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
No comments:
Post a Comment