The Best of 2014 in Music

#5 Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker
Genre: Singer-songwriter
Released: August 19th, 2014
Label: ATO Records
Producer: Andrija Tokic
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#6  St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Genre: Indie rock/pop
Released: February 24th, 2014
Label: Loma Vista/Republic
Producer: John Congleton
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#7 Damien Jurado – Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son
Genre: Singer-songwriter
Released: January 21st, 2014
Label: Secretly Canadian
Producer: Richard Swift
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#8 Catfish and The Bottlemen – The Balcony
Genre: Indie rock
Released: September 14th, 2014
Label: Island
Producer: Jim Abbiss
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#9 Perfume Genius – Too Bright
Genre: Indie rock/pop
Released: September 23th, 2014
Label: Matador
Producer: Alan Wyffels
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#10 Ought – More Than Any Other Day
Genre: Indie rock/pop
Released: April 24th, 2014
Label: Constellation Records
Producer: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh
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• Adult Jazz – Gist Is
• Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
• Allo Darlin’ – We Come from the Same Place
• Alt-J – This Is All Yours
• Andrew Bird – Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of
• Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire for No Witness
• Avi Buffalo – At Best Cuckold
• BANKS – Goddess
• Beck – Morning Phase
• Ben Howard – I Forget Where We Were
• Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker
• Catfish and The Bottlemen – The Balcony
• Coves – Soft Friday
• Damien Jurado – Brothers & Sisters of the Eternal Son
• Delay Trees – Readymade
• Eagulls – Eagulls
• Fanfarlo – Let’s Go Extinct
• Fear of Men – Loom
• Field Report – Marigolden
• First Aid Kit – Stay Gold
• FKA Twigs – LP1
• Hauschka – Abandoned City
• Horse Feathers – So It Is With Us
• I Am the Avalanche – Wolverines
• Interpol – El Pintor
• J Mascis – Tied to a Star
• James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical
• Jungle – Jungle
• Kelis – Food
• King Creosote – From Scotland with Love
• La Roux – Trouble In Paradise
• Lana Del Rey – Ultyraviolence
• Luluc – Passerby
• Lykke Li – I Never Learn

• Mac DeMarco – Salad Days
• Marissa Nadler – July
• Ought – More Than Any Other Day
• Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal
• Perfume Genius – Too Bright
• Prawn – Kingfisher
• Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right
• Real State – Atlas
• Robert Plant – lullaby and… The Ceasless Roar
• Rosanne Cash – The River & the Thread
• Royal Blood – Royal Blood
• Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
• Secret Colours – Positive Distractions
• Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
• Simone Felice – Strangers
• Sinkane – Mean Love
• Spoon – They Want My Soul
• St. Vincent – St. Vincent
• Strand of Oaks – Heal
• Swans – To Be Kind
• Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso
• Taylor Swift – 1989
• Temples – Sun Structures
• The Horrors – Luminous
• The New Basement Tapes – Lost on the River
• The Twilight Sad – No one wants to be here & no one wants to leave
• The War on Drugs – Lost In the Dream
• Timber Timbre – Hot Dreams
• Tina Dico – Whispers
• Warpaint – Warpaint
• We Were Promised Jetpacks – Unravelling
• Woods – With Light and With Love
• Wye Oak – Shriek

#2 We Were Promised Jetpacks – Safety In Numbers

The opening track of the third studio album by the Scottish indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks, Unravelling. It was released on FatCat Records on October 6, 2014. Maybe it is not the best album of the band, but this is one of the songs of the very best of their repertoire. The performance of this video was recorded for their live session at Little Elephant.

#3 Ryan Adams – Gimme Something Good

Ryan Adams is back this year with a new work. Very different sound to what we were used to in the last years, but really good as all what he does. I had once the opportunity to see him playing live, in LA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and I can say that Adams is one of those few artists that could work on any genre and he will sound great. Ryan Adams’ self-titled album was released on September 9th via Pax-Am.

#4 Sam Smith – Stay With Me

The first time I listened to Sam Smith was in the video of the band Disclosure on Later with Jools Holland (June 4th, 2013), and the first impact that I got from this artist was given by his voice, his talent as a singer. But then when you pay attention on the singer-songwriter and not just the singer, you find an excellent author. His debut album “In the Lonely Hour” includes more than one gem, like this one, “Stay With Me”, written by Smith and Jimmy Napier.

#5 Catfish And The Bottlemen – Kathleen

“Kathleen” is my favorite song by the indie rock band from North Wales (UK), Catfish and The Bottlemen. The band has debuted for Communion/Island Records with their album “The Balcony”, produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Editors, Adele). “Kathleen” was the fourth single of their debut album and I include it in this list because of its strength, its charm and because I sing it every day when I wake up, and that put them directly in my top 5.

#2 James Vincent McMorrow – Cavalier

From the album Post Tropical, released January 13, 2014. The Cavalier video is the first in a trilogy of short films directed by Aoife Mcardl. Perhaps due to its repressed tension, or just by the wave of McMorrow’s lyrics as a moan, Cavalier is the story of something that can’t end well. A full film in three parts.

#3 Keaton Henson – Healah Dancing

From Keaton Henson’s last album “Romantic Works”, a great album which release was almost unnoticed, probably because of its music genre, chamber music. But its video was not. The actors’ performance and their dancing dialogue on a mute conversation is something that can’t be missed.

#4 Various Artists – God Only Knows (Beach Boys)

The BBC launched “BBC Music”. To celebrate it, they released the single “God Only Knows”, a Beach Boys’ cover, featuring a dazzling array of musical stars, to raise money for BBC Children in Need. The video is too sweet, but it has a great production and it was made for a good cause. Read the full list of participant in order of appearance here.

#5 Die Antwoord – Pitbull Terrier

The video by South African duo Die Antwoord for their single Pitbull Terrier, was included in their new album “Donker Mag” (Zef Recordz, June 3, 2014). Die Antwoord: or you hate them or you love them. I love them. And I love Yo-Landi. You won’t see her until the second half of the video. A video that is violent as hell this time, but a good production as always and directed by NINJA.

• Acollective – Breakapart
• BOKKA – Reason
• Die Antwoord – Pitbull Terrier
• Foster The People – Best Friend
• Foster The People – Pseudologia Fantastica
• Foxygen – Coulda Been My Love
• Hey Ocean! – If I Were A Ship
• Jake Bugg-There’s a beast and we all feed it
• James Vincent McMorrow – Cavalier
• José González – Every Age
• Keaton Henson – Healah Dancing

• King Creosote – Something To Believe In
• Paul McCartney – Hope For The Future
• Panda Bear – Boys Latin
• Tan Vampires – Into The West
• Temples – Mesmerise
• Tree – Stuck Down The Wrong Rabbit Hole
• Various Artists – God Only Knows (Beach Boys cover)
• Woodkid – The Golden Age (feat. Max Richter “Embers”)
• Zola Jesus – Dangerous Days

#2 Beck. 4th Edition, DCODE Festival, Madrid. September, 13, 2014. (Photo: by Mar for  Raw Critters)

#3 Disclosure. Bonaroo, Tennessee. June 2014. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic. With permission of Bonnaroo)

#4 Jack White. Bonaroo Festival, Tennessee. June, 2014. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic. With permission of Bonnaroo)

#5 Boys Of The Hills & Kevin Conneff of The Chieftains.  Whelan’s, Madrid. June, 2014. (Photo: JL FRias for Jungle IR)