My top list has been out since whenever, but here it is for Obner people. Won't be too surprising, I suspect.
Jersey Beat has it here:
http://www.jerseybeat.com/bestof2014.htmlFor you non-link clickers and long-blog scrollers, here it is:
Top 10 Albums
01. Sugar Stems – Only Come Out At Night (Dirtnap)Describing the sound as “sweet” is apt but also a bit misleading. These songs have energy and bite and don’t get anywhere near “cutesy” territory. This is power pop with shades of Phil Spector, hints of early punk rock, and even a tinge of “Gunpowder And Lead” (Hey, it’s the only Miranda Lambert song I know). Previous efforts from this band gave us an appetizing dish or two, but this album is a veritable feast of hits.
02. TacocaT – NVM (Hardly Art)A straightforward approach, but with hooks galore and a melodic brightness despite the occasionally dark subject matter. Lots of oohs and ahhs. This album is fireworks.
03. Literature – Chorus (Slumberland)The album starts off with a “Woo!” Need I say more? …Ok. This is indie pop that is both catchy and lush, both sprite and dreamy. But so what? Tons of bands these days are rehashing the C-86 and Sarah Records aesthetic. But while those other acts just carbon copy the sound, Literature captures the essence of classic indie pop: Immensely strong songwriting, happily doing the limbo under the radar.
04. Phil Ajjarapu – Sing Along Until You Feel Better (Self Released)Songs about singing a song and how it makes you feel rarely work, but when it does it’s like an eargasm roller-skating on a Mobius strip. This album floats on old school “AM-gold” radio airwaves, and when it lands it does so in a warm ocean and continues to float like a… Jellyfish. Andy Sturmer and Ken Stringfellow fans, take note.
05. Diarrhea Planet – Aliens In The Outfield EP (Infinity Cat)Ok, so this is only a EP, but there are more guitars on this EP than on any two albums on this list combined, so they get a pass. Plus, these songs 5 songs, clocking in at 16 minutes, give us the full package. Basement stompers, Weezer-style fuzz pop, epic jams, all flowing through deftly crafted layers of riffs. Best EP of the year, I shit you not.
06. Martha – Courting Strong (Salinas)Back before 90s punk sneered at it, and Oasis got melodramatic with it, indie bands embraced pop and gave it a playful noogie. The Fastbacks did it, Heavenly did it, and now Martha are doing it. Don’t stick your tongue out at me, boy! I’m trying to teach you a history lesson!
07. The Haden Triplets – When I Stop Dreaming (Third Man)This release is so much more than adding fuel to the That Dog. reunion fire. Traditional country/Americana instrumentation, olde time songsmithing (think clever re-writes of “You Are My Sunshine” and “Big Rock Candy Mountain”), and of course the exquisite harmonies that only the Haden sisters can bring to the table. Just when I think Jack White is about to become a foot note he backs this release and earns my props once again.
08. The Muffs – Whoop Dee Doo (Burger)Somewhere inbetween “Happy Birthday To Me” and that one Beards album, I lost interest in what Kim Shattuck was doing. The energy was subdued, the screams were reigned in, and I was ok with that. I just wished she were writing better songs. Apparently a 10-year break from releasing music has allowed her muse to stockpile the gems, because this album is great. It’s still mostly mid-tempo sugar punk with grrl pop vocals, but this time they waited until they were actually older and wiser to sound that way, and it really pays off.
09. Army Navy – The Wilderness Inside (The Fever Zone)These guys churn out comforting, well-executed power pop in the vein of the usual suspects (Big Star and Teenage Fanclub). The guitars hover like a doting parent. The vocals swing on swaying melodies that I can only describe at revved up lullabies. I always take it as a good sign when a band makes me sound oxymoronic.
10. Safety Razors – The Worst Record Of All Time (Self Released)I enjoyed Nancy as earnest, hard-hitting east coast punk rock (imagine if Weston didn’t get beat up!?), but I didn’t really understand where they fit in. It wasn’t like the pop punk blooming down in NYC, and it wasn’t like the shoutcore exploding in Ohio. Then one day I must have listened at a new angle and the genius revealed itself to me. The square pegs and round holes didn’t change at all, but the pieces still fit together like some kind of MC Escher drawing plastered on a telephone pole. The core of that band returns with this album and I am with them on the ground floor. They took another punk rock block of clay and shaved it, molded it, and shredded it into musical art.
I didn't even make a 11-20, but if I did, it would be full of pop punk bands that I enjoy like Capitalist Kids, Copyrights, Windowsill, and so on.
