Favourite Albums of 2014

Like Delayed Gratification, I’m a little slow on the uptake of this, but let’s pretend it’s deliberate.

It’s all going on lately; Tonight Alive have announced they’re going back to the studio to record their next album, Muse have been recording Drones, so I’m going to take a look back at last year instead of talking about that (even though it is super exciting, I just don’t know a lot about it).

So, in order of release, I present my completely biased opinion of what I think were the best albums last year.

1. The Black Keys – Turn Blue

The Black Keys never fail to please me. The cover art on this album accurately reflects what it sounds like: colourful with an electric buzz. Electronic vibes seem to creep into tracks throughout the album whilst still keeping an alt-rock sound overall. Favourite track: Gotta Get Away.

2. Lights – Little Machines

If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll have seen my review of Little Machines. It is an amazing album – like The Listening but with the progression of Siberia. It’s electro-pop fun all in one album. Favourite track: Muscle Memory.

3. Taylor Swift – 1989

T-Swift’s first delve into the land of pop brought us ‘Shake it Off’ back in August, and its all been uphill from there. EVERY song on this album is catchy and a potential chart topper. Taylor has managed to keep everything that makes her music fabulous, with an added pop injection that moves this album far away from the days of Fearless. Favourite track: Wildest Dreams.

4. Pvris – White Noise

Pvris have taken a complete u-turn in their sound, and it really works for them. Their amazing talent combined with direction from Versa’s Blake Harnage has resulted in an album that you can put on repeat for days and never get bored of. Favourite track: Mirrors.

5. Walk The Moon – Talking Is Hard

I honestly wondered whether they could top their self-titled album, but somehow they managed it. Walk the Moon have once again delivered a brilliant, electro-pop/rock, energetic album that’ll have you dancing in spite of yourself. No two songs sound the same, yet they’re all unmistakably Walk the Moon. Favourite track: Up 2 U.

Review: Lights – Little Machines

After months of teasing, Lights has finally released her third full length, Little Machines. It’s been three years since Siberia and a lot has happened to Lights, so this album is a whole leap forward.

It opens with three tracks already released online: the slower ‘Portal’, ‘Running With the Boys’ and ‘Up We Go’. ‘Running With the Boys’ seems like the flip side of the coin ‘Pretend’ started in The Listening. It’s much more upbeat than the 2009 release, though, and the lyrics take a more positive angle.

As the album progresses, it’s clear that it’s lost the almost dub-step edge of Siberia, but by no means the electro pop Lights is known for. ‘Muscle Memory’ strongly echoes Lights’s sound from The Listening with an almost haunting edge. In fact, Little Machines is musically much more like The Listening, but it remains clear that she has come a long way since then – the lyrics have taken on a new edge, accentuating the positive in songs such as ‘Meteorites’, blasting the chorus ‘we are gonna see greater heights/ They’ll put our names up in neon lights’.

After marriage and the birth of her first child, Rocket, it’s no wonder Lights is positive in Little Machines – she has a lot to be positive about. Closing track ‘Don’t Go Home Without Me’ (for those without the deluxe version) seems like a perfect way to end the album. It’s tempo is slower than previous songs, bringing the album full circle from ‘Portal’, and talks about the future. Dispelling loneliness even in her later years, this track peaks at the bridge really showing the diversity of Lights’s voice as she flows seamlessly from belting into a gentle falsetto on the line ‘and we’ll go out in style’. This draws the album to a close beautifully.

Every track of Little Machines fits in with the overall sound of the album, like its predecessors, and although it sounds like The Listening it has the maturity of Siberia and then some. Lights’s sound has evolved through each album, and the current product is a strong sound that still leaves room for her to spread her musical wings. Every track on the album is different, and every one fantastic. Whatever Lights does next, it’ll be hard pushed to top Little Machines, but as we know a lot could happen in the next three years.

Catch Lights on tour in the UK next January.

New This Week

I’m always the first person to watch new videos for my favourite artists, but for me it seems very rare that so many new videos drop all in the same week. So this week my ears/eyes were in for a real treat with new singles and videos dropping left right and centre!

1. Lights – Portal

Obviously, I’m a huge fan of Lights and eagerly awaiting her new album Little Machines (released in September!). Like many fans, I was expecting a video for ‘Up We Go’, but instead she surprised many of us with a new single and video. More subdued than ‘Up We Go’, ‘Portal’ shows a different side of Lights’ upcoming album, putting emphasis on her amazing voice stripped back of any added electro effects. The video is suitably beautiful yet simplistic, yet the ending is still very much what fans expect from Lights.

2. Bebe Rexha – I Can’t Stop Drinking About You

I have been so excited for this video for months now! First put on soundcloud four months ago, Bebe Rexha sure knows how to keep people waiting. After lending her vocals to Cash Cash for massive hit ‘Take Me Home’, Bebe has released a hit of her own – insanely catchy with a beat that’d fill any dance floor. And now, to top it off, a gorgeous video that fits the song and the genre. Couldn’t possibly ask for more.

3. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – Black Widow

This was one of my favourite tracks off The New Classic, so I was pretty chuffed when Iggy announced it was going to be a single. In a sort of Charlie’s Angels-esque daydream, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora show how badass they can be without taking themselves too seriously. The video perfectly matches the lyrics, with revenge being at the forefront. It’s definitely one for the girls!

4. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – Break Free

Speaking of girl power and daft videos, Ariana Grande’s new video is along the same lines as Iggy Azalea’s. ‘Break Free’ is another new track from her upcoming album, featuring another huge name in music. It’s an incredibly catchy dance track – an ideal follow up to ‘Problem’ – and the video is a little crazy and bizarre in an entirely fun way. Alien rescues, weird and wonderful costumes, all topped off with an inter galactic dance at the end. Yes, it’s daft, but you can’t help but enjoy it!

5. Metro Station – Love & War

Shaking back onto the music scene is newly reformed (sort of) Metro Station. Founding members Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso have put aside whatever made them split in the first place to release new music together once again. Not much seems to have changed – ‘Love & War’ is pretty darn catchy, with both members contributing to vocals. Admittedly, in places the video looks like something you’d expect from a 90’s boy band which, although I’m sure that’s not quite the look they were going for, somehow works with the song. What can I say, I enjoy cheesy things.

New Music: Lights

Over a year after Siberia Acoustic, three years after Siberia and a whole baby later, Christmas has come early for fans of Lights with 3 huge announcements all in one day.

For the past 10 days, Lights has been teasing fans over social networking with a countdown. Yesterday, she made her quite frankly huge announcement and gave fans everything we could possibly want, all at once. At Scene Fest, she debuted two new songs ‘Up We Go’ and ‘Running With The Boys’, and with yesterday’s announcement came the studio version of ‘Up We Go’ (hopefully a video will follow soon, but let’s not be greedy). The song is certainly more reminiscent of The Listening than Siberia, with more clean cut synth than the almost dub-step vibes we heard in Siberia. Also, the electronic vocal effects are far more prominent in this song, giving it the very electro-pop vibe that Lights is known for. In itself, ‘Up We Go’ is a brilliant choice for first release – the lyrics are beautiful, as always with Lights, yet it’s still upbeat and catchy and will appeal to a wider audience. It also sets up all the positivity that ‘s going to follow; the lyrics are honest but hopeful and it’s refreshing to see an artist put so much of themselves into their music. From this song alone, any listener can tell how much Lights has put into her art. It perfectly captures her progression from the last album whilst still being very recognisable as Lights. Although it sounds different to Siberia, Lights style is completely unmistakable.

Along with ‘Up We Go’, it was also announced that Lights’ third full length Little Machines will be released 23rd September (pre order here), along with a 23 date Canadian/North American tour (tickets on sale Friday) with the promise of more to come. There are various album bundles available which include a coloured vinyl and some autographed goodies which Lights has assured fans will all be personally signed by her and not printed on. You can listen to some live recordings of ‘Running With The Boys’ on youtube to get a further taster of what’s to come. Judging by those two songs I’ve heard so far, the album is going to be a strong follow up to Siberia, and well worth investing in. I saw Lights perform live back in 2012 at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, and her performance was flawless and energetic so I can definitely recommend catching her on tour if she’s coming to your area. Whether you’ve heard of Lights or not, if you’re a fan of electro-pop I’d highly recommend listening to her music.