Village Voice Pazz & Jop Rock Critics’ Poll

Photo: Maryanne Louise Doman

Every year that I’ve done a best music list for the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Rock Critics’ Poll, I go through any number of lists to pare down my choices.

Not so this year. And there were some unexpected surprises that reminded me why I do this in the first place: to discover and appreciate newer acts, as well as to find comfort in previous favorites.

My choices came to me pretty quick, though we music writers were thrown a curve ball a week or so ago with the unannounced release of D’Angelo’s fantastic new album, 14 years after his last studio release, Voodoo. The same goes for 36 Seasons, the new album from recent Hawaii visitor Ghostface Killah. These two albums put up a couple of solid exclamation points to a fine 2014.

In fact, there was so much good music this year that I had to add an appendix of other great 2014 albums for you to check out as well.

The best albums of 2014

Morning Phase, Beck (indie, neo-folk), Feb. 24, 2014, Capitol Records
I was fortunate to discover the best possible time to listen to this album (a relaxing Sunday morning) on my very first go at it. If you loved his equally languid Sea Change from 2002, this exquisite album is cut from the same cloth. It’s very much a Southern California pop album.

Google Play, $5.99
Amazon, $8.99
iTunes, $7.99

The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, Courtney Barnett (indie), Jan. 28, 2014, Mom & Pop Music
Together with Lucius’ Wildewoman, these albums are both from my favorite label this year, Mom + Pop Music out of New York (whose stable of artists include Metric and Tokyo Police Club, both of whom have performed for Honolulu audiences at The Republik). The wonderfully witty Barnett was attracting major music buzz late in 2013 and, this year, she finally got the national attention she deserved. If you haven’t yet, you owe it to yourself to listen to her track “Avant Gardener.”

Google Play, $7.99
Amazon, $5.00
iTunes, $8.99

Wildewoman, Lucius (indie), Oct. 15, 2013, Mom & Pop Music
Lucius, the band fronted by singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, initially struck me as a bit gimmicky—the two women dress like twins when on stage—but Wildewoman builds and builds on a solid repertoire of gorgeously sung pop melodies.

Google Play, $9.49
Amazon, $8.99
iTunes, $7.99

World Peace Is None of Your Business, Morrissey (rock), July 15, 2014, Harvest
It’s been rather a tumultuous year for Moz and that’s reflected in this album. It’s very busy sounding without being cluttered—full of restless energy—and Morrissey is in particularly fine form, alternately vituperative and (occasionally) empathetic. Truly one of rock music’s singular voices.

Amazon (CD only), $11.88

Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs (indie, rock, neo-folk), March 18, 2014, Secretly Canadian
A total revelation for me, I can’t see how anyone could be anything but enchanted by this album after the first listen. A year in the making, it’s yet another breakup-and-heartbreak album but, oh, how band leader Adam Granduciel has weaved together a group of songs that sound profound when taken as a whole. By album’s end, you have a perfect blossom of catharsis. This is my top album of 2014.

Google Music, $9.49
Amazon, $5.00
iTunes, $7.99

Last Dance, Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden (jazz), June 17, 2014, ECM
Of all the noted deaths this past year, none touched me more than the passing of Charlie Haden. A jazz musician with a deep, human touch on the double bass, he’s made a lot of music that has moved me over the years. I heartily recommend you search out any of the many recordings he was associated with. And this one, an intimate home studio session with one of his favorite sympatico players, pianist Keith Jarrett, is a fitting coda to the life of a truly special man.

Google Music, $11.49
Amazon, $11.49
iTunes, $11.99

Stay Gold, First Aid Kit (alternative, indie, neo-folk, country), June 9, 2014, Columbia
I first saw the duo of Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg at a small, pleasant outdoor gig at South by Southwest one afternoon years ago. I’m glad to see their popularity has grown so much thanks to this folk-pop gem of an album. If you loved—like I did—their country tribute “Emmylou” from last year, you’ll find the same here, but with more of an emotional heft to their sound. And while their intertwining harmonies are First Aid Kit’s trademark, Klara, on her own, has one of the more captivating voices I’ve ever heard.

Google Music, $8.99
Amazon, $7.99
iTunes, $7.99

You’re Dead!, Flying Lotus (trip hop, hip-hop, electronic), Oct. 6, 2014, Warp Records
Well, not yet, but Steven Ellison tackles the subject with a sense of welcome celebration, complete with guests like jazz great Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. It’s a sonic cornucopia that spills out its jazz and electronica bounty for all to share in. Working in a similarly inspired vein, I also want to acknowledge the work of a fellow Lotus fan, Scott Ohtoro, whose When the Right Time (iTunes, $9.99) is filled with beat-making pop goodness.

Google Music, $9.49
Amazon, $9.49
iTunes, $9.99

36 Seasons, Ghostface Killah (hip-hop), Dec. 5, 2014, Tommy Boy Entertainment, LLC
While this year’s Wu-Tang Clan release, A Better Tomorrow, was a hit-or-miss affair, Ghostface’s comic-book inspired album helped make up for any of the former’s weaknesses. While he didn’t spit out anything from the new album at his Republik show, here’s hoping joints like “The Battlefield,” “Call My Name” and “Homicide” will be a part of his repertoire for future shows.

Google Music, $11.49
Amazon, $11.49
iTunes, $11.99

Black Messiah, D’Angelo and the Vanguard (R&B, neo-soul, funk), Dec. 15, 2014, RCA Records Label
Even though D’Angelo’s album is still piping hot from the oven, it was immediately evident that this was a great album from someone who’s been away from the scene for much too long. It captures the zeitgeist of racial relations in today’s America while referencing the influence of musical giants of the past like Sly Stone and Miles Davis. From Brown Sugar (1995), to Voodoo (2000), and now Black Messiah, D’Angelo has hit the trifecta of music mastery.

Google Music, $9.99
Amazon, $9.99
iTunes, $9.99

Also for your consideration

Warpaint, Warpaint
Run the Jewels 2, Run the Jewels
…And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, The Roots
Nikki Nack, tUnE-yArDs
Turn Blue, The Black Keys
St. Vincent, St. Vincent
Are We There, Sharon Van Etten
Oxymoron, ScHoolboy Q
My Krazy Life, YG
Hypnotic Eye, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11, Bob Dylan and The Band
Manipulator, Ty Segall
Sunbathing Animal, Parquet Courts
Queen of the Clouds, Tove Lo
Goddess, Banks
Seeds, TV on the Radio
Broke with Expensive Taste, Azealia Banks
Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced, Joni Mitchell

Favorite singles of 2014

“Happy,” Pharrell
“All About That Bass,” Meghan Trainor
“Everything Is Awesome!!!,” Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island
“Bang Bang,” Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
“Move That Dope,” Future feat. Pharrell, Pusha T and Casino
“I Wanna Get Better,” Bleachers
“Seasons (Waiting on You),” Future Islands
“i,” Kendrick Lamar
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

Favorite music videos of the year

“Catallena,” Orange Caramel