[Thebb]

https://soundcloud.com/dixon/in-our-wilderness

 

[MuppetFace]

  https://soundcloud.com/dixon/in-our-wilderness

 
Seems like a nice mix.
 
I randomly clicked on a timestamp and heard Steffi's "Pip" from Power of Anonymity. Plan on covering that album soon-ish. It's great.

 

[Thebb]

   
Seems like a nice mix.
 
I randomly clicked on a timestamp and heard Steffi's "Pip" from Power of Anonymity. Plan on covering that album soon-ish. It's great.

 You are correct!  Nice.
 
You can find the full tracklist here:
http://cubic.fm/#!playlist/528625494

 

[Dog meat]

Thanks for the aphex twin review! When I was listening syro for the first time, I thought "What is this?". After your review appeared on the front page I decided to give it another try - and guess what, I got it! Brilliant album. Listening on the sennheiser momentum fed with hifiman hm700 - these really make syro come alive, despite it's an artifical electronic music. Oh, and the basslines there are just out of this world.

 

[MuppetFace]

Another year, another stupidly long list from yours truly. Rankings start pretty willy nilly but get more and more "exact" as the list descends. Top 20 is toward the bottom, etc. I planned on listing some favorite singles too (a lot of them were from PC Music... this has been a year of 'bubblegum bass' I guess). Too tired to do anything else at the moment. So enjoy what's here!
 
This new year I plan on writing entries more frequently. I still have posts about this past year's music I want to share, and hopefully they'll shed more light on some of these choices. This list is indeed long even for me, but that can't be helped: this has been an INSANE year for new music. Also to answer a common question: yes, I listen to "old" music too. I plan on sharing some of my favorite hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
So, without further adieu...
 
 
MF's 2014 Best Of List
 
 
Championship Edition DLC:
 
341. Sofia Reta  -  Le Cuisiner
340. Actress  -  Ghettoville
339. Twilight  -  Iii: Beneath Trident's Tomb
338. The Wounded Kings  -  Consolamentum
337. Myrkur  -  Myrkur
336. Pharmakon  -  Bestial Burden
335. t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者  -  アンドロメダ
334. Astral Social Club  -  Fountain Transmitter Medications
333. Nadja + Vampillia  -  ɪmpəˈfɛkʃ(ə)n  
332. Full of Hell  -  Full of Hell & Merzbow
331. GOAT  -  Commune
 
330. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.  -  Astrogasm From The Inner Space
329. S  -  Cool Choices
328. Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya  -  Welcome In the Void
327. Nurse With Wound & Graham Bowers  -  ExcitoToxicity
326. Andrew Chalk  -  The Circle of Days
325. Coppice Halifax  -  River Tableaux
324. Coppice Halifax  -  Night's Moisture
323. Raury  -  Indigo Child
322. Tindersticks  -  Ypres
321. Gezan  -  Katsute Uta Tolwaretasore
 
320. Charli XCX  -  Sucker
319. Dan Bodan  -  Soft
318. Weirdon  -  Purling Hiss
317. Yung Lean  -  Unknown Memory
316. Allah-las  -  Worship the Sun
315. St. Vincent  -  St. Vincent
314. Mourn  -  Mourn
313. 2562  -  The New Today
312. Zammuto  -  Anchor
311. DJ Spoko  -  War God
 
* * *
 
310. Ty Segall  -  Manipulator
309. E-40  -  Sharp On All Corners
308. Wrong  -  Pessimistic Outcomes
307. Blood of Kingu  -  Dark Star On the Right Horn of the Crescent Moon
306. Nels Cline Singers  -  Macroscope
305. Mac DeMarco  -  Salad Days
304. Jute Gyte  -  Ressentiment
303. HOLOVR  -  Holo Earth
302. Lantlos  -  Melting Sun
301. Amen Dunes  -  Love
 
300. Linda Perhacs - The Soul of All Natural Things
299. Steve Gunn  -  Way Out Weather
298. Jenny Hval & Susanna  -  Meshes of Voice
297. Indian  -  From All Purity
296. Black Milk  -  If There's a Hell Below
295. Krieg  -  Transient
294. Lussuria  -  Industriale Illuminato
293. Old Man Gloom  -  The Ape of God I / II
292. Barren Harvest  -  Subtle Cruelties
291. Roll the Dice  -  Until Silence
 
290. Sarah Jaffe  -  Don't Disconnect
289. North Americans  -  No_No
288. Bong  -  Stoner Rock
287. David Sylvian  - There's A Light That Enters Houses With No Other House In Sight
286. Sun Araw  -  Belomancie
285. †††  -  Crosses
284. Ital  -  Endgame
283. Megafortress  -  Believer
282. Marble Sky  -  Marble Sky
281. BJ Nilsen, Stillupsteypa & Anla Courtis  -  Golden Circle Afternoon
280. Un Festin Sagital  -  Etna
 
280. Travi$ Scott  -  Days Before Rodeo
279. Cheatahs  -  Cheatahs
278. Deadbeat + Paul St. Hilaire  -  The Infinity Dub Sessions
277. Laetitia Sadier  -  Something Shines
276. Usnea  -  Random Cosmic Violence
275. Vermont  -  Vermont
274. Antwon  -  Heavy Hearted In the Function / Heavy Hearted In the Doldrums
273. Camera  -  Remember I Was Carbon Dioxide
272. Death From Above 1979  -  The Physical World
271. Honeyblood  -  Honeyblood
 
270. Cut Hands  -  Festivals of the Dead
269. Melted Toys  -  Melted Toys
268. Ekoplekz  -  Unfidelity
267. Reverorum Ib Malacht  -  De Mysteriis Dom Christi
266. Trust  -  Joyland
265. Axxa/Abraxas  -  Axxa/Abraxas
264. Chris Cohen  -  Overgrown Path
263. B'stard Sapling  -  Instinct Is Forever
262. Total Control  -  Typical System
261. Kero Kero Bonito  -  Intro Bonito
 
260. Mono  -  Rays of Darkness
259. Mono  -  The Last Dawn
258. Nightbringer  -  Ego Dominus Tuus
257. Le Révélateur  -  Extreme Events
256. Bonnie "Prince" Billy  -  Singer's Grave A Sea Of Tongues
255. King Tuff  -  Black Moon Spell
254. Oozing Wound  -  Earth Suck
253. A Winged Victory For The Sullen  -  Atomos
252. Dawnbringer  -  Night of the Hammer
251. Frank & Tony  -  You Go Girl
 
250. Esben and the Witch  -  A New Nature
249. Porya Hatami  -  Arrivals and Departures
248. Teitanblood  -  Death
247. Auditor  -  Form Destroyed
246. Expo '70  -  Virtually From The Unknown
245. PC Worship  -  Social Rust
244. King Buzzo  -  This Machine Kills Artists
243. P.S. I Love You  -  For Those Who Stay
242. Jeezy  -  Seen It All: The Autobiography
241. Iceage  -  Plowing Into The Field of Love
 
240. House Of Lightning  -  Lightworker
239. Peaking Lights  -  Cosmic Logic
238. Medicine  -  Home Everywhere
237. Meatbodies  -  Meatbodies
236. Phurpa  -  The Magic Rituals of the Bon Tradition
235. Bing & Ruth  -  Tomorrow Was the Golden Age
234. Arve Henriksen  -  The Nature of Connections
233. Lee Gamble  -  Koch
232. Little Dragon  -  Nabuma Rubberband
231. Middlemarch  -  Wolf Hall
 
230. Atmosphere  -  Southsiders
229. Dot Hacker  -  How's Your Process? (Work / Play)
228. The Raveonettes  -  Pe'ahi
227. Megaton Leviathan  -  Past 21 Beyond The Arctic Cell
226. Sohn  -  Tremors
225. Dustin Wong & Takako Minekawa  -  Savage Imagination
224. Nisennenmondai  -  N
223. Dama / Libra  -  Claw
222. Motorpsycho  -  Behind the Sun
221. Sloan  -  Commonwealth
 
220. Mark McGuire  -  Along the Way
219. Mark McGuire  -  Noctilucence
218. Ultimate Painting  -  Ultimate Painting
217. Alessandro Cortini  -  Sonno
216. Has-Lo & Castle  -  Live Like You're Dead
215. Ghost Beach  -  Blonde
214. Default Genders  -  Magical Pessimism
213. Nothing  -  Guilty of Everything
212. Kayo Dot  -  Coffins On Io
211. Elisa Ambrogio  -  The Immoralist
 
210. White Fence  -  For the Recently Found Innocent
209. Machinedrum  -  Vapor City Archives
208. Skyzoo & Torae  -  Barrel Brothers
207. Parkay Quartz  -  Content Nausea
206. The Men  -  Tomorrow's Hits
205. Yelle  -  Complètement fou
204. Nathan Bowls  -  Nansemond
203. Torn Hawk  -  Let's Cry And Do Pushups At The Same Time
202. Hookworms  -  The Hum
201. Les Sins  -  Michael
 
200. J. Cole  -  2014 Forest Hills Drive
199. Tape  -  Casino
198. Blut Aus Nord  -  Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry
197. Roman Flügel  -  Happiness Is Happening
196. Jarse  -  Det Går Runt Igen
195. Lingua Lustra  -  Arc
194. Future Islands  -  Singles
193. Emit  -  Spectre Music of an Antiquary
192. canooooopy  -  Disconnected Words Connect the Worlds
191. Theo Parish  -  American Intelligence
 
190. Ishraqiyun  -  Perichoresis
189. PRhyme  -  PRhyme
187. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard  -  I'm In Your Mind Fuzz
186. Faures  -  Continental Drift
185. Wizard Rifle  -  Here In the Dealights
184. Thaw  -  Earth Ground
183. Dirty Beaches  -  Stateless
182. Nadja  -  Queller
181. Todd Terje  -  It's Album Time
 
180. Lone  -  Reality Testing
179. Clark  -  Clark
178. Azealia Banks  -  Broke With Expensive Taste
177. EXL/PRJCT  -  [.ROHS!012 CD/ EXL/PRJCT - In Perpetuum Extraneis]
176. Stanislav Vdovin  -  Wake Me Up When It's Gone
175. Monarch!  -  Sabbracadaver
174. Chrome  -  Feel It Like A Scientist
173. Barnt  -  Magazine 13.
172. White Hex  -  Gold Nights
171. Lushes  -  What Am I Doing
 
170. Floor  -  Oblation
169. White Suns  -  Totem
168. Vanhelgd  -  Relics of Sulphur Salvation
167. Mr. Twin Sister  -  Mr. Twin Sister
166. Loscil  -  Sea Island
165. DRCarlsonAlbion  -  Gold
164. Music Blues  -  Things Haven't Gone Well
163. The Residents  -  Marching To the Sea
163. Gene the Southern Child  -  Southern Meridian
161. Earth  -  Primitive and Deadly
 
160. The New Pornographers  -  Brill Bruisers
159. Flying Lotus  -  You're Dead!
158. This Will Destroy You  -  Another Language
157. Electric Wizard  -  Time To Die
156. Inventions  -  Inventions
155. Keiji Haino + Masataka Fujikake Duo  -  HARDを何十乗させたら光の粒が降り注ぐのか?
154. Teebs  - E S T A R A
153. Autopsy  - Tourniquets, Hacksaws & Graves
152. Vampillia  -  The Divine Move
151. Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra  -  ***** Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
 
150. Mogwai  -  Rave Tapes
149. Deutsche Wertarbeit  -  Deutsche Wertarbeit
148. Alvvays  -  Alvvays
147. Dead Congregation  -  Promulgation of the Fall
146. Cloud Nothing  -  Here and Nowhere Else
145. The Underachievers  -  Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium
144. Downliners Sekt  -  Silent Ascent
143. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell  -  Check 'Em Before You Wreck Em
142. Bear In Heaven  -  Time Is Over One Day Old
141. Gardens & Villa  -  Dunes
 
140. Lawrence English  -  Wilderness of Mirrors
139. Owen Pallet  -  In Conflict
138. Hiss Tracts  -  Shortwave Nights
137. Sage Francis  -  Copper Gone
136. OOIOO  -  Gamel
135. The Soft Pink Truth  -  Why Do The Heathens Rage?
134. Naomi Punk  -  Television Man
133. Ought  -  More Than Any Other Day
132. Steffi  -  Power of Anonymity
131. Mazes  -  Wooden Aquarium
 
130. Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket  - In a Dutch Haze
129. Jessica Pratt  -  Jessica Pratt
128. Ritual Howls  -  Turkish Leather
127. Mayhem  -  Esoteric Warefare
126. Mick Jenkins  -  The Water
125. Arca  -  Xen
124. Lawrence  -  A Day In the Life
123. Vashti Bunyan  -  Heartleap
122. Menace Ruine  -  Venus Armata
121. Tin Man  -  Ode
 
120. The History of Apple Pie  -  Feel Something
119. Dean Blunt  -  Black Metal
118. Atlas Moth  -  The Old Believer
117. Casket Girls  -  True Love Kills the Fairy Tale
116. Trepaneringsritualen  -  Perfection & Permanence
115. Excepter  -  Familiar
114. Daniel Bachman  -  Orange Co. Serenade
113. MO  -  No Mythologies To Follow
112. Caribou  -  Our Love
111. Timbre Timbre  -   Hot Dream
 
110. White Lung  -  Deep Fantasy
109. Clipping  -  Clppng
108. Sh't and Shine  -  Powder Horn
107. Neneh Cherry  -  Blank Project
106. Rings Of Saturn  -  Lugal Ki En
105. Shinichi Atobe  -  Butterfly Effect
104. La Sera  -  Hours of the Dawn
103. Logic  -  Under Pressure
102. Big K.R.I.T.  -  Cadillactica
101. Raspberry Bulbs  -  Privacy
 
100. JuJu & Jordash  -  Clean Cut
099. Cymbals Eat Guitar  -  Lose
098. Zackey Force Funk  -  Money Green Vipers
097. Jennifer Castle  -  Pink City
096. SHXCXCHCXSH  -  Linear S Decoded
095. Anaal Nathrakh  -  Desideratum
094. Septicflesh  -  Titan
093. Uncommon Nasa  -  New York Telephone
092. Patten  -  Estoile Naiant
091. Khost  -  Copper Lock Hell 
 
090. Mr. Dream - Ultimate In Luxury
089. Liars  -  Mess
088. Slim Twig  -  A Hound At the Helms
087. Gridlink  -  Longhena
086. Jon Hassell / Brian Eno  -  Fourth World Vol. 1: Possible Musics
085. Varient  -  Dreaming Thru Vector
084. Function / Vatican Shadow  -  Games Have Rules
083. Ex Hex  -  Ripa
082. OBNOX  -  The Juke That Sat In the Corner
081. B'tchin' Bajas  -  B'tchin' Bajas
 
080. Have A Nice Life  -  Deathconsciousness
079. Mykki Blanco  -  Gay Dog Food
078. Joris Voorn  -  Nobody Knows
077. People Skills  -  Tricephalic Head
076. Xiu Xiu - Angel Guts: Red Classroom
075. Shabazz Palaces  -  Lesse Majesty
074. Brock Van Wey  -  Home
073. Silk Rhodes  -  Silk Rhodes
072. Tobacco  -  Ultima II Message
071. Millie & Andrea  -  Drop the Vowels
 
070. CyHi Tha Prynce  -  Black Hystori Project
069. Godflesh  -  A World Lit Only By Fire
068. Shintaro Sakamoto  -  Let's Dance Raw
067. 1349  -  Massive Cauldron of Chaos
066. Gum Takes Tooth  -  Mirrors Fold
065. Alcest  -  Shelter
064. Ghostface Killah  -  36 Seasons
063. Glorior Belli  -  Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls
062. Adult Jazz - Gist Is
061. Mount Eerie  -  Pre-Human Ideas
 
060. CunninLynguists  -  Strange Journey Volume 3
059. Wife  -  What's Between
058. Current 93  -  I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell (A Channel)
057. Alice Gerrard  -  Follow The Music
056. Vessel  -  Punish Honey
055. Mr. Mitch  -  Parallel Memories
054. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib  -  Pinata
053. Haikai No Ku  -  Ultra High Dimensionality
052. Wovenhand  -  Refractory Obdurate
051. Pallbearer  -  Foundations of Burden
 
050. Ariel Pink  -  Pom Pom
049. QuESt  -  Searching Sylvan
048. DJ Quik  -  Midnight Life
047. Panopticon  -  Roads To the North
046. Ratking  -  So It Goes
045. A Sunny Day In Glassgow  -  Sea When Absent
044. Objekt  -  Flatland
043. Skullflower  -  Draconis
042. Aphex Twin  -  Syro
041. FKA Twigs  -  LP1
 
040. Badbadnotgood  -  III
039. Rob Sonic  -  Alice In Thunderdome
038. Hail Mary Mallon  -  Bestiary
037. Black Rain  -  Dark Pool
036. Yagya  -  Sleepygirls
035. Grouper  -  Ruins
034. Bus Driver  -  Perfect Hair
033. Call Super  -  Suzi Echo
032. Jordan De La Sierra  -  Gymnosphere: Song of the Rose
031.  Scott Walker + 
Sunn O)))  
-  Soused

 
030. Taurus  -  No/Thing
029. Jesse Ruins - Heartless
028. Encoffination  -  III: Hear Me, O' Death (Sing Thy Wretched Choirs)
027. Sharon Van Etten  -  Are We There
026. Pye Corner Audio  -  The Black Mill Tapes
025. Step Brothers  -  Lord Steppington
024. Alexander Turnquist  -  Flying Fantasy
023. Sonido Gallo Negro - Sendero Mistico
022. Kiasmos  -  Kiasmos
021. Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks  -  Enter the Slasher House
 
020. Murmur  -  Murmur
019. Isaiah Rashad  -  Cilvia Demo
018. Perfume Genius  -  Too Bright
017. 18+  -  Trust
016. Kemialliset Ystavat  -  Alas Rattoisaa Virtaa
015. Echologist  -  Storming Heaven
014. Protomartyr  -  Under Color of Official Right 013. Cloak of Altering  -  Plague Beasts
012. Damaged Bug  -  Hubba Bubba
011. Moodie Black  -  Nausea
 
010. Fossil Aerosol Mining Project  -  17 Years In Ektachrome
009. Helms Alee  -  Sleepwalking Sailors
008. Open Mike Eagle  -  Dark Comedy
007. Andy Stott  -  Faith In Strangers
006. Khun Narin Electric Phin Band
005. Run the Jewels  -  RTJ2
004, Swans  -  To Be Kind
003. Hundred Waters  -  The Moon Rang Like a Bell
002. D'Angelo & the Vanguard  -  Black Messiah
001. Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere  -  O2
 
 
 
Best EPs:
 
The Body  -  I Shall Die Here
Felicita  -  Frenemies
Giraffage  -  No Reason
Girl Talk  -  Broken Ankles
Girl Tears  -  Tension
Graves At Sea  /  Sourvein Split
Hudson Mohawke  -  Chimes
Jean Grae  -  #5
Mannveira  -  Von Er Eitur
Mournful Congregation  -  Concrescence of the Sophia
Mutoid Man  -  Helium Head
Necros Christos  -  Nine Graves
Perfect P*ssy  -  Say Yes To Love
Royal Jelly  -  Gorgon Stare
Salt Cathedral  -  Oom Velt
Shamir  -  Northtown
Sofia Reta  -  Hearts of Yorke
Suicideyear  -  Remembrance
Thee Oh Sees  -  Drop
Trin Tran  -  Far Reaches
Vampillia  -  White Silence
Vince Staples  -  Hell Can Wait
 
 
Best compilations:
 
Air Textures Vol. 4
Cold Cave  -  Full Cold Moon
The Music of Grand Theft Auto V Boxset
Rebolledo  -  Momento Drive
Sleaford Mods  -  Chubbed Up. The Singles Collection
 
 
Best re-issues:
 
Author & Punisher  -  Drone Machines
Bardo Pond  -  Shone Like a Ton
The Bats Vol. 1
Black Cilice  -  Summoning the Night
A Certain Ratio  -  Sextet
Game Theory  -  Blaze of Glory
Lewis  -  Romantic Times
Mar-Vista  -  Visions of Sodal Ye
Rollerskate Skinny  -  Shoulder Voices
Slant 6  -  Soda Pop Rip-Off
White Hills  -  Glitter Glamor Atrocity

 

[warrenpchi]

I love your curated lists!  They save me so much time and disappointment in music discovery.  

  Thanks so much!

 

[Mimouille]

It must be such a task to extract 272 albums out of God knows how many and then rank them!

 

[proedros]

  12.21.14
 
Aphex Twin  -  Syro
 
 

 
 
 
The Richard D. James Album from Aphex Twin was---along with Mouse On Mars' Autoditacker---my first exposure to electronica beyond Moby cassettes at the mall. You never forget your first. A mathemusically inclined friend of mine was giddy over "Milkman," so at his insistence I took a headlong dive; my introduction to Richard D. James was hearing his distorted grunts which sounded like a possessed corpse. Accompanied by a delicate tinkling noise, he began to sing modestly about his not-so-modest fantasy involving the milkman's wife and drinking milk from her bosoms. That wasn't the shocking part. The real mind bender was the sudden drill beats: what can best be described to the uninitiated as a woodpecker rhythmically assaulting someone's metal siding.
 
Contrary to the stereotype of electronic music, Aphex Twin is far from being soulless. Alien at times, yes. But never without some measure of life. RDJ's sense of humor often results in mundane vocal fragments becoming track fixtures, or seemingly out of place details and unusual production choices confounding listeners. This entropy is carefully balanced against the precision arrangement of tracks that grow and evolve like organisms, tracks that are beautiful in their strangeness of proportion. Because of this, RDJ was the first personality I could ascribe to electronica. His is a truly memorable face in a music scene that is often faceless. Literally: his smiling visage has been the main visual component for Aphex Twin, appearing in everything from album covers to music videos, often twisted into something vaguely unsettling. It's nearly impossible to separate the man from his music. More specifically, it's nearly impossible to siphon off his cultivated image: whether he drives a decommissioned tank around the English countryside and is a conspiracy truther or whether he's just having a go, trolling, or trying to cloak himself in oddness and half-truths is uncertain. That uncertainty is what's most compelling of all, though. It's symptomatic of a time before the Internet was widespread, when pockets of fans would develop rumors in insolation of one another and when these rumors would gain more enigmatic appeal as they spread and distorted through a game of telephone. None of this would mean much if it weren't for the already compelling case his music presents.

 
Syro is no different. It's a restless album that spans a bewildering number of production techniques, electronic instruments, different genre cues; its an album that also tells the story of an eccentric virtuoso's creative process. Each one of its tracks was supposedly recorded with a different arrangement of studio equipment, and with each new track RDJ would start rebuilding everything from scratch again. The extended track names give some clue as to what equipment was used in these recordings. It's a procedural approach that sets up the parameters in advance, and what follows sounds like it's continually evolving. Listening to these tracks, it's evident to me that they've been composed by an expert hand; the arrangements are extremely meticulous but often subtle in their brilliance. I've seen some complaints about a lack of visceral impact or Sryo's underwhelming nature given its status as Aphex Twin's "comeback" album. Fair enough. It doesn't feature him haphazardly blowing through a straw to make beats like he did for Trent Reznor's commission or anything like that. To me, RDJ seems less concerned about being a prankster now, less concerned with bewildering his listeners. His focus seems to be on the means just as much as the ends, on building studios and exploring ways of creating sounds. On taking the language he developed early in his pursuits and interpreting different genres with it, all while using various production techniques.
 
That's not to suggest this record isn't playful or even challenging in spots. RDJ's sense of humor really shines through in the ridiculous swagger present on some of these bangers. The dancing-on-the-tips-of-your-shoes charm of "produk 29" with its swelling synths and mindless chatter about whores and clubs is one of my favorites. Despite being a fairly reclusive fellow, he's keenly aware of club culture and how ridiculous audiences can be; after all, he likes to DJ at small venues under an assumed name every once in a while. In this same vein is "180db_" which is simultaneously obnoxious and glorious with its insectiod bass bumping fit for rattling car windows. "4 bit 9d api+e+6" is nestled between the two, and it presents a lovely picture of dancefloor mystique complete with nostalgia-pining synth pads and jingles that sound like they were taken straight from an early Fromsoft Playstation title, all woven up in AFX analog beats. Tracks "PRAPAT4" and "s950tx16wasr10" in turn have a definite Richard D. James Album vibe to me, though the latter infuses a healthy dose of interplanetary space travel. This leads into the final track's offering of ultra-analog mesmer wherein RDJ revisits a live performance piece involving a piano suspended from the ceiling. Evoking the name of his wife (but not quite), this track is perhaps the most haunting moment of the album.
 
Present throughout Syro as well are the left-field vocal samples for which Aphex Twin is known. Culled from various family members as well as the man himself, these unintelligible vocal smears add an extra human element, albeit a warped one. I find they add an element of mystery to the album. They seem familiar, yet they can't quite be discerned. The mumbling on opener "Minipops 67" even sounds like some kind of bastardized version of autotune at times, all warbled yet somehow sincere despite sounding like gibberish. At the end of the track there's an alien abduction. Meanwhile title callback "syro u473t8+e" opens with a woman's foreign tongue before proceeding straight into a quirky electro-funk number.
 
It's worth noting that RDJ has been working on a lot of material since his last full-length. Syro is only part of that. One that is said [by him] to have the most "mainstream appeal." Apparently he's been experimenting with sustained tones and electronic organ music, among other things. Based on recent interviews, I get the impression that Syro's tracks might have just as well not been released had the crowd funding campaign for one of his 'lost' LPs not given him feels. This suggests he's been tinkering away in private for the sake of exploration. Then again, it could all just be part of his cultivated image. We'll never know for sure.

 
very nice writing
 
you should also check the new album by The Future Sound Of London - Environments 5 , great stuff from one of the best electronica bands of the last 25 years

 

[Tony1110]

What a comprehensive list. I downloaded Black Messiah yesterday and one listen told me that the hype is justified. Your top 4 would definitely feature in my top 5 for 2014...although I can't claim to have heard a fraction of the music on this list. One great album that I don't see here is Lament by Einstürzende Neubauten.

 

[Mimouille]

What a comprehensive list. I downloaded Black Messiah yesterday and one listen told me that the hype is justified. Your top 4 would definitely feature in my top 5 for 2014...although I can't claim to have heard a fraction of the music on this list. One great album that I don't see here is Lament by Einstürzende Neubauten.

I hope that was a paying download I still have not managed to get engaged by that album.

 

[eostoich]

Music is subjective, I guess. A lot of good records on there but I would have definitely included:

Spoon - They Want My Soul
TV on the Radio - Seeds
The War on Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso (as much electronic music as you have, I'm really really surprised this wasn't listed - H.S.K.T. may be one of my favorite tracks)
Mary J Blige - The London Sessions

http://open.spotify.com/user/1219410396/playlist/2Y2tkP25l9Tc4qm3zy64ig

^My consolidated Spotify playlist of my favorites of 2014.

Thanks for the hard work though MuppetFace - looks like I have some more listening to do!

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

Nice top 30 
 
I'd add Kyle Bobby Dunn and the Infinite Sadness to that list though. Amazing ambient classical. 

 

[cleverhandle]

Music is subjective, I guess. A lot of good records on there but I would have definitely included:

Spoon - They Want My Soul
TV on the Radio - Seeds
The War on Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso (as much electronic music as you have, I'm really really surprised this wasn't listed - H.S.K.T. may be one of my favorite tracks)
Mary J Blige - The London Sessions

http://open.spotify.com/user/1219410396/playlist/2Y2tkP25l9Tc4qm3zy64ig

^My consolidated Spotify playlist of my favorites of 2014.

Thanks for the hard work though @MuppetFace - looks like I have some more listening to do!

Completely agree with you on Spoon and TVOTR.  Both are great examples of veteran bands delivering albums that sound fresh without losing what everyone loved about their previous work.  Spoon sounds re-energized on They Want My Soul.

 

[SamBBMe]

Wow, I must have a far different taste from many head-fier's in here

 

[dozens]

 
Completely agree with you on Spoon and TVOTR.  Both are great examples of veteran bands delivering albums that sound fresh without losing what everyone loved about their previous work.  Spoon sounds re-energized on They Want My Soul
 

 I agree as well. Both of these are in my Top Ten this year as well. Spoon got me easy with "Do You", but TVOTR I dismissed at first but keep coming back to it.
 
edit: Also, may as well post mine here...
 
TOP TEN ALBUMS 2014

1. Caribou "My Love"
2. Sturgill Simpson "Metamodern Sounds In Country Music"
3. The War on Drugs "Lost In the Dream"
4. Run The Jewels 2
5. Spoon "They Want my Soul"
6. Ty Segall "Manipulator"
7. TV On The Radio "Seeds"
8. Parquet Courts "Sunbathing Animal"
9. Shabazz Palaces "Lese Majesty"
10. D'Angelo and The Vanguard "Black Messiah"