What's New For Me: 2014

[Soot and Stars]

O.K., since catching up with and also reviewing my 2013 favs I haven't had a chance to spotlight some new favs in a bit! Well, after getting the new Beck I can say that I'm more than pleased with it:

Beck-Morning Phase


As a fan of "Sea Changes' it definitely lives up to a continuation of that side of Beck except with more layers to it. Sea Changes was JUST depressing. Depressing in a good way and well made but there is more of a vibrance mixed into the melancholy heartbreak of this album. It's got an ol' hippy folky vibe that many on this forum would appreciate as well as some bleak orchestration! I like it and have given it a number of spins already!

Morning, Heart Is A Drum & Wave


A Great Big World-Is Anybody Out There


I'm sure I'm the only one who actually enjoys sappy pop ballads on here and there really likes the pop hit "Say Something" pre-Christina or not. Regardless, the album is surprisingly even better after surprisingly hearing it's personality with the peppy well humored style and vocal similar to other piano pop guru Ben Folds!

Say Something, Everyone Is Gay & This Is The New Year


This new Electronica track has just caught my year! It's epic and bombastic just like my favorite electronica artist M83 and ambient artist Sigur Ros!

Porter Robinson

Sea Of Voices
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[TheSound]

Yet another work of art thread by Sooty - your epic threads are just about the best and best looking things on here in my view.

Looks like I'm behind on my Beck albums so I immediately need to download that, I have all his other albums, not sure how I didn't notice he'd just released a new record, so that's where you come in handy Sooty!! ..... been a few years since his last album Modern Guilt, which was a bit of a let down to me, I found it pretty unloveable, I don't even know how they got 3 singles off that album because it was pretty tedious stuff, but his music is always fascinating even when he has a bad day at the office. So I'm really looking forward to this new album, love all 3 of the clips here ^^^ that you posted, already I can see that it's a big improvement.

 

[Soot and Stars]

Thanks TS! I have about half of Becks studio output and my favorite has always been Sea Change which is why I was excited about this new album "Morning Phase"! What was your opinion on that album?

 

[Taboo]

Finally listened to the new Meg Meyers and surprisingly a very good EP. Desire stood out as one of my favs, very raunchy and dark. I love it!

 

[Aktivator]

Agree Soot like the new Beck, about time he finally released this he has been talking about it for years.

Jess Williamson sounds nice haven't heard of her before.

As for me I'm listening to
St. Vincent's new album


and this one

Russian Red

 

[Soot and Stars]

Finally listened to the new Meg Meyers and surprisingly a very good EP. Desire stood out as one of my favs, very raunchy and dark. I love it!

Agree Soot like the new Beck, about time he finally released this he has been talking about it for years.

Jess Williamson sounds nice haven't heard of her before.

As for me I'm listening to
St. Vincent's new album


and this one

Russian Red

Taboo, the EP is great but I've just ordered it now as I wanted a physical copy and it was just dropped in that form. Desire is great and is the second best highlight for me but the real highlight is "Heart, Heart, Head" finally being on disc. That track is my favorite female track perhaps in the past decade. It has an even more vicious core live but the studio version is still amazing.

Aktivator, I'm glad their are so many Beck fans here! I never realized! I've wanted to check out St. Vincent myself as I've seen it featured in a lot of sites I filter through for new music. I've never heard the name "Russian Red" before but after hearing that track you've given me another name to explore! I would love if people felt free to leave their new favorites here as there's a lot of ground I'll never cover on my own! This thread could be a great resource! Thanks again AK!

 

[Soot and Stars]

Here's a pretty worthy update of the2014 artist and acts I've been getting into already this year:

KONGOS-Lunatic

Would you be interested in a energetic South African alternative rock band with an accordion player and equally sweet ballads (similar to Keane, Musikwala that's you ). "Come With Me Now" is the best anthem thus far this year imo!

Singles

Come With Me Now & I'm Only Joking


American Authors-Oh, What A Life

Probably the most feel good optimistic rock album I've heard in a long time. What was about to get lumped in as a Mumford copycat band by critics is there surprising pick for a real good album. To me the stuff sounds like early All American Rejects. I got hooked on "Believer" and from their the album itself!

Singles

Best Day of My Life & Believer


Twin Forks-S/T

Some may say also that Dashboard Confessionals Chris Carrabba is jumping on the pop folk bandwagon started by Mumford and continued by The Lumineers but I say "I will fight you!" Seriously, as a Carrabba fanboy I will state that as an artist that has built his niche and expanded it this is very refreshing. I hear a songwriter that lyrically kills any other artist in that genre and brings something refreshing to that genre. Hearing the Dashboard artist with expanded instrumentation and a sweet female accompaniment is a real treat for this fan!

Cross My Mind & Hard Times


The Pretty Reckless-Going To Hell

Probably the most sexual, raunchy ballsy rock album I've heard from a female band since Hole and on that note that's who the vocalist reminds me of most. It's surprisingly kickass from a band that was more infamous than famous for their music prior to this album due to the prior career and reputation of it's vocalist. I'm actually surprised how much I like this one!

Singles

Heaven Knows & Going To Hell
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[Musikwala]

Would you be interested in a energetic South African alternative rock band with an accordion player and equally sweet ballads (similar to Keane, Musikwala that's you ). "Come With Me Now" is the best anthem thus far this year imo!

Okay, I'll definitely have to make time to check out this band. Not only are they from the country I live in presently, you say they sound like Keane! Can't miss this one. I just haven't found much time to be on the forum lately. :/

 

[Soot and Stars]

Okay, I'll definitely have to make time to check out this band. Not only are they from the country I live in presently, you say they sound like Keane! Can't miss this one. I just haven't found much time to be on the forum lately. :/

They just sound Keanish in there ballads. The two sides are night and day but you should like them regardless!

 

[Soot and Stars]

I'm still buying new stuff but it's slower going thread wise to keep this cliffnotes version going (there will be an official 2014 thread once my 2013 ends ) with all the 2013's I'm spotlighting and delving deeper into as well as catching up with classics and so forth! Still I want to spotlight one of my all time favorite groups right now as I'm listening!

You and The Night


I love the direction that M83 (project mastered by Anthony Gonzalez) is taking with the scoring route! With all the bands saturating the Electronic landscape years after M83 was carrying the torch for the modern generation post Moby and Daft Punk they take their sound from epic double album (which may be their career peak) to brilliantly composed soundscapes! First Oblivion and now this French movie score! Really lustrous, sweeping, sonic palettes to make one forget where they are!

Here's a couple samples:

Holograms & Un Nouveau Soleil
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