Category: Music

Favorite Albums of 2014

Posted on December 24, 2014

Here are my favorite albums from 2014. Midlake’s Antiphon is #1 on purpose.

1. Midlake, Antiphon – This is my most played album of 2014. Favorite tracks: The Old & the Young, Aurora Gone, This Weight

2. Tacks, the Boy Disaster, Treasure Hunters – my favorite “undiscovered” band: http://www.tackstheboydisaster.com.

3. War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream – Bob Dylan meets Fleetwood Mac. Everyone seems to love this band.

4. Broken Bells, After the Disco – Every song is good, again.

5. David Ramirez, All

*Honorable mention to David Gray’s Mutineers, where he made it almost full circle back to White Ladder.

**Miranda Dodson, Merry Christmas Time

My Brightest Diamond

Posted on September 17, 2014

Love this single from the new record by Shara Worden/My Brightest Diamond. Back when they were Awry from NYC, the band crashed in our little apartment in Gloucester, MA, waking up to the horror of 9/11 on our T.V. set. Her vocals shimmer with style and resonate with hope. The striking arrangements, musical diversity, and reflective lyrics make this a unique album.

In “Pressure” I kept thinking “female Thom Yorke.”

Hear the whole thing on Spotify.

 

5 Albums I’m Enjoying

Posted on June 13, 2014

Wave after wave of music crashes in on our city as each annual music festival comes and goes. As a result, I get to hear a lot of great music. The problem, however, is that I am incredibly choosy. There’s much more I don’t like than I do like. So, for what it’s worth, here’s what’s been burning up my playlists:

Familiars, The Antlers – streaming from NPR for free until release

Lots of Johnny Cash – the American Recordings are great

Antiphon, Midlake – their latest and brightest. Can’t get enough of “The Old and the Young” and “Aurora Gone”

After the Disco, Broken Bells – I’ve been a devoted fan since their pop-up concert at SXSW years ago

Treasure Hunters, Tacks, the Boy Disaster – these guys are super talented and very unique but easy to listen to. Had them play at my wife’s 40th.