Trotter's Top Ten Albums of 2014

So then, 2014, a musical year dominated by long awaited comebacks and reunions, particularly that Kate woman (who didn't even invite me to her party.  Rude!) and with further talk of 'the death of the album' would there still be enough quality, new music in long form of the last 12 months to wax lyrical about?  Emphatically, more than any recent year, that answer was a 'yes'. 
There wasn't a shortage to choose from - in fact there's 11 listed here (if I hadn't have said, you may not have noticed!).  So albums I might have snuck in from 2013 such as Cults, Drenge and Toy had to stay in that netherworld of not been spotted in 2013 and not making it onto this list either.  What's also encouraging is that all of these made the UK top ten official charts (save one) which either means I'm getting well mainstream, old or folk are catching on to decent music - probably all three!  Nepotism also prevents me putting the eldest nephew's band on the list - but I can always encourage you to listen here. Do so and come back soon...


10) 'Morning Phase' by Beck (UK Chart Number 4)


There's a bit of a theme running through this list about not being able to judge albums on their own merits and instead being influenced (perhaps too much) by an artist's previous work or those of their contemporaries they are referenced against.  Case in point - Morning Phase, Beck's 'follow-up' a dozen years later to his masterpiece, the beautifully emotive 'Sea Change' which made Number 6 in my Top Ten Albums of the Noughties (do we still call it that?).  Although utilising a lot of the methods (and musicians) of its predecessor 'Morning Phase' falls a bit short on emotional weight and consequently some songs end up sounding a little too similar to one another rather than stirring you as a listener.  That said, viewing it on its own its still a fine album, with 'Wave' the stand out, incredibly stirring track, showing Beck's mature side with nary a beefcake pantyhose or devil's haircut in sight.


Look at: 'Heart is a Drum', 'Say Goodbye' and 'Wave'


9) 'El Pintor' by Interpol (UK Chart Number 9)


We all love a good anagram don't we?  Even if it's as cack-handed as Interpol's not-exactly- Countdown-conundrum level latest?  Well...maybe not.  The unthinkable almost happened this year, with Interpol almost falling the wrong side of the TTT tracks.  Fortunately sanity prevailed at the end of year 'one last listen of everything' and by realising Neneh Cherry must be punished for dueting with Robyn and not producing a barnstorming pop classic.  Seriously, 'El Pintor' won't necessarily win many new converts to Interpol's side but it may actually attract back anyone (me included) who was underwhelmed by their previous self-titled long player.  I mean, they almost 'go pop' themselves on opener 'All the Rage Back Home' - which plays with a lovely double-meaning when you think about it - and 'Anywhere'.  We also get 'Paul Banks in falsetto-voice shock' with 'My Blue Supreme' which is enough to win over (re)converts in and of itself.


Look at: 'All the Rage Back Home', 'Anywhere' and 'My Desire'


8) 'Sun Structures' by Temples (UK Chart Number 7)


Every year some psychedelic 60's throwback act seems to come along and I think 'should I like this, if it's not authentic?'  Thing is, it's too hard to second guess what is authentic and what is Bastille...sorry, what isn't.  So all 'It's the 21st century.  Can't you do something original' thoughts aside (and frankly, who is?), Temples' album sits pretty in the Top Ten.  'Mesmerise' (which, dear reader, I informed you of last year) does exactly what it says on the tin.  The title track is a proper journey through flower power nostalgia; 'Shelter Song' has one of the year's most-catchy choruses and 'The Golden Throne' is taken straight from a pre-Bond Roger Moore spy-romp TV theme.  It's bright, it's happy and we have handclaps (huzzah!) on 'A Question Isn't Answered'.  Who knows whether this will date well over time, though it's rather brave for them to call one of their best songs 'Test of Time' so perhaps we should be as confident as they are.


Look at: 'Mesmerise', 'The Golden Throne', 'A Question Isn't Answered' and 'Shelter Song'


7) 'This is All Yours' by Alt-J (UK Chart Number 1)


So I wasn't alone in having high expectations and highly anticipating Alt-J's follow up album to their exceptional debut.  Also I don't think I was alone in being a tad disappointed unfortunately.  Perhaps, a bit like The Xx before them, having produced such a unique-sounding, quality, fully-formed debut they were onto a no-win situation, never being able to live up to the promise or match the surprise of their first outing.  After all, even by taking their sound further on this release, we still had the first album to compare it to and it seems unfair that had this been their debut it probably would have been higher on the list.  That said, despite one of the duffest cover designs in some time, what they delivered was a compelling long player full of their (now trademark) off-kilter beats and monastic bombastic (!)  I don't quite get the concept / journey of travelling to Nara that the album supposedly tells but recognise the low-key start gets off the ground when we do reach 'Nara' the track.  Highlight is undoubtedly the splendid, Miley-sampling 'Hunger of the Pine' (with an equally amazing video to match) though there are certain bands I can do without going 'all sexy-talky' such as on the 'crisp packet' comparison in 'Every Other Freckle' which I'll not elaborate on here.  Overall though, you're left with the impression of a confident band who know what they are and where they want to go - and I'll still be excited for album number three.


Look at: 'Hunger of the Pine', 'Every Other Freckle' and 'Left Hand Free'


6) 'Everyday Robots' by Damon Albarn (UK Chart Number 2)


You ever play an album for the first time and feel like you've heard the songs before?  And not in a bad way, just that they tap into something or a memory that makes them feel comfortably familiar?  No?  Okay, just me then.  Anyway, that's exactly what I felt when listening to Damon's very first (!) solo album.  Perhaps the main reason is that this does such a good job of distilling the multitude of styles he's worked with over the years without it becoming 'this is the Afro one, the Gorillaz one and this is the Modern Life is Rubbish one'.  I don't quite think it's the soul-bearing record that some critics have lauded it to be - at least no more so than he's done in the past on '13' or whatever.  What it is though is just the best put-together album of the year, meaning that the songs are placed in that order for a reason (complete with for-once-not-annoying one minute interludes) rather than singles at the front, seven minute one at the end sort of thing that seems common nowadays because label execs thinks no-one listens to more than one track in order any more.  I suppose he has had plenty of practice, mind.  The music speaks for itself, especially 'Mr Tembo' which, in a parallel universe was number one for at least a month, the heart-breaking 'Heavy Seas of Love' or 'Hostiles' which he does so well and 'Photographs' which nicely sums up the modern fascination of experiencing life looking through a camera lens rather than enjoying it 'for real'.  For an album which starts with a voiceover proclaiming 'They didn't know where they was going, but they knew where they was, wasn't it' couldn't actually be further from the truth!


Look at: 'Everyday Robots', 'Hostiles', 'Mr Tembo' and 'Heavy Seas of Love'


5) 'Warpaint' by Warpaint (UK Chart Number 9)


Another act absolutely doing things their own way is Warpaint.  Although this can be a bit frustrating if you want them to supply another hit like 'Undertow', the moody, atmospheric furrow they're ploughing certainly rewards after multiple listens - no more so 'Love is to Die' - which was used to great effect in advertising E4's 'Glue' and burrowing into your head like the hungriest earworm.  Layered vocal harmonies and textured rhythms (which I hate to describe as groovy but there you have it) paint a cool, laid back palette which perfectly suits their image.  'Disco/Very' has one of the best such grooves of the year and 'Drive' has them channelling the very best Bjork impression.  Only the slightly flabby overly-long nature of the whole album stops it from being even higher.  If I was in a 'girl band' it would have to be Warpaint.


Look at: 'Love is to Die', 'Disco/Very and Keep it Healthy', 'Feeling Alright' and 'Drive'


4) 'The Physical World' by Death from Above 1979 (UK Chart Number 37) and 'Royal Blood' by 'Royal Blood' (UK Chart Number 1)


Okay so I've cheated by having 11 albums in my Top Ten (again).  There is a twisted logic to this though.  Royal Blood made the kind of debut (and secured media coverage) bands only dream of this year and it's partly due to drum/guitar rock duos that have gone before them.  I remember thinking when I heard them how Death from Above should have had this sort of success rather than be best known as a CSS track and then a few months later - after breaking up years ago - they go and release a reformation album.  Both albums bristle with energy, are actually exciting to listen to (a trait regrettably rare these days), go heavy where they want to but still have the sort of pop hooks Dave Grohl would sell his drum kit for.  Death From Above claim the more 'out there' territory 'Right on! Frankenstein' perhaps deliberately sounding like several songs spliced together and played at once and 'White is Red' managing to come as close to a heavy metal ballad as I've ever heard.  Royal Blood meanwhile make up for that with youthful energy.  Neither mess about either - clocking in at 33 and 36 minutes.  So again, another excuse to have both of them in this list (ahem).


Look at: DFA - 'Trainwreck 1979', Royal Blood - 'Little Monster', 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' and 'Come on Over'


3) 'Luminous' by The Horrors (UK Chart Number 6)


Oh, I've already waxed on plenty about how tremendous I think The Horrors' musical progression has been over the course of their four albums so I'll keep this short and whilst they haven't quite made as great a leap here as between their debut and sophomore releases, 'Luminous' is still a corker.  The widescreen, electronic expanse of  'So Now You Know' (with video to match) and lounge bar cool of 'Change Your Mind' are so far removed from 'Strange House', yet they can still return to their more gothic-rock roots in 'Jealous Sun' and the brilliant, squalling guitars of 'Mine and Yours'  - a true highlight of a fine record from one of the best British bands around.


Look at: 'So Now You Know', 'Change Your Mind' and 'I See You'


2) 'Trouble in Paradise' by La Roux (UK Chart Number 6)


Trouble in Paradise seems to have been the case for Elly Jackson, splitting from her producer and collaborator who helped (along with 'that haircut') steer La Roux to chart domination back in 2009.  Now because we live in a world where XFM can call debut-album tracks from Arctic Monkeys vintage (I kid ye not) it was always going to be difficult to return after five years from the spotlight.  When she did, solo and with no alternatively whacky haircut to put her on front pages again, it was with a bit of a whimper rather than a bang.  By that I mean the spotlight had obviously moved on and there wasn't a great deal of focus put on the album.  That's a huge shame (one slightly being corrected by music media end of year charts thankfully) because 'Trouble in Paradise' is such a better record than the debut.  Undoubtedly 'Bulletproof' and 'In for the Kill' were incredible singles but the album didn't match that level of quality and I for one had to lie down after listening to more than five tracks sung in a verging-on-shrill key.  All that's changed here, there's quality throughout and Elly's vocals are far softer than previously.  She still sticks to electronic 80's for an era and even recalls 'Think of a Number's theme tune on track 'Silent Partner' (together with the 60's Batman tune too which is quite the marriage).  But there's great writing at play on 'Sexotheque' (the title being both corny and brilliant simultaneously), top balladeering on 'Paradise is You' and the best false stop in a song of 2014 (this should be an annual award I reckon) on the superb 'Let Me Down'.


Look at: 'Kiss and not Tell', 'Let Me Down Gently' and 'Sexotheque'


1) 'Too Much Information' by Maximo Park (UK Chart Number 7)


You're probably not allowed to put a bet on as to what would be at the pinnacle of your own annual top ten countdown are you?  But at the beginning of the year, if I had been able to, I doubt I'd have gone for Maximo Park - and despite fairly favourable reviews I don't think anyone else would either!  But back in January I happened upon the rather odd vid for 'Leave This Island' and was taken aback by its depth and maturity.  Maximo Park had become known for twitchy-legged, frenetic, bowler-hatted lead singles but this was the exact opposite - forlorn, evocative and moving it was all that they'd hinted at in the past but mainly on the odd album track.  Buoyed by what I thought might be a bit of a return to form I got the album and found the single was pretty typical - in feeling if not in tempo.  Drawing a parallel with some fellow (part) northeastern pop intellectuals, 'Too Much Information' is the band's 'Behaviour' and 'Drinking Martinis' is also their 'Being Boring' - maybe its the accents.  '...Martinis' has the exact same feel to 'Being Boring' - melancholic, wistful and reminiscing for a time gone by - coloured by regret and thankfulness at the same time and encapsulated entirely in 'My Bloody Mind's one line 'Why do I long for a life I already have?'.  It's a real gem of a track and one of several here, each painting a vivid picture of a time and place both in musical terms and with Paul Smith's usual elaborate (but not over-elaborate) lyrics - again another easy Pet Shop Boys comparison.  It stops short of wallowing though, so never gets too down on itself and not overstaying its welcome, clocking in at 36 minutes.  Sadly, Maximo Park are past being 'in' or not even so past it to be 'back in' and with an album of such delicacy and subtlety I very much doubt 'TMI' will be looked back on by the music press as a classic - but you never know.  At least its top of mine.


Look at 'Leave This Island', 'Midnight on the Hill' and 'Drinking Martinis'


And if you want to listen to any of these whilst you baste your turkey, you can do just that here and you can peruse the Top Ten Tracks of the year here and listen to them here too at no extra charge!

Trotter's Top Ten Tracks of 2014

Given  that I only managed to scrabble nine tracks together last year I wasn't too hopeful of making up a ten this time round.  But thankfully, there's been a fair few decent tracks released in the last few months and certainly more variation than we've seen in quite some time.  On with the show then...


10 'Easy Money' by Johnny Marr - it seems to have taken a fair few tries for Mr Marr to feel truly comfortable in the skin of a singer/frontman after being the perennial guest-artiste-for-hire.  'Easy Money' indicates he's getting more at ease at this role and means the listener can focus on his trademark catchy guitar lines on display here rather than be put off by the baggage of his past.  By saying 'it sounds a bit like Hard-Fi' I do honestly mean it as a compliment.


9 'Full Circle' by Half Moon Run - there's been a glut of 'nice young gentlemen singer songwriters you'd take home to Mum' in the last few years and these chaps probably slip into that category rather well.  Still, let's not be nice-chap-phobic.  'Full Circle' is a fine slice of fireside listening, spoilt in my eyes only by realising its on the 'Made in Chelsea' album (and yes...there is a 'Made in Chelsea' album!).  The Mumfords you don't want to punch in the face.


8 'Busy Earnin' by Jungle - you always get extra points by having a stomping brass intro to your track round these parts.  Another hotly-tipped outfit but one which actually delivered this year, even if they lyrically fell back on a few clichés to do it in the process.


7 'Digital Witness' by St Vincent - definitely filed under 'personal taste', St Vincent can certainly come across a bit like that annoying person at the party telling you how mad and quirky they are.  But looking past that, it's still (sadly) uncommonly refreshing to find a female artist doing things on their own terms when that usually means dressing as provocatively as possible in as little as possible.  Hopefully, the focus on the kooky won't take away from Annie's music.  If you've been waiting for an off-kilter brass-led pop classic focussing on our obsession with living our lives online, your wait is now over.


6 'Don't Mess with Me' by Brody Dalle - and you'd probably be well advised to heed that advice from Mrs Josh Homme to be frank.  In a world where we wait for Courtney Love to sort herself out sufficiently to give us the album we all want, Brody is busy both filling that gap and branching out from the boys-with-loud-guitars backing.  Another example this year of a powerful female doing things on her own terms (and rather noisily).


5 'Water Fountain' by tUnE-yArDs - lauded by the music press, I hadn't really heard anything from them until they became my Glasto-tv viewing surprise of the year (and made it worthwhile wading through multiple showings of the same Kasabian track).   A breath of afrobeat-indie fresh air for a British summer that actually suited it for a change.


4 'Moaning Lisa Smile' by Wolf Alice - swiftly glossing over the pun of the title, Wolf Alice gave us a throwback to the 90's-indie heyday (a Throwing Muses-back if I can join in on the punning - sorry).  Fuzzy guitars, catchy yet floataway vocals and it's over in under 2 minutes 40.  Fabulous video too.


3 'Teenage Exorcists' by Mogwai - I've never quite 'got' Mogwai despite fervent love from music press and indie-fan quarters, perhaps that was due to misplaced loyalty to Damon Albarn for 'that t-shirt'.  That started to change with the wonderfully evocative soundtrack they produced for French tv series 'The Returned'.  Then I heard this track on the radio and thought 'Oooh, The Pixies have done a good new track' only to find it was these guys.  A fine, fine piece of music.


2 'Shake it Off' by Taylor Swift - obviously I can't play you this on Spotify - Taylor shook them off - but you can probably sing it anyway whether you want to or not.  Great pop songs have verses as hook-laden as their choruses and this has it in spades.  Add an ultra-cheesy valley-girl rap with 'sick beat' and 'hella-good' in the lyrics and how could you possibly want anything more?


1 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit - as admittedly great and all-conquering as Ms Swift has been this year, the track of the year has been cruelly snatched from her grasp by this gem of a song (she'll probably write about her disappointment on her next album though).  British dance / pop has got into a right old quagmire of late, so it's heartening that we do still get well-thought out quality uplifting pop music every now and again - and with a string section.  Here you go then, bet you can't listen without singing along.


And if you fancy a listen to the lot, check them out here.  Minus Taylor obviously.