Review: Betterwithmusic 2014

Looking back… to move forward

 

Tumbling Dishes Like Old-Man’s Wishes


jahzzar_tumbling
“A collection of intimate songs, naked in most of cases, that seek feelings from the simplicity of forms; from classic rock and folk sounds, with an eye on the latest trends.

Influences… The Band, detuned pianos, Van Morrison, Otis & Aretha, a journey from a farm to the city,Sugar Hill & La Marqueta, Mardi Grass, empty pubs, The War on Drugs, sepia photos, Phosphorescent, a lonely light in a office building, a church in the middle of a wheat field, gospel choirs, road movies…”

 

Servants


jahzzar_servants
“The guitars were made with the almost complete domination of the sound. The acustic drums appeared and the original elegant ambient dried. Electronic arrangements and programmations became the background. The music turned in something direct and powerful […]

Some influences … White Stripes, NIN, a day of rage, abandoned industrial buildings, rust, drunk steps, Grinderman…”

 

 

Kuddelmuddel


KUDDELMUDDEL
“Ethereal pads working as sound bed, motives and melodies on synth, reverb guitars, drum machines that seem suspended in time, arpeggiated basses, side chaining to highlight the bass drum… Soft rhythms, but not much. Dance Music, but without excess.

Influences… Lykke Li, CHVRCHES, Crystal Castles, Electric Youth, Zola Jesus, Hundred Waters, Jessie Ware, Chairlift, The Chromatics, Metronomy… A little bit of Dum Dum Girls, Todd Terje, Liars, Wild Nothing, Beach House or Daft Punk’s “Discovery”. It may contain traces of OMD, New Order and Grauzone.”

 

 

And for 2015? Well, I’m working on it…

 

2014 Favs

One more year, the list of my 30 favorite albums. I left out a few that could be part of this selection, but that I started to listen to them only recently (TV on the Radio, Actress, Felice Brothers, …) And of course, there are more that I’m still missing. However, here are my recommendations. The order is just a guide, not definitive.

 

1. The War on Drugs Lost in the Dream

2. Lykke Li I Never Learn

3. Swans To Be Kind

4. Aphex Twin Syro

5. Todd Terje It’s Album Time

6. Beck Morning Phase

7. Caribou Our Love

8. Real Estate Atlas

9. Grouper Ruins

10. Sharon Van Etten Are We There

11. Damon Albarn Everyday Robots

12. Rustie Green Language

13. Clark Clark

14. Run the Jewels Run The Jewels 2

15. Angel Olsen Burn Your Fire For No Witness

16. Flying Lotus You’re Dead

17. Metronomy Love Letters

18. Shellac Dude Incredible

19. Electric Youth Innerworld

20. Los Punsetes LPIV

21. Arca Xen

22. Jessie Ware Tough Love

23. Andy Stott Faith In Strangers

24. Ariel Pink Pom Pom

25. Ex Hex Rips

26. Strand of Oaks HEAL

27. Hundred Waters The Moon Rang Like a Bell

28. Broncho Just Enough Hip To Be Woman

29. Elbow The Take Off And Landing of Everything

30. Schoolboy Q Oxymoron

 

Waiting for 2015…

 

 

 

Top 2013

This year I got encouraged to publish my list with the Top albums of the year.

I do not know if these have been the best, but certainly these are the 30 albums I enjoyed, learnt and recommended the most throughout 2013.

Needless to say that this is an open list. There are albums that age better than others. My tastes also change (even within the year). There is a lot of music that I didn’t get a chance to listen to. And then those albums I probably didn’t pay too much attention to because I was busy with other stuff. Maybe they were better than what I thought.

And of course, there are treasures waiting to be discovered…

 

Anyway, today (December 2013), here’s the list:

 

1. James Blake “Overgrown” (Spotify)

2. Daft Punk “Random Access Memories” (Spotify)

3. Speedy Ortiz “Major Arcana” (Spotify)

4. Kanye West “Yeezus” (Spotify)

5. CHVRCHES “The Bones Of What You Believe” (Spotify)

6. Vampire Weekend “Modern Vampires Of  The City” (Spotify)

7. Artic Monkeys “AM” (Spotify)

8. James Holden “The Inheritors” (Spotify)

9. Kurt Vile “Wakin On A Pretty Daze” (Spotify)

10. M.I.A “Matangi” (Spotify)

11. Joanna Gruesome “Weird Sister” (Spotify)

12. Mikal Cronin “MCII” (Spotify)

13. Jon Hopkins “Immunity” (Spotify)

14. Janelle Monáe “The Electric Lady” (Spotify)

15. Cass McCombs “Big Wheel And Others” (Spotify)

16. Oneohtrix Point Never “R Plus Seven” (Spotify)

17. Yuck “Glow & Behold” (Spotify)

18. A$AP Rocky “Long Live A$AP” (Spotify)

19. Triángulo de Amor Bizarro “Victoria Mística” (Spotify)

20. Disclosure “Settle” (Spotify)

21. Grouper “The Man Who Died In His Boat” (Spotify)

22. Sigur Ros “Kveikur” (Spotify)

23. Arcade Fire “Reflektor” (Spotify)

24. Phosphorescent “Muchacho” (Spotify)

25. Deerhunter “Monomania” (Spotify)

26. Bill Callahan “Dream River”

27. David Bowie ” The Next Day” (Spotify)

28. Darkside “Psychic” (Spotify)

29. Tim Hecker “Virgins” (Spotify)

30. Julia Holter “Loud City Song” (Spotify)