Here's my obligatory favourite albums of 2014 list in no particular order.
There's also some photos I took from various festivals and shows throughout the past year.
Happy new year dudes!
Ought at Sappy Fest 9
More Than Any Other Day by Ought: I think I saw Ought 6 times this year but to be honest it could be more. The first time I heard "Habit" I was sold. They told me what the weather was like and I followed their forecast. Live, they punch you even harder. Lyrically they consistently stab you with truths and and today more than any other day I am prepared to make the decision between two percent and whole milk.
Sharon making my tear up at Chicago's Pitchfork Festival
Are We There by Sharon Van Etten: I can't listen to this record too often cus I'll start crying & questioning everything. So intense. Fucking amazing. Your love is killing me Sharon.
Hot Dreams by Timber Timbre: Shit is sexy and weird and dark and smooth. Sounds like pink smoke, slowly turning disco balls, neon lights and dimly lit rooms. Hold me closer Grand Canyon.
Weaves on the Williamsburg Bridge during CMJ with Calvin Love and crew in the background
EP by Weaves: Holy shit I love Weaves. They are so fucking cool. They melt my mind. They are so fucking weird in the best way. So unexpected. I didn't know my ear needed them so bad. They sound like nothing else. It's impossible for my not to dance/shake/slither along to this EP. They are my bbs and my buttercups.
St. Vincent slaying at Pitchfork Paris
St. Vincent: Annie Clark is a goddess guitar god. That is all. Happily her digital witness.
LP1 by FKA Twigs: Sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sex. Also Arca. Doesn't take two weeks to get under your skin, the effects are instant.
TOPS on the top of the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn during CMJ
Picture You Staring by TOPS: My late summer soundtrack. Was worried I'd get sick of this one cus I was listening to it so much but it simply got sweeter with each listen. Sounds like sunshine on the rocks. Saw them something like 5 times in one week this year. What can I say? I like grooving and it's the way that I want to be loved.
Adult Jazz doing it up at Iceland Airwaves
Gist Is by Adult Jazz: These brits may be new kids on the block but you wouldn't know it from their debut. Start off with Idiot Mantra and sink in from there to see what I mean.
Shrink Dust by Chad VanGaalen: Weird folk banjo beauty. Perfect for when you're not feeling totally human. Monster mashes.
Caribou with special guest Jessy Lanza at Pitchfork Paris
Our Love by Caribou: Electronic music with actual instruments. Hype as heck. Can't do without it.
Kalaboogie by Doomsquad: Rad tribal dance chants that shake you up. That description doesn't do it but just trust me. Really dope shit.
Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy at Chicago's Pitchfork Festival
Say Yes To Love by Perfect Pussy: Because they actually put blood into their work. Say yes to that.
Ruins by Grouper: Like the soft sounds of rain. Stunning. Made of air.
Odonis Odonis being bad ass in Iceland
Hard Boiled Soft Boiled by Odonis Odonis: Industrial surf gaze haze perfection. A definite highnote. The homies hit hard.
You're Dead! by Flying Lotus: It's fucking FlyLo dude.
me and my beloved Foxes and Fiction vinyl
Ontario Gothic by Foxes In Fiction: Orchid Tapes are cool as shit and Warren Hildebrand is a soft voiced angel baby. This album was HEAVY in my fall rotation and continues to be. It's as crisp as the cold air and as satisfying as crunching leaves under your feet. Also Owen Pallett plays on it so automatic win.
In Conflict by Owen Pallett: I've loved Owen Pallett since high school and consistently he turns out only the best shit. Each album takes you higher and higher and THOSE STRINGS! It's a complex listen that turns my anxiety into something that soars. He's always been on a path and wherever he goes I will follow.
ginla in Montreal
Lydia Ainsworth in New York during CMJ
The War On Drugs in Paris
Lost in the Dream by The War On Drugs: Sounds like highways and motorcycles and clouds in the sky and red eyes.