Sporadic, weird and occasionally beautiful. Aphex Twin delivers one of the most detailed and intense electronic albums of the year. There's just so much to discover with this album.

Favorite tracks include minipops 67, XMAS_EVET10, CIRCLONT14 and aisatsana.

A solid set of electronic tracks that is a slight change of pace for Caribou's regular style. "Swim" is one of my favorite electronic records of the past 5 years so this had an uphill battle to impress, and although it didn't disappoint, it didn't blow me away either.

Caribou dabbles with a lot of samples, loops and repetition with this album. There's a lot of beautiful moments and genuinely groovy tracks that will have your foot tapping.

Some of my favorite ... read more

Easily one of the most enjoyable, catchy and re-playable rock records of the year. A real treat as its my first time listening to a Spoon album in full.

At first most of the tracks on this record seemed samey-samey, but over time I really started to appreciate the lyrics and catchy-as-hell riffs.

Some of my favorite tracks of the year are on this thing including "Do You", "Rent I Pay", "New York Kiss" and "Let Me Be Mine".

Time to start digging into ... read more

A rich, beautiful and rewarding album from Sharon Van Etten.

Lyrically, tracks like "Afraid of Nothing" and "Your Love is Killing Me" are some of the best this year and Sharon's voice just elevates these tracks even further.

Loving the overall themes on the album, themes that have been explored many times before by numerous musicians, but Sharon has her own unique spin on it.

Took me a while to get around to this album but I'm glad I eventually did. Any fans of ... read more

ASDIG deliver one of the years most colorful, vibrant, attention grabbing album of the year.

Loving the pretty female vocals pitted against the loud and abrasive music. Also loving the hooks, they're catchy as hell.

Some of my favorite tracks are "Bye Bye, Big Ocean", "Crushin" and "MTLOV".

An emotionally-deep journey. Loving the long, drawn out jams on this thing. Granduciel explores every crevasse of a given track, making these 7-8 minute epics.

This album really grew on me over the past few months. I'm only realizing what it really has to offer now. At first, the longer, slower tracks were overlooked by me but they really expose themselves after multiple listens. This album also has its summer anthemic tracks such as "Red Eyes" and "Burning".

This ... read more

One of this years best debut albums. Jam packed full of personality, clever lyrics and catchy hooks.

TPOBPAH deliver a solid third album. This band still has a lot of charm, writing cute, catchy tunes about love and loss.

I think its their weakest effort to date but I'm still finding a lot to like about it. Some of the tunes are kind of "in one ear-out the other" in the sense that they don't really stick or have a strong melody.

Massive fans of this 80's nostalgic synth music may LOVE this album, but for me I just really liked it. I think this band needs to release ... read more

A zany, unique, nostalgic thrill ride. This album is always throwing new sounds at you and always changing up the beat.

At first the album sounded very odd to me, I thought the sounds were a bit too cheesy, but they grew on me and it's just too much fun to even nitpick them now.

Favourite tracks include first and foremost Johnny And Mary, Inspector Norse, Strandbar and Delorean Dynamite.

Solid album from Drew. Love the vocals. The LP has its unique atmosphere going for it. Some of the tracks on here are not very memorable which is a downside.

Stand out tracks for me are Good Sex (one of the tracks of the year), First in Line and And That's All I Know.

Mac is the real deal. He's not only a fantastic lyricist, he has a knack for writing an extremely catchy tune. "2" was one of my favourite albums of 2012, and this is the exact kind of follow-up I was hoping for.

Mac is more mature on this LP, writing about the mundaneness of life, the blissfulness of love and other topics that are very relatable. He has such an interesting way of telling these tales that sets him apart from the rest. I just love his style.

Some of my favourite ... read more

These guys know how to write a catchy tune. My favourite release from Future Islands right here, every track brings something interesting to the table.

Herring's vocals never bothered me like some people, I actually always found his vocals to be pretty emotive and unique. He tones it down a bit on this album and I think some people may find these tracks more accessible because of it.

If you're into synth/electronic pop definitely check this out, it's one of the highlights of ... read more

This album surprised me. The lyrics and song writing are the best of the year, hands down. Kozelek doesn't hold back on this record.

Incredibly emotional, deep, and memorable. This thing will stick with you.

Every track on here has something to offer. Favourites include Carissa, Jim Wise and Ben's My Friend.

An incredibly emotive, melancholy experience. Just like their last album, Lost in the Trees come together with a really unique record in terms of sound and lyrical content. Loving the warm strings on this thing.

Not understanding the mediocre reviews for this and their previous album, they should be getting far more coverage and hype. It's a must listen for this year.

Popped this record on after hearing the single they dropped called "Shut Up". Didn't really know what to expect. This album turned out to be the most enjoyable listen of the year so far.

I love the vocal delivery and the lyrical content, it really gives it a uniqueness like no other album this year. The laid back, relaxed pace of the album is wonderful. It's just so damn chill. Give it a listen if you're into jangly guitar pop with lyrics that will stick.

Favourite ... read more

Real Estate are back with their incredibly mellow and catchy vibes. This album is a lot like Days, they're going for the same sound and aren't really innovating or updating their song structures. However, I was a massive/huge/gigantic fan of Days so this is A-OK with me.

For me, this is the easiest, most enjoyable listen of the year so far. Favourite tracks include the lead single "Talking Backwards", "Primitive" and the opener "Had to ... read more

Present Tense was an interesting listen. It's Wild Beasts at their most upbeat, beautiful and sad all at once. The album took its time landing with me. It's an album that reveals itself more and more with each listen, definitely a grower.

The opening track, "Wanderlust", is easily one of the best singles of 2014 so far. But that single was rather misleading, the rest of the album varies from this upbeat/constant rhythm.

Some of my favourite tracks are "Mecca", ... read more

Catchy hooks, polished production and Katy's vocals make this the best pop album of the year so far.

A very pretty set of electronic tracks that are as colourful and as vibrant as the album artwork. ceo is creating the same kinda vibe as the first album he dropped a few years ago, but with more emphasis on danceable and catchy beats.

One of the issues I have with the album is that feels more like an EP, a short but memorable burst of tracks. There's like 5 ideas for songs on here, and the rest are interludes or transitions. That being said, the album's atmosphere is just too ... read more

Olsen's vocals are beautiful and they really shine on this LP. Loving the more rock-driven tracks on this album and there are some beautiful slower acoustic tracks on here too. Some of my favourite tracks include "Forgiven/Forgotten", "Stars", and the closing track to this album "Windows".

Tracks like "White Fire" and "Enemy" move a little too slow for my liking, they kind of break the pace of the album and the two are the longest tracks ... read more