My favourite albums of 2014

Here we go again. Top 20 of the records I've listened to that came out in 2014 (with a couple from the previous year that I hadn't heard). I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think of my choices and anything I might have missed. Spotify playlist of my favourite song from each record is here (minus Moz).

1. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
Since 2012's Tramp figuratively knocked me into a hedge I've been a huge fan of SVE's;. Are We There is even better. It's quite a sad record but it's done so beautifully it almost makes you nostalgic for heartache. I love every one of the 11 tracks, they are tender, melancholic and strangely uplifting, showcasing Van Etten's magnificent vocals. Closing song, Every Time The Sun Comes Up is my favourite song of the year, and this is easily my favourite record of the year.

2. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
It has been a pretty happy year for me (family life being brilliant, work going well in the second half of the year at least, friends being ace)  but the second on the list is another and emotional record. Benji is a collection of simple and affecting songs musing on death and mortality. My greatest memory of listening to this album was whilst spending a summer's Saturday morning knocking down a shed, a perfect metaphor for absolutely nothin

3. The Drink - Company
The musical highlight of the year has been the well deserved success of The Drink, whose rhythm section is my close friends Daniel and David. I've liked all the bands Daniel and David have been involved in and it has been lots of fun turning on 6 Music to hear Dearbhla's tremendous vocals and wonderfully odd lyrics or reading the many positive reviews of this cracking debut album, full of twisted pop songs and strange directions. Listen to Microsleep; listen to Wicklow. I would love this band even if my friends had nothing to do with it, that they do makes me love The Drink even more.

4. Cate Le Bon - Mug Museum
One of 2 that were actually released in 2013 but I caught up with late, listening to Marc Riley (the other being Ezra Furman). This is another record full of odd, catchy pop songs. Cate Le Bon (no relation) has a folky voice that almost sounds arch but that suits the majesty of the music,  I Can't Help You and Are You With Me Now being stand-out tracks.

5. Slow Club - Complete Surrender
It's always good to have a Sheffield band to root for. All the best Sheffield bands support Wednesday of course* (Heaven 17, Human League, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Richard Hawley) so I was always going to like Slow Club. And I did, until this record when it's mix of tender ballads and MO town tinged footstompers meant that they moved into the love category, along with John Sheridan, David Hirst, Chris Waddle et al.

6. Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Oh, bloody hell Morrissey, what a twerp you are. Despite the record company rows and the appalling message regarding the democratic process (each time you vote you support the process, indeed), this was a proper return to form. It had musical flourishes and some experimentation, and some of the lyrics were almost as clever as Moz thought they were. Loved the Willy Wonka honking on I Am Not A Man.

7. Steven James Adams - House Music
Steven is another person I know, although not nearly as well as David and Daniel, but Michael who appears on the album is another close pal. It's  a beautifully played and sung collection of honest, lyrically strong, songs that I kept returning to all year. How We Get Through is a particular highlight.

8. Jack White - Lazaretto
Jack White doesn't always do it for me, he can be too arty and clever at the expense of a real emotional connection. I could call him pretentious as well, but could really get away with it after that first sentence. This is one of his best in recent times though, with enjoyable bombast and thoughtful quieter moments.

9. Tweedy - Sukierae
eff Tweedy  from Wilco and his son, Spencer, worked together on this record. During the recording Jeff's wife, Spencer's mother was diagnosed with cancer. Whilst that terrible news has obviously impacted on the record it doesn't dominate and this is a varied rock double album which maintains quality across 20 tracks.

10. Parquet Courts -  Sunbathing animal
The closest thing we have these days to Pavement (and that includes solo Malkmus). If you don't believe me check out some of the song titles (Instant Disassembly; Raw Milk; What Colour is Blood). This is a fun knockabout record from a band who seem to keep getting better.

11. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
The little music snob devil on my shoulder tells me not to like First Aid Kit, since David Cameron emerged as a fan and they started being played on daytime Radio 2. Well, I do still like them, their  harmonies and pretty country tinged songs, and I suppose Cameron claimed to like The Smiths as well so they are in good company.

12. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
A hugely welcome return from Neneh Cherry who produced brooding, trip hop infused record that seems to have been a little overlooked. Youknowwhatimean?

13. Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe
One of the highlights of the year was me and a bunch of old university friends going back to Liverpool, 20 years after meeting there. Liverpool never fails to put me into a joyous reverie, a little like Jane Weaver's ethereal collection of off kilter folk and pop songs. And guess where she's from? Only Liverpool! (I need some wine).

14. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
I was disappointed on first listen, I loved Slave Ambient  and had read the relentlessly positive reviews so was expecting a masterpiece. What I thought I'd got on first listen was a band trying to sound like Springsteen and ending up sounding like The Killers (post being good). I was mainly wrong of course, there were interesting moments and good songs on this record. But it's the fourteenth best album I've heard this year, nowhere near the best.

15. Childhood - Lacuna
One of the few acts on this list I'd not heard of before 2014, Childhood's indie pop songs are catchy and clever with big choruses. They are on this list in spite of a rather lukewarm review of The Drink on Roundtable…

16. Elbow - The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
This album worked well for me because it felt like Guy Garvey and co had decided there was no point in trying to re-write One Day Like This anymore. Instead they produced their most musically interesting record for years with some instrumentation that worked really well, especially the strings on Change and the trumpets on the wistful My Sad Captains.

17. Ben Watt - Hendra
Easily the most mature and middle of the road record on the list (yep, even more so than Elbow) but this is a great record which I first listened to after I bought it for my Mum for her 60th birthday (another highlight of the year was her birthday, celebrated in Thailand). Watt worked with Bernard Butler on the record and his influence is mostly obvious on the best tracks, like the title track, Hendra, which could be an early Suede B Side, the highest compliment.


18. The Amazing Saakeheads - Amphetamine Blues
Ah, the least mature and least middle of the road record on the list. If you haven't heard them before, think of their name and imagine what they sound like. They sound like that, but better and with a very Scottish man singing. And at their best, like Here it Comes Again, they sound a bit like Make Up.

19. Ezra Furman - Day Of The Dog
With rasping  and honking saxophones and vocals that sound like Ezra is quite at the end of his tether, this a fun romp of a record. Particular highlights include My Zero annd Day of the Dog which I always think (hope) is going to turn into The Timewarp, but never does.

20. Real Estate - Atlas
The worst named band on the list, and possibly in the world. They have the same name as a directorate at my work. I'm off to form a band (possibly with David from The Drink) called Finance and Corporate Services, see how we get on. The music though, is really good take on 90s indie which is why I like it so.


*Blade Paul Heaton being the exception that proves the rule.