Albums of 2014

[Jirin]

I think I'm ready to start raving about Somi - The Lagos Music Salon. It's sort of a jazzy blend of American R&B and Afropop. Excellent.

[irreduciblekoan]

Anyone else heard the Mirel Wagner album? She has that worldliness that AMers would appreciate. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Finland, her music is blues and folk based. I was interested in her new album, 'When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day,' because one of my favorite electronic producers, Vladislav Delay, produced it. I was expecting electro-blues-folk but that isn't what I got at all. The sound is actually very organic, though spare/minimal. Wagner definitely has songwriting chops and an excellent voice.

[DocBrown]

I've just listened to my album of the year; "Sparks" by Imogen Heap. Most of these tracks have trickled out of her studio over the past three years, but as an album, this is a masterpiece looking at how we remain human in the face of technology. Imogen Heap may finally be the British musician who deserves the sobriquet of successor to Kate Bush. Streaming at NPR. 95/100.

[Pierre]

So, Aphex Twin is releasing his first album in I don't remember how many years next month? I don't know about you all, but I feel pretty hyped about it. May it be a late-career dud or the album of the year, it will be good to have Richard back on the map.

[DocBrown]

Another unexpected drop from an artist who released my top album of 2012; Cold Specks "Neuroplasticity". On first listen, about half the tracks are richer, darker, deeper than the funk/soul/folktronica of "I Predict a Graceful Expulsion", and the balance would have fit the 2012 release like a bonus EP. Those darker, richer tracks all feature trumpet by Ambrose Akinmusire, whose solo album was highlighted here earlier this year by Jirin. Now I have to go back and listen to that LP. The album may have been tracked more effectively to really highlight that evolution; as it is we have two very different sounding half albums interwoven.

Nonetheless, a good sophomore album, maybe great if it grows as I imagine it may. 84/100.

[Luke JR68]

Behemoth – The Satanist (Phenomenal 9)
Royksopp & Robyn - Do It Again (Great 8.5)
Fear of Men - Loom (Great 8.25)
Young Fathers – Dead (Great 8.25)
Girl Talk & Freeway - Broken Ankles EP (Great 8.25)
Pallbearers - Foundations of Burden (Great 8.25) (this album veers dangerously close to one-trick-pony status, but your trick is creating songs with a suitably monumental sound, that isn't necessarily a bad thing)
Wild Beasts - Present Tense (Great 8.25)
Todd Terje – It’s Album Time (Great 8.25)
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else (Great 8)
St. Vincent – St. Vincent (Great-Good 7.75)
War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream (Great-Good 7.75)
Mick Jenkins - The Water (Good 7) (definitely not the most memorable mixtape...)
Future - Honest (Alright 6.75)

[DocBrown]

An updated list. New entries bolded.

Imogen Heap – Sparks 95
The War On Drugs - Lost In the Dream 89
Alejandra Ribera - La boca 87
Band of Skulls – Himalayan 87
Black Prairie - Fortune 85
Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line - 84
The New Division - Together We Shine 84
Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain 84
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra – Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything 84
Cold Specks – Neuroplasticity 84
Phantogram – Voices 84
Manic Street Preachers - Futurology 83
Quilt - Held in Splendor 83
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project 82
Carla Bozulich - Boy 82
The Horrors - Luminous 82
Blood Red Shoes - Blood Red Shoes 81
Esben and the Witch – New Nature 81
SOHN - Tremors 80
Damien Jurado – Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 80
Hospitality – Trouble 80
Drowners - S/T 79
Jeremy Messersmith - Heart Murmurs 79
Wild Beasts - Present Tense – 79
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 78
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else 78
White Lung - Deep Fantasy 78
Beck - Morning Phase – 78
Keb' Mo' - BluesAmericana 78
Drive – By Truckers – English Oceans 77
Todd Terje - It's Album Time - 77
Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything – 77
Chevelle - La Gárgola 77
The Common Linnets - S/T 77
Sylvan Esso - S/T 77
Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm 76
First Aid Kit - Stay Gold 76
Temples - Sun Structures 76
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness 76
Röyksopp & Robyn – Do It Again 76
The Antlers - Familiars 76
Sea Wolf - Song Spells no. 1 75
Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues 75
Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow 75
Tiny Ruins - Brightly Painted Ones 75
Death Vessel – Island Intervals 74
Lake Street Drive - Bad Self Portraits 74
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 74
The Kooks – Listen 74
James Vincent McMorrow - Post Tropical 74
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 74
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 74
Tokyo Police Club - Forcefield 74
Nina Persson – Animal Heart 74
Johnny Foreigner - You Can Do Better 74
Black Lips - Underneath the Rainbow 73
Wye Oak - Shriek - 73
Nicole Atkins – Slow Phazer 73
Jack White - Lazaretto 73
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 73
Divine Fits - Live at Third Man Records 73
Amy LaVere - Runaway's Diary 72
Timber Timber - Hot Dreams 72
Dum Dum Girls – Too True 72
Cibo Matto – Hotel Valentine 72
Angus & Julia Stone – S/T 72
Macedo - Paper Doll (EP) – 72
Shovels and Rope – Swimming Time 71
Rosanne Cash – The River & the Thread 71
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent 71
The Afghan Whigs - Do To the Beast 71
Spoon – They Want My Soul 71
The Belle Brigade - Just Because 71
Little Hurricane – Gold Fever 70
MØ - No Mythologies to Follow - 70
Elizabeth & the Catapult – Like It Never Happened 70
Maxïmo Park - Too Much Information 70
Broken Bells - After the Disco 70
Patterns - Waking Lines 70
Cymbals – The Age of Fracture 70
Warpaint – Warpaint 70
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 70
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 69
Ben Frost - AURORA 68
Neon Trees - Pop Psychology 68
Nothing - Guilty of Everything - 68
Real Estate – Atlas 68
Blank Realm - Grassed Inn 67
East India Youth - Total Strife Forever 67
Marissa Nadler - July 67
Future Islands - Singles – 66
Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltry - Going Back Home 65
Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like a Bell 65
Swans - To Be Kind 64
Foster The People - Supermodel 64
Kandle - In Flames 64
Joan as Police Woman – The Classic 64
Liars - Mess 64.
MisterWives – Reflections EP 64
Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden – The Shape The Color The Feel 64
Ingrid Michaelson - Lights Out 63
Tori Amos - Unrepentant Geraldines 62
We Are Catchers - S/T – 62
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 62
Eternal Summers - The Drop Beneath 61
Dappled Cities - Many Roads 60
The Notwist – Close to the Glass 57
La Sera - Hour of the Dawn 56
Young the Giant – Mind Over Matter 56
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 56
Fair Oaks - This Is the River 54
Actress - Ghettoville - 54

Edit - U2 - Songs of Innocence 53

Dave Mason - Future's Past 50
Neil Young - A Letter Home 40
American Authors - Oh What a Life - 35

[Jirin]

Imogen Heap – Sparks

I will second this recommendation.

Also Darius Jones & Matthew Shipp - The Darkseid Recital is a good collaboration, and First Aid Kit - Stay Gold is entering my top five.

[Nick]

The past couple months have been pretty slow for interesting releases...

1. Todd Terje- It's Album Time: 90
2. Sun Kil Moon- Benji: 90

3. Swans- To Be Kind: 85
4. St. Vincent- St. Vincent: 85
5. LCD Soundsystem- The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden: 85
6. The War on Drugs- Lost in the Dream: 85

7. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib- Piñata: 80
8. Cloud Nothings- Here and Nowhere Else: 80
9. A Sunny Day in Glasgow- Sea When Absent: 80
10. Spoon- They Want My Soul: 80
11. How to Dress Well- "What Is This Heart?": 80
12. Damon Albarn- Everyday Robots: 80
13. Perfect Pussy- Say Yes to Love: 80
14. Angel Olsen- Burn Your Fire for No Witness: 80

15. Parquet Courts- Sunbathing Animal: 75
16. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra- Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything: 75
17. Future Islands- Singles: 75
18. Real Estate- Atlas: 75
19. Tune-Yards- Nikki Nack: 75
20. Duck Sauce- Quack: 75
21. Elbow- The Take Off and Landing of Everything: 75
22. "Weird Al" Yankovic- Mandatory Fun: 75
23. Clipping- CLPPNG: 75
24. Jack White- Lazaretto: 75

25. Schoolboy Q- Oxymoron: 70
26. FKA Twigs- LP 1: 70
27. Neneh Cherry- Blank Project: 70
28. Beck- Morning Phase: 70
29. Against Me!- Transgender Dysphoria Blues: 70
30. Mac DeMarco- Salad Days: 70
31. Phantogram- Voices: 70
32. The Black Keys- Turn Blue: 70

33. Interpol- El Pintor: 65
34. Fucked Up- Glass Boys: 65
35. Hercules and Love Affair- The Feast of the Broken Heart: 65
36. Lana Del Rey- Ultraviolence: 65
37. Fear of Men- Loom: 65

38. Coldplay- Ghost Stories: 55
39. Bruce Springsteen- High Hopes: 55
40. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Days of Abandon: 55

41. Metronomy- Love Letters: 50
42. Broken Bells- After the Disco: 50

On my radar-

Tweedy- Sukierae- September 16th
Aphex Twin- Syro- September 19th
Caribou- Our Love- October 3rd
Flying Lotus- You’re Dead!- October 6th
Weezer- Everything Will Be Alright in the End- October 7th
Foxygen- …And Star Power- October 14th
Run the Jewels- Run the Jewels 2- October 28th
Foo Fighters- Sonic Highways- November 10th
TV on the Radio- Seeds- November 18th

Adele- 25- TBA
Azealia Banks- Broke With Expensive Taste- TBA
Burial- TBA- TBA
D'Angelo- TBA- TBA
Death Grips- The Powers That B- TBA
Frank Ocean- TBA- TBA
Gnarls Barkley- TBA- TBA
Grimes- TBA- TBA
Kanye West- TBA- TBA
Kendrick Lamar- TBA- TBA
Panda Bear- Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper- TBA
U2- TBA- TBA

[Romain]

Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5 I like this album to the beginning to the end. Melodies…melodies everywhere.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8 As usual, no hits but all songs are goods or great.
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5 Loud, fantastic bass. If you like Jack White, why not this one?


Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7 This guy is really mad. But I love his music.
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2

[granit]

Update
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project 9.0/10
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witnesses 8.5/10
Cascadeur : Ghost surfer 8.5/10
Beck - Morning Phase 8.0/10
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 8.0/10
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams 8.0/10
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 8.0/10
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream 7.5/10
Birth Of Joy - Prisoner 7.5/10
Blues Pills - Blues Pills 7,5/10
The Brian Jonestown Massacre : Revelation 7,5/10
Hollie Cook : Twice 7,5/10
Opeth : Pale Communion 7/10
The New Pornographers : Brill Bruisers (7/10)
Rival sons : Great Western Valkyrie 7/10
Archive - Axiom 7.0
Royksopp & Robyn - Do It Again 7/10
Rosanna Cash : The River & the Thread 7.0/10
Jack White: Lazaretto 7,0
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 6,5/10
Temples - Sun Structures 6.5/10
Asgeir : In the Silence 6.5/10
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else 6.5/10
Interpol - El pintor 6.5/10
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6.0/10
Swans - To Be Kind 6.0/10
Manic Street Preachers: Futurology 6.0/10
I break horses : Chiaroscuro 6.0/10
Warpaint : warpaint 6.0/10
Carla Bozulich - Boy 6.0/10
The Horrors - Luminous 6.0/10
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 6.0
Marissa Nadler - July 5.5/10
The Antlers - Familiars 5,5/10
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 5.0

[irreduciblekoan]

New album surprise released by U2 today. Haven't heard it yet but I'm about to.

[PlasticRam]

Updated list, new stuff in bold.

Swans - To Be Kind: 9.1
Todd Terje - It's Album Time: 9.1
Future - Honest: 9.0
Popcaan - Where We Come From: 8.8
Jack White - Lazaretto: 8.8
Wild Beasts - Present Tense: 8.6
Behemoth - The Satanist: 8.5
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots: 8.5
Aphex Twin - Caustic Window: 8.4
Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal: 8.3
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project: 8.1
St. Vincent - St. Vincent: 8.0
Brian Eno / Karl Hyde - High Life: 8.0
Ben Frost - Aurora: 8.0
Coldplay - Ghost Stories: 7.7
Alvvays - Alvvays: 7.6
Willie Nelson - Band of Brothers: 7.5
Beck - Morning Phase: 7.5
FKA twigs - LP1: 7.4
Fear of Men - Loom: 7.3
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son: 7.3
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream: 7.3
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else: 7.2
The Black Keys - Turn Blue: 7.0
U2 - Songs of Innocence: 6.2
Sun Kil Moon - Benji: 6.0
Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes: 4.5

[DocBrown]

Updated list, new stuff in bold. I kind of forgot about this. I listened to an album some while ago and now I don't even remember it. I think the band had one or two V's in its name.

Alvvays?

[PlasticRam]

Updated list, new stuff in bold. I kind of forgot about this. I listened to an album some while ago and now I don't even remember it. I think the band had one or two V's in its name.

Alvvays?

Thanks very much! I edited my post.

[Romain]

La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3 Beurk !
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5 Not my cup of tea at all.
EMA - The Future's void 5 Pffffffff…..
Gush - Mira 6 A funny festive album.
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5 Some great songs and some I don't like.
Interpol - My Desire 7 A lot of good things in this album (I so love the guitar)All the songs are, at least, good, but, inexplicably I found the whole album laborious… seem to hear the same song ten times certainly.
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8 Not bad, not bad, not bad at all. A little touch of Beatles everywhere. Better each time I listen it.

Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2

[Romain]

Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2 Autotune is the evil ! How many albums this fucking software will destoy before it is banned. Am I the only one hurts with this sound.
Liars - Mess 4 Not bad I guess for those who like this kind of music.
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5 Nothing really enjoyable here. Not bad but not interesting for me. Once finished soon forgotten
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5 Not bad, but not transcendental.
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8 Not ugly at all. A good discovering for me.


Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 6
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Liars - Mess 4
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2

[Nassim]

Run The Jewels sent the best promotional mail I ever received for the release of their new album.

It starts with a thank you message which is already quite funny, especially the beginning :
Last year we gave you Run The Jewels and in exchange we asked for an email. Since then we haven’t been in touch unless you’ve seen us at a show, talked to us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, bumped in to us at a bar, sold us weed, etc etc. Truth be told our intention was to mercilessly sell your email information to literally anyone who would pay in a desperate attempt to raise enough money to buy 2 giant 36", 14 K yellow-gold dookie rope chains or 4 bit coins. While we still yearn for those, we (regrettably) forgot to do the whole “betraying your privacy” thing, mostly due to the amount of marijuana we smoke on a daily basis. In fact, we completely forgot we even had these emails until yesterday. Shit happens.

Then after the usual selection of preorders (CDs, vynils, T-shirts...) they offer a selection of Bonus Packages that keep getting sillier and sillier.

Housesitters Deluxe*: $35,000
Run The Jewels will spend an agreed upon weekend at your house where we will smoke all of your weed, listen to your stupid fucking music, and let your mother cook for us.

The Fuck Boy Revenge Package*: $100,000
Run The Jewels will fly to your town, stalk and ultimately take revenge upon anyone in your life who has ever wronged you through a series of humiliating and vicious tactics designed to bring shame upon their name and the name of their children. We will then train your enemies pet to love you. This offer does not include murder. Also includes:


RTJ2 4xLP
RTJ2 T-shirt
RTJ2 CD
Signed Poster
Stickers

A polaroid photo of your mortal enemy cowering and begging for forgiveness
1 clump of your enemies hair
1 pet*
*offer applies only where available

And great news, there's already a kickstarter for the best one :

The Meow The Jewels Package*: $40,000
Run The Jewels will re-record RTJ2 using nothing but cat sounds for music.

They promised they would actually do it and give the money to a charity.

The first 2 songs are quite awesome, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on top of my EOY list (partly because to be honest I don't really have a big favorite so far and because besides Caribou and surprisingly Iceage, I'm not expecting a lot from the end of the year either).

[irreduciblekoan]

Three new albums are getting some great reviews and may finally get us out of the relative slump of the last month or so. They are the new albums by Shellac, Perfume Genius and Aphex Twin. I'm excited for all of them!

[Jirin]

New update.

1. Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Easier To Paint 95
2. Fennesz - Becs 94
3. Somi - The Lagos Music Salon 94
4. St Vincent - St Vincent 94
5. Sun Kil Moon - Benji 93
6. Beck - Morning Phase 88
7. Squarepusher x Z Machines - Music For Robots 87
8. Black Prairie - Fortune 85
9. Neneh Cherry - The Blank Project 85
10. Quilt - Held In Splendor 85
11. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold 85
12. Todd Terje - It's Album Time 81
13. Danilo Perez - Panama 500 80
14. Carla Bozulich - Boy 79
15. Kelis - Food 78
16. Rodrigo y Gabriela - 9 Dead Alive 78
17. Polar Bear - In Each And Every One 77
18. Sohn - Tremors 75
19. How To Dress Well - What Is This Heart? 75
20. FKA Twigs - LP1 75

School of Language - Old Fears 75
Angel Olsen - Burn Your First For No Witnesses 75
White Lung - Deep Fantasy 73
Alejandra Rivera - La Boca 73
Metronomy - Love Letters 71
Bibio - The Green EP 70
Ought - More Than Any Other Day 70
Thee Silver Mt Zion - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything 67
Jonah Tolchin - Clover Lane 64

Others: No change

Latest additions to my rotation:
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Everett
Mirel Wagner - When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day
Imogen Heap - Sparks
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lose
Darius Jones and Matthew Shipp - Cosmic Leider: The Darkseid Recital
Pere Ubu - Carnival Of Souls
Sarah Jaffe - Don't Disconnect

Also let's give Weird Al - Mandatory Fun a 82. I like the album but don't rate it on my lists because I don't like it the same way as I like other music.

[Nick]

The new Perfume Genius is sounding really good. It's also surprisingly short too, most of the songs are under the 3 minute mark, and there's only 11 songs on the album. I'd give it about an 80/100.

Expect to see some really good reviews for this one.

Standout tracks: Queen, Grid, Too Bright

[Romain]

Don't forget the two new albums from Prince

Art official Age and Plectrum Electrum (

[Jirin]

The new Alt-J is fantastic. A huge leap over An Awesome Wave.

Sondre Lerche - Please is also fantastic. It reminds me of early Strokes only with wilder, less constrained melodies and a few Beatles-esque touches.

[Romain]

The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 5,5 Nothing special.
U2 - Songs Of Innocence 6,5 Not as bas as what I have read about htis album.
Arthur H - Soleil Dedans 7,5 Always good. Always. He have never make a bad album.
Prince - Art Official Age 7,5 I'm unable to put a bad notation to a Prince album. Just for "Gold Standard", this album deserve a good notation.
Prince & 3rdeyegirl - Plectrum Electrum 7,5 Idem.
The Horrors - Luminous 8 Excellent. I really like the guitar.
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 8,5 Excellent. Melodic, strange, beautiful.


Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
The Horrors - Luminous 8
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Arthur H - Soleil Dedans 7,5
Prince - Art Official Age 7,5
Prince & 3rdeyegirl - Plectrum Electrum 7,
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
U2 - Songs Of Innocence 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 6
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 5,5
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Liars - Mess 4
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2

[Pierre]

Anyone has listened and made himself an opinion on the new Thom Yorke album? I haven't managed to find it yet, and I'd like to know if it's worth the effort (in France, downloading torrents is a risky operation).

[bootsy]

Anyone has listened and made himself an opinion on the new Thom Yorke album? I haven't managed to find it yet, and I'd like to know if it's worth the effort (in France, downloading torrents is a risky operation).

I've only listened to it once and thought it was an ok. I've seen some reviews that say it gets better the more you listen to it and other people have really liked it. My rating on first listen 6.5/10.

[whuntva]

I have quickly come to the realization that I am a man of SONGS. I have been all my life.

Nonetheless, I heard a lot of cool albums this year to completion, though there were two re-releases from awhile back, they still count.

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Swans-To Be Kind *Big Winner: 5/5*
U2-Songs of Innocence 3
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5

Kasabian-48:13 was a huge disappointment at 2.5/5. While not bad and quite experimental, it's nowhere near as good as Velociraptor!

[Chris K.]

Anyone has listened and made himself an opinion on the new Thom Yorke album? I haven't managed to find it yet, and I'd like to know if it's worth the effort (in France, downloading torrents is a risky operation).

I've only listened to it once and thought it was an ok. I've seen some reviews that say it gets better the more you listen to it and other people have really liked it. My rating on first listen 6.5/10.

I've listened to it about 5 times, I'd say it's much better than Atoms For Peace, about on par with The Erasure. Some interesting things going on, some great songs but missing dynamics. My rating is about 8.0 (skewed a bit high as I'm quite partial to Thom Yorke in general).

[Rocky Raccoon]

I'm really behind, but hope to catch up. Unfortunately, not much time for comments
Newly listened
Joyce Manor – 75 (Short, very short, but sweet punk pop)
Jenny Lewis – 75
Bob Mould – 75
Miranda Lambert – 75
First Aid Kit – 70
Lucinda Williams – 70
Ryan Adams - 70
Connor Oberst – 70
Tricky - 65

Previously listened
St. Vincent - 85
tUnE-yArDs - 80
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra - 80
Jack White – 80
Beck - 80

Timothy Bloom - 75
Angel Olsen - 75
Black Keys - 75
Mirah – 75
Cloud Nothings - 75
Lana Del Rey – 75
Parquet Courts – 75
Perfect Pussy - 75
Lydia Loveless - 75
Against Me! - 75
Lykke Li - 75
The Hold Steady - 75
Sharon Van Etten – 75

Drive-by Truckers - 70
Rosanne Cash - 70
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - 70
Damien Jurado - 70
Lake Street Dive - 70
Tinariwen - 70
Broken Bells - 70
Sun Kil Moon - 70
Todd Terje - 70

War on Drugs - 65
Warpaint - 65
Coldplay - 65
Swans - 65
Cibo Matto - 60

[Nick]

I'm almost done listening to the new Foxygen album on NPR and it's a REAL disappointment. I mean, it has some cool ideas and a few really good songs, but it's an 82 minute long snooze for the most part. It sounds like Foxygen got together and decided to record a parody of every overwrought drugged out "experimental album" from the 60's...except they were sincere.

What makes it really such a shame is that I really liked their last album, and the singles they released in support for this one had me rather excited.

But yeah, it's a mess. Some good ideas, a lot of bad ones.

On the other hand, the new Aphex Twin and Flying Lotus albums are two of the best I've heard all year.

[PlasticRam]

I just have to share that I've been disappointed with some high profile names. Aphex Twin's and Thom Yorke's albums get 7/10 from me. Just nothing special in my opinion. Weezer single "Back to the Shack" is bad enough that I prolly won't even listen to the album. Some cringeworthy lyrics.

[DocBrown]

Another disappointment (on one listen only) is the new Leonard Cohen.. I much preferred Old Ideas. However, if I'm not sitting in the sunroom asking "Are you my mother?" at eighty, I'll be good, so let's cut him some slack.

[irreduciblekoan]

The new Flying Lotus is wonderful, and is going to be a classic and AM mainstay just as his previous three albums are. But I already knew it was going to be good from the singles and the "trailer" which played a snippet from every song.

[Maschine_Man]

Loved, loved, loved the new Alt J, several strong singles outweigh the lackluster tracks.
Ty Segall needs to trim some of the weaker tracks off Manipulator. There is a great album in there somewhere, I know it.
Foxygen is erm, interesting. I do know I'll need a lot more time to digest it before I can make any sort of assessment.
Syro is good, but I haven't been listening to it as much as I thought I would.
Perfume Genius is also yet to be ranked, but I love it as well.
Also as a side note, Metronomy Love Letters is climbing up my list, better than I initially thought.

Great
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
La Roux - Trouble In Paradise
Alt J - This Is All Yours
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project

Good
EMA - The Futures Void
Damian Jurado - Brothers And Sisters…
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
Robyn - Do It Again
Ty Segall - Manipulator
Dan Croll - Sweet Disarray
Metronomy - Love Letters
Jack White - Lazaretto
Todd Terje - It's Album Time
Young Fathers - Dead
Tune Yards - Nikki Nak
Broken Bells - After The Disco
FKA Twigs - LP1
Beck - Morning Phase
Chromeo - White Girls
Death Grips - Niggas On The Moon

Okay
Jungle - Jungle
Little Dragon - Nabuma Rubberband
Sia - 1000 Forms Of Fear
Pixies - Indie Cindy
SBTRKT - Wonder Where We Land
Kelis - Food
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Mac Demarco - Salad Days
Wild Beasts - Present Tense
Kasabian - 48:13:00
Angus And Julia Stone - Angus And Julia Stone
The New Pornographers - Bill Bruisers
Quilt - Held IN Splendor
Liars - Mess

Meh
Pharrell - GIRL
Lily Allen - Sheezus
Temples - Sun Structures

[Nick]

The common narrative of Weezer is that "The Blue Album" and "Pinkerton" are the classics, "The Green Album" is good/alright, and the rest is irredeemable shit.

Well I'm here to inform you that their new album, "Everything Will Be Alright in the End", is awesome. Just...totally awesome. Anyone who counted Weezer out, anyone who didn't believe they had the ability to make another good album needs to hear this. I honestly like it way more than "The Green Album". It's not a perfect album, far from it.

But it's a damn good album.

[PlasticRam]

After a little research it turns out "Back to the Shack" might be the worst song on that album, so I guess I'm gonna have to check it out.

[Jirin]

Most recent additions to my rotation:

My Glorious - Hold What We Can Hold
Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love

I will also rate New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 55.

It sounds more like their great albums than their last couple but it doesn't have those wild power-pop melodies that made them irresistible. It is just energy-lacking.

[whuntva]

Most recent additions to my rotation:

My Glorious - Hold What We Can Hold
Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love

I converted someone!

Glad you like.

But seriously an old AMer (if you're still on the site, tell me) introduced me to My Glorious via "Minefield"

Thank you anyone who checked out new music through the forum.

[Maschine_Man]

Ugh, I had a better write up about the Foxygen album but it got deleted. Ultimately I really like parts of the album (Star Power Suite and The Paranoid Side) and hate others (Scream: Journey Through Hell).

Basically Star Power is a cosmic being that attempts to take over Foxygen, first contact is made in the duet Cosmic Vibrations - [If you want me, you can have me / You can have me, but I'm all used up]. Star Power is obnoxious and selfish, they are the reason for that awful 3rd disk. I think creating parallels between the story/disks/parts of the Star Power Suite help the album make some sort of sense:

Introduction to Foxygen and Star Power | The Hits And The Star Power Suite | I: Overture
Star Power start to take over Foxygen | The Paranoid Side | II: Star Power Nite
Star Power and Foxygen battle it out | Scream: Journey Through Hell | III: What Are We Good For
Foxygen are back | Hang on To Love | IV: Ooh Ooh

The Hits../Overture give a broad look at what is and what will be. The Paranoid Side/Star Power Nite is more ambitious than the first and more experimental. Scream/What Are We Good For is is a messy back and forth between the two bands. Hang On To Love/Ooh Ooh is the shortest most pure of suites, and is a return to calm like the final disk (which are also the final "Hits")

Or maybe I'm reading into it waaaaay too much? and it is just all terrible

[whuntva]

UPDATE! I Heard a new album

Asgeir-In the Silence 3.5/5
Band of Skulls-Himalayan 4/5
Jack White-Lazaretto 4.5/5
Kasabian-48:13 2.5/5
KONGOS-Lunatic 4/5
Mastodon-Once More Round the Sun 5/5
My Glorious-Hold What We Can Hold 4.5/5
Mystic-Beautiful Resistance 4/5
Paolo Nutini-Caustic Love 4.5/5
Vance Joy-Dream your Life Away 4/5
Swans-To Be Kind *Big Winner: 5/5*
U2-Songs of Innocence 3/5
Weird Al Yankovic-Mandatory Fun 4.5/5

After THIRTEEN YEARS, Mystic has something out. I dunno how many of you heard Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, but that's an underrated classic.

This album is a worthy sequel.

The reason for all my high ratings is because I only listen to full albums I think I will enjoy from artist whom I know albums are the focus. Kinda shortsighted, I know. But again, I'm a man of songs.

[Jirin]

Some promotions to the top 20 since my previous list:

15. Sondre Lerche - Please 84

Can't get enough of this album, best Britpop album I've heard in a few years.

16. Steph Cameron - Sad Eyed Lonesome Lady 83

Don't know much about her but she's a folk/country act who reminds me of my brother's friends from when he was attending Berklee School Of Music.

18. Perfume Genius - Too Bright 82

Probably don't need to sell this one to you guys.

[GucciLittlePiggy]

I'm simplifying my ratings because it's too hard to rate going by ones.

1. Sun Kil Moon - Benji (90)
2. Spoon - They Want My Soul (90)
- as close a competition you can get, though Spoon is making strides (I've just declared "Do You" over "Ben's My Friend" for my favorite song of the year, though that is also about as close as it gets)
3. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots (85)
4. Wild Beasts - Present Tense (85)
5. Jack White - Lazaretto (80)
6. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence (80)
7. Beck - Morning Phase (80)
8. St. Vincent - St. Vincent (80)
9. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream (75)
10. FKA Twigs - LP1 (75)
11. Mac Demarco - Salad Days (75)
12. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (75)
13. Swans - To Be Kind (75)
14. Porter Robinson - Worlds (75)
15. The Black Keys - Turn Blue (75)
16. alt-J - This Is All Yours (70)
17. Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland (65)
18. The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt (60)
- massive disappointment for me; I want Brain Fallon to go make another Horrible Crowes album and get his head right
19. The Kooks - Listen (55)
20. Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (50)
- another disappointment; A Thousand Suns was a classic for me and Living Things was a solid album, but this just isn't my cup of tea at all

[irreduciblekoan]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Iceage album. Compared to the other highly acclaimed music from the past couple of weeks, I feel like it isn't getting the attention it deserves. Caribou and FlyLo have over 20 reviews on Metacritic, for example, while Iceage has only 12 so far. And admittedly it took me a couple of listens to fully appreciate Iceage's Plowing Into the Field of Love because of the singer's weird singing voice and the challenging, off-kilter production. But now I think it' may be a masterpiece.

[Nick]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Iceage album. Compared to the other highly acclaimed music from the past couple of weeks, I feel like it isn't getting the attention it deserves. Caribou, FlyLo and Perfume Genius all have over 20 reviews on Metacritic, for example, while Iceage has only 12 so far. And admittedly it took me a couple of listens to fully appreciate Iceage's Plowing Into the Field of Love because of the singer's weird singing voice and the challenging, off-kilter production. But now I think it' may be a masterpiece.

I really liked it too, which is surprising because I didn't care for their last album, "You're Nothing". Their new album sounds like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, which is alright by me. "You're Nothing" on the other hand, was just too one-dimensional. "Plowing Into the Field of Love" is really fleshed out, with pianos, strings, and horns. It could stand to lose a song or two, but other than that I can't complain. Probably a top 20 album of the year for me.

[Romain]

King Tuff - Black moon Spell 8,5 I love these guys and their cool rock.
Kid Francescoli - With Julia 8,5 Like an OST for a strange film, this album is an incredibly good surprise. I like it a lot.
Moodoïd - Le Monde Moo 9 Yes ! 9 or maybe 9,5, I'm in a total adequacy with this band since their first song. I love their music, their writing, their poetry. Album of the year and my biggest discovery since a long time (but but I do not think it likes to a lot of people).


Moodoïd - Le Monde Moo 9
Jack White - Lazaretto 9
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 9
Ed Harcourt - Time Of Dust 8,5
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 8,5
Kid Francescoli - With Julia 8,5
Archie Bronson Outfit - Wild Crush 8,5
Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett 8,5
The Antlers - Familiars 8,5
tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack 8,5
Dorian Pimpernel - Allombon 8,5
Young Fathers - Dead 8,5
Mando Diao - Aelita 8,5
King Tuff - Black moon Spell 8,5
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want 8,5
The Horrors - Luminous 8
Metronomy - Love Letters 8
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation 8
Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle 8
Malachai - Beyond Ugly 8
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land 8
Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 8
Maximo Park - Too Much Information 8
School Of Language - Old Fears 8
Foster the People - Supermodel 7,5
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 7,5
Arthur H - Soleil Dedans 7,5
Prince - Art Official Age 7,5
Prince & 3rdeyegirl - Plectrum Electrum 7,
Shaka Ponk - The White Pixel Ape 7,5
Skip The Use - Little Armageddon 7,5
Cascadeur - Ghost Surfer 7,5
Triggerfinger - By Absence Of The Sun 7,5
Cheveu - Bum 7,5
Sébastien Tellier - L'Aventura 7,5
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 7
Kasabian - 4813 7
Interpol - My Desire 7
Temples - Sun Structures 7
Gruff Rhys - American Interior 7
François & The Atlas Mountains - Piano Ombre 6,5
Sinead O'Connor - I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss 6,5
Mogwai - Rave Tapes 6,5
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 6,5
Emilie Simon - Mue 6,5
Notwist - Close to the glass 6,5
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War 6,5
U2 - Songs Of Innocence 6,5
Gush - Mira 6
The Black Angels - Clear Lake Forest 6
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6
The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 6
The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams 6
Beck - Morning Phase 6
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers 5,5
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days 5,5
Spoon - They Want My Soul 5,5
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 5
Broken Bells - After The Disco 5
Breton - War Room Stories 5
Bob Mould - Beauty and Ruin 5
EMA - The Future's void 5
The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream 4,5
Todd Terje - It's Album Time 4,5
Sun Kil Moon - Benji 4
Liars - Mess 4
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise 3
Sia - 1000 forms of fear 2
Coldplay - Ghost Stories 2
Klaxons - Love Frequency 2

[granit]

Update
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project 9.0/10
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witnesses 8.5/10
Cascadeur : Ghost surfer 8.5/10
Beck - Morning Phase 8.0/10
St. Vincent - St. Vincent 8.0/10
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams 8.0/10
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast 8.0/10
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream 7.5/10
Birth Of Joy - Prisoner 7.5/10
Blues Pills - Blues Pills 7,5/10
Perfume Genius - Too Bright 7,5/10
The Brian Jonestown Massacre : Revelation 7,5/10
Hollie Cook : Twice 7,5/10
Opeth : Pale Communion 7/10
The New Pornographers : Brill Bruisers 7/10
Marianne Faithfull : Give My Love To London 7/10
Rival sons : Great Western Valkyrie 7/10
Archive - Axiom 7.0/10
Royksopp & Robyn - Do It Again 7/10
Rosanna Cash : The River & the Thread 7.0/10
Jack White: Lazaretto 7.0/10
Aphex_Twin : Syro 6.5/10
The Black Keys - Turn Blue 6.5/10
Temples - Sun Structures 6.5/10
Thee Oh Sees - Drop 6.5/10
Asgeir : In the Silence 6.5/10
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else 6.5/10
Interpol - El pintor 6.5/10
Wild Beasts - Present Tense 6.0/10
Sinkane - Mean Love 6.0/10
Swans - To Be Kind 6.0/10
Manic Street Preachers: Futurology 6.0/10
I break horses : Chiaroscuro 6.0/10
Alt-J : This Is All Yours 6.0/10
Warpaint : warpaint 6.0/10
RobertPlant And The Sensational Space Shifters : Lullaby And The Ceaseless Roar 6.0/10
Carla Bozulich - Boy 6.0/10
The Horrors - Luminous 6.0/10
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 6.0/10
Marissa Nadler - July 5.5/10
The Antlers - Familiars 5,5/10
Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots 5.0/10
U2 : Songs Of Innocence 4.5/10

[Jirin]

I definitely like the new Iceage. Whereas with most albums I hear for the first time though I have a pretty good idea whether I like it within the first few songs, Iceage took me most of the length of the album to warm up to. It's a very well paced album that builds on itself.

I'm not sure about the new Foxygen yet. It's not bad by any means but there's a distinct gap between ambition and execution.

[HRS]

Grouper's Ruins: album of the year. A cohesive, melancholic and simple song cycle. Very intimate, almost as revealing as mysterious. Remarkable and hard-hitting emotionally in a way few have been in years.

[irreduciblekoan]

Grouper's Ruins: album of the year. A cohesive, melancholic and simple song cycle. Very intimate, almost as reveling as mysterious. Remarkable and hard-hitting emotionally in a way few have been in years.

Yes, the new Grouper album is excellent, and so is the new Scott Walker/Sunn O))) album. Both have been on repeat the last two days. The stellar month for music continues.

[irreduciblekoan]

Run the Jewels 2 was released for free today. I really enjoyed their first album, and this one is even better. It's easily the best hip-hop album of the year so far and I foresee lots of great reviews and a high (top 1500) placement on AM. It's angrier, darker and more sonically adventurous than their first one.