Saturday 6 December 2014

The Tracks Of My Year



2014 has been a rather good year for music in my opinion which is borne out by the lack of a balance in my bank account and the ever increasing vinyl offending L's eyes in the dining room. Probably the main benefactor from my largesse was Piccadilly Records who's service cannot be faulted and then to a lesser extent Monorail, which unfortunately I tended to visit when I went into the town on the scooter without a back pack big enough to carry vinyl without damaging the covers meaning that I was limited to 7" singles.

The list has taken a while to compile and is far more balanced between dance and indie/rock than it has been for the last couple of years. You will notice that one band have three entries in the top ten, overkill you may think but I really can't stop playing these tracks and I had to limit myself to three tracks from the album, if not I think that all bar one would have been in the chart.. The Burial record was technically from last year but it was released after I compiled my list and it is far too good to be forgotten about. I have not picked specific tracks from the Jon Hopkins Asleep Versions as I find it difficult to differentiate between the tracks and tend to think of it as a single piece of music. Also you need to hear the 21 minute version of This Is What She's Like, recorded live at the Duke Of York's Theatre it is nothing short of epic.

I didn't partake in Record Shop Day this year, as after checking out the list I didn't see anything that warranted getting up at the back of five but I have to admit that both Max and I did miss it, however both of us ended up all right as the following week we went into the town and I picked up most of  the stuff that I had been vaguely interested in and Max got to go to Forbidden Planet anyway.

There has been one worrying development this year, a few of my favourite tracks, three to be specific have had to be purchased as downloads as that is the only format on which they were released.  I am not wholly comfortable with this and nearly excluded them on that basis but all three were really too good not to be included. Oh, and one track was never released at all and I had to do something I vowed I would never do and rip it from Youtube but I really couldn't be arsed with having to be on a computer every time I wanted to hear it. I hope that these occurrences are just anomalies and not a portent of the future!

So below is my list for 2014, I hope you find something there that you have never heard before, investigate and buy.
  1. Lisa Stansfield - Carry On (Andy Lewis remix)
  2. Slow Club - Not Mine To Love
  3. Caribou - I Can't Do Without You (extended mix)
  4. Dexys - This Is What She's Like (Live Duke Of York's Theatre)
  5. Jon Hopkins - Asleep Versions
  6. Jamie xx - All Under One Roof Raving
  7. Slow Club - The Queen's Nose
  8. Jamie T - Zombie
  9. Amazing Snakeheads - Here It Comes Again
  10. Slow Club - Suffering You, Suffering Me
  11. Burial - Come Down To Us
  12. Alexia Coley - Drive Me Wild
  13. Stanley Odd - Son I Voted Yes
  14. Nick Waterhouse - This Is A Game
  15. Lucius - Go Home
  16. Lapsley - Station
  17. The Cairn String Quartet - Settling
  18. Kate Tempest - Circles
  19. LNTG - Love2Love
  20. Dawd - Saleh
  21. Luxembourg Signal - Distant Drive
  22. Pharrell Williams - Happy
  23. Roddy Frame - White Pony
  24. Lizzo - Faded
  25. Manic Street Preachers - Europa Geht Durch Mich (Erol Alkan's Mesmerise Eine rework)
  26. Dexy's - Tell Me When My Light Turns Green (Live Duke Of York's Theatre)
  27. Comet Gain - Sad Love and Other Short Stories
  28. Mari - Free (Ray Mang extended mix)
  29. Honeyblood - Killer Bangs
  30. Pional - It's All Over (Jon Talabot's Stripped Refix)
  31. Temples - Shelter Song (Justin Robertson's Deadstock 33s remix)
  32. Kendrick Lamar - I
  33. Pyramids w/Nadja - Into The Silent Waves (Slow To Speak edit)
  34. Dayglo Maradona - Rock Section (Weatherall mix)
  35. Jon Hopkins - Abandon Window (Moderat remix)
  36. Junior Fairplay - Sugar Puss
  37. Deadboy - Return
  38. Fold - Detroit Red
  39. Allo Darlin' - Bright Eyes
  40. The Popguns - Love Junky


6 comments:

Swiss Adam said...

You always get in there early with your list Drew, leaving the rest of us in your wake. Good list and a few things I need to check out.

Charity Chic said...

I shall be acquiring that Slow Club album before I am very much older

drew said...

You will not be disappointed CC. I may have to buy a new copy of the vinyl soon as it is rarely off the turntable.

Walter said...

Like always - a good list Drew, and a many things to check out. And Slow Club will be my first.

Scott said...

I will be honest and say that I have not heard most of this list Drew but, as mentioned a few weeks ago, the Slow Club album is a great album that is certainly up there vying for best album of 2014. The album was completely ignored in the year end rundowns in both Mojo and Uncut.

Darcy said...

Love that Kate Tempest track. First time I heard it I had to turn the radio up loud in the car. As soon as I got home found it on youtube and played it on repeat. Very clever but not sure I would like a whole album of her in one sitting.