ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014

thanks DJP! I know a few of these songs, but I missed out on '90s pop and R&B radio so it's kind of a big hole in my knowledge that I need to correct

i still really like the grab bag of later non-R&B things Babyface did (Fall Out Boy, Eric Clapton, the Josie & The Pussycats soundtrack) and would like to hear him make a weird eclectic record someday. but the album with Toni is a homerun for his more familiar style.

"i wish" is so good, so much acid and a great balance between being strong and being pathetic

Kept meaning to check this out, seems as good an impetus as any

re: Toni Braxton, if you stick with her first two album you get 90% of what people know and love by her:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Braxton_discography

I Wish is fucking bitter as hell. Love it.

the angel olsen record was my no. 1 vote

secrets is a legitimately great album

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

34 ANDY STOTT Faith in Strangers [424 points, 14 votes]

secrets is a legitimately great album

so is Toni Braxton

toss in ""He Wasn't Man Enough"

I LOVED the previous Andy Stott album but had zero desire to even investigate this one

h8 that cover

your instincts were correct – i felt this one was a let down.

xpost

I LOVED the previous Andy Stott album but had zero desire to even investigate this one

aw djp - this was his goth one as well!

check out the title track for example: http://youtu.be/9BIYV3BLcno

I missed the one weird trick of prior three releases, namely overbearing sidechain compression. I'm guessing inertia and belated recognition accounts for the critical praise.

OTOH, the cover art may be the best thing about more recent Andy Stott releases.

listening to "Faith In Strangers" now

I am one who is all in favor of drawn-out intros but good god man, get on with it

much more interested in going back to the Lena Willikens album crut linked on the thread I started in Idiot Thread Repository than continuing with this, which has a slight "Squarepusher on quaaludes" vibe to it

so ponderous xp

i don't remember his last record having overbearing sidechain, it was pretty roomy. haven't heard this one yet but will check out at some point, i'm a mild admirer

I put on Scuba Death's Nitrogen Narcosis (less ambitious, and better for it) far more often when seeking soporific dub techno in 2014.

what exactly were the ambitions of this record?

to serve man

things pick up on it after the first three tracks tbh, it does get off to a very slow start

I found even the last Andy Stott album, which seemingly everyone liked, to be dreary as hell, so no way am I going near this one.

http://i.imgur.com/mOLc0q5.jpg

33 THE SOFT PINK TRUTH Why Do the Heathen Rage? [426 points, 16 votes]

Oh thank god, finally something I voted for! Great, great record.

Ah excellent!

yesss

pro-tip: this album is rly fun sex music

:D

am i hearing the opening lyrics of this album correctly?

"ISIS, the rainbow of saphire mysteries, you are the calling I hear from the wind in my bones"

Thank fuck for this, my #7, completely amazing work, an important album even

Fuck yeah! Loved that SPT album.

This has so many good moments. And yeah I know I said upthread the whole appropriation of black metal has been done a lot, but this gets it right. It treats the source material with respect while shining a light on all its nooks and crannies, not afraid to make fun of it either.
I'm not that familiar with the original tracks - most of them are obscure even for BM - but it did make me go back and check them out. The difference in interpretations is significantly marked.
anyway so many great moments: Let There Be Ebola Frost turned into a thunderous italo house tune being one of my faves.

ok lol just realized it is probably referring to Isis, not ISIS.

lmfao

lay down that pipe son

Love the Snap! sample on "Satanic Black Devotion".

there's a sentence that piques my interest.

I enjoyed that Andy Stott album more than anything I've heard of his in the past. It seemed somehow less dysphoric and more beautiful

I'm rapidly losing coherence, coming of a straight 24 hour stretch of work...

*off

Really liked this album, especially "Let There Be Ebola Frost."

http://i.imgur.com/h2nE71J.jpg

32 ARIEL PINK Pom Pom [430 points, 15 votes, 1 first place vote]

"put your number in my phone" is great - i was sure it was going to place on the singles poll

Do the familiar song titles on SPT mean that it's an album of covers?

megalol @ that SPT album cover

possibly the most metal album of the year, almost certainly the most fun of the year imo

xfuckingposts

Dan, yes, it's an album of black metal covers.

if you turn the ariel pink record the right way up, it's actually called 'wool wool'