ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014

glad to see steve gunn for some ilx brigade luv

kuhn narin is so awesome, i would have voted for both of those had i voted

I liked it better when he wrote actual songs with actual melodies

yep

Sun Kil Moon hasn't inspired much angry debate, as it's so obviously a load of terrible horseshit whose voters won't be able to defend it

SKM's ghosts of the great highway from like, 2003 i think, is pretty all right, but benji is so far away from that sound it's not even funny

i mean i get it there's a ton of mundanity contrasted with the inexorable advance of death on this record which really resonates with a certain demographic, i just think it's lazy garbage

the self-consciousness of it is really off-puttng

It made me want to listen to 'I See A Darkness' and not any other Kozelek material.

there's also a song on here about kozelek's early sexual experiences which no one needed

a certain demographic

like ian cohen and critics of his ilk who fancy themselves as like, inheritors and/or appreciators of this updike suburban anomie burden

if no one likes this album, how did it manage to get any votes?

haha that review :D

still kind of feel like Tavoris Cloud is his best song from this new period.
Fave Kozelek iteration: Ghosts of the Great Highway

there's also a song on here about kozelek's early sexual experiences which no one needed

This is true.

Ghosts of the Great Highway is a near-classic, April is one of my favorite records ever, and Perils From the Sea, the record he did in 2013 with the album leaf guy, was really good too, but this one didn't work for me at all, i think it's his weakest record.

Matt, you should probably listen to tune-yard's lyrics, or at least read them (and bear in mind that this is coming from the #1 booster of never paying attention to lyrics)

From the moment I clicked 'submit' on that post I knew exactly what some of those lyrics were going to end up being about and reading some of them confirms that - zing revoked.

Her image and aesthetic are still terrible though.

I really like Benji and I found a lot of the songs- Jim Wise, Micheline etc - genuinely affecting. I love the layered guitar work too. That said, it's the only real thing of Kozelek's that I know. I know very little about him as a person or his previous work or the WOD thing.
This album will remind me of lone summer evening bike rides in the countryside near where I live. It's too easy to be cynical about music like this I guess.

Name and shame the voters.

xps hey look jason segel and billy crystal had a very angry baby

― quan voice (voodoo chili), Tuesday, January 27, 2015 10:20 AM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dying @ this

loool

This record kinda of reminded me of Marc Maron's self-depreciating freestyles on WTF.

my hot tip for no-one in particular: listen to 'two coffins' off the against me! record instead - none of the self-indulgence and 100 times shorter to boot

Sun Kil Moon hasn't inspired much angry debate, as it's so obviously a load of terrible horseshit whose voters won't be able to defend it

― Scrabble: A classic board-game that Mark Kozelek likes to play with his (imago), Tuesday, January 27, 2015 5:22 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

ugh dude

like i dont give 2 shits abt sun kil moon but how do you post that and not feel immediately embarrassed about it

NickB OTM

Pray for Newtown put it over the top for me.

The annoying infantilised adult is a fairly common archetype in gentrified London and a quick image search for Tune-Yards suggests her entire image is based around being a particularly egregious version of that, and that's before you even get onto the music itself.

Disclaimer, I've not listened to any of the lyrics.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, January 27, 2015 9:13 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Matt, you should probably listen to tune-yard's lyrics, or at least read them (and bear in mind that this is coming from the #1 booster of never paying attention to lyrics)

― "Go pet your dog" is the name of my dog (DJP), Tuesday, January 27, 2015 9:19 AM (17 seconds ago)

recommended

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

52 FENNESZ Bécs [306 points, 12 votes]

to contribute something positive though, "i saw the film 'the song remains the same'" is a good exmaple of a good kozilek song in his new superconfessional , its the bright spot on the record for me

superconfessional style, rather

Was really looking forward to this one after he was like, "this is Endless Summer Part 2, y'all!" but it didn't really stick with me

first of mine to place! lots of very beautiful sounds on this one

I liked this Fennesz record, after a few times through it revealed more teeth & claws than the 'Endless Summer Pt. 2" retread I was expecting after my first listen

Heh. I voted for this one, but wasn't too sure it would place.

liminality was the standout track for me

skipped this completely, not sure why. i'd heard it was out way back when, read good things. something to look forward to...

i have not listened to fennesz since black sea and kinda forgot he put out something new

Sorry JJJ. The board seemed pretty unanimous though. I did get carried away.

Listened to Liminality on the noms Spotify. It's OK, sounded like Fennesz.

Really loved Endless Summer when it came out, but increasingly got the impression from it over the years that it rides a lot of MAX/MSP FX and gloss, which was definitely interesting at the time, but now also comes across as a bit like a demo reel from a studio technician.

that record cover looks really dated. enjoyed it when i heard it but never went back

Fennesz was one of the last things I cut from my ballot. It's shimmery!

I like the Fennesz better than anything I've heard of his in a while and it deserves a place here, but imo this record is not as good as Ben Frost's AURORA, which was released around the same time and which is flat out amazing

I keep meaning to listen to that Ben Frost album, but then again I had no idea Fennesz even released anything this year.

i remember feeling very nonplussed when i heard endless summer, which was an ilm fave back in the day. nothing happened in it!

things are happening in "liminality" but i'm not sure i like the fuzzy wash of guitars in general, i prefer my contemplative instrumental music a bit sharper than this. i wonder if the francis harris album will place.

i listened to the fennesz back catalog the other day in anticipation of hearing this but i just wasn't feeling it tbh, there's something a little kitschy in a bland way about some of the tracks on black sea.

lee gamble - koch probably won't place but it hits so much harder and better in my own "weird ambient with teeth" category.

Also enjoyed Fennesz but didn't longlist it for my ballot. Partly because I think I just had less of a drone year this year. Gutted that the one time I saw him live (with Grouper AND Natural Snow Buildings supporting, omg) he got the plug pulled on him when he was bossing the damn church.

just got here but wanted to cheer for BOTANIST yay@!

Given some of the albums that have placed I'd say there's a decent chance of Lee Gamble showing up.

Is it worth a bet though? /sorry

a cunning punt right there

did roll the dice release an album this year?