Red Stick Sounds: Top Albums of 2014

2014 wasn’t an overwhelming year for me as far as new music goes, but there were a lot of interesting things going on. We’ll call it a rebuilding year. Below are the 20 albums that piqued my interest in 2014.

20. Benjamin Booker — Benjamin Booker
New Orleans based 25-year-old brings a punk rock sensibility to blues and boogie woogie rock ‘n’ roll with his gravelly vocals and driving, crunchy guitar chops.
19. Holly — Nick Waterhouse
A contemporary take on swinging 60’s horn laden R&B is not easy to pull off, but Mr. Waterhouse does so convincingly on his sophomore LP.
18. Freeman – Freeman
Former Ween frontman steps out on his own and delivers a very dense, mature and diverse record.

17. Burnt Offering – The Budos Band
Instrumental hard soul stalwarts sound bigger and darker than ever on their fourth release.
16. Held In Splendor – Quilt
Boston-based trio deliver a record that puts garage rock back into psychedelia.
15. Cavalo – Rodrigo Amarante
Former singer of Brazilian supergroup Los Hermanos and indie rockers Little Joy flexes his songwriting muscle, proving himself again to be one of the strongest vocalists going no matter what language he’s singing in.
14. Small Town Heroes – Hurray For The Riff Raff
New Orleans natives continue their upward trajectory with a collection of soulful folk numbers steeped in the musical traditions of the Crescent City.

http://youtu.be/PURNz-8U_Ko
13. EDJ – EDJ
Former Fruit Bats frontman ventures into solo territory and continues make consistently engaging and intelligent songs that make you want to dance awkwardly.
12. Single Mothers – Justin Townes Earle
Earle strays abruptly from traditional country folk and seamlessly into electric blues and R&B territory and has never sounded more comfortable.
11. Sunbathing Animal – Parquet Courts
NYC post art punks continue to turn out dense songs that read like Dylan and grind like the Minutemen.
10. Atlas – Real Estate
This album has a relentless high energy melancholy and looping lead guitar lines that beg to be replayed.
9. Sukierae – Tweedy
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy takes a solo turn with his oldest son at the drum kit. The result is a subtle and pleasant departure from his main band’s output.

8. Favorite Waitress – Felice Brothers
Family band of former street musicians make avant folk that oozes swagger and makes earnest simple poetry sound cool again.
7. Shattered – Reigning Sound
It would be easy to call these guys an imitation soul revival act, but they are the real deal. There are even SONGS on this album, not just the hollow romantic gobbledygook we’ve come to expect from the procession of novelty nostalgia soul artists.
6. Heigh Ho – Blake Mills
I was hoping for a slightly more focused record here, but it is so brilliant in short bursts that I can’t let it fall far on my list. Mills is simply one of the most interesting music makers on the planet right now.
5. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music – Sturgill Simpson
Once the hype wears off, people will realize that this guy isn’t Waylon Jennings—his voice is actually much better, and in due time, his songs might also outshine the granddaddy of outlaw country.

4. Salad Days – Mac DeMarco
This guy and his jangly soulful lounge pop worked their way into my ears and heart after years of knocking at the door. No one displays more outright ownership and command of their sound than DeMarco.
3. Lights From the Chemical Plant – Robert Ellis
A very mature statement from a young man who may have just begun to scratch the surface of his talents. It will be exciting to watch Ellis try to consistently one up himself in the coming years.
2. Divisionary – Ages and Ages
This album does everything music is supposed to do: it hooks you, bands listeners together and has a supremely positive and uplifting way with you.
1. Lateness of Dancers – Hiss Golden Messenger
This album gets under your skin, which to me is far more worthwhile than one that hits you over the head. Front-to-back this album is tense but soothing, cheerful and gloomy, and incisive without being specific. If songwriter M.C. Taylor’s lyrics weren’t enough, there’s a whole lot of volume, immediacy and electrictrified shuffle here that I didn’t really expect to hear from HGM. Taylor has come into his own with a unique brand of gospel and Americana-soaked folk that is capable of moving both the brain and the hips.