Rankstravaganza 2014: My 30 favorite songs of the year
10. “The Tower,” Wye Oak
Jenn Wasner put away her guitar in favor of some of the synths she’s been exploring with her side projects. Overall, the resulting album is much brighter and lighter than most of the Baltimore duo’s previous material, though this track is still some pretty dissonant and weighty stuff.
9. “Brill Bruisers,” The New Pornographers
Every time Canada’s pop powerhouse releases a new album of blazing hooks, it’s like a visit from a few old friends that reminds you just how much you enjoy their company. The title track to the group’s sixth album puts a muddy, stompin’ spin on the pop music produced in Tin Pan Alley’s Brill Building, complete with what sounds like a choir of about 50 people singing nonsense syllables.
8. “The Writing’s on the Wall,” OK Go
While the whimsical video may lead you to believe the song is about mindblowing optical illusions, or at least things not appearing to be what they seem, the song is actually much more depressing. Listen to the lyrics, and it’s all about a relationship so far down the tubes that the narrator just wants to get his sig-o wasted so that he can “see some pleasure in your eyes” for one last night. Yikes.
7. “Our Demons,” Ages and Ages
This Portland group is all handclaps, fellowship and melodies that instantly stick. I dare you not to sing along on “We’re not so different, you and I … “ by the time the chorus rolls around a second time.
6. “Lazaretto,” Jack White
Lazarettos, for those of you who can’t be bothered to Google the term, were quarantine hospitals for new arrivals in a city. White works his genre-blending, rock ’n’ roll magic, and does it magnificently as usual. Call me a sucker for a double violin solo over a backbeat.
5. “Turtles All the Way Down,” Sturgill Simpson
What if you took a Waylon Jennings tune and replaced the lyrics with the musings of your stoned atheist friend? The one who’s always going on and on about other dimensions and how the feds can’t outlaw something that we make in our brains, man.
4. “Really Wanna See You,” Lydia Loveless
The 24-year-old alt-country chanteuse from Ohio comes on like a boozy trainwreck in this song, creating a character who does some cocaine, gets a little emotional, calls up a now-married ex, and confesses a bit too much. The lyrics, which tumble out in a rush of anguished regret, do a fantastic job of telling you everything you need to know without spelling it out too directly. And it rocks.
3. “Bloodlines,” Mimicking Birds
Listening to the All Songs Considered podcast’s June “The Year in Music (So Far)” episode was the best thing I did all year, musically speaking. I was introduced to no less than three of the above artists, including this Portland group. Built around Nate Lacy’s acoustic fingerpicking and lilting vocals, the band’s songs occupy that same otherworldly space as Radiohead in gentle/beautiful mode.
2. “Taking Chances,” Sharon Van Etten
The Brooklyn singer-songwriter has never sounded quite so cool, sensual and haunted as she does on the opening track to her very well-received fourth album. I love that slow, deliberate drumbeat, but, as usual, the real attraction here is the way Van Etten’s voice melds with her introspective poetry.
1. “Destination,” Nickel Creek
The pre-eminent bluegrass-meets-teen-pop group has grown a little wiser and more seasoned during its nine-year hiatus. Listening to the trio’s reunion album really reinforces that their biggest strength isn’t Chris Thile’s virtuosic mandolin playing—you can get your fill of that in Punch Brothers—but the perfect three-part harmonies. Sara Watkins lets rip on this kiss-off track all about moving on. Here’s hoping nobody in Nickel Creek moves on and the group is able to keep things together for a follow up, because it is such a pleasure to have them back.
