Hey y’all,
So in spite of everything, we’ve made it to halfway through the year 2014 and before I bestow June’s blogmix upon the Internet for the delectation of any and everyone, in honour of making it through two-hundred new albums, EPs and mixtapes already over the past six months, I’m writing a few brief words on my favourite albums of the year so far. So without further fanfare…
My Top 10 Albums Of The Year So Far… In Alphabetical Order
Boy – Carla Bozulich
With a music career embodied by over thirty years of work including collaborations with Marianne Faithfull and Wilco, Bozulich’s fourth solo effort arrived with some of the composer’s best critical notices ever, the album’s eerily belligerent aura no doubt ensnaring each listener as its progenitor’s weathered vocals navigate through passages of Americana blues at its most tortured, dank and gorgeously gothic.
Metacritic Score: 83
Spotify Link
Everybody Down – Kate Tempest
If you were ever going to label any single artist of 2014 as ‘prodigious’ it would be pretty difficult to try and find anyone who can topple Tempest; already a prize-winning poet and playwright with a novel due out next year, she’s done well to also find time to lay down one of the most arresting hip hop debuts of the year, her passionate rhymes detailing an sordidly intricate story of city-based stragglers that’s never less than engaging.
Metacritic Score: 80
Spotify Link
Hotel Valentine – Cibo Matto
Easily laying claim as one of the late 90s’ greatest pop curios, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda’s music project went on hiatus after the release of only their second album (1999’s severely underrated pop gem Stereo Type A); with their creative juices rejuvenated after reuniting for a tour in 2011, its an absurd pleasure to report that none of their daffy pop smarts have dulled in their time apart.
Metacritic Score: 75
Spotify Link
It’s Album Time – Todd Terje
In terms of how long it has taken for reputable dance music DJ Terje to release his debut collection, quite a few of his fans would do well to change the title of his debut album to “It’s About Time”; however, when you get throwback disco this heady, propulsive and entertaining, such qualms can be easily rescinded (N.B. it’s the album Daft Punk probably should have come out with last year).
Metacritic Score: 80
Spotify Link
Music For The Uninvited – Leon Vynehall
Vynehall’s talent is certainly not one to be confused with the deluge of his so-called contemporaries who dabble in radio-friendly vocal pop to get that all-important number one debut single; sure, his debut mini-LP is a collection of more-than-nod-worthy house music, but it also happens to take its cues from as many classical samples as there are electronic, only to take them into equally euphoric places.
Metacritic Score: NR
Spotify Link
Nabuma Rubberband – Little Dragon
After courting notable plaudits for their previous albums along with their guest-work on albums from the likes of Damon Albarn, Dave Sitek and SBTRKT, the Swedish quintet hit their stride with indelible, world-taking confidence on their fourth album, the group’s brand of soul-flecked electro-pop owing as much to the sublimely sinister machinations of trip hop as it does the bubbly swathes of guitar-led alt-R&B.
Metacritic Score: 77
Spotify Link
Naturally… – Dana Ruh
Gorgeously deep house is the theme of the day with this German DJ/producer’s long-in-the-offing debut album, having kept herself busy with minimal-minded offerings since ingratiating herself into Berlin’s crowded electronic music scene in 2005; the title itself couldn’t be more perfectly suited to the wares within too, as Ruh’s ear for swoonsome sequencing creates an effortless ebb well worth being carried away by.
Metacritic Score: NR
Soundcloud Link
Pocketknife – Mr. Little Jeans
Having coasted on plenty of blogs’ Next Big Thing lists for the good part of five years since her cover of Arcade Fire‘s “The Suburbs” caught its fair share of appreciative listeners, Norwegian singer/songwriter Monica Birkenes’ solo project finally yielded album-shaped fruit with this collection of wistful electro-pop, which retains enough of a refreshing bite to make its heroine’s premier voyage a bittersweet joy.
Metacritic Score: 77
(No link for this one guys, sorry… You’ll just have to take my word for it!!)
“What Is This Heart?” – How To Dress Well
Crooner Tom Krell’s third album under his lovelorn persona finally saw his tremulous voice break through the reverb-heavy cage it was formerly imprisoned in and take centre stage, allowing the gorgeous arrangements and production flourishes to enhance his devastating lyrics rather than distract the listener from them; it’s more accessible and easier to listen to but the candid emotionality is still all there.
Metacritic Score: 79
Spotify Link
Yellow Memories – Fatima
Swedish native Fatima’s profile has been assuredly bubbling under for some time now since her debut EP was released back in 2010 after landing in London; blessed with a mercurial voice that offers inescapable comparisons with the nu-soul greats (Erykah Badu in particular), her album offers a varied showcase for both her songwriting craft and effortlessly blissful vocal delivery.
Metacritic Score: NR
Spotify Link
So there you are; if you think I’ve missed anything out/allowed something miscreantly terrible to slip into that miniscule chart of audio loveliness, please challenge me/let me know. And whilst you try and put your words together, please have a listen to this month’s selection of just-released awesomeness:
Dibder’s 2014: June Mix
01) “Shades Of Cool” by Lana Del Rey
02) “Cedar Lane” by First Aid Kit
03) “Palace” by The Antlers
04) “Trying To Do Better” by Tom Vek
05) “Coffee” by Sylvan Esso
06) “Repeat Pleasure” by How To Dress Well
07) “Simply Beautiful” by José James featuring Takuya Kuroda
08) “Thermal Capacity” by Answer Code Request
09) “Like That” by Martyn
10) “Pass This On (Shaken-Up Version)” by The Knife
And finally, one last thing… If you happen to be in London on Friday August 1st, you’d do well to try and make it down to Camden for the launch night of a brand-spanking-new gay indie night. Audacity is the name, venerable institution of late-night mirth and merriment The Black Cap is the venue and it promises to be a great party dedicated to the best rock/electro/alternative music, recent and classic, popular and obscure. As well as a multitude of DJs spinning their particular favourites (including yours truly, but don’t let that put you off!), the particularly fancy bon-mot of the night will be a live set from up-and-coming synthpop juggernaut I Am A Camera, who quite simply put are fucking amazing.
If you’re in town, please pop by… it’ll be an awfully grand adventure. Until then, xxxo
dibdersbooth 