We racked our collective brains to pluck out a top album list for 2014 and couldn’t pick less than what you are about to read. 2014 has been an exceptional year for new music and many fan funded efforts have crept in ahead of general commercial release. Treat this as the basis for your wishlists and thank us later …
Contributions from: Nix Cooper (NC), Tom Mimnagh (TM), Steve Brixey (SB), Dan Stent (DS), Andy Close (AC), Mark Granger (MG) and Karl Eisenhauer (KA).
20. The Peckham Cowboys – “10 Tales From The Gin Palace”
Now, here’s a band that know how to play rock and roll the way it should be played – straight from the crotch, with their tounges planted firmly in their cheeks. 10 Tales From The Gin Palace features a collection of filthy, bluesy rockers full of South Lahhhhndaan charm that can’t fail to bring a smile to the face. Honestly, how can you not like a band with song titles like Bromley Girls?? That’s not to say the Cowboys don’t mean business when it comes to their tunes though. The musicianship on display across the ten tracks on this, their second album, is breathtaking. Tracks like The Debt Collector and Don’t Damn The Hypnotist throw elements of reggae and ska into the mix alongside sleazy rock classics like Quarantined and She Was Sweet On Me, while album closer Knocked Senseless features the kind of colossal riff that Angus Young would probably trade his school uniform for. Nice one, guv’nor. (SB)
19. Weezer – “Everything Will Be Alright In The End”
After a run of shockingly bad albums (that’s right Hurley and Raditude, I’m looking at you), Weezer must have thought it would make a nice change of pace to pull an absolute classic out of the bag. “We belong in the rock world” sings Rivers Cuomo on lead single Back To The Shack, and it’s in remembering what they do best that Everything Will Be Alright In The End succeeds so spectacularly; really, there are few bands that do the pop punk thing as well as Weezer when they are on form. There’s a hint of classic album Pinkerton about EWBAITE’s discordant guitars, irresistible choruses and deceptively simple lyrics that can be heard on track like Ain’t Got Nobody, The British Are Coming and I’ve Had It Up To Here. In places, this album feels like a thank you to the fans who still believed Weezer could still make an album this good. Boys, we never doubted you. (SB)
18. The Bermondsey Joyriders – “Flamboyant Thugs”
The Bermondsey Joyriders’ third album was everything you’d want from them at this stage – a good reminder of what they’re capable of with some cracking tunes into the bargain. Veering from the spit ‘n’ sawdust rock ‘n’ roll of opener “Sonic Underground” through the sly humour of “It’s Nice To Be Important” to the epic political closer of “The Message”, this was proof positive that the Bermondsey Joyriders were still out there and with plenty to say in 2014. (AC)
17. The Hip Priests – “Black Denim Blitz”
Filthier than a night on the town with Frank Bough, the Hip Priests’ third album saw them cement their position as the most catchily debauched rock ‘n’ roll band in Britain today. One part Stooges, one part Motorhead, one part Turbonegro, the ferocious likes of “Motherfucker Superior” and the awesome “Jesus Died So We Can Ride” are the sort of songs that are the best kind of bad fun. By all means check this one out but don’t blame us for the strange place you wake up the next morning … (AC)
16. Supersuckers – “Get The Hell”
The Eddie Spaghetti fronted juggernaut known as Supersuckers made a triumphant return in 2014 with the album Get the Hell. Despite a turbulent history, the band seem to have landed on solid ground with their current line-up, and have produced a record that truly epitomises the dirty rock’n’roll sound that Supersuckers are known for. Standout tracks include the title track Get the Hell, Fuck up, and the gloriously named Disaster Bastard. Get The Hell is an album oozing with swagger and panache, and while I don’t know if I would entirely agree with the band’s self-proclaimed status as ‘the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world’, on the evidence of this album alone that sort of self-belief doesn’t exactly seem misplaced. (TM)
15. Zombina & The Skeletones – “Charnel House Rock”
Back after an extended break, the Skeletones’ fourth album it’s a pleasure to report that they’re just as wonderfully warped as ever and not afraid to throw everything including the kitchen sink into making an album. “Charnel House Rock” saw them putting demented hellbilly hoedowns, ferocious Misfits style horror punk and tribal drum chantalongs all alongside each other with no regards given to conformity. A true treasure of a band and an album and one you really should check out if you’ve not already. (AC)
14. Mongol Horde – “Mongol Horde”
Make way for the Mongol Horde. The eponymous debut album from folk songster and former Million Dead frontman Frank Turner’s newest musical venture. Mongol Horde captures much of the spirit and vitriol of the first Million Dead album, but with a more sneering cynical edge that only comes with age. Turner is joined by Matt Nasir of his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, and Ben Dawson who featured prominently in Million Dead. Much like his former band, you have to expect that this is not going to be a long term proposition, but hopefully there will be a second album, as this is one of the most raw, brutal, and frankly brilliant albums of 2014. No one is exempt from the cutting lyrics (Communists, Hollywood, people who talk too much) with surrealism also on the menu (Stillborn Unicorn is especially bizarre), and a riveting sound that most hardcore bands would kill for. (TM)
13. Knifeworld – “The Unravelling”
Progressive and dense without ever becoming inaccessible, “The Unravelling” is a triumph of modern psychedelic rock. Led by the irrepressible Kavus Torabi, this octet take you on a journey into a realm of sonic majesty, where stabbing metal riffs sit alongside swirling bassoons, twinkling keyboards and honking saxophones. “The Unravelling” twists and turns, the beautiful keyboards of ‘I Can Teach You How To Lose A Fight’ draw you in before the whole song mutates into something much more sinister. The 90-second trip ‘The Orphanage’ is followed by the sprawling, bassoon led ‘Send Him Seaworthy'; then the epic psychedelic prog pop of ‘Don’t Land On Me’. The underlying sense of unease comes to a head with the tense ‘The Skulls We Buried Have Regrown Their Eyes’ and final track ‘I’m Hiding Behind My Eyes’ feels like the sunrise after a rather harrowing night. Atmospheric and intense, this is an album which to fully unravel you’ll need to give multiple listens. Believe me, it’s worth it. (DS)
12. Mastodon – “Once More Round The Sun”
Some bands just don’t know how to stop making top quality albums, and Mastodon are very much a band in that category. Following on from the critically acclaimed, and commercially successful 2011 album, The Hunter, the Stoner rock quartet have produced a truly rme4arkable record, which hammers on from opening track ‘Tread Lightly’ to the album closer ‘Diamond in the Witch House’, unrelenting from start to finish. Aside from the two excellent singles, ‘High Road’, and ‘The Motherload’ (which hit headlines earlier this year due to a slightly controversial video), standout tracks include Ember City, Asleep in the Deep, and of course the album’s title track. Mastodon once again prove themselves to be a force to be reckoned with, and continuing to mix big chunky riffs with psychedelic lyrics and an intangible chemistry that makes them a truly unique proposition. (TM)
11. The Bluefields – “Under High Cotton”
‘Under High Cotton’ is the third album from Nashville rock n’ rollers The Bluefields, a band that are – for want of a better word – a supergroup. Boasting powerhouse frontman Joe Blanton of cult rockers The Royal Court of China, ex-The Cardinals drummer Brad Pemberton and two bona fide legends in Warner E. Hodges (Jason and the Scorchers) and Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites). An intoxicating blend of Scorchers/Satellites country rock and harder sounds of early RCOC, ‘Under High Cotton’ is eleven tracks of pure southern fried rock and roll designed to shake your arse to. If you don’t find yourself dancing uncontrollably to the grooves of ‘Shake ‘Em On Down’ and the title track, the son, you’re already dead. (MG)
