Review of 2014 : A-Z

Our A-Z playlist of bands we liked in 2014, there are a few letters missing but 22 out of 26 isn't bad. That concludes the 2014 review, see you in 2015!

Review of 2014 : Top 10 songs

The best 10 songs we heard in 2014, of course we didn't hear everything but everything that needs to be heard. Not all of these songs were released in 2014 but thats when we heard them.

1) Real Estate - past lives
2) Ane Brun - the opening
3) Vierance - mosaic
4) The Pierces - kings
5) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - until the sun explodes
6) Shura - indecision
7) Royal Blood - figure it out
8) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - simple and sure
9) Zoe Muth - too shiny
10) When Nalda Became Punk - song for Carrie Mathison

MV : "Run" by Spiritualized

A classic track and video.

Review of 2014 : Top 5 Albums

Lets kick off the end of the year review thang, starting with the "Best 5 albums from 2014" (or late-ish 2013) as decided by us. Why we have chosen these albums and anything else in later best-ofs will remain an esoteric secret of course.

1) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - days of abandon
2) Mary Chapin Carpenter - songs from the movie
3) Postcode - zebratronic
4) Real Estate - atlas
5) Royal Blood

MV : "How you satisfy me" by Spectrum

Acid.

Mary Chapin Carpenter - songs from the movie

Only an artist like Mary Chapin Carpenter with such a rich and storied back catalogue could pull such a project, where some of her classic songs are orchestrally reimagined with heavy influence from film soundtracks, off with such aplomb. You can just only wonder what a film that actually had these as part as an original soundtrack would be like.

As well as musically rearranged the songs often had to be sung in a different way to suit the backing. Songs like "Come on come on" and "I am a town" are very different. Sometimes it doesn't quite work but overall the album is an exciting addition to the MCC catalogue. Atmospheric and complex, rich and deep.

MV : "Robo sapien" by Die Krupps

You gotta love this.

The Ice Choir - pure holiday

Ho ho ho, a holiday season single from The Ice Choir - best band in the world (FACT!) "Its different now" starts off very low-key but has some tasteful Christmassy sounds and lyrical references wrapped up in the usual Ice Choir retro-futurist melodic beauty. Then towards the end of the track it explodes with an 80s-ish pop flourish. "Cut down the tree" is even more Christmassy, its almost as if Santa has started a synth pop band.

MV : "Julie is a TV set" by Ohama

Amazing early lost synth-pop.

Zipper - the worst day of the week

Out now on Dufflecoat Records this is the latest slice of bright energetic indie pop from Zipper, "Wednesday (the worst day of the week)" is pop tastic though personally i think Tuesday is worse. "Something big" continues the fuzz pop attack. Its a great 7" in the time honoured pop sense: immediate and frenetic. Its maybe not that original but indie pop done so well. "I know that you know" is the perfect close to proceedings, the song building up to a crescendo.

MV : "Little monster" by Royal Blood

It doesn't get better than this.

Ramona Lisa - arcadia

A solo project by Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, and while Ramona Lisa is electronica its also very different to the day job. Ramona Lisa is ethereal and complex, baroque and mystifying. The title track meanders through a myriad of soundscapes and aural experiments. Its beautiful though sometimes you wonder exactly what is going on.

"Dominic" is more straight forward and indeed is a very enjoyable pop song with a light bouncy melody. "Avenue" is a truly beautiful soundscape, like much of the album quirky and asymmetric. Its experimental, sometimes chaotic but so often enjoyable.

MV : "Closer" by Kele

Great track, atmospheric and layered.

White Door - windows

A lost and obscure synth-pop album from the early 80s, and it could well qualify as a "lost classic" by the quality of the songs and music. Take the title track, it might start with a rather insipid percussive rattle but soon serves us sizzling synth tones and an urgent (by early 80s standards anyway) melody with a great chorus. "In heaven" also shows a keen ear for a glorious yet fragile synth laden melody.

"Where do we go from here" has a very strong pop melody and is a true highlight of the album. Its the kind of song that puts a real smile on your face, especially the dinky electronic tangent the song heads into towards the end. Truth be told you can see why the album didn't propel White Door into the synth pop aristocracy, it lacks the edge and energy of other bands of the time though the somewhat delicate and ethereal feel of the album sounds more up-to-date for ears of today than some of their contemporaries. So they played the real long game and won.

MV : "Believe in me" by The Pierces

Kinda epic.