The Top 10 Best New Albums in 2014

Every year I wonder if this is the year that I’ll finally stop hearing new albums that I like, but I guess as long as performers who have been around for twenty plus years keep putting out music there will always be enough music for me to do a “best of” list. Although in this case, it’s more of an “every new release I got in 2014 rated by how much I liked it” list. If you’re in your twenties or younger, this list will most likely be completely irrelevant to you, and that’s a shame. If you only listen to a bunch of young bands with beards who wear pre-twentieth century clothing then you’re missing out. Here’s the good stuff from 2014.

10. SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS – “GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT”: People have raved about Sharon Jones for years but for some reason, I just never could get into her. Sure, her retro soul sounds fine but none of the songs stand out and they all kind of blend together to me. Plus, some of them are really long. What it boils down to for me is that when I want to hear retro soul, I go for the original stuff. However, Jones’ latest album finally sounds like her own version of the Motown sound. There are songs with hooks and individual melodies on here. I still haven’t heard anything absolutely mind-blowing but she’s getting there and I think this release has the potential to grow on me even more.

9. RAVEONETTES – “PE’AHI”: When the Raveonettes were a new act I championed their fuzz-filled Jesus & the Mary Chain meets 1950s doo-wop and girl group sound as much as anyone. It’s good to establish a sound and not go completely off track but every album the Raveonettes have released in the last five years sounds just alike. Now, I’m kind of sick of it. It’s a small box that has run its course. It may be time for the duo to disband and record some experimental solo projects. Remember when Kiss did that? I wonder if either member of this duo has lyrics like “I’m living in sin at the Holiday Inn” in them somewhere.

8. REVEREND HORTON HEAT – “REV”: The Rev has really locked onto a formula. It seems like he’s been recording variations of the same super-fast rockabilly for years. It’s a sound that he pretty much owns and every other psychobilly band is trying to imitate. Even though I wore out on his schtick years ago, I have to admit that every time I hear a new album by him there are still several songs that get my feet tapping. I never crave hearing his sound anymore but whenever someone else puts on a Rev record I can’t help but love it in the moment, and then when it’s over I never need to hear it again. To put it another way, if this was the first album I’d ever heard by Reverend Horton Heat, I’d probably be raving about it. As the tenth or so album of the same formula though, it’s all filler to me.

7. NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS – “COLD WORLD”: I know it’s not politically correct to say this these days, but I love good gospel music. I like the soul-filled vocals, I like the energy, and I like the faith-inspired lyrics. However, it’s kind of like classical music in the sense that most songs you hear are just covers of older material and it’s rare to hear newly released original material like this. Now, I know that there are a lot of “Christian rock” bands putting out new music all the time, but that’s not the same thing and usually does more to embarrass Christian music than to elevate it. Good gospel music, on the other hand, is the best of everything that music should be, and this release from Naomi Shelton embodies all of that. It’s soul music for the soul, but I’m willing to bet that even an Atheist who appreciates soul, R&B, etc. would like this.

6. OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW – “REMEDY”: It’s hard to believe I used to see these guys play on the sidewalks of Broadway for pocket change given how they’ve exploded into Opry superstars. What’s great about that is that they aren’t playing cookie-cutter Top 40 Music Row pop disguised as country. Instead, they still sound like a bunch of back-porch hillbillies that got lucky enough to record in a professional studio. There’s nothing I can say about this album that hasn’t already been said about their other releases. It’s refreshing to hear someone get both critical and commercial recognition without being overglossed and genercided.

5. SUPERSUCKERS – “GET THE HELL”: I’m a sucker for the Supersuckers. I guess that makes me a super Supersucker sucker. They are full of energy and everything they do absolutely bleeds rock. This album is no exception. However, as great as it is, it’s only mediocre in comparison to the rest of their catalog. It has all the aggression, melody, and energy but none of the individual songs have any of the hooks that make them stick in my head like their A1 material has. In other words, there is no “Born with a Tail,” no “Pretty Fucked Up,” and no “Roadworn and Weary” on this one. Regardless, if you put on the disc and let it go, you will still drive faster and throw the goat horns.

4. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – “ENGLISH OCEANS”: The last few Drive-By Truckers albums have been pretty lackluster in my opinion, which in unfortunate because in their prime they released several albums that should be on any “best of” list. They still haven’t fully returned to their glory days but there are moments here that sound closer to classic DBT than they have in years. However, the best song on this release would still have only been a “deep cut” on “Dirty South.” Regardless, the return of what can only be described as Southern rock as played by punk rockers, is a welcome sound. As an extra bonus, the Drive-By Truckers simultaneously released an accompanying EP that I suppose was where they put the songs they didn’t think fit the flow of the album, but a few of those EP songs stand out more than most of the official album.

3. BOB MOULD – “BEAUTY AND RUIN”: Bob Mould has been on one heck of a comeback trail in the last few years. “Beauty and Ruin” doesn’t quite measure up to the unbelievably amazing “Silver Age”, but it’s pretty close. On this release, it sounds like he took the best pieces of “Workbook” and Sugar to create his latest melodic wall of sound. It’s hard to describe Mould’s sound to someone who has never heard him other than by referencing his previous releases, but no matter what he does he has a sound that is unmistakably him.

2. WILLIES – “JAZZ AGE THUMP”: They may be a comparatively new combo, but the individual members of the Willies have been making music in other incarnations for decades. As the Willies, they benefit from the years of experience by blending in elements from just about all of their past projects. The overall effect comes out sounding closest to early 1950s R&B, but there are still songs and pieces of songs that could be better classified as swing, lounge, jazz, rockabilly, and various other sub-genres of non-modern rock with lyrics that would fit in with the best of classic punk. My attempts to describe the sound may be clumsy, but it’s some of the most fun and energetic stuff I’ve heard to originate from Nashville in a long time. Disclaimer: I am part of the “gang background vocals” on three of the songs on this album but I had nothing to do with writing them. Also, you can’t really tell it’s me in the midst of the crowd anyway. Someday maybe they’ll pull a Linda McCartney on me and find an embarrassing isolated track of just my vocal that will shame me for life.

1. ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES – “ARE WE NOT MEN? WE ARE DIVA!”: Okay, so screw credibility. I’m not a professional critic and if I think an album of cover tunes was the best thing released all year then so be it. However, don’t be misled. This isn’t just a bunch of ordinary covers. This is an “all-star” cast of punk rockers banded together and recording albums of guilty pleasures. In this case they’ve done an album of songs by “musical divas” such as Cher, Madonna, and Gloria Gaynor. Most of these songs are intolerable as originally recorded, but given the punk-rock, tongue-in-cheek touch they’re absolutely addictive. Now, I too can feel “girl power” from empowering lyrics about overcoming negative situations, and this has been a year where I’ve needed lyrics like that. In case you aren’t already familiar with Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, as an extra gimmick they also like to use a lot of intros from classic punk songs and then seamlessly blend into whatever song they are covering. Who would have guessed that 45 Grave segues perfectly with Paula Abdul?

BONUS ROUND – 2014 REISSUE/RETROSPECTIVE RELEASE I ACQUIRED:
LONE JUSTICE – “THIS IS LONE JUSTICE THE VAUGHT TAPES, 1983”: It’s been a loooonnnngg time since Lone Justice released their two mildly successful albums. Like a lot of country-influenced rock bands in the 1980s they were ahead of their time and didn’t achieve the success that later similar groups would, but the cult of cowpunks and rockabillies would sing their praises as underground legends. So, for that cult of die-hards, Lone Justice has released an album of their pre-major label recordings. This is a rawer Lone Justice when they truly were an underground band. A few songs are more raucous and more country than rock, but overall they didn’t sound terribly different from their major label albums, just a lot less produced. It’s a great release for completists, curiosity seekers, and people who really wished Lone Justice had recorded more music.

BONUS ROUND 2 – 2014 LIVE RELEASE THAT I ACQUIRED:
DEVO – “BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE GIG” AND “GATES OF STEEL” RECORD STORE DAY SINGLE: Devo, now that was a band. A few members have passed away but their image as jumpsuited, flowerpot hat-wearing, robotically stiff nerds makes them probably the most visually memorable band of the 1980s. In addition, their synthesized pop music makes a strong case for them being the first band to turn underground techno into new wave. These live releases aren’t especially essential since they sound a lot like their studio recordings and there are no unheard songs on either record, but it’s kind of fun to hear their stage banter as they joke about recently being let out of prison to play the Sundance festival.