Favourite Full Lengths of 2014 (So Far)

Here's the last of my lists that I'll post before I leave for July. Don't think of this as a kind of half-finished "best of" list for 2014, but more like a list of albums that I loved a lot. These are all contenders that may or may not show up on my year-end list depending on whether anything else blows them out of the water this year.

Follow the links in the album titles if you want to listen. Tell me what 2014 releases you're still stoked for in the comments (or feel free to tear apart my list too).

See you in August!

20.) Machine Girl - WLFGRL
This is a pretty mind-blowing electronic album that covers a huge range of electronic music, including rave, hardcore, dance and jungle. WLFGRL is packed with energy and never lets off of its aural attack

19.) Sd Laika - That's Harakiri
Really dark and grimy beats courtesy of Tri-Angle artist Sd Laika. That's Harakiri is glitchy, catchy, and creepy enough to keep you awake at night

18.) Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Folk/Rock/Country/amazing singer Angel Olsen tries her hand at a multitude of styles on Burn Your Fire for No Witness (including an absolutely stunning Leonard Cohen impression on White Fire) and pulls off all of them with ease

17.) St. Vincent - Self-Titled
I've never really taken notice of St. Vincent until this album. Its sound (not typical of St. Vincent) immediately grabbed me with its insanely catchy hooks and electro-pop vibe. I've played Digital Witness and Birth in Reverse at least 12 billion times each

16.) Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata
I already gave my review of this fantastic hip-hop collaboration between super-producer Madlib and Gangster Gibbs. It's fantastic (the album, not my review)

15.) Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World
Here's another album I recently reviewed. Super eerie post-rock from an enigmatic group who have only ever released amazing material so far in their career

14.) The Body - I Shall Die Here
This is a collaboration between duo of doom The Body, and Tri-Angle producer The Haxan Cloak. Both of these artists make insanely dark and twisted music in their respective genres, so of course this album was going to be off the charts on the evil scale

13.) Indian - From All Purity
An even noisier, sludgier and all around grosser-sounding release than The Body?! Yup. Indian killed it with From All Purity, mixing psychotic feedback and noise with some truly disgusting vocals and grimy doom riffs from hell

12.) Young And In The Way - When Life Comes to Death
I mentioned this album briefly when it was first available for streaming, and it's only grown on me since. I understand they aren't getting a lot of love on the inter webs for being some lame mix of Trap Them and Watain. Honestly I don't get the comparison to Trap Them at all, and Watain's dressed-up, boring-ass black metal isn't even on the same level of aggression as YAITW

11.) Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
It's shorter and more succinct than it's amazing predecessor Attack on Memory, but it's also still one of the best post-punk albums I've heard. The album is filled with quick builds into fantastic crescendos, and the band masterfully creates a gloomy, grungy mood with every song

10.) clipping. - CLPPNG
While I wasn't the biggest fan of midcity, I was totally surprised by how amazing this new clipping. album turned out to be. For an experimental and at times noisy hip-hop album, its also surprisingly accessible. The album is beautifully arranged, songs flow purposefully into one another, and rapper Daveed Diggs is a spitter who changes up his flow to match every bizarre beat perfectly

9.) Ben Frost - A U R O R A
What do you get when you combine the experimental compositions of Ben Frost with the drummer from Liturgy and Swans percussionist Thor Harris? You get AURORA, which sounds like the greatest sci-fi soundtrack to a movie that never existed. This album sounds all at once abrasive, violent, expansive and beautiful

8.) Gridlink - Longhena
The third and final album by grind legends Gridlnk is also their longest and probably their best effort to date. Gridlink have perfected their super technical and melodic sci-fi grindcore sound; and it seems that every member has pushed themselves to their absolute creative limits. I'm definitely bummed that Longhena is the last of Gridlink

7.) Badbadnotgood - III
BBNG continue with their instrumental, jazzy, hip-hop sound that makes them one of the most unique young bands out there today. This album feels like the group's most cohesive and original effort so far, and definitely their jazziest

6.) King Dude - Fear
I think King Dude will always get some inevitable comparisons to Tom Waits, they have similar gruff singing voices and a dark blues style. But King Dude also has a style all his own, with a creepy atmosphere and some great song writing skills that really shine through on this album

5.) Antwon - Heavy Hearted in Doldrums
Antwon raps like a true gangster, at times mimicking Notorious and his instantly recognizable flow. But he also chooses to rap over some super-unconventional beats, at times channeling some 90s goth (Rain Song), ambient electro (Loser), and 80s synth pop (Mr. Intercontinental)

4.) Liars - Mess
Liars take their signature weirdness, experimentation and refusal to be categorized into a genre, and apply them to a dance album. The result is outstanding. This album is full of crazy, eccentric energy, not to mention being ear-buggy as hell too

3.) Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
I love every song on this album because they're all overflowing with personality. It's bluesy, weird and eerie folk rock with a cinematic vibe. I've honestly never heard a band that can take me to an entirely different place as easily as Timber Timbre manages to do it

2.) Swans - To Be Kind
Surprise, surprise. Swans manage to make my favourites list with every new album they put out. And they just seem to keep getting better and better. To Be Kind is as massive as The Seer but has a very different feel to it as well. Swans are truly epic, it seems like they can do no wrong (except maybe with The Burning World)

1.) Sun Kil Moon - Benji
Mark Kozelek (aka Sun Kil Moon) may sound like a rambling middle-aged man to the uninitiated, but his intensely personal chronicle-style of song writing is used to great effect on this album. Benji deals almost entirely with loss and grief in one form or another. It's an incredibly sad record and by far the most emotional album I've heard this year, but it's not depressing. It's the kind of album that makes you want to hug everyone who is closest to you and tell them how much you love them after listening to it all the way through