My Top 20 Albums of 2014

20. Tobacco - Ultima II Massage 

Sneaking into my top 20 albums of the year was the latest full-length from electronic producer Tobacco, a.k.a. Thomas Fec. With some of the weirdest beats and sounds of the year, this album was engaging from start to finish. Usually, an album like this would have turned me off. Not because I dislike this type of production, but simply because there is only so much of the same type of track over and over that I can take. However, on this project the tracks seem distinct and interesting enough to provide a hard-hitting artistic statement. It sure is unorthodox, but we all need an album like this from time to time

19. Gajah - Hands of Gold Are Always Cold

Contrary to popular opinion, I think 2014 was a great year for hip hop. The first hip hop album to make the top 20 is perhaps unexpected. Gajah is not a well known MC, but I'm glad I discovered his music. Crafting beats and lyrics in a similar style to his close friend and peer Uncommon Nasa, Gajah seems perfectly comfortable moving into some dark and mysterious territories. The beats here are dense and tangible, rapped over by Gajah in a pronounced and deliberate style. This may be what put a lot of people off this album, but its part of what made it great in my eyes. The Grands, featuring Uncommon Nasa, is one of my favourites on the record. Everything about both of the rappers deliveries is chilling and unsettling. This is an album that literally gives you no time to rest and you come out of it feeling slightly more on the ball. Overall, this will not be everybody's cup of tea but is definitely worth a listen for the hardcore hip hop fan. 

18. Rome Fortune – Beautiful Pimp II

2014 was another year of hip hop for me (as this list will prove). But the great thing about the last few years in the genre is its ever-expanding diversity. A great example of that is Rome Fortune’s mixtape ‘Beautiful Pimp II’. This is definitely an artist to watch in the future as I think he has a lot more to offer, but this sure is a great start! This album is very easy to vibe out to, with a very relaxed atmosphere throughout which immediately puts you into a good mood. His flow is soothing but also has a kick to it and the lyrics, although occasionally repetitive, keep my attention throughout. All in all this was a great album and another sign that upcoming artists are not conforming to hip hop conventions or stereotypes.

17. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams

Canadian band Timber Timbre have interested me for a few years now since their breakthrough 2011 album Creep On Creepin' On. With Hot Dreams, the band continue on in a similar fashion with another very solid release. This album is very infectious from the moment it begins, with Timber Timbre producing slightly fleshed out production in comparison to their earlier work. The band obviously have a knack for very vivid song writing and it has never been more striking than on this project. Every song is so visceral and three-dimensional. There a few bands right now with a lead singer that excites me this much and on this I felt as if the song writing really complemented his vocal delivery on almost every track. This is the second Timber Timbre album to make my top 20 in the last 4 years and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.

16. Aphex Twin – Syro

This was an album that hugely divided opinion this year and I can see why. Aphex Twin is one of those artists that has his fair share of die-hard fans and any deviation from his original formula is going to spark hard discussion and disagreement. With his first studio effort in 13 years, Richard D. James put together a collection of songs that is indisputably Aphex Twin. It is however a big departure from his last album, Drukqs, which wasn’t a fan favourite. I liked this album a lot. James sucked me in once again with a set of very consistent songs, which I was entranced by time after time. The only reason this slipped down my list as the year progressed was its slight staleness on repeated listens compared to some of his early/mid 90’s work.

15. J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive

I’ve always found J. Cole to be an MC that’s quite hard to define. This has its positives and negatives. The young rapper’s 2013 effort Born Sinner left me cold and for the most part, bored. I wanted more from J. Cole, and this year I got it in the form of 2014 Forest Hills Drive. This was just one of those albums which I had a lot of fun listening to time after time. The accessible beats, the relatable themes and abundance of singing all screamed “I am one of the new breed of rappers, screw the stereotype.” For the most part here Cole is successful. The songs are catchy and clearly very personal *cough Wet Dreamz cough*. What I like about J. Cole is that he is not copying anyone, but is openly influenced by many of his peers. He is a bit of Drake, Kendrick, Kanye and others, all wrapped into one. But instead of coming off as annoyingly unoriginal, he is very likeable and I think still a fresh face in the new era of hip hop.

14. Liars – Mess

Liars are not afraid of trying new things in their music and have consistently changed things up with each album they’ve released. When Mess on a Mission dropped early in 2014, I got hyped for this album. The song was unpredictable, frantic and bursting at the seams with passion. The album failed to disappoint. Mess is actually a very moody album and I found it kind of dark at times. This is an electronic album that requires your full attention and even then, you will miss things. After being lukewarm with it after 2 or 3 listens, I sat with it for almost the whole year, returning to it again and again. The album got better and better and I can now safely say I love it. At times I would even go as far to say it is mind-blowing, but for the most part it is simply an experience. I can’t wait to see what future surprises this band have in store for us.

13. Ratking – So It Goes

I was introduced to this east coast hip-hop group by my friend and immediately checked it out. These guys haven’t been around long, and with this album they fully established themselves on the scene with this fine album. If you’re looking for some high octane, glitchy hip hop with some great sampling then this is your album. Throughout there are undertones of the east coast, which seems rooted in Ratking’s sound. It is hardly clichéd though. They mix So It Goes up with some slower tracks, like So Sick Stories, with an unexpected guest feature from King Krule, who adds a tone of moodiness to the production. Canal is another highlight and certainly one of my favourite songs of the year. Overall this was a pleasant surprise and a breakthrough for these young guys. I hope they continue on to bigger and better things but this was a very good debut.

12. FKA Twigs – LP1

Another artist I discovered this year was FKA Twigs, a young female musician hailing from England. This album was such a breath of fresh air in the world of art pop and R&B and a brand new face on the scene. I think this woman is going to going to do big things in the future and this debut, simply titled LP1 has spawned that career. This album is beautiful and fluid. It is graceful yet also harsh. Lights On has an unapologetic and brutal set of lyrics, claiming “When I trust you we can do it with the lights on”. I don’t think you need me to go into the meaning of that. The album flows into glitchy, electronic bliss, yet retains its soul for the duration. There were definitely a few tracks that turned me off, but more than enough tracks that blew me away for it to be placed so highly on my year end list. Check it out!

11. Schoolboy Q – Oxymoron

I think the most underrated member of TDE has always been Schoolboy Q. His 2012 project, Habits and Contradictions showed the world that he wasn’t taking a back seat to Kendrick and Ab Soul, rather that he wanted to be better than them. I’m not sure about that, but Oxymoron was at least in my eyes far better than Ab Soul’s hugely disappointing These Days, so he’s getting there. This album wonderfully juxtaposes the harsh realities of drug dealing with the bright lights of rap fame and raising a daughter. You can hear struggle on this album, but also a sense of rising from that struggle and becoming a man against all odds. This album is nasty, grimy and celebratory all at the same time. It has tracks that pummel you, tracks that make you think and tracks that make you want to dance. In my eyes that is variety. Oxymoron is by no means Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, but a damn good effort from Schoolboy.

10. BADBADNOTGOOD – III

BBNG were once again a bit of a dark horse in 2014, releasing one of the best jazz albums I’ve heard in years. These guys are used to giving lavish jazz covers of famous hip hop and pop songs, but this album marked a departure from that and into writing their own material. This is a highly versatile album, meaning you can do whatever you like with it, listen to it whenever and wherever you like and it always lifts your mood. The smoky, ethereal melodies give the album a constant sense of movement. These guys seem incapable of putting a foot wrong as this stage and this is now the third album in a row I have loved by them. I can’t wait to see what they do in 2015 in collaboration with Ghostface Killah. I expect fireworks.

9. Open Mike Eagle – Dark Comedy

As a member of the Hellfyre Club, Open Mike Eagle knows what to give his fans. This was one of those albums where I knew what to expect and got exactly what I wanted. Apart from Milo, I can’t think of any other MC that has the level of wit and intelligence that Mike has. On Dark Comedy, Mike is on top form, spitting bars loaded with wit, melancholy and a sense of impending doom. There is never a point at which you feel Mike is straining or unnecessarily saying things. He is consistently delivering both lyrically and musically, with some of the most experimental hip hop production I heard in 2014. If you don’t like traditional hip hop, check out this album and indeed all of Hellfyre club who are unashamedly offering an alternative angle on the genre.

8. Sun Kil Moon – Bengi

What can I say about Benji? This album is arguably going to go down as a singer-songwriter classic in years to come. I was not aware of Sun Kil Moon before this release, but from the first song onwards I was hooked to this album. Being interested in acoustic folk music in general, I was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of great new albums being released in the genre. Finding this album reignited the spark in me that I first felt when I heard Bob Dylan for the first time. All the focus on Benji is on the lyrics. Some may say many of the songs on here are overly sentimental or a bit too basic. But that’s what I love about it! Mark seems so close to these songs and as a result you kind of feel close to him whilst listening to them. Topics on this cover family, sex and mass murder amongst other things. There is nothing here that is fake or over dramatised, just Mark with a guitar, singing about things that he wants to get off his chest. So despite its slow, dark tone, this is also an album of emotional catharsis for Mark, and that is why it is so profound.

7. Uncommon Nasa – New York Telephone

Uncommon Nasa is an MC who has slipped under my radar in previous years, but with New York Telephone he came crashing into my musical world with a real bang. Nasa’s style is unorthodox to say the least. His flow is off kilter and his delivery is very rough around the edges. This may put some people off, but its what kept me hooked. Many of the songs on this album are uneasy and paranoid sounding. They sound like they have been inspired by the underbelly of urban life and do not sugar coat what its like to live in the city. The album is glued together with skits of people talking about New York on the telephone. Its an interesting concept and provides cohesion to a very schizophrenic set of tracks. This is a great album and I truly believe Nasa has proved himself as one of the best in the game right now.

6. Clipping – CLPPNG

With 2013’s Midcity, Clipping cemented themselves as a group to watch in hip hop circles. That album was not without its flaws but still managed to be one of my favourites of 2013. CLPPNG is similar in the fact that it has massive highs and a few low moments. Tonight for instance is easily one of the worst songs they’ve ever put out. But what I can’t fault is the attitude of an album like this. It pummels you with abrasive noise hop production and lyrics that are relentless and fiercely delivered by frontman Daveed Diggs. Taking Off, Inside Out and Story 2 are all top 20 tracks of the year and never fail to get me pumped up. The production on CLPPNG is not better than Midcity, but rather more refined, giving it an accessibility factor that its predecessor lacked somewhat. It is not the rough edged sound of Death Grips, but does almost the same job in grabbing and holding my attention. This is an amazing album and one I will continue to listen to for many years.

5. D’Angelo & The Vanguard – Black Messiah

My best friend has always told me that I need to check out D’Angelo, but I never took his advice. That was until the release of his first album in 14 years, Black Messiah. This album was released just a few weeks ago and thus I feel like it is still sinking in. This is not a one-listen album. It is an album that requires a great deal of attentiveness and patience, but if you have that it’s something truly magical. D’Angelo’s voice is difficult to define. It is by no means ordinary and hence, quite unsettling to a first time listener like myself. I grew to like the vocals with repeated listens, but I still don’t love his voice. What really left me stunned was the instrumentation. The music is very dense and layered, with so much going on at once. You quickly become lost in this jivy R&B world that D’Angelo has concocted. Black Messiah is almost as good as Voodoo to me, but not quite. Nevertheless this is still a stunning album and a great end of year surprise.

4. Swans – To Be Kind

In 2012, Swans released The Seer and instantly became my favourite rock band of the 21^st century. To Be Kind feels to me like a very purposeful continuation of The Seer, demonstrated by the fact the band was performing some of these songs when I went to see them in early 2013. For me, this album is not quite as good as its predecessor, but it’s a damn close call. This album is unmistakeably Swans. Everything about it from the minimalistic album cover to the helpless screaming on many of the tracks is just typical Swans, nothing more, nothing less. To Be Kind is the definition of a real album. Micheal Gira is really exploring the human condition here in his own dark, twisted way. Some of the songs feel cavernous and desperate, like they are being sung from the bottom of a deep dark well. Others are exploding with raw energy. Gira drives out some unbelievable riffs on here that leave me literally breathless. I still think the true genius of the band is best conveyed in the live setting, but this is still one of the best albums I heard in 2014.

3. Perfume Genius – Too Bright

At number 3 we have a truly stunning album from Perfume Genius. This guy has been making this kind of music for a while now, but for me Too Bright is his finest work to date. Like FKA Twigs, Perfume genius brings something very unique to his genre. His voice is one of the most grandiose and elegant I have heard from a popular artist and he backs it up with some of the most beautiful production I heard in 2014. The song writing on this album was also very solid and the album never felt like it dragged either. Queen became this album’s hit, and for good reason as it was easily one of my favourite tracks of the year. I can’t wait to see what direction this guy goes in next.

2. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata

I have never been a huge fan of gangster rap in the past. Neither have I particularly warmed to what I had heard of Freddie Gibbs. Really the only thing that got me interested in this album was Madlib, who produced one of the best hip hop albums of all time, Madvillainy. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I’ll even go as far to say it blew me away. Freddie sounds so natural over Madlib’s production on this, like these beats were meant for him and him only. As good as Gibbs spits on Piñata, he is carried by Madlib. The guy is a genius. These instrumentals felt vintage, soulful but also completely timeless. There is no escaping the fact that this is a gangster rap album, it is in its DNA, but it doesn’t matter. The quality of both the lyrics and the beats make it thoroughly addictive to listen to time after time. I have to give props to Freddie too for laying down some of the best hip hop lyrics of the year, but as a combination these two really delivered the whole package this year.

1. Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 2

For the third consecutive year Killer Mike and El-P have come through with a dope project. However this year they stepped it up to a whole new level. Run The Jewels 2 is flawless to me. I can’t explain why these guys work so well together, something about the sound of them trading off each other is intoxicating and jaw dropping. Killer Mike is constantly in your face, persistently spitting bars in his trademark braggadocios manner. El-P is more sly and clever with his wordplay, providing a subtle contrast to Mike’s style. Everything about this album for me is better than the first Run The Jewels. As good as it was it felt unfinished. This is the complete package. The production is stepped up a gear and much more varied than the first album. We have everything from the bass driven beat of a song like Oh My Darling Don’t Cry (my song of the year) to the grimy southern flavoured production of a song like Lie, Cheat, Steal. The lyrical content balances composure and intelligence with over the top bragging, which both Mike and El-P do really well. There are moments of introspection here but nothing is dwelled on or needlessly drawn out. It is an album of brilliance and diversity. It is an album of anger and celebration. It is my album of 2014 and one of the best albums I have heard this decade.