound so easy and this reminds me that i wanted to hear the album

the last real estate album is one of my fav indie rock records ever but i couldn't get into this one at all

Xyzzz__: why not? Those sounds work well to bring out that atmosphere. At least it's more interesting than minor-key piano arpeggios or something.

uh, whether or not there were any actual mice involved, this noura mint seymali album is fantastic

Nooo, I missed the moment Babymetal hit, I was praying for this. It feels weird finally having a vote place right inside the top 77 and not outside. This is definitely the best Babymetal song, here performed in front of 60k people.. in England! http://youtu.be/jKs7JnAWI9s

Love the Real Estate album, and it was quite high up on my ballot. It's everything I want from an "indie" album right now - clear, chiming, blissful. I think they just keep getting better.

Loving this Noura Mint Seymali album too.

I agree they do Sund4r. I suppose I'd like to hear those sounds in more surprising contexts these days. A bit of an easy option to take. xps

http://i.imgur.com/bQyox4f.jpg

72 CALL SUPER Suzi Ecto [255 points, 11 votes]

looks like an abstract magen dovid on the cover

yay call super!

I agree they do Sund4r. I suppose I'd like to hear those sounds in more surprising contexts these days. A bit of an easy option to take. xps

― xyzzzz__, Monday, January 26, 2015 9:06 AM (3 seconds ago)

oh pooh. everything's an easy option. the execution's what counts. impeccably well constructed soundtrack, both as a functional component of the film and as a stand-alone listen. it sound more "surprising" a kristen wiig comedy sure, but i'm not that desperate for novelty thrills.

Huh, really fun start to the albums list. Babymetal!

Will they change the band name to Toddlermetal or Teenmetal as they get older? Or swap out the members?

no spotify links this year?

There's a whole playlist linked at the top of the thread.

never heard of this Call Super record, very nice on first listen - I assume there's no vocals?

Or swap out the members?

how it's done iirc

This album cover promises fuzzy artpop...

yeah do these images come with blurbs or no
1-2 objective descriptive sentences or phrases?

Happy that Real Estate placed. They have a special way with melody.

i prefer the mystery & intrigue

Blurbs haven't been part of the eoy polls for several years, but a quick search turned up a few mentions of Call Super in techno/bobbins threads.

oh pooh. everything's an easy option. the execution's what counts. impeccably well constructed soundtrack, both as a functional component of the film and as a stand-alone listen. it sound more "surprising" a kristen wiig comedy sure, but i'm not that desperate for novelty thrills.

― A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Monday, 26 January 2015 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Don't be an idiot - of course not everything is an easy option and no I am looking for this stuff to be used in a comedy or anything. Its their problem to sort out. I just know what they've come up with just isn't really going to do.

xp
I prefer not knowing what the hell kind of music it is immediately when I've never heard of something (as is true of Call Super). Part of the fun!

not feeling the real estate. think their sound worked better for me when it was fuzzing in through chillwave-contemporaneous vhs nostalgia, buried vocals, tape hiss, etc.

I suppose I'd like to hear those sounds in more surprising contexts these days. A bit of an easy option to take. xps

― xyzzzz__, Monday, January 26, 2015 9:06 AM (11 minutes ago)

"i don't like this and want to seem important saying it"

Suzi Ecto was definitely one of the more interesting electronic albums this year, and very accessible

Crystalline clearwater ambience embroiled in benign laser warfare.

This is oooookay.

call super is kind of techno with a fuggy cloud-forest vibe and maybe a bit more focus on sonic detail than beats

The Call Super album is fantastic and I have Lex to thank for recommending it on more than one occasion.it seems to take on different properties depending on where and who I listen to it with. Sometimes it's a really lush ambient album with dub inflections, other times it's something a lot more tense/intense than that.

this sounds like something i would like a lot, whoops

I somehow missed that Call Super album entirely, will give it a spin tonight.

I feel I am gaining a good bit of internet notoriety in this msg board by damming it, yes..xps to contend idiot.

ok nm then!
i'll guess

contend idiot.

lol, you've sure got a way with words

la lechera, i think the idea is that fans of whatever record will chip in and explain/enthuse xp

lol I couldn't remember how the rest of it went, couldn't be arsed to press back. The only thing you are right about.

I am gaining a good bit of internet notoriety in this msg board by damming it
First mice, now beavers itt!

We heart u really Julio, u know that.

I suppose I'd like to hear those sounds in more surprising contexts these days. A bit of an easy option to take. xps

― xyzzzz__, Monday, January 26, 2015 9:06 AM (11 minutes ago)

"i don't like this and want to seem important saying it"

― A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Monday, January 26, 2015 12:19 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't even totally understand this convo but wow this came off dickish!

Cool list so far. I haven't heard any of most of these, but they all look interesting.

Very pleased BM made it.

do like the call super album quite a bit, though it's well outside my usual wheelhouse. can't comment on dog latin's observation that it takes "on different properties depending on where and who" cuz it's new to me, but "dovetail" gets a lot of mileage out of the tension between that metallic snare and the pillowy synth clouds it drills against. loving "sulu sekou"'s clarinet, too.

mica levi - surprised in a good way to see this; one of the best films i saw last year, and one of the best uses of its score within that. the strings in the pool scenes...not just sinister but stately. the film's slow pace suited it, but the score went a long way to holding interest which might have otherwise flagged. i have not been tempted to hear the soundtrack by itself.

nora mint seymali - never heard, would be interested to hear, any track recommendations?

real estate - never heard and god willing will keep it that way

call super - woo, second of my votes. love the mood and the way different details dapple over the beats. very organic-sounding - not as hermetically sealed as voices from the lake but a similar vibe. also, wonderfully generous melodically. not an album for identifying tracks in isolation and the quality is very consistent but "dovetail" and "hoax eye" are both very pretty indeed

call super also did good work under the ondo fudd alias last year too

Moreso than the singles thread I'm inclined to actually seek out some of these winners

http://i.imgur.com/nNAdhJK.jpg

71 STURGILL SIMPSON Metamoden Sounds in Country Music [256 points, 10 votes]

i don't even totally understand this convo but wow this came off dickish!

― diddybops 67 (120.2)(source field mix) (some dude), Monday, January 26, 2015 9:27 AM (4 minutes ago]

you missed a couple steps in there, but mea culpa, retracting

i discovered this sturgill simpson album via critics' year-end lists. i've been enjoying it in a low-key way, i like the gravitas of his voice though his enunciation is on ariana grande levels of non-existence. don't think it's on the level of the post-miranda lambert wave of female country artists though, doesn't grab me emotionally in the same way

I've heard of this. Is the title ironic or something?

(i'm quite happy that miranda lambert, almost certainly, and angaleena presley, i hope and expect, will have beaten simpson here)

i enjoyed the couple tracks i've heard from this record, will listen in full at some point

I've heard of this. Is the title ironic or something?

― quinoa: how's it spelt? (dog latin), Monday, 26 January 2015 17:36 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Must be. This makes my eyes hurt.

Saw Sturgill Simpson open for Willie Nelson at the end of December. His band had a lot of power and energy, especially the lead guitarist who cranked out continuous hot doggin' riffs through the whole set. Good stuff, I'll have to at least give this a listen.

even though im sure this is a lot of people's "one critic-influenced [country/metal/insert oft-maligned-to-varying-degrees genre or subgenre here}" album, goddamn it's great

People kept telling me about this and I kept not getting why. And yeah that goddamn title

Hoping now we have had the token metal,indie and country to appease their fans and prove how oh so eclectic we are and theres no more sp we can have more pop, rnb, rap, bobbins type music like the mostly excellent tracks poll.

i need to give this a listen on cruts recommendation

strychnine soubds like a good name for a thrash metal band

This is a damn fine record.

http://www.3chorddorks.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/front_page_comic_preset/images/comics/544.png

good dogs

I mean, if you're into neo-trad country and people like Justin Townes Earle and Ryan Bingham let you down every time by missing the mark, then this is a must-hear album.

xps to dog latin there are multiple bands named strychnine after a cursory google search - sadly, none of them seem to be thrash metal

the last real estate album is one of my fav indie rock records ever but i couldn't get into this one at all

― J0rdan S., Monday, January 26, 2015 11:59 AM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this was the first one of theirs to really leave me cold--it's nice enough but i think the formula just sort of played out for me

I liked the Call Super album a lot (the woodwinds are such a nice touch), but when I listened to it at my parents' house on their system that has a sub woofer, it sounded amazing

i listened to the real estate record a lot earlier in the year and then i made the mistake of listening to it at the dentist while i was getting a cavity filled and now i can't disentangle those 2 experiences in my mind so i don't listen to it anymore

I enjoyed "Atlas" but yeah it's not half as good as the one before

xp hipster dentist or bring your own music

both, but the latter in this case

http://i.imgur.com/ZUDV3aG.jpg

70 NINOS DU BRASIL Novos Mistérios [258 points, 9 votes]

I like the Sturgill Simpson album. I think it's getting a little overpraised because he hits a lot of critics' sweet spots -- he's the anti-brocountry guy who writes about metaphysics, etc. He interviews well. But there are several good tracks and I like his voice despite the mumbles. Good job reinventing "The Promise," too.

!!!

xp

xp

(The album Sturgill's reminds me most of, both in terms of its execution and its place in the critical firmament, is the Mavericks' What a Crying Shame.)

lol nino du brazil album has a track called "sepultura"

s

sss

Sepultura would be a good name for a militantly popist ilm poster

expected Ninos to be higher but whatever. great album

so babymetal is like this year's farrah abraham except it didn't place as well.

mice

Can confirm that anyone tempted by the Ninos du Brasil track that placed won't be disappointed by the album.

strychnine is this thread's saer, I hope

So happy I could share the "Carnivale under the influence of ayahuasca" sound with ILX.

i don't get the connection between babymetal and farrah at all

fell hard in love w ninoS du braSil after "sombra da lua" showed on the tracks rollout. whole album is hypnotically immersive, i get all sucked in & spaced out every time i put it on, no matter what else i'm doing (or trying to).

xp

one's babymetal and the other's a babymama

Vg

Dancing!

whole album is hypnotically immersive

This is very succinct and very true.

http://i.imgur.com/xC27b0b.jpg

69 OUGHT More Than Any Other Day [262 points, 7 votes]

ok i've never even heard of this one

Yay! First one voted for. This Heat-ish post-punk dream poetry Americana.

now THIS is some "indie" I can get behind, have not ever heard of it before but I'm liking this first track, getting vague Thinking Fellers/Polvo vibes?

(from Canada, apparently...)

o yeah I can hear This Heat a bit as well, no wonder I like this

Yes! Ought are pretty much one of the only straight up rock bands I give a shit about this year and the album is outstanding. Perfect cross between Television, early Radiohead and maybe some early 90s rock thing. it would all be 'been there, done that' were it not for their urgency and the sincerity of the lyrics. Best song is Habit followed by the title track. Was really high on my ballot And one of my big regrets of 2014 was not seeing them live when they played London.

Ought also reminds me a little of Talking Heads, something to do with his voice and phrasing.

xp

I discovered them literally two nights after their London gig this year - definitely a disappointment to be rectified in 2015. Concur with those two best tracks, plus Around Again.

It's definitely a combobulation of lots of postpunk bands - the greyscale mood included, but if Ought had come out with this record in '79 it'd be up there with many of my favourites easily

ought album is gr8! not hearing so much direct television or radiohead influence, but yeah, maybe as the more traditional pop/rock element being squozen out through thinking fellers & this heat type art weirdo filters. pere ubu! or a more long-term interesting version of tyvek. not so fond of "habit" cuz i like the herk & jerkier punk stuff best.

It's hard to do austere rock without being boring. Ought manage it very well I think.

hadn't heard this, but this is super cool - hearing a little karate in this too maybe?

Thinking fellers wAs my abiding thought too after listening to this . Didn't really do all that much for me tbh but i'll give it another shot I guess

That line about 'stick your head underwater and breathe in deep' will never leave my psyche. What a disturbing thought.

On the other thread, someone asked about what records sound like Ninos du Brasil, and I was gonna mention the Sultan project by Burhan Öçal & Pete Namlook. Obviously the origin of their sound is completely different (Turkey instead of Brazil), but they have a similar combination of dense polyrhythmic percussion riffs and heavy synths (heavier than on Namlook's ambient albums), so NdB fans might enjoy that shit too.

Sturgill Simpson's record is very solid--I voted for it--but I preferred his last album. This one is a bit more ambitious (especially lyrically) but the last one was rawer and had a couple tracks that I think are better than anything here.

Regardless, do check him out. For how much this board was willing to cross over for Pistol Annies, Brandy Clark, and Kacey Musgraves, one would think Sturgill would be popular here; he pushes many of the same buttons, putting a modern spin on traditional sounds.

Suspect Ninos du Brasil would have placed a good bit higher if the album vote had happened after the track rollout.

Re: Sturgill Simpson

I hate the implication that I should somehow be ashamed for liking a crossover/token country album, sorry I don't have the time to do a deep dive into the genre of every kind of music that catches my attention

(But of course, I felt the same way country listeners did in 2012 as an R&B listener, when Channel Orange and Kaleidoscope Dream were the token R&B albums so who am I to whine)

Anyway, there's so many things about Sturgill Simpson's album that should turn me off - the aforementioned title, the "authenticity"-laden marketing, the drugs-as-salvation-but-really-love themes - but it's all executed so well to me that it's all moot

ninos du brasil just released a 12" on DFA last week fwiw

from what i heard it wasn't as compelling as the album but maybe check it out if you're a fan

xp Tuomas:

Good call. A similar project from this year (which I doubt will make the cut) was Clap! Clap! - Tayi Bebba, which is light, African, sampled, and footwork rather than the dark, Brazilian, live, and house of the Ninos du Brasil.

Ought record is sweet, really happy to see it here & look forward to spending much more time with it. Up there with Total Control in the year's best post-punk.

http://i.imgur.com/wKm9XqL.jpg

68 WARPAINT Warpaint [262 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]

when this came out it felt like it was going to be finishing much higher in the poll

hadn't heard this, but this is super cool - hearing a little karate in this too maybe?

― the portentous pepper (govern yourself accordingly), Monday, January 26, 2015 1:24 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i haven't formed an opinion on ought yet but karate was a great band

ought album is gr8! not hearing so much direct television or radiohead influence, but yeah, maybe as the more traditional pop/rock element being squozen out through thinking fellers & this heat type art weirdo filters. pere ubu! or a more long-term interesting version of tyvek. not so fond of "habit" cuz i like the herk & jerkier punk stuff best.

― A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Monday, January 26, 2015 1:21 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hmm this sounds nothing like tyvek or pere ubu and exactly like television + radiohead (+ talking heads) i think u need to update your rock vector space basis

great album tho. tim's vocals make it imo. it's like, with this post punk stuff there's the whole mythology of ian curtis *actually* having an epileptic fit or a seizure or whatever on stage, omg so punk right? but, like, the truth is no one actually wants to hear someone spazz out. it's uncomfortable and bad. but the flip of that is no one wants to hear someone sing sound like they're holding anything back or shy. and i think the vox on this album are really the perfect point between these two extremes

my #1, wooo

the Warpaint album owns super hard

IMO it's best digested as a whole but "Love Is To Die", "Biggy" and "Drive" all are immaculate songs in isolation

Remembered who this ought album really reminds me of: horny genius!

Speaking of the year's best post-punk...I didn't vote for Warpaint as I thought it was an album of highlights (pretty much the songs DJP lists! DRIVE omg), but I think it's still a very good record with some cracking ideas and performances!

hmm this sounds nothing like tyvek or pere ubu and exactly like television + radiohead (+ talking heads) i think u need to update your rock vector space basis

― flopson, Monday, 26 January 2015 18:33 (28 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I can totally hear Pere Ubu in there!

I was initially lukewarm about the Warpaint album, but ended up listening to it a lot this year, it's great driving-at-night music

Warpaint expands on all of their strengths: dreamy flow, dubby undertow, and proggy but non-masturbatory excursions, but the album as a whole became wearying after repeated listens. I still return to highlights ("Love is to Die", "Disco//Very").

xps- yeah ok the least yelpy stuff though. tyvek is a major reach tho. whatstheirname, ummm parquet courts that one sounds like tyvek

Didn't vote for this, but definitely memorable from this year. El-p remix of Keep It Healthy is well worth checking out too.

One thing about the Warpaint album that puzzled me was picking "Disco/Very" as the single. I mean, it's catchy and pleasant but it seems like "Love Is To Die" is such a no-brainer introduction into what the album is all about and "Disco/Very" would work better/have more impact as a follow-on to it.

xp with Sanpaku, ha

Strongly recommend Drive for passing samplers btw

warpaint record came out early in the year but i never stopped listening to it at any point really. was in my top 5 iirc

It's a short album, I recommend just listening to it. The highlights work outside of context but within context they work with the albums sequence and achieve super-saiyen status.

Yeah it does work as a whole too

i think u need to update your rock vector space basis

― flopson, Monday, January 26, 2015 10:33 AM (8 minutes ago)

mebby so? but i hear what i hear. admit it's been a long (long) time since i last heard any early radiohead.

i listened to "gimme chocolate" and omg babymetal are quite something. i think i might actually like the instrumentation more than the vox. not sure i want to delve into a whole album, which might make me tire of them a bit quickly, but i'll be happy with this treasure of a single for a bit

spent a couple months with the warpaint album in heavy rotation, so much so that i eventually became a bit tired of it. haven't been tempted back, though i still dig certain tracks, esp "biggie" and "disco/very"

like the instrumentation more than the vox

May be an issue with Warpaint. These women (particularly the rhythm section) are super skilled, but perhaps too much character has been ironed out of the vocals.

Babymetal basically ended up as #26 on my ballot ;_;

should i be surprised that the metal fans itt seem to be pro-babymetal?

i'm watching their live dance routines for "gimme chocolate" now <3333

http://i.imgur.com/bSBV9mm.jpg

67 FUTURE Honest [262 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]

i'm surprised because i'm a fan of NEITHER metal nor j-pop yet it turns out what i needed in each was...the other

If shitty rock must place at least it is outside the top ten. But eww at anyone voting for indIe.
Where is saer?

I think there's another "metal" album you may like this year lex

i'm surprised because i'm a fan of NEITHER metal nor j-pop yet it turns out what i needed in each was...the other

they are the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of music

wow talk about a big budget highly anticipated album that sounded less awesome than his cameos and guest appearances on other records

"Honest" from way back in 2013 is easily my favorite song on Honest and "I Be U" was the only thing that even came close. one of the big sophomore slump disappointments in recent major label rap history imo.

Future has IMO always been terrible

dunno whether i should be surprised future scraped in or slightly pity the fall of a former ilx favourite

the album wasn't that bad at all, "special" and "i be u" are pretty great, but it really had a grab-bag, unsure feel about it

yeah the future album was super disappointing. the title track owns though, which reminds me that totally got snubbed in the tracks poll, goons blew that one

i love 'turn on the lights' but i haven't really liked any other future songs at all

These women (particularly the rhythm section) are super skilled, but perhaps too much character has been ironed out of the vocals

^this. I'm relistening to the Warpaint album now and I wanna go all JK Simmons on their voices

xp that's insane

I think there's another "metal" album you may like this year lex

― o.m.g. lol @ hurt butt (wins),

what would that be? It can't be menace ruine.

there are a lot of great tracks on Honest (plus a couple terrible ones admittedly). feel like you guys are kind of overinvested in the narrative on this one

I really dug this album *skrug*

I think the flat-affect singing on the Warpaint album is the unifying thread across the songs that weave them into a stronger whole.

^yes I like the vocals they add to the hypnotic feeling of the music

I think that was used to better effect on the previous albums though.

scott0 xps

Had written this one off having heard what I thought were unforgivably misogynistic lyrics, but I've just looked them up and was apparently mistaken. Ready to give it another chance... Pretty interesting production so far!

yeah the future album was super disappointing. the title track owns though, which reminds me that totally got snubbed in the tracks poll, goons blew that one

― k3vin k., Monday, January 26, 2015 1:55 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tbf it was in 2013, when the vote was split between half a dozen great Future hits

Oh no, here we go... I'm out on this one.

yeah the future album was super disappointing. the title track owns though, which reminds me that totally got snubbed in the tracks poll, goons blew that one

― k3vin k., Monday, January 26, 2015 1:55 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tbf it was in 2013, when the vote was split between half a dozen great Future hits

― diddybops 67 (120.2)(source field mix) (some dude), Monday, January 26, 2015 2:00 PM (2 minutes ago)

huh for some reason i thought the single was released in late 2013, i guess it was august

ok i listened to a little bit of warpaint and yes i would enjoy the music a lot more if there were no words/vocals

not because their voices are boring or offensive or w/e they're just not interesting enough to add to the music and words themselves are distracting
would rather just groove along instrumentally

dunno whether i should be surprised future scraped in or slightly pity the fall of a former ilx favourite

the album wasn't that bad at all, "special" and "i be u" are pretty great, but it really had a grab-bag, unsure feel about it

― lex pretend,

Young Thug, you are put on notice.

http://i.imgur.com/4PjnTIV.jpg

66 KHUN NARIN Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band [263 points, 10 votes]

nice

there are a lot of great tracks on Honest (plus a couple terrible ones admittedly). feel like you guys are kind of overinvested in the narrative on this one

― rob, Monday, January 26, 2015 10:57 AM Bookmark

Word. It's not as good as Pluto, but it's like 80% as good as Pluto, which was hardly super-consistent anyway. It got my vote and I'm glad it made the countdown. I feel like this album's rep would be better if most of the best tracks weren't buried in the last half.

"Move That Dope"/"Honest"/"I Be U"/"Covered In Money"/"Special"/"Benz Friends"/"Blood, Sweat, & Tears"/"How Can I Not"/"Sh!t"/"Karate Chop" <--- all great

more mice

Young Thug treads that line between amazing and terrible way more often than Future ever did and has

The Khun Narin album is great.

Khun Narin is great, well done ILX

(xp w/xelab)

Keep forgetting to check out the Khun Narin album despite watching those wonderful Youtube videos repeatedly

what is this?

Honest just had a Carter 3 vibe to me where it seemed like he gave away a classic album's worth of songs to other artists and then threw together some leftovers for his own album

the writing looks Thai?

yep

xp: Thai psych wedding processional music.

I think the flat-affect singing on the Warpaint album is the unifying thread across the songs that weave them into a stronger whole.

― "Go pet your dog" is the name of my dog (DJP), Monday, January 26, 2015 1:58 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this is exactly how i feel, the vocals only get really emotive at a handful of points on the album and every one is full of intention

tzenni and khun - great start ilx :D

Tbh, I was never that into Future's big 2013 features. None of "Love Me" or "Bugatti" or "UOENO" or "Tapout" ever really did anything for me.

The Khun Narin album was okay as a curio but I didn't LOVE the music. Getting 6 people or whatever to do the work of one drummer is whatever...

Noura Mint Seymali and Call Super and Ought all sound promising so far. Babymetal are fun and I officially approve of them but they aren't for me. I still need to check out the Ninos du Brasil album too.

Nice! My #3! LOVED that Khun Narin album. So much fun for a jammy psych album. If you are unfamiliar with the album definitely check out the street videos of their performances. It really gives it a lot of context...not that the context is entirely necessary, but it's interesting.

Where is saer?

― strychnine,

I have done my time! Cant cope with the idea of whole albums of this stuff! Also I didnt nominate or vote for any albums so it doesnt seem right

xp i think that's otm, youtube def played a role in my love of the album. not sure if i'd like it as much just on its own.

Much prefer listening to an actual phin than what Khun Narin is doing tbh. This just reminds me I should've nominated that Soundways comp.

specialest snowflake lol

Honest was okay for me! Just not earth-shattering or enough of a standout to vote for it or any singles.

ur just being honest

^ha! yeah

lagxxn what was that IDigIt link you'd posted of the 10 minute video of thai music you liked or recorded or something?

or ThatsMyJam or w/e that website was

oh yeah that was so good!

Background: Underground mag Newsweek's story on the Khun Narin album.

Here's a couple of the links to street videos of the Khun Nariin band doing their thing:

http://youtu.be/sw01jVL0OsE?list=PL0DtV_dCGOlNOTXfJnuAKxYHj31tPPC5-

http://youtu.be/IYGl-l0Toig?list=PL0DtV_dCGOlNOTXfJnuAKxYHj31tPPC5-

lagxxn what was that IDigIt link you'd posted of the 10 minute video of thai music you liked or recorded or something?

― Jennifer 8.-( (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, January 26, 2015 2:31 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://youtu.be/RsUaRVW44fU

lol xp same thing!

http://i.imgur.com/eErFpdp.jpg

65 THEO PARRISH American Intelligence [267 points, 10 votes]

good album imo

yesssssssssss

yessssss first vote of mine to place

Johnny Fever good call on Justin Townes Earle way back.

album could go on forever tbh

That album sounds like the skeletons of deep, percussive house jams and it's amazing.

Cool. I wasn't even aware he had an album out this year.

didnt vote for that but everyone should watch the beautiful video for footwork imo

http://youtu.be/70CeiEJi1OI

Not on UK Spotify boo

Theo Parrish - Fallen Funk

yes theo!!!

"be in yo self" is stunning, whole album is - still enjoying getting into it, it's barely a month old

i like his shirt on the cover too

shirt/hat/beard combo is excellent

it is one long-ass album, still digesting it myself

Slight pet peeve, but "I don't like j-pop", like "I don't like American pop", doesn't mean anything.

People who dig Khun Narin's mixture of 'world' music and psych could do worse than check out The Dur Dur Band release from last year. Not really the same thing at all, but I really like this.

This was a great year for instrumental albums

http://i.imgur.com/YnSsgU0.jpg

64 THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Brill Bruisers [269 points, 10 votes, 2 first place votes]

more like Water Treaders

i love that cover to bits but have never got anything else about this band

Nah, this was a good record...best one since Twin Cinema...but in the end I realized I just didn't care as much now as I did ten years ago.

OK back to Theo then. The tracks linked above are all seriously good. Is it all programmed? Painstaking stuff if so.

Ha! I'm lukewarm on this album, but I've seen plenty of good to great live shows by them. The anti-indie hatred here seems kind of outdated, and not a little creepy.

I could hang with a full disc of Theo (listening now), good stuff.

Surprised to see 2 first place votes. Good album, but spotty. Best of the year?

Wait did that Theo Parrish album come out really late in the year or just with minimal fanfare? I missed it completely.

Have to admit when I saw that cover I was like "oh word Common made the list?"

man I hadn't paid NP much mind after Twin Cinema but this album really sucked me back in and I am super regretful I didn't see them when they toured

Cher Lloyd was my summer (should have been everyone's) and I'm overjoyed she managed to outshine her debut. Haven't even given Theo Parrish that many spins yet, but he quickly transcended artists I've been playing all year. The Warpaint album sounds great, but not much else to it.

I caught NP on the tour around the time of their debut and it kicked alllllll kinds of ass - that period (debut + TC) was when they were at their peak. Since then? There have been....moments of greatness.

This Theo album is pretty great so far. Hadn't heard of it prior to voting...I can see how it would have shaken up my list a bit.

People who dig Khun Narin's mixture of 'world' music and psych could do worse than check out The Dur Dur Band release from last year. Not really the same thing at all, but I really like this.

Definitely agree about that Dur Dur Band album. Doesn't sound anything like Khun Narin but really great.

will never forgive TNPs for the youtube war on the east coast ads

OK I had tuned out the NPs since twin cinema as well but this is sounding very good as of track 2

voted for this one, thought it was surprisingly strong

brill bruisers is a big step down from their peak but still has 4 or 5 really great songs.

the title track and the neko songs are all bangers but i could never find myself listening to it with any frequency after a couple times through

Wait did that Theo Parrish album come out really late in the year or just with minimal fanfare? I missed it completely.

Theo came out mid December, I'm pretty sure. Love it, but certainly haven't digested it yet. Second of my votes to place (Call Super the other one so far).

http://i.imgur.com/p9hqgae.jpg

63 LEON VYNEHALL Music for the Uninvited [271 points, 13 votes]

it's good but theo should have placed higher

Now this one I really couldn't get into, although I did like 'Butterflies'.

It's okaaaayyyyy. I like the first track with the strings a lot most of the rest is kind of boring.

first of mine to place

Alllllllmmmmmmmmost voted for Ought. Maybe that was my only shot at placing something and I fucked it up.

Apropos as the guy next to me on the bus currently is inside the deku tree in his DS zelda game

Damn, I just realized Aphex Twin is gonna win, isn't he? There hasn't been an Aphex albums released during ILM's EOY poll era, so punters must've had a huge suppressed aphexgasm just waiting to erupt into votes. Blah.

No

actually tuomas, good news, pete namlook is going to win

aphex at #11 imo

Aphex will place high (like top 10), but will not win.

FKA twigs or T. Swift will win.

Aphex seems like a lock for top 10 but 1 is unlikely

d'angelo will win imo

Richard D Awson to beat his near-namesake mebbe

I love the vynehall record but wouldn't argue with ppl who find it boring

gave it a few votes iirc but i liked some of the tracks a lot more than others. personal favourite is goodthing: http://youtu.be/ZP7oy6O7hrU

i should've voted
sorry :(

http://i.imgur.com/ftpAthH.jpg

62 DEAN BLUNT Black Metal [272 points, 9 votes]

Thought this was a good album but it didn't really stick with me.

I can't make heads or tails of this (though I only started listening to it for the first time ten minutes ago).

Track titles are great. I'm really hoping now it sounds like Lush meets 50 Cent.

there's something impressive about how similar all his records sound regardless of the sounds he uses

I tried to listen to that album but couldn't make it halfway through.

I don't like the ALL CAPS naming convention for tracks, but I shouldn't let that blind me. This is fine.

This sounds like something a friend would record and then play for you and you have to say nice things about it because he's your friend but down inside you and he both know it's not very good.

I'd be very frustrated if Aphex won, but I doubt he will. My bets are on #6

/nomorepredictionspromise

i am assuming there's some conceptual angle i would need to read about to "get" b/c otherwise yeah it sounds like some guy's demos

Such a misleading album name.

I'm yet to understand the work of Dean Blunt. He's like Oneohtrix to me - hugely popular with the publications/sites I follow but I just can't get my head around or relate to what's going on with it.

I keep meaning to start a thread of indie/hipster culture referencing black metal. It seems to be quite the thing these days.

Deafheaven

I like that Dean Blunt album, reminds me of AR Kane's wasted, hazy vibe

The Soft Pink Truth had the best black metal this year

^

(& Myrkur!)

http://i.imgur.com/wvpKzMX.jpg

61 FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB Piñata [275 points, 9 votes]

77 BABYMETAL Babymetal [236 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]
76 CHER LLOYD Sorry I'm Late [239 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
75 MICA LEVI Under the Skin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [242 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
74 NOURA MINT SEYMALI Tzenni [243 points, 8 votes]
73 REAL ESTATE Atlas [254 points, 9 votes]
72 CALL SUPER Suzi Ecto [255 points, 11 votes]
71 STURGILL SIMPSON Metamodern Sounds in Country Music [256 points, 10 votes]
70 NINOS DU BRASIL Novos Mistérios [258 points, 9 votes]
69 OUGHT More Than Any Other Day [262 points, 7 votes]
68 WARPAINT Warpaint [262 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
67 FUTURE Honest [262 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
66 KHUN NARIN Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band [263 points, 10 votes]
65 THEO PARRISH American Intelligence [267 points, 10 votes]
64 THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Brill Bruisers [269 points, 10 votes, 2 first place votes]
63 LEON VYNEHALL Music for the Uninvited [271 points, 13 votes]
62 DEAN BLUNT Black Metal [272 points, 9 votes]
61 FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB Piñata [275 points, 9 votes]

xp yaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssss

nice start!

voted ninos & warpaint, gibbs/madlib just missed my ballot.

that was my #4 iirc

Ehhh that's ok I never got that into it, maybe I should give it another shake.

I missed most of the rollout today but enjoyed catching up - voted for Khun Narin and Noura Mint Seymali, have previously enjoyed Call Super, Ninos du Brasil and Dean Blunt, still need to check out Theo Parish and Mica Levi...

Oh, and HB JF!

77-61 was a ride and a half

Dean Blunt's songs remind me of those 'Best of MP3.COM' posts on WFMU. They've definitely got something about 'em. Can't imagine why a label would want to release them in album form though.

You know we're all getting old when there's more bobbins on the albums thread than in the tracks poll.

Enjoyed the diversity of today's list. Had only heard 8 and only voted for 2 (Cher Lloyd & Sturgill Simpson).

i also found the dean blunt album inscrutable but i wasn't as quick to dismiss it as BS as you guys are. i ended up really liking it. it starts out kinda singer songwritery then gets noisy & then dubby.

catch-up on the last few...

rev otm re: honest. it's not perfect, but it's got a ton of great tracks, not just the 1 or 2 that so many wanna grudgingly acknowledge. a slight disappointment after pluto, sure, but not some smoking crater.

love the khun narin lp! preordered, have happily spun it countless time since. made for lolling about on sunny days.

remember enjoying the freddy gibbs/madlib album, but it's been a while. need to catch up on the rest (except new pornographers, who bore me silly).

Ooh, just missed the rollout. Good work so far, guys.

Voted for: Babymetal & Ninos du Brasil
On longlist: Dean Blunt (was never that likely to make it but still a good record)

I heard a tiny bit of Noura Mint Seymali and Khun Narin but not enough to consider putting them on my lists, I liked what I heard, though.

I probably should check out Ought, but for every interesting point of reference someone then brings up a deathly dull comparison to counter it with.

seriously great start.

madlib totally off my radar, i will check that

Albums results are much better than singles so far.

Dean Blunt ended up my 27, Babymetal my 31. The appeal of the former faded fast after a while. I kind of liked the moments most on Black Metal that could've come out on Sarah Records.

more bobbins on the albums thread than in the tracks poll

Much of the heralded bobbins material I've sampled this year has been a bit too "tracky", both in construction and intent as DJ tools. Past EOY bobbins have made more concessions to song form.

Voted for: Mica Levi, Ninos Du Brasil, Warpaint
Pleased to see: Babymetal, Noura Mint Seymali, Call Super
Discovered: Khun Narin

Ehhh that's ok I never got that into it, maybe I should give it another shake.

― The Reverend, Monday, January 26, 2015 3:04 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah ditto for pinata

interesting start for sure, didn't vote for any of 'em

Albums results are much better than singles so far.

Havent heard any of them so far and im on a train with no headphones, so its already a more pleasant experience. I own some records by one of the artists! tho not the one featuring here, which I havent heard, he lost me a while back though:(

Voted for: Mica Levi, Ninos Du Brasil
Pleased to discover: Khun Narin, Babymetal, Noura Mint Seymali

Oh, and I voted for Dean Blunt.

Khun Narin seems like a wild choice, when and where was this discussed?

I own some records by one of the artists! tho not the one featuring here, which I havent heard, he lost me a while back though:(

― saer, Monday, January 26, 2015 1:33 PM Bookmark

Theo?

oops, forgot to say who, but yes Theo

no thread for ขุนนริทร์ศิลป์พิณประยุกต์ (Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band)?

listened to bits of khun narin and noura mint seymali over dinner, enjoyed them all but utterly lack the grounding in their contexts to make any qualitative judgments

shocked @ my own ballot for apparently leaving off theo parrish - there were about 10 albums that kept moving in and out of the last 5 spots and it seems on the day i submitted, theo moved out and leon vynehall moved in. if i was making it now theo would be way up the list because that album is endlessly engrossing; vynehall just pushed my tasteful breezy summer house buttons - i find his productions smooth in just the right way, those tasteful strings on "inside the deku tree" and "be brave, clench fists". glad they both made it.

absolutely hated the music dean blunt made as part of hype williams, he has also inspired a lot of bad writing that makes me want to listen to him even less.

i have had the freddie gibbs album in my itunes for months without being moved to play it, it sort of has this dusty air of ~real hip-hop for j dilla fanboys about it whereas i would rather have rae sremmurd and junglepussy in my life.

I can confirm that the Call Super album does indeed sound fantastic on a big system, really intricately textured and pretty but with some serious low end at the same time.

Most intrigued about the Noura Mint Seymali and Khun Narin albums though.

it sort of has this dusty air of ~real hip-hop

lol I admit this being the reason why I like it so much.

"no thread for ขุนนริทร์ศิลป์พิณประยุกต์ (Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band)?"

A thread title that's completely logical and yet it's also clear why I never clicked on it.

i have had the freddie gibbs album in my itunes for months without being moved to play it, it sort of has this dusty air of ~real hip-hop for j dilla fanboys about it whereas i would rather have rae sremmurd and junglepussy in my life.

Vibe is sort of dated, like something that would have sounded brilliant 10 years ago. Feel the same way about RTJ.

it used to have the rather inscrutable title "no thread for ขุนนริทร์ศิลป์พิณประยุกต์ ?" xp

Voted for Cher Lloyd; I like the Future album but recognise its flaws. I love "Butterflies" and need to hear the rest of the Vynehall album; ditto Ninos du Brasil after the tracks poll.

Couple of things I've never heard of popping up which is nice to see!

Predicting that D'Angelo wins in a landslide.

i almost never click on threads with the 'why isn't there a thread for ____?' titles, i don't know why but they annoy me

xxp There's also: Psychedelic Rock that's not Psychedelic Rock

Wowwwwwwwwww Sturgill is way low. A lot of these are way lower than I expected. Pouring ones out for Menace Ruine, Botanist, Torn Hawk, and Earth...

i almost never click on threads with the 'why isn't there a thread for ____?' titles, i don't know why but they annoy me

― ciderpress, Monday, January 26, 2015 4:49 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the first couple times they happened they were incredibly obnoxious, but when they happen now i tend to assume they're knowing parodies of the form

What? No thread for MAGIC!?

Voted for Khun Narin and Warpaint. Sturgill and Noura Ment Seymali were near-misses for my ballot

i think botanist will still place- am i deluding myself?

Voted for Khun Narin and Real Estate (even though Atlas not as strong as their previous albums). Cher Lloyd just missed the cut.

I kinda wish ขุนนริทร์ศิลป์พิณประยุกต์ had played my wedding.

Think I voted for Mica Levi, v cool to see it turn up

xxp There's also: Psychedelic Rock that's not Psychedelic Rock

― Lee626, Monday, January 26, 2015 1:51 PM (17 minutes ago)

yeah, that was the thread that first got me all het up abt thee electric phin. esp this video right here.

completely agree with everyone who has said the Khun Narin Youtubes outshine the album (though the album is great too!)

Isn't the first track the same as one of the youtubes?

Menace Ruine may well still place. Botanist certainly will. Relax!

I was briefly in love with that Freddie Gibbs album throughout the summer, but I didn't end up voting for it.

I wasn't impressed with the indie stuff on here tonight, it was pure rote worthless dogshit. I mean the NP's and Real Estate - gimmee a fucking break! Ought were just more inconsequential, grinding dullness.

Fantastic first day. Bunch of new things I hadn't heard and already really enjoy: NMS, Call Super and Warpaint.

leon vynehall is my only vote to make it so far, beautiful album, one that i think a lot of people who aren't normally into house might like. the theo parrish probably would've made it given another few months to digest it, but so far "be in yo self" is the only track that i love on it. i really like the call super, but i don't think i love it, just missed by ballot, i'll keep listening and i suspect it will click in a different way eventually. khun narin just missed by ballot. i like cher lloyd's "bind your love" and i'm kind of intrigued, but i'm not sure if i could get into an album of emo balladry. real estate is an indie band that doesn't annoy me at all, quite pleasant in fact, i like that they don't come off as try-hards and they seem to know their own strengths.

shit honest & benz friends alone make the future album a classic imo

i also voted for warpaint - it grew on me when i relistened to it after nominations started, idk its still more background-ish to me than their earlier stuff

Pull up at this girl's crib bumpin Lil Boosie yeah

― 龜, Tuesday, May 6, 2014 8:26 AM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

77 BABYMETAL Babymetal
Love Gimme Chocolate but missed this happening this year. Will happily tuck into this album at some point and if that track is indicative, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.
76 CHER LLOYD Sorry I'm Late
Just recently got through this one; I don't care much for her as a vocalist. There's a standout track or two; I can ride for "Bind Your Love".
75 MICA LEVI Under the Skin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Voted for this; loved the movie and was so taken with the visuals I overlooked the tracks. Spent at least a week listening to this more or less nonstop. Lygeti-lite and very insectile. Recommend "Death" as the best route in.
74 NOURA MINT SEYMALI Tzenn
I work with people who got Noura out and about and saw her live this year. She's dope. Like the album but mostly for vibin' out.
73 REAL ESTATE Atlas
It ain't me man.
72 CALL SUPER Suzi Ecto
Never heard of this; looking forward to a spin or two.
71 STURGILL SIMPSON Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Voted for it and surprised this was so low! I listened to a fair amount of pop and trad country this year and this was as good as anything in that vein; if it's this year's token country name drop it's not because it's not deserving.
70 NINOS DU BRASIL Novos Mistérios
New to me but the representative track on the singles poll was great so high hopes.
69 OUGHT More Than Any Other Day
Never heard of it. Will try.
68 WARPAINT Warpaint
I feel like I tried this album at some point and it didn't click? Willing to try again.
67 FUTURE Honest
Fell completely in love with Pluto and had perhaps unrealistically high expectations for this. Move That Dope is about timeless; I will also rep for My Momma, Honest, I Be U and Benz Friendz. Plus he put Big Rube on so I can't be too snarky.
66 KHUN NARIN Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band
This has been sitting on my desk in shrinkwrap for months! I suppose I need to open it.
65 THEO PARRISH American Intelligence
I was aware this album dropped but I have limited exposure to Parrish and no immediate quick access (this is the only album thus far in the countdown not on spotify). I will find it.
64 THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Brill Bruisers
Never been a fan and doubt this is gonna change things but I'll try.
63 LEON VYNEHALL Music for the Uninvited
Glancingly familiar with this guy and a skim of the tracks is very rewarding... I think I'll be thankful to y'all later.
62 DEAN BLUNT Black Metal
Never heard of him, unsure what to make of this. Will report back.
61 FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB Piñata
Played this heavily and enjoyed it quite a bit but have a lil' bit of LOL OLD anxiety about riding too hard for it. That said, Deeper / High / Harold's / Bomb / Shitsville / Thuggin / Robes / Broken / Knicks / Piñata are all excellent and while I didn't vote for it, Pinata was only just outside the ballot. YAY OLD

"Redeemer" and "Stone Island" by Dean Blunt were my favourite records of that year, go get on them. "Black Metal" is... not great on the surface but framed as a "major label debut pisstake" (I think?) it is pretty good

Pull up at this girl's crib bumpin Lil Boosie yeah

― 龜, Tuesday, May 6, 2014 8:26 AM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― johnny crunch, Monday, January 26, 2015 8:21 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that reminds me, if Honest barely scraped its way in then Life After Deathrow doesn't stand a chance :/

re: gibbs/madlib, madlib still sounds interesting and fresh in a field where nearly everyone has has gone completely stale, and i think that should count for something. not a fan of RTJ tho.

i don't think i'll ever understand that perspective where the style of the music matters more than what it actually sounds like.

My favorite of this batch is the Vynehall.

Mine is probably Ninos du Brasil, and I imagine by the time I actually take it out to my car and listen to it while driving that appreciation will quadruple.

^ My favorite too, in ahead of Freddie Gibbs, Ought, Khun Narin and Mica Levi.

Of what I heard for the first time today, Nora Mint Seymali and Call Super are the most promising. Sturgill Simpson's nice, too.

No: Babymetal, Dean Blunt, New Pornographers.

A lot of folks repping "Honest", but I wanna 2nd forks & the Rev on "Benz Friends". Love that track so much, esp Andre's verse, being lol/yay old an everthing. Listened to it on repeat for quite a while when first getting into the album.

dammit, "benz friendz", do so much of my typing on autopilot :/

I think it's kinda interesting that out the 17 albums so far, only Ninos du Brasil has also show up in the tracks list. It's not unusual that with rock music people are more likely to vote for albums than tracks from said albums, but the same seems to apply to techno/house and rap and pop albums on the list too, which is a bit surprising. Are people just more likely to vote for different stuff (one-hit wonders, tracks that didn't get a particularly good album to accompany them) in the tracks poll?

If i like say 3 or less tracks on an album then I dont think of it as an album it just a record with some other tracks on it that i never play. If there's more than that on it I like then I guess I start to think of it as an album

there are only around 12 of these in existence

Future placed in both didn't he?

Oh yeah, forgot about that.

wow great start so far, my #1, #3 and #6 already placing.
voted cher lloyd number one, every single track on that album just grabs me, and every time i listen to it i find myself enjoying it over and over. the finale, 'alone with me' i probably repeat five times over when the album finishes.
also voted dean blunt and sturgill simpson high.
babymetal and ought were both on my longlist, think i was planning on throwing a tracks vote to gimme chocolate but it fell a bit shy too.
voted 'sombra da lua' over the record but absolutely fantastic to see ninos du brasil place on both polls.
most of the rest that has placed so far i had enjoyed but wasn't near voting for, except for the theo parrish and mica levi records, neither of which have i heard so will be checking them out.
cheers ilm and JF!

I was the #1 vote for Future. Had more tracks I straight out loved on it than any other album I listened to last year. Think the only other album I bothered ranking was 2NE1.

Also voted for Ought. Happily most of the countdown so far is stuff I'm completely unfamiliar with. Been enjoying the Noura Mint Seymali a lot this morning.

I was one of the two #1 voters for Brill Bruisers - the New Pornographers totally lost me with their last couple of albums, would never have guessed they'd come back with something this strong.

I liked the Leon Vynehall and Freddie Gibbs/Madlib albums although neither made my ballot (the Step Brothers album got my Old Guy Rap vote this year).

Keen to hear Noura Mint Seymali and Khurin Narin. Also the Ought record - I don't really listen to much post-punk these days but the Karate comparisons upthread sound promising.

tried listening to ought again last night but some of it was so close to tful282 that it was just distracting, like meeting someone who just happens to be wearing the hollowed-out skin of your best friend from school. no slight on their music but i just couldn't do it.

just going through this thread in detail now...

and "alone with me" being the best closing song of all time <3

album's like 70 positions too low

― uberweiss, Monday, January 26, 2015 3:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

completely otm for me haha

might grow on me though - i had a similar initial reaction to the protomartyr record which basically sounds like a less-aggro gvsb, but i've ended up playing the shit out of that (xp to me)

I loved that Protomartyr album too Nick, it got a vote from me, GvsB is a good point of comparison, I also thought of Jonathan Fire-eater for my sins.

the songwriting on the ought album is very very good. I've never heard thinking fellers, so maybe it helps. But I love the lyrics on Habit, for example describes the state of addiction/addictive personality disorder perfectly.

"Redeemer" and "Stone Island" by Dean Blunt were my favourite records of that year, go get on them.

yeah, both of these are better/more accessible than Black Metal. Although he's always going to an acquired taste

'Habit' was the song that made me feel sad that LTM will never be able to release a Slovenly box set while Greg Ginn still walks this earth

but yeah, that was a decent track

i've never heard of any of these bands, Nick. Maybe if I had, I'd not be so enamoured by Ought. Certainly felt frustrated by the Parquet Courts' 'Sunbathing Animal' for sounding too uncannily close to umpteen other things.

To mention Total Control again - they were the slightly derivative postpunk band I really took to during the nominations process. Worth checking out (opening track is lovely but an anomaly)

Parquet Courts are a disgrace

I need a list of very good lesser-known postpunk bands to check out.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/levi-roots-launches-post-punk-post-punk-sauce-2015012294685

I was the #1 vote for Future. Had more tracks I straight out loved on it than any other album I listened to last year. Think the only other album I bothered ranking was 2NE1.

Also voted for Ought. Happily most of the countdown so far is stuff I'm completely unfamiliar with. Been enjoying the Noura Mint Seymali a lot this morning.

― pandemic, Tuesday, January 27, 2015 5:38 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

My dude

Xelab 100% otm upthread. Worthless dogshit is correct.

My name is dog latin.

What is latin for indie rock is worthless dogshit then?

I bet you dont know dog no latin

nux vomica nequam est

What's latin for 'lame kissass troll'?

60-41 today, starting now...

http://i.imgur.com/pEzE4q3.jpg

60 TUNE-YARDS Nikki Nack [278 points, 11 votes]

whats the latin word for afterglow of critical irrational exuberance

Tune-Yards finally make an album that I love front-to-back, and that's when everyone starts to cool on them a bit.

ha found it quite tricky to jones for a second listen to this one :(

worst album title of rollout sewn up, maybe worst album too

maybe, one day, i will get through more than 2.5 of the songs on here.

i like the name nikki nack, and the cover to an extent. very ze records/italo disco

does the title actually refer to anything or is it insufferable quirky infantilism pt 939203354354

love your indie infantilism thing, lex.

All of a sudden I have a hankering for a cherry Fruit Roll-Up

I usually love twee infantile indie maximalism and I can't stand Tune-Yards.

Violently loathed Water Fountain, but maybe this harbours discreet depths I'm yet to discover. Trying now.

Only heard one song (dunno from what album) and never felt encouraged to explore any further, even after she won the P&J in whatever year.

we have no time for anything childlike ::roars with applause when nicki minaj becomes a human barbie doll::

that's a pretty low placing right?

mmmm... not really?

Would a Ting Tings comparison be unfair?

Some infantilism is uncanny & inspired. Some is unconscionable & insipid

it's a low placing when her last album was #10 in our 2011 poll. but it's also not unexpected given that on Pazz & Jop she dropped from a #1 in 2011 to #29 in 2014. it doesn't even seem like there was a backlash or bad reviews, people just moved on and lost interest?

it's a low placing when her last album was #10 in our 2011 poll. but it's also not unexpected given that on Pazz & Jop she dropped from a #1 in 2011 to #29 in 2014. it doesn't even seem like there was a backlash or bad reviews, people just moved on and lost interest?

― some dude, Tuesday, January 27, 2015 8:21 AM (1 second ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

quite possibly. it's rough when you believe in an artist and this happens, but it's usually inevitable.

never got into Tune-Yards but her stuff is definitely distinctive, not yr typical indie whatsit at all iirc

how much of TY's high placing in 2011 was down to 'shock of the new'? i don't feel as though this new album is much of a leap, is it?

I was listening to this while showering this morning – some of her best choruses ever. I top tenned it.

Becky G would approve.

I liked "Real Thing" and "Water Fountain" off the album but not much else tbh

http://i.imgur.com/FBf6x3y.jpg

59 KELIS Food [281 points, 13 votes]

criminally underrated

great cover/title. not heard this though.

now this album I couldn't get into at all besides "Jerk Ribs" and, I think, "Rumble." Dave Sitek arranges the horns rather awkwardly.

criminally underrated

guess no-one was all that hungry?

this falls into my 'like every track on the album' category
voted for it i think

xpost yeah same as Alfred, I like the afrobeat touches though, maybe its due a relisten

Agree with Alfred, love 'Jerk Ribs' but found the production really cloying over a whole album.

I should love Kelis but to my ears her producers don't often find the most sympathetic settings for her chalky voice. I do ride for this album conceptually though.

wonderful album, kelis is a rare one who can do retro revivalism (on the heels of a guettabosh motherhood album) and still sound completely distinct. if it faded a bit i'll ascribe that to winter, it's really a blazing weather album, but it's domestic as well, sort of like being in your kitchen looking out at the city. it probably sounds like a lot of classic 70s soul records i've never heard

aside from "jerk ribs" (obviously), "runnin" and "friday fish fry" were favourites - former for the gorgeousness, latter for the funk

This Kelis album was a massive grower for me. Thought it was kind of bland at first apart from Jerk Ribs which I already loved but slowly the rest of the songs grew on me. Forever Be, Floyd and Bless The Telephone are my highlights now. Shame this was her first album that didn't produce any big singles.

I'll give it another try.

I wonder will the Neneh Cherry album chart

the production sounds a lot more natural than the retro shit that actually does do well like "uptown funk" or "happy". horns sound excellent to me, and her voice has this dustiness to it that fits right in.

she smashed it live with this album too