Joy to the world… Records have been brought!

Even though it is dark and raining, roasted almonds and hot wine makes everything better. So does good music! As I started a few days ago to summarize my top 20 albums of this year. I listed 20-11 in my last post, so now I will list the 10 best albums of this year. So here is the best albums of this year from 10-1!

10. Deafheaven - Sunbather


Do not let the pink cover fool you. This is not some indie-pop duo from Montreal which has some really nice hooks. This is a black metal album. But in a way it is not a black metal album. My friend summarized this band really well by saying " Sehän on bläkkistä duurista!" The beautiful shoegazing influenced guitar riffs and wishful lyrics give this album a feeling that will stay with you forever. This is art!

9. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away


Nick Cave has always been a talented songwriter, but with Push The Sky Away he really shows it. The slightly electronic and almost looping playing gives this record a really calm and beautiful touch. When you start listening to this record you fall into a deep trance that keeps you in its hold for the whole record.

8. City & Colour - The Hurry And The Harm


This record really grew on me. Dallas Green is well known from the hardcore band Alexisonfire, but he really shows he is capable of writing really nice folk/country songs. The sounds are really well crafted and the lyrics on the record gives you chills through your bones. The captivating almost falsetto singing of Dallas Green give a really nice touch to the record! 

7. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart


Frank Turner out did himself this time! The success that he got from the last England Keep My Bones record pushed him to the big leagues and of course there is a pressure for the next record. These songs are probably the best ones he has written ever. And the emotion Frank Turner gave to the singing really takes the record to a next level. These are the songs Frank Turner was meant to write and get out of his system. 

6.  Kanye West - Yeezus



After the critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy it has been a uprising for Kanye West. He did not tell anything major about the upcoming record. Only that he is in the studio making real music. There was no artwork done for the record ,because Kanye West said it is not necessary. Yeezus is a raw, brutal, angry driven record that shows again what kind of a man we are dealing with. Kanye West can say he is a God and no one will not argue against him! This man is Yeezus!

5. Touché Amoré - Is Survived By…


Is Survived By… Is beautiful. The post-hardcore band took me in their journey with their last record Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me. But this record really shows what the band is capable of doing. The very well crafted song structures make you feel that you are listening to a one really long song. The rawness of Jeremy Bolms singing and the personal lyrics give a really good atmosphere for the record and keeps you in its touch for the whole ride. These guys are going to be very huge!

4. Antero Lindgren - Talking With The Dead


Talking With The Dead, what a package. Antero Lindgren gave people something to talk about with his debut album Mother which was a dark folk record that was playing in my stereos for the whole fall. But with Talking With The Dead Antero created the perfect summer record! The dynamic songs and almost anthemic melodies of the songs stay in your head for weeks and when you close your eyes you see yourself driving on a highway on a hot summer day. Antero Lindgren is said to be Finlands Bruce Springsteen and that is a fact! 

3. The National - Trouble Will Find Me


The National has released really good records for a while. The critically acclaimed High Violet was a breakthrough for the band and people were expecting a lot from the new record. And fans were not disappointed. The Dessner brothers again show how you can make very beautiful songs with very simple chords and variation. Matt Berningers voice has gotten more powerful after quitting smoking and you can see it on the record when Berninger goes to higher notes so easily. This record is that kind of a record which you just put on and lay on the floor thinking about stuff. A very beautiful and raw record.

2. Biffy Clyro - Opposites


It has been a very rewarding few years for Biffy Clyro. Their last record Only Revolutions really got the band to play on bigger stages and even made the band play a headlining stadium tour. When they informed that they are going to make a double cd with 20 songs I was a little concerned. That is a lot of songs for a record. But they did it. The variation of the songs keep you listening more and more to the record and the slightly ironic lyrics of Simon Neil keep your mind up. As the band themselves told that they went as far as they could in the massiveness of the sound and they have to start from scratch for the next record. This is a big triumph for Biffy Clyro and they can be proud for all the claim they have gotten for the record!

                                                         1. Deaf Havana - Old Souls

Deaf Havana you say. What is this band you say. Well now you know. This band from England has had a really hard journey for their whole recording life. After the hardcore debut album the band lost their lead vocalist and guitarist James Veck-Gilodi took the lead vocals under control. The sound shifted very quickly to alternative-rock and a critical acclaim was reached in England. With their third release Old Souls they really show what they are capable of!
From the first song Boston Square you can find influences from bands like The Who and The Clash and the anthemic guitar sounds and raw singing of James Veck-Gilodi gives the song a really powerful grip. The variation of instruments and sound of the songs give a really well processed feeling for the whole record. You keep listening to the songs more and more and the very personal lyrics of James really make you think that has he really gone through all these things in life. This band is going to get really huge, I mean really huge! You better keep this band behind your ear and take a listen to the perfection of the Old Souls, I demand you to do it!

Last christmas I gave you... a lot of records

I feel bad for not posting any reviews for a while. I have had so much other things to do that my mind has not given me time to think about music in the way it deserves to be thought.
It is almost christmas. People are awkwardly nice to you in the stores and you can feel the tension of people wanting to start their christmas holidays already. For me winter has always been a really awful time. I hate the cold and the shifting temperatures in Finland, but Christmas Eve is always as calming and beautiful as ever. I myself am sitting in my hometown starting to relax from the quite colorful and difficult year of my life.

But enough of babbling. I was thinking that instead of making an album review I would list my top 20 albums of this year! This was a really tough call for me, because there has been a lot of great releases this year that have given me great feelings through the year. But here they are starting from 20 to 11. Heeere we go!

20. Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal


Bring Me The Horizon… I have always had a love/hate relationship with this band. Their earlier work was terrible and almost made me want to destroy every audio producing material I have in my apartment. But Sempiternal, it struck me down. The melodical slightly electronical sound the band has created around them has shown that the band can actually make really good structured songs. This is not a band that has a teenage based fan club anymore, these guys have a Cult!

19. Earl Sweatshirt - Doris


Doris what a package of emotion. When I first heard Earl Sweatshirt in Odd Future he got my attention immediately. He has a very unique flow to his music that shows he is a skillful rapper. The raw samples in his debut album are top notch and the almost depressed rapping of Earl Sweatshirt cover the songs to a perfection. You better check him out and go see him live in Nosturi, Helsinki in March!

18. Arctic Monkeys - AM


I have to say. I did not listen to Suck It And See record from Arctic Monkeys. That record kind of just passed by me. I was really controversial about this record, but the band has actually done something really interesting here. The Queens Of The Stone Age kind of vibe through out the record gives the sound a really dynamic and pumped up feeling. In AM Alex Turner again shows that he still has his songwriting skills under control.

17. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories


This duo. Holy duck what they did with this record. I can believe a lot of the old school fans can be really confused and annoyed about the really new style Daft Punk took for this record. But the sounds. Oh god the sounds, they are orgasms in your mind. From the first song Give Life Back To The Music to the finale Contact you are just jaw open listening to the variety of 80s funk and big band influences. If you do not dance to these songs there is something wrong with you.

16. Arcade Fire - Reflektor


Arcade Fire got me with their last record The Suburbs. The anthemic sounds of the rock album really gave the right approach to their music. With Reflektor they went even better. This year it has definitely been a really important aspect with artists and bands to get influences from the 80s electronic styles. The disco funk sound of the title track Reflektor and the ethnic sound of Here Comes The Night Time give this album a really easy approach and is an easy listening to people who are not familiar with the bands work before. Great job Arcade Fire!

15. Haim - Days Are Gone


These three sisters blew the bank. Haims record was those kinds of records that had to be listened a few times before you got something out of it. They showed other artists how to make really anthemic 80s pop/rock that many bands have been trying to reach for awhile. The Paul Simons Graceland sounding bass lines and the flowing melodies of the songs give this record a nice twist and keeps you listening to it more and more. You go girls!

14. Drake - Nothing Was The Same


This is Drakes year. His last record Take Care was an emotional raw package that was hard to match in the rap scene. But Nothing Was The Same burns everyone to the ground. The samples on this record are beautiful and Drakes singing and rapping is better than ever. This is the record that Drake made for all the haters and jealous people for his success. And that success he has deserved!

13. Sigur Rós - Kveikur


It has been a tough year for Sigur Rós. Their last record Valtari did not get the acclaim that the previous records got from reviewers and people were talking that they had loosen their grip in music. The bands pianists Kjartan Sveinsson left the band and Sigur Rós reduced to a trio. They had to take a new approach to music. Kveikur is rough, brutal, aggressive and full of passion. The self produced record really showed that the band can take a risky jump from the calming ambient driven music to a more noise based pumping. It is a new start for the trio and a fine start at that!

12. Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe


This trio really did it this year. They brought everything you wanted from an electronic record to the table. Lauren Mayberrys soaring singing and Iain Cooks and Martin Dohertys really combined playing really captivated the sound on this record. The songs have really good pop hooks and makes you listen to the record more and more. This is a really good debut album that gives a bright future for the band.

11. Moonface - Julia With Blue Jeans On


Spencer Krug out did himself this time. The electronical record in co-operation with Siinai was a really captivating concept, but when he released Julia With Blue Jeans On he really showed what he is capable of doing. The rawness of Krugs singing and only playing the piano gives such a soothing and fulfilling atmosphere to the music that it keeps you inside the feelings of Spencer for the whole record. A really beautiful and promising record from a very talented singer/songwriter.

Niklas Aaltio