Anteater's 30 (ish) Favorite Albums Of 2014
 

To differentiate this a bit from last year's approach, I'll be doing little snapshots of the first twenty and then more in-depth looks at the top ten.


30. Ought - More Than Any Other Day

Put On A Playlist With: Nomeansno, Magazine, Cardiacs

Canada's latest heatseekers in the post-punk world pulled out all the stops on this one: familiar elements abound, but there's enough cool ideas and attitude to bring the best out of this punchy, bass-heavy production. You won't find me rioting anytime soon, but this would be an ideal soundtrack to that.


29. Teramaze - Esoteric Symbolism

Put On A Playlist With: Karnivool, Coheed & Cambria, Anubis Gate

Ah progressive metal, one of those genres so dear to my heart. Few modern acts tick as many of the "right" boxes as these Australians though. Esoteric Symbolism is a melodic metal shot of adrenaline straight to the heart of a jaded genre, complete with a grasp on hooks and songwriting that would make the best pop acts envious.



28. Pat Metheny Unity Group - Kin (<-->)

Put On A Playlist With: ...other Pat Metheny albums of course!

Metheny has always possessed a supreme grasp on mood and space as both songwriter and living guitar messiah, but this time he spices up the proceedings a bit with horns, sax and more typical jazz instrumentation on the back end instead of the World-music flavored synths he'd typically bring in on his old Group's projects. This would be a top-notch fusion album any year of course, but for 2014 its a no-brainer for inclusion.


27. Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails

Put On A Playlist With: Allegaeon, old school shoegaze

Death metal with an unusually sonorous, spacious post-rock production framing its harsher edges and pulling the material inside to a higher place. Lots of great albums this year in extreme metal, but nothing that sounds quite like this.


26. Marcus D - Simply Complex

Put On A Playlist With: CunninLynguists, Nujabes

Typically above average as far as the guest spots and flow goes, but what separates Marcus D from all the other producers working out there today is his subtle but always classy intuition when it comes to samples. He's got a flair for the grand and orchestral, and it elevates the music here considerably.

Anteater, I've always highly respected your musical tastes, and I've hardly followed music at all this year. Needless to say, I'm excited.

I will be following this.

YES! I've been waiting for this all year! xx

25. He Is Legend - Heavy Fruit

Put On A Playlist With: Mastodon, Baroness

The weird Southern deep-fried cousin of those modern sludge met00l bands you've probably dabbled in. In this case though, being a little off the beaten path is a huge plus: this album is a couple notches above Mastodon's latest opus in terms of creativity, and you won't find a catchier song than 'Be Easy' anytime soon either. Extra kudos all around too for the hallucinogenic quality that hangs over Heavy Fruit like a glorious fog bank from out of the glades.


24. Ole Børud - Stepping Up

Put On A Playlist With: Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Justin Timberlake circa 20/20 Experience

One of the best kept secrets in modern music, Ole Børud is better known as the lead guitarist and a key songwriter in progressive death metal band Extol. On his own time though, he's a top class singer/songwriter on par with the aforementioned Stevie Wonder tonally with a music style sitting somewhere between classic early 80's Westcoast AOR and the smoother side of contemporary R&B. This third album is a minor masterpiece, and one that could have been in my top 10 without too much trouble.



23. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music

Put On A Playlist With: Waylon Jennings, early Brooks & Dunn, 70's psychedelia

A great present to send to your hipster friends who think they're too good for Country: its trippy, interesting and never overstays its welcome on any one song. Some people have made the case that Sturgill is the best guy in the genre today, trying to progress the "Nashville sound" forward one record at a time. Based on this particular outing...they just might be right on the money.


22. Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden

Put On A Playlist With: Candlemass, Intronaut, Secrets Of The Sky

These guys are (arguably) the face of modern doom metal, and in the case of this album that status is indubitably deserved. People slobbered all over 2012's Sorrow And Extinction, but Foundations Of Burden exceeds it in ways both subtle and significant. The hooks are bigger and more confident, the overall pacing is better, and the production has just enough space to let the whole thing snarl and sigh in all the right places.


21. Paul Hardcastle - Jazzmasters VII

Put On A Playlist With: The better stuff you've heard on The Weather Channel

The U.K. based Paul Hardcastle is one of those go-getters who started off as a pioneer of sorts with synth technology in 80's EDM but later got a little too comfortable in his own skin once he established a "signature" sound in the early 90's.

That being said, nobody quite sounds like him in the smooth jazz world even now: he incorporates a wider range of instruments (like flute) and other textures, and isn't afraid of doing longer songs or more ambient material either. I'll close out of this by saying you'll either dig the night driving smooveness of Jazzmasters VII or feel complete indifference toward it. I just happen to lean toward the former. ;)

20. Fish On Friday - Godspeed

Put On A Playlist With: The Alan Parsons Project

Now here's something pretty swell: some modern mellow art-rock in the vein of early 80's Alan Parsons Project or perhaps a less obtuse Pink Floyd. Nice vocals, solid production with a dash of contemporary synths, lots of cool details if your paying attention too. I suppose there must be something pretty snazzy in the water over in the Netherlands, because these guys are incredibly engaging on Godspeed's best moments.


19. Nightbringer - Ego Dominus Tuus

Put On A Playlist With: Emperor, mid 90's Ulver, early Opeth or perhaps Enslaved

I think there's some sort of unconscious mutual prejudice amongst many metalheads that American black metal will never touch anything done in greater Europe from the early 90's through the early 00's, but I think Nightbringer are a shining example of why that train of thought is incorrect. A rather punchy yet cavernous production job and a few progressive touches here and there on the arrangements are a few things you'll notice immediately, but the whole album is a helluva trip: highly recommended.



18. Dirty Loops - Loopified

Put On A Playlist With: Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Dimension, The Reign Of Kindo, School Food Punishment, early Backstreet Boys, 70's jazz-fusion

In contemporary pop music's darkest hour, an era where musicianship and interesting ideas are shoved off the radio in favor of endless replays of whatever Taylor Swift or her contemporaries are peddling...one trio of young Swedish dudes have stepped up to bat with a combination of killer pop hooks and jazzy instrumental chops so sharp they'll take your head clean off. They are Dirty Loops...and they are here to stay. Amen!


17. Kayo Dot - Coffins On IO

Put On A Playlist With: Scott Walker, Swans, Depeche Mode, The Cure

Toby Driver's latest reconstruction of the Kayo Dot universe is equal parts witching hour jazz and John Carpenter-esque synthesized nightmare fuel that constantly sounds like its on the verge of unraveling into pure and utter chaos. In other words, top shelf avant-garde entertainment and the best material I've heard from him since the maudlin of the Well days.


16. Casualties Of Cool - Casualties Of Cool

Put On A Playlist With: early Fleetwood Mac, Johnny Cash, Comus, Honeychurch...and a lot of other vastly disparate acts across multiple genres.

Can Devin Townsend do no wrong? I've been convinced for a few years now that he's a living, breathing example of what it means to be at the top of your craft...perhaps above all others. Like the infamous Frank Zappa, "Heavy Devy" has a seemingly endless amount of creativity, dedication and drive to bring incredible music to life both in and out of his typically zany and catchy-as-fuck approach to metal. In the case of Casualties Of Cool, you can add 70's West Coast rock n' roll, experimental jazz and old school outlaw Country to his list of conquered frontiers. Absolutely phenomenal album experience, right up there along with my top 10 this year...

Wow. I've heard only #23 and #30. I suck.

LOL at the Paul Hardcastle, it took me right back to Sunday mornings "Jazz brunch" my mom used to listen to on the radio. Simply great.

I'm freaking out because these get better and better. After Casualties of Cool at number 16 I can't imagine what numbers 1-15 are! So psyched. Thanks Ant! <3

Happy to see Casualties of Cool on this list.

mordwyr: Don't feel bad amigo. For what its worth, I often haven't heard half of everyones' lists either. :laughing:

misspoptart: Your mom knows her smooth music! And of course, thanks for sticking around. You'll get a kick out of the rest!

Ki: As am I. And honestly, it could have been #1 this year under normal circumstances. But things just don't always pan out as you plan, and there were plenty of competitors. :)


15. Nate Williams - Got To Let Go

Put On A Playlist With: early D'Angelo, Usher, Leon Ware

I touched upon this soulful Welshman in my yacht rock journal not too long ago, but the whole album actually ended up having a lot more staying power than I expected. While the songwriting of course is great, Williams' particular sonic palette is a quilted pattern of the chillest elements in modern R&B and early 80's L.A. synth pop that immediately elevates him above most of the better known players on the board right now.


14. Freddie Gibbs & The Worlds Freshest - The Tonite Show (EP)

Put On A Playlist With: Pinata by Madlib & Freddie Gibbs, the smoother side of gangsta rap

The best half hour of hip-hop you'll spend this year. The critics will tell you that Freddie's collaboration with Madlib is the only top shelf drink you'll need (and it IS good), but I liken this to being a great cheap frozen margarita mix as opposed to the straight up patrón tequila of Piñata: the former is a lot more fun at parties, and your posse will be surprised at how good it is once they've had a taste.



13. Rick Miller - Heart Of Darkness

Put On A Playlist With: The Moody Blues, David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Nick Cave

Rick Miller is one of the more interesting independent one-man shows in the 70's inspired prog-rock world, a man full of dark morbid tales to tell and a particular aesthetic he wants to canvas them in. In the case of Heart Of Darkness, that aesthetic is somewhere between classic Moody Blues / King Crimson and the multiculturally minded realms of early Peter Gabriel or any number of early Darkwave bands who signed to 4AD throughout the 80's. 'Haunting' isn't a word I apply too much to music I listen to, but ol' Rick here certainly fits that description to a fair degree. Brilliant stuff when the mood is right!


12. Veni Domine - Light

Put On A Playlist With: Your favorite classic doom metal, Kamelot, Fields Of The Nephilim, Queensrÿche

I've always described these guys as Saint Vitus meets Queensrÿche circa Operation: Mindcrime, and that comparison still holds true to a degree with their latest Light. Absolutely top notch symphonic doom-laden heavy metal, and I find it fascinating that they've been putting out such great music since 1991 despite their obscurity.


11. Devin Townsend - Z2

Put On A Playlist With: Strapping Young Lad, other Townsend albums, The Omega Experiment, Ramage Inc.

We're back to Townsend again...but again, who else is capable of releasing three perfect albums in the space of one year? Z2 is two records in one, a melodic metal masterpiece called Sky Blue and his conceptually driven sequel to 2007's Ziltoid The Omniscient known as Dark Matters. The latter is a lot of fun, but Sky Blue may be modern music's equivalent to Def Leppard's Hysteria: you get so caught up in the hooks and production that you can forgive Townsend for not taking a huge creative leap from 2012's Epicloud. He's the best at what he does and he damn well knows it by now: we're all just along for the ride at this point.

I've heard that Devin Townsend track somewhere this year, on a movie or TV show maybe? Love it although I'm not huge on anything with even a twinge of metal, it's brilliant. Any idea where it might have been used?

^ Metal that can even appeal to someone not normally into that side of the musicverse is something special indeed...I'd be interested to know if 'Rejoice' was actually used in any commercials though. Maybe the corporate world is catching D-Townsend fever. :p:

Anyhoo...



With the release of this excellent album came a question that's fairly interesting in its own right: can a "classic" metal band release something completely cut off from that aspect of their musical architecture and still be "accepted" as a metal band?

According to dozens upon dozens of metal "best-of" lists this year, the answer seems to be a big yes. Opeth are no strangers to prog: Lead singer Mikael Akerfeldt's obvious obsession with the dark, Hammond-drenched occultic rock of his youth has been ingrained in Opeth's sound since Still Life from the late 90's and beyond. And this isn't even the first time we've gotten a completely "non-metal" album from him either: 2003's Damnation and 2011's Heritage would have fit right in on a playlist between Black Sabbath's Paranoid and Camel's first two albums on mid 70's "indie" radio.

While I was initially a tad underwhelmed by Pale Communion when it hit stateside earlier this year, subsequent listens since that time has eventually allowed it to eclipse 80% of my existing (and very excellent) list. The "why" of it is a bit harder to quantify: its definitely the strongest of the "non-metal" Opeth albums in their lengthy canon, but it might also be due to songs like the luscious 'River' and the surprisingly soulful closer 'Faith In Others', pieces of a great puzzle that mark a subtle difference in that kind of material we've gotten from the band so far.

It's kinda fascinating really, having observed these guys over twenty some years completely shed many of the traits that initially drew in their core audience. Hell, you can literally hear Opeth coming to grips with Mikael's new "vision" for the band over the course of these eight songs, coalescing into that vivid early 70's time capsule that Heritage or Mikael's earlier collaboration with Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion, really wanted to be but ultimately weren't. Sometimes less is more, and there's an organic sense of progression to Pale Communion that isn't "quite" there in the previously mentioned material. It's a small thing, but it makes all the difference to the long-term listener.

Rock music will continue to progress in a literal sense past the trappings of previous decades with the help of many, many forward thinking bands in a variety of times and places. Many will fail, some will succeed, and few might even make some money at it. But for those of us who don't mind looking back into the old well tread heart of the experimental early 70's, this record could very well be remembered as the incantation that came the closest to raising it from the tomb for a larger audience's benefit.

A dynamite cocktail between savage old school jazz-fusion and the crazier side of modern metal that has culminated into an experience so stellar that it would be impossible for me to leave it out of my top ten. The band itself, made up of Between The Buried And Me’s Dan Briggs on bass, tenor saxophonist and flautist Walter Fancourt (Casual Curious, Brand New Life) and drummer Matt Lynch (Eyris), has a chemistry that rivals Rush at their peak in sheer teleplay and enough variety to easily stride ahead of the majority of other jazz albums that have hit the market this year. At the very least, you'll find yourself raising your eyebrows a bit in appreciation for the talent on display here. :wave:

What I like most about the record is the range and overall balance of ideas on Digital Dream Sequence: for example, there's a lot of quieter interludes with cool keyboards and jazzy flute on cuts like 'From The Earth To The Moon' or the noir-drenched 'Hysteria", but there's also plenty of blistering bass runs and a lot of energy and awesome sax solos that makes the quieter or more contemporary touches in the electronics and production stand out even more vividly in the mind of the listener.

In short, it takes something exceptional to "wow" me in jazz. Now, its true that I cut lot of contemporary jazz slack because you treat that stuff more like pop music: the hooks work or they don't. In the case of something treading more typical "jazz territory" however, my standards are high. The best jazz isn't experimental to the point of being unsustainable to one's ears or safe to the point of boredom: its a highwire act that strikes just the right vibe to catch you and draw in your imagination...and Trioscapes accomplished that with flying colors in 2014. Bravo with a capital B!

Heavy prog jazz, right up my alley. You ought to check out the new Many Arms album "Suspended Definition", which is what I pictured when I read the "put on a playlist with" section, except maybe switching out Pharoah for Coltrane.

I wanted to put the track "Greater Mass" up, but they don't have it on Youtube unfortunately. This one's just as good, even if it goes in a less jazzy direction.


Cheers man and thanks for filling me in on Trioscapes! I hope you dig Many Arms as much as I dug your rec.

^ That is pretty kickass, man. Thanks for the recommendation!


Easily the most ambitious double album in the singer-songwriter mold I've seen in many years, Adrian Bourgeois is one of those prodigies who is a complete unknown to most people unless you live in Sacramento or are really into power pop (I'm in the latter category).

But to summarize why this is in my top ten: take the best elements of weird country ('Waterfalls', 'Pictures Of Incense'), razorblade power pop ('Time Can't Fly A Plane', 'Shot In The Dark', 'Sunflower') and a yummy, experimental approach to composition and production not too far off the beaten path of guys like Rundgren or perhaps Phil Spector ('Celebrate The News', 'Still Life') and you'll see why its easy to dig into this guy's eclectic approach to songcraft. Its as DIY and organic as it gets, and Adrian is a painstaking perfectionist in studio: he brought in plenty of guest musicians on a variety of instruments to bring this massive record to life and flesh it out into something rather special.

Enough rambling though: check the album out yourselves via this Bandcamp page and enjoy the music at your leisure. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! :clap:

Pale Communion was and is a weird one for me because I really like it as an album, but it's not up there with their other non-metal albums. I think it's great, it's definitely proggy and Mikael sounds fantastic as always, but I still feel kind of underwhelmed by it for some reason. Glad to see it in your list though, I would've been surprised if it hadn't made it.

You had me at Todd Rundgren, Elliot Smith, and Brian Wilson. I'll give it a play today.

This is amazing.

Ki: Pale Communion is a pretty subtle record: probably on par with Damnation for me. That being said, I don't think its as strong as Ghost Reveries or their other "best" albums.

Pet_Sounds: Tell me how you like it after you've given it some time. :thumb:

Exo_: IKR? :)


Jonn Serrie, former Air Force pilot and the galactic sovereign of all things related to space ambient and cosmic electronica, is in fine fine form with this year's Day Star. He's been exploring the depths of space since the late 80's, and yet somehow he's never run out of steam musically in his quest to evoke interstellar voyages. His best tunes are the auditory equivalent to watching the birth of a galaxy, and at his quietest your a satellite floating without word or sound in the nethersea.

For most people, their ambient music collections stop at Brian Eno and a few Aphex Twin B-sides, but trust me: there's enough amazing atmospheric tuneage out there to fill your collections a dozen lifetimes or more. Amidst all the various artists out there though, few strike that fine balance between pure texture and melody like this guy does. Of craft-quality equivalence with Eno or Steve Roach, Day Star is top stuff for sleeping and studying alike. He's neither obvious like those guys who do film scores nor obscure to the point where the music is indistinguishable from formless noise, and that's harder than you'd think to pull off.

A rip-roaring ride through the decaying remains of a Martian haunted house, Occultation certainly don't pull any punches on Silence In The Ancestral House. Its a bit of a shapeshifter musically, a mutation springing from the annals of classic doom and heavy metal yet demonstrating a pitch black breed of versatility that has crept forth from the nascent waters of early Goth-metal and alternative music. To put it another way, this is Mercyful Fate by way of Siouxsie And The Banshees, and that's definitely not a bad thing in 2014.

Beyond the ghostly, glistening production job courtesy of Kurt Ballou (Converge), the biggest draw here for me is the mysterious frontwoman V.B. On some of the more rolicking cuts like 'Laughter In The Halls Of Madness', the menacing sonic landscape sounds as though its ready to swallow her up at any moment...and yet still she shines through like a searchlight cutting through thick smog. What can I say: great music and a killer album cover comes together into one of this year's best heavy metal experiences for me from start to finish.

My favorite jazz-related album of the year, and an impressive example of what happens when the right people decide to accommodate old school fusion elements into the context of a contemporary rock band ensemble. To put it another way, they're a jazzy Swedish bunch of classicists locked into a dirty Krautrock groove from the turn of the 70's, and it's goddamn glorious to hear these guys jump back and forth between order and chaos and still manage to hold the whole thing down through sheer discipline and variety.

And when I mean variety, you will be surprised: there's a shadow of '69 King Crimson hovering menacingly around 'Oh, My Gravity!', but then we go into a headon collision between Tool and early Soft Machine in 'Windshears'. Aren't jazz-rock records normally a bit more one-note or random in pacing? If I didn't know better, I'd say these guys actually know how to write songs! Some tasty and very noisy space rock bass runs show up in 'Extraction', along with some xylophone and Hammond organ, but my favorite song also comes with the best title I've seen this year - the 14 minute 'God Left Us For A Black-Dressed Woman', which starts off as a doomy folk dirge before leaping headfirst into more psychedelic territory. Couldn't ask for a better finish really.

The biggest star of the show, however, may in fact be vocalist Stian Økland. His performance throughout these tunes lies somewhere between Steven Wilson and Radiohead's Thom Yorke in tonality and range, but he's a perfect fit for this strange, sun-soaked ode to the cosmic jazz of a bygone time.

Great jazz-rock groups with equally compelling frontmen or women are hard to find in any given era...hopefully Seven Impale will stick around!

Loved it too. In my Top 10 of the year after checking it out.

For those looking for an ideal musical companion in 2014 for one of those late night drives where the rain keeps on coming and there's no moon in sight, Northlands was more than up to the task as you follow a nameless protagonist to his deadbeat hometown in northeast England where unfinished business awaits.

As far as the music here went, there's a lot of M's to be had: minimalist, melancholy, mesmerizing. The last of these adjectives refers to ReGenesis frontman Tony Patterson: when you combine his tired yet strangely moving voice with flutes, a few trip-hop flourishes, some jazz horns and the organic groove of a rock band the result is a concept record that really hits you if your in just the right emotional frame of mind.

Taken into the greater context of all the albums I've ever listened to or bought though, I can say with conviction that this is one of the best pure 60 minutes of tuneage I've ever sat through start to finish. The 24-minute opening cut 'Northbound' is gorgeously cinematic and orchestral in places, and the 'I Recall' section that comes right around the midway mark is one of the best three minutes I've had in music, period. Those harmonies! But side two has some very strong numbers too, including the jazzy 'A Rainy Day On Dean Street' and the Floydian penultimate number 'So Long The Day'. There's also a rock solid balance between the instrumental and vocals cuts throughout this recording, a quality that elevates this beyond Floyd's swansong 'The Endless River' and its ilk for me.

I find it a point of irony that an album which sounds so at home with cold weather, rain and the stark beauty of the North ultimately proved to be warmer and more human than a lot of other lauded releases these past twelve months. Highly, highly recommended.

As TesseracT's Altered State from last year demonstrated, so called "djent" metal could be a very very beautiful thing if the right ideas were in place. As good as that album was though, it almost feels like a warm up compared to this sophomore outing from multnational ambient metal act Skyharbor, a group who have such a keen grasp on dynamics that listening through Guiding Lights sometimes feels like someone hooked me up with a tube of adrenaline that never stops delivering.

For starters, guitarist Keshav Dhar is just full of good ideas. Bringing on original TesseracT frontman Dan Tompkins full-time, for instance. Or those killer melodies on 'Allure' and 'Evolution' that would give the best early noughties alternative rock groups a run for their money and then some. Top off the package with one of the best mixing jobs I've heard in ages and you've got yourself the perfect soundtrack for the game room at your next hi-fi frat party.

I know this one probably came a bit under the radar for some of you, but if you have even the slightest ounce of interest in albums like Sound Awake by Karnivool or some of Devin Townsend's groovier razmatazz, this album will be your crack for a couple of weeks guaranteed. It certainly helped end 2014 on a strong note for me. :)

Pure 80's radio-rock perfection, 'nuff said. I've reviewed some of this Swedish melodic rock power trio's previous material in the past, but I couldn't lay enough superlatives on this latest release even if I had a dictionary in front of me. Guitarist Robert Sall has a songwriting and performance sensibility at this point that I'd argue is right on par with Toto's Steve Lukather and other L.A. axe heavyweights like Michael Landau and Dan Huff, all of whom are considered the elite among elite. Guys who have played on hundreds of albums basically. Couple that with the dominating vocals of Lars Safsund and the expert drumming of Hermin Furin...the results are superb.

Smply put, Framework is the ideal AOR album: every song has a kick-in-the-face immediacy in the hooks department, is painstakingly put together and never falls too far back into cheese. Even the obligatory power ballad 'Hold On To Love' has such a tasty arrangement that you can't help but like it just the teensiest bit, and I've got high standards when it comes to my schlock damn it!

The thing that's most interesting about Work Of Art at this point is you can tell these guys are so technically skilled that they could be doing jazz-rock or even progressive rock stuff if they wanted to. Robert Sall's guitar and synth leads are pristine and technically challenging, Safsund has a lot of range and versatility, and any band that can cut as good an AOR opening set as 'Time To Let Go' and the infectious Journey-esque 'How Will I Know' is capable of blowing a few minds if they set out to do longer songs.

All that being said, as much as I'd love to see these guys start moving into a more experimental direction, I can't deny that Framework is one of the best albums in the AOR style since atleast the early 90's. Their last two albums were quite strong too, but these guys have refined their particular brand of melodic science to the point of lethality...and I'm just happy to have been along for the ride.

Have you ever wondered what sort of music Buckley might have made if he hadn't died in '97? None of us are prophets, but when I heard this amazing album I think I had a glimpse of what might have been. Hailing from the humble city of Lexington, KY, Dream The Electric Sleep (or DTES for short) are a four piece group who combine the best elements of rock's various stylistic divergences (alternative, indie/math rock, progressive, grunge and even shoegaze and sludge) into a hybridized whole that could move the hearts of many...if the various audiences of the world would only turn a moment to hear.

From the opening gallop of the title track to the soaring, triumphant finish of 'Ashes Fall', a vibrant dynamis glimmers and beats unrelentingly at the heart of Heretics that subtly but surely propelled it to the top of my pile as the year went on. It was a gradual climb: there were times when other albums and artists loomed over these guys by miles, and yet still this album would find its way onto my stereo, my outings, and sometimes even by accident. Little things about it: the eerie Jeff Buckley-esque vocal acrobatics of Matt Page, that killer bassline on 'How Long We Wait', observations on cultural change from the highest of scale in history all the way down to the individual....this is music that gradually sinks into you over time without the aid of an easy hook. It's there at the forefront of your collection before you've even thought about it.

Sometimes the best LP of the year isn't the weirdest, the catchiest or the most publicly lauded: sometimes its simply the album that draws you back like a mystery time and time again when everyone else has already shown their cards. There's a nuance, details beneath the energy that reach just a bit deeper than other things you might have heard that year. In regards to 2014...I guess that was Heretics for this ant-eating putz. :D

Ways to get Goofle interested:

Downloading.

Work of Art have a new one? Excuse me while I head to my vendor! :tramp:

I actually ended up liking parts of this new one even more than In Progress, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :wave:

Pop/Art was amazing--right down my alley sound-wise. Probably my AOTY. Thanks, Ant!

Dude, this Ed Motta album is good. Upon seeing the album cover for the first time and reading your description of it, I almost took it for a novelty album. Come on… Bringing back this AOR sound is kind of a funny idea. But he really has this sound down. I'm listening to it for the third time right now and really starting to appreciate it. Thanks for the recommendation!

10 Great Albums That Nearly Made The Cut For 2014

Ant my man, I respect your opinion so much that I'm taking on your entire top 30, including the ones that didn't make it. Watch for them over the next few months in "Bitesize"...

My entire list getting the Trollheart Treatment ©? I will keep my eyes peeled with much ablomb. :thumb:

I assume you can shoot me PMs/links for any albums I can't find?
http://www.trollheart.com/antth1.png

Yessir. Request anything by PM and I'll upload them personally.

I found Jane's album by going through "Quietus Albums Of The Year 2014." Her song piqued my curiosity out of the songs I sampled. Her album was one of the few I felt worthwhile to give a listen to.

I listen to Linda Perhacs and I don't see a connection other than they are both female singers, totally different styles of music.

She's pretty similar tonally with Linda: they both have that hypnotic shrill quality at the upper end of their respective ranges. Stylistically though, they're definitely in different camps.