Dear readers, listeners, lovers of new music: this post is for you.
I attended 35 live shows and saw 90 different bands perform in 2014, and I consider every hour but about 1 and every dollar but about 20 well spent. If I could have gone to more shows and seen more bands, I would have. This year proved to me that not only is music a worthwhile investment of time and money, it is my top investment priority. So here, I share with you a summary of the songs, releases, and shows that made my year one of the best in a long, long time.
Tops Songs of 2014
"Up for Grabs" - Astronauts, Etc.
"Acting Your Age" - Mimicking Birds
"Kidnap Me" - Crusir
"Columbus" - Snowmine
"Tidal Wave" - Snowmine
"One for Me" - Khushi
"Afraid of Nothing" - Sharon Van Etten
"1998" - Chet Faker
"Lover, Where Do You Live?" - Highasakite
"We've Been Missing" - Har-di-Har
"Be the One" - Haerts
"Molecule" - Hollow and Akimbo
"No One is Lost" - Stars
"Mystery Lights" - Speak
"Garden Grays" - Wildcat! Wildcat!
"Eyes Off You" - Bombay Bicycle Club
"Nunca" - Trails and Ways
"September" - St. Lucia
"Let Loose" - Bora York
"Says" - Nils Frahm
"Mouth" - The River Monks
"Still Trying" - Nathaniel Rateliff
"Hitman" - Jeremy Messersmith
"To Lose" - Oceaan
"Thinking of You" - The Night VI
"Stop Playing with My Heart" - Avid Dancer
"Come Save Me" - Jaguar Ma
"Shark" - Oh Wonder
"Push It" - Delta Spirit
"Mother & Father" - Broods
"She Writes" - Van Stee
"I Wish (You Were Mine)" - Ánders
"Neon Fists" - Yellow Ostrich
Top 14 Releases of 2014
1. Are We There - Sharon Van Etten
2. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
3. So Long, See You Tomorrow - Bombay Bicycle Club
4. Eons - Mimicking Birds
5. Dialects - Snowmine
6. No Moon At All - Wildcat! Wildcat!
7. Sadie - Astronauts, Etc.
8. Hollow and Akimbo - Hollow and Akimbo
9. ZABA - Glass Animals
10. Distraction - Bear Hands
11. Into the Wide - Delta Spirit
12. This Is My Hand - My Brightest Diamond
13. Pedals - Speak
14. Out Alee - Hundred Waters
And the rest (LPs), in no particular order:
Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth - Kiev
Second Sight - Hey Rosetta!
Two & One - Luke Howard
In Return - Odesza
Haerts - Haerts
Heart Murmurs - Jeremy Messersmith
Flux - Close Talker
Forever - Painted Palms
0 - Low Roar
Shapes That Kiss the Lips of God - J.E. Sunde
Home is the House - The River Monks
Cosmos - Yellow Ostrich
No One is Lost - Stars
Our Love - Caribou
In Real Time - Chris Koza
Sling Shot to Heaven - Margot and the Nuclear So n' Sos
Range of Light - S. Carey
Shriek - Wye Oak
Never Get Lost - Duolouge
Silent Treatment - Highasakite
Sisyphus - Sisyphus
Some Heavy Ocean - Emma Ruth Rundle
Supermodel - Foster the People
Together We Shine - The New Division
Whelm - Douglas Dare
Muscle Memory - Dems
Sweet Disarray - Dan Croll
Nabuma Rubberband - Little Dragon
Superstitions - Misun
VIBES - The Parlour Suite
Evergreen - Broods
Tangerine Sky - Blackbird Blackbird
Lithium Burn - Deleted Scenes
Picture Portrait - We Are the Willows
Ahead of You Forever - Racing Glaciers
Tough Love - Jessie Ware
How to Run Away - Slow Magic
Atlas - Real Estate
This is Cave Music - Moon Hooch
The Golden Echo - Kimbra
Don't Disconnect - Sarah Jaffe
Falling Faster Than You Can Run - Nathaniel Rateliff
Sand+Silence - The Rosebuds
Last War - Haley Bonar
Memory Palace - Stone Cold Fox
In the Silence - Asgeir
Ghost Stories - Coldplay
Lighght - Kishi Bashi
Gravity Wins Again - I, A Man
Violent Light - Milagres
Youth - Wild Cub
Awake - Tycho
Voices - Phantogram
The Melodrama - Barcelona
Half About Being a Woman - Caroline Smith
Supermodel - Foster the People
In Roses - Gem Club
Queen of the Clouds - Tove Lo
Upside Down Mountain - Conner Oberst
Mansions on the Moon - Mansions on the Moon
Talking is Hard - Walk the Moon
In Conflict - Owen Pallett
Top 14 EPs of 2014
Sadie EP - Astronauts, etc.
Phantom EP - Khushi
Keeping Company EP - PROM
Radar EP - Paul Cook & the Chronicles
Thunderbolt EP - Paul Cook & the Chronicles
I Want to See You Dance EP - Avid Dancer
Body Diamond EP - Great Good Fine OK
EP2 - ARMS
Dazed and Confused EP - Oceaán
Always Waiting EP - Deep Sea Diver
Wolfe EP - Brolly
Reverie State EP - Field Division
All Over EP - CRUISR
Sales EP - Sales
Best Music Videos
Bombay Bicycle Club, "Carry Me"
Big Data, "Dangerous"
Flight Facilities, "Two Bodies (feat. Emma Louise)"
Other notable music listened to in 2014:
Sons of Rico
Akkilles
Royal Teeth
Wind in Sails
Oh Wonder
Case Conrad
Robin Bacior
Roosevelt
Minor Birds
Betty Who
SOHN
New Navy
The Night VI
Kate Boy
Rubblebucket
Folly and the Hunter
Ricky Eat Acid
The Zolas
Magic Man
The Griswolds
Yellerkin
Bjear
Sam Brookes
Dustin Tebbutt
Porches
Trails and Ways
The Paper Kites
Pompeya
Nils Frahm
Fyfe
Sir Sly
Empress Of
Yasmin
Emily and the Woods
Mutual Benefit
Misterwives
Flight Facilities
Emma Louise
Bear in Heaven
Panama
Jungle
Joywave
Mesita
Memorable Live Acts
St. Lucia
Jeremy Messersmith
Brave Baby
Mimicking Birds
Trails and Ways
Small Black
Washed Out
Hundred Waters
Har-di-Har
Sylvan Esso
Sharon Van Etten
Small Black
Snowmine
Nightbox
Douglas Dare
Bombay Bicycle Club
Royal Canoe
Wildcat! Wildcat!
Stars
Hey Rosetta!
Glass Animals
Painted Palms
French Horn Rebellion
Hollow and Akimbo
LOTT
J.E. Sunde
The Farewell Circuit
The Ericksons
We Are the Willows
S. Carey
Matt & Kim
Greycoats
Jadea Kelly
Johnnyswim
Click here for my Minneapolis Artists of the Year
News:
Glasslands in Williamsburg is closing :(
Musicians are ditching Spotify
Special thanks to:
Paul Cook & The Chronicles
Royal Canoe
Snowmine
Small Black
Jadea Kelly
Beasthead
Har-di-Har
LOTT
The Person and the People
The Persian Leaps
Land Ski Records
Sofar Sounds Minneapolis
Bearded Gentleman Music
Til next year - happy listening!
Remember to follow The Aural on Facebook and Soundcloud for the most recent music updates. Sometimes I post on Twitter, too.
I attended 35 live shows and saw 90 different bands perform in 2014, and I consider every hour but about 1 and every dollar but about 20 well spent. If I could have gone to more shows and seen more bands, I would have. This year proved to me that not only is music a worthwhile investment of time and money, it is my top investment priority. So here, I share with you a summary of the songs, releases, and shows that made my year one of the best in a long, long time.
Tops Songs of 2014
"Up for Grabs" - Astronauts, Etc.
"Acting Your Age" - Mimicking Birds
"Kidnap Me" - Crusir
"Columbus" - Snowmine
"Tidal Wave" - Snowmine
"One for Me" - Khushi
"Afraid of Nothing" - Sharon Van Etten
"1998" - Chet Faker
"Lover, Where Do You Live?" - Highasakite
"We've Been Missing" - Har-di-Har
"Be the One" - Haerts
"Molecule" - Hollow and Akimbo
"No One is Lost" - Stars
"Mystery Lights" - Speak
"Garden Grays" - Wildcat! Wildcat!
"Eyes Off You" - Bombay Bicycle Club
"Nunca" - Trails and Ways
"September" - St. Lucia
"Let Loose" - Bora York
"Says" - Nils Frahm
"Mouth" - The River Monks
"Still Trying" - Nathaniel Rateliff
"Hitman" - Jeremy Messersmith
"To Lose" - Oceaan
"Thinking of You" - The Night VI
"Stop Playing with My Heart" - Avid Dancer
"Come Save Me" - Jaguar Ma
"Shark" - Oh Wonder
"Push It" - Delta Spirit
"Mother & Father" - Broods
"She Writes" - Van Stee
"I Wish (You Were Mine)" - Ánders
"Neon Fists" - Yellow Ostrich
Top 14 Releases of 2014
1. Are We There - Sharon Van Etten
2. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
3. So Long, See You Tomorrow - Bombay Bicycle Club
4. Eons - Mimicking Birds
5. Dialects - Snowmine
6. No Moon At All - Wildcat! Wildcat!
7. Sadie - Astronauts, Etc.
8. Hollow and Akimbo - Hollow and Akimbo
9. ZABA - Glass Animals
10. Distraction - Bear Hands
11. Into the Wide - Delta Spirit
12. This Is My Hand - My Brightest Diamond
13. Pedals - Speak
14. Out Alee - Hundred Waters
And the rest (LPs), in no particular order:
Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth - Kiev
Second Sight - Hey Rosetta!
Two & One - Luke Howard
In Return - Odesza
Haerts - Haerts
Heart Murmurs - Jeremy Messersmith
Flux - Close Talker
Forever - Painted Palms
0 - Low Roar
Shapes That Kiss the Lips of God - J.E. Sunde
Home is the House - The River Monks
Cosmos - Yellow Ostrich
No One is Lost - Stars
Our Love - Caribou
In Real Time - Chris Koza
Sling Shot to Heaven - Margot and the Nuclear So n' Sos
Range of Light - S. Carey
Shriek - Wye Oak
Never Get Lost - Duolouge
Silent Treatment - Highasakite
Sisyphus - Sisyphus
Some Heavy Ocean - Emma Ruth Rundle
Supermodel - Foster the People
Together We Shine - The New Division
Whelm - Douglas Dare
Muscle Memory - Dems
Sweet Disarray - Dan Croll
Nabuma Rubberband - Little Dragon
Superstitions - Misun
VIBES - The Parlour Suite
Evergreen - Broods
Tangerine Sky - Blackbird Blackbird
Lithium Burn - Deleted Scenes
Picture Portrait - We Are the Willows
Ahead of You Forever - Racing Glaciers
Tough Love - Jessie Ware
How to Run Away - Slow Magic
Atlas - Real Estate
This is Cave Music - Moon Hooch
The Golden Echo - Kimbra
Don't Disconnect - Sarah Jaffe
Falling Faster Than You Can Run - Nathaniel Rateliff
Sand+Silence - The Rosebuds
Last War - Haley Bonar
Memory Palace - Stone Cold Fox
In the Silence - Asgeir
Ghost Stories - Coldplay
Lighght - Kishi Bashi
Gravity Wins Again - I, A Man
Violent Light - Milagres
Youth - Wild Cub
Awake - Tycho
Voices - Phantogram
The Melodrama - Barcelona
Half About Being a Woman - Caroline Smith
Supermodel - Foster the People
In Roses - Gem Club
Queen of the Clouds - Tove Lo
Upside Down Mountain - Conner Oberst
Mansions on the Moon - Mansions on the Moon
Talking is Hard - Walk the Moon
In Conflict - Owen Pallett
Top 14 EPs of 2014
Sadie EP - Astronauts, etc.
Phantom EP - Khushi
Keeping Company EP - PROM
Radar EP - Paul Cook & the Chronicles
Thunderbolt EP - Paul Cook & the Chronicles
I Want to See You Dance EP - Avid Dancer
Body Diamond EP - Great Good Fine OK
EP2 - ARMS
Dazed and Confused EP - Oceaán
Always Waiting EP - Deep Sea Diver
Wolfe EP - Brolly
Reverie State EP - Field Division
All Over EP - CRUISR
Sales EP - Sales
Best Music Videos
Bombay Bicycle Club, "Carry Me"
Big Data, "Dangerous"
Flight Facilities, "Two Bodies (feat. Emma Louise)"
Other notable music listened to in 2014:
Sons of Rico
Akkilles
Royal Teeth
Wind in Sails
Oh Wonder
Case Conrad
Robin Bacior
Roosevelt
Minor Birds
Betty Who
SOHN
New Navy
The Night VI
Kate Boy
Rubblebucket
Folly and the Hunter
Ricky Eat Acid
The Zolas
Magic Man
The Griswolds
Yellerkin
Bjear
Sam Brookes
Dustin Tebbutt
Porches
Trails and Ways
The Paper Kites
Pompeya
Nils Frahm
Fyfe
Sir Sly
Empress Of
Yasmin
Emily and the Woods
Mutual Benefit
Misterwives
Flight Facilities
Emma Louise
Bear in Heaven
Panama
Jungle
Joywave
Mesita
Memorable Live Acts
St. Lucia
Jeremy Messersmith
Brave Baby
Mimicking Birds
Trails and Ways
Small Black
Washed Out
Hundred Waters
Har-di-Har
Sylvan Esso
Sharon Van Etten
Small Black
Snowmine
Nightbox
Douglas Dare
Bombay Bicycle Club
Royal Canoe
Wildcat! Wildcat!
Stars
Hey Rosetta!
Glass Animals
Painted Palms
French Horn Rebellion
Hollow and Akimbo
LOTT
J.E. Sunde
The Farewell Circuit
The Ericksons
We Are the Willows
S. Carey
Matt & Kim
Greycoats
Jadea Kelly
Johnnyswim
Click here for my Minneapolis Artists of the Year
News:
Glasslands in Williamsburg is closing :(
Musicians are ditching Spotify
Special thanks to:
Paul Cook & The Chronicles
Royal Canoe
Snowmine
Small Black
Jadea Kelly
Beasthead
Har-di-Har
LOTT
The Person and the People
The Persian Leaps
Land Ski Records
Sofar Sounds Minneapolis
Bearded Gentleman Music
Til next year - happy listening!
Remember to follow The Aural on Facebook and Soundcloud for the most recent music updates. Sometimes I post on Twitter, too.
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