TOP TEN ALBUMS 2014

Yes, it is nearly February of 2015. It has taken the entirety of 2014 and the first twenty-something days of 2015 to compile this list. All other famed music websites have had their year-end countdowns published for about a month now. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I am crusading for a list of quality and 100% accuracy, not one that is convenient and timely in accordance with the end of a "calendar." So without further prose, I present: My ten favorite full-length albums released in the year 2014. 

TRAVIS REYES'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2014

10. The Lawrence Arms- Metropole (EPITAPH RECORDS)

Initially feeling a bit lite-beer-esque and underwhelming after eight years of silence (2006's classic Oh! Calcutta!), Metropole reveals itself as a heartfelt and comfortable Chicago-punk statement about growing older upon repeated listens. And I get older with every year that passes. 

9. The Bronx- Mariachi El Bronx (III) (ATO RECORDS) 

  

The most experimental record to date from LA's resident mariachi-alter-ego. Electronics are incorporated into some tracks to supplement the stripped-down mariachi sound, lending some valuable, almost Radiohead-esque texture. I could do without a couple vanilla, surface-level love ballads, but will always return for the straight up mariachi jams ("Raise the Dead"). 

8. Fucked Up- Glass Boys (MATADOR RECORDS)

Following up 2011's ambitious "rock opera," David Comes to Life, critics (probably) were anxious to see what direction the Toronto band would go in next. Glass Boys is a focused, more straightforward, yet more dynamic album than Fucked Up's previous effort. Glass Boys is ten tracks showcasing the band's ever-evolving songwriting chops."Sun Glass" and "The Art of Patrons" are straight-up accessible songs, a far cry from Fucked Up's older, more rugged sound. 

7. The Menzingers- Rented World (EPITAPH RECORDS) 

I'm not sure I ever even gave this album had a chance, given the Menzingers' 2012 release On the Impossible Past being one of my all-time favorite albums. Rented World holds its own, though. A common theme in my Top 10 lists, this album was slow to grow on me, definitely in part because of my unreasonable expectations. It carries a somber, dark tone throughout. Their trademark anthemic, working class punk sound is still present, but when the album really dials up the sadness on a track like "Nothing Feels Good Anymore" is when it resonates most. Cannot wait to see what is on deck.    

6. Manchester Orchestra- Cope (LOMA VISTA RECORDINGS/FAVORITE GENTLEMEN) 

This is a big rock album. Huge choruses and unapologetically loud throughout. It was the perfect album to blast in my car with the windows down all summer long. The subtleties and dynamics of 2011's Simple Math were all but scrapped for a sound that's goddamn fun. The punchy, guitar-driven post-grunge tone is set immediately with "Top Notch," and the album climaxes with "The Ocean's" gigantic chorus.  

5. Serengeti- Kenny Dennis III (JOYFUL NOISE RECORDINGS) 

Another appearance on Travis Reyes's year-end list by genius Chicago hip-hop artist Serengeti. To my delight, Geti treats us to another full-length of tracks by his alter-ego, washed-up everyman rapper Kenny Dennis. This time around, Kenny seems to be dealing with some mid-life demons as he fights to stay relevant, both in the eyes of his cohorts and himself. Trying to reboot his rap career with younger pal 'Ders doesn't necessarily go as planned. Lyrics about questionable new acquaintances/life choices and wife Jueles's disapproval have Kenny at a crossroads. Kenny's familiar off-beat manner, and odd, Dad-like pop-culture sensibilities are juxtaposed with deeply emotional and un-ironic dark themes. DJ Odd Nosdam comes through with innovative and funky beats. 

BONUS ASIDE:

Although not released in 2014, I purchased Kenny Dennis's "1992" hip-hop collective recording with Tha Grimm Teachaz, There's a Situation On the Homefront, at a June Serengeti show this past year (actually released in 2010?). Needless to say, it is a work of extreme ingenuity. To recap, it is the make-believe 90's hip-hop group of an artist's alter-ego. It is a fucking full-length album's worth of material. I will never stop having my mind blown by its mere existence. But not only does it exist; it fucking rips. 90's heyday hip-hop beats and clever lyrics chock-full of slightly-out-of-touch 90's references (meshing seamlessly with Kenny's personality) permeate the album. Even the production sounds straight out of Wu-Tang Clan's early 90's classic Enter the Wu-Tang. If you gain nothing else from this blog post, please follow the link above and listen to the second verse of "Snap Ya Neck!" I probably played There's a Situation On the Homefront more than any other album in 2014. I feel like it was written and composed specifically for my amazement.    

4. Single Mothers- Negative Qualities (XL RECORDINGS) 

It's been a hell of a year musically for me. Case in point: Upon hearing Negative Qualities for the first time, I had a feeling of "this is exactly what I need in my life right now." And this is my fourth-favorite album of 2014. Also, this is what punk sounds like. There is no one in music right now snottier than frontman Drew Thomson. Negative Qualities is about being brazen and unhinged, and feeling conflicted about it. The lyrics carry an attitude pretty much only found in mainstream hip-hop currently: 1. Fuck You and 2. I Love Partying. Also: 3. You're Full of Shit and I'm Going to Shame You for It. The band provide a modern-sounding garage-punk bombast with some Nirvana influence sprinkled in, perfectly complementing the lyrical message. If you are feeling alienated, or better yet, want to feel alienated, listen to this record.  

3. PUP- S/T (SIDEONEDUMMY RECORDS)

Seriously, I might not enjoy four albums that were released in a single calendar year this much ever again. PUP is the sound of the future to me. Decidedly non-wimpy anthemic pop-punk. The soaring choruses, pounding drums, and bounciness of pop-punk are all present in spades. But the difference: the melodic-shouted vocals. Not a shred of nasal whininess to be found. Words cannot describe how tailor-made this album is for shouting along to in your car. A band set to re-define the genre on the heels of their blistering debut album.   

2. Plague Vendor- Free to Eat (EPITAPH RECORDS) 

I received both Free to Eat and PUP in the mail on the same day this past April. It was quite possibly the best music acquisition-related day in my life. After listening to Free to Eat for the first time I felt the same way as I did about 10 years ago when I heard Dead Kennedys for the first time: this sounds fucking dangerous. Noisy, raucous, flamboyant. Plague Vendor's energy and song lengths (the album is 20 minutes long) hearkens back to 80's punk and hardcore, but their sound is fresh and entirely their own. Gothic undertones and lyrics about "making love in the courtyard." An eponymous song title, in which the chorus of said song is a chanted spelling of the band's name. The twenty second intro in "My Tongue Is So Treacherous" is frontman just fucking shrieking over a surf-rock bassline and syncopated drum hits. I haven't even mentioned their completely antagonistic and captivating live show. This is also just Plague Vendor's full-length debut. Wtf? Another case of myself thinking "this is exactly what I need in my life right now" after the first listen. The most refreshing and dangerous sounds of 2014. What can possibly top this? 

1. Every Time I Die- From Parts Unknown (EPITAPH RECORDS) 

Every Time I Die is my favorite band. This is a statement I have been actively avoiding for years; I have previously been declaring bands as "my favorite right now." From Parts Unknown is Every Time I Die telling me they are my number one. 

This is the album I kept coming back to the most, the album I always secretly wanted to be listening to. I admittedly spent some alone time in my head going back-and-forth between From Parts Unknown and Free to Eat for my 2014 music championship. But upon my last listen of From Parts Unknown, I just knew. In contrast to the numbers two and three on this Top 10 list being debuts, From Parts Unknown is Every Time I Die's seventh full-length. They are a veteran band at the peak of their powers who know exactly what they're doing. After 2012's lukewarm Ex-Lives, my expectations for From Parts Unknown weren't terribly high. I figured that the band had reached their creative peak somewhere between 2007's The Big Dirty and 2009's New Junk Aesthetic and that new albums would be churned out every two-and-a-half-years until the band decided to hang it up. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy their future albums, it's just that I was resigned to the fact that they wouldn't be earth-shattering. Leading up to From Parts Unknown's release date, the internet hype for the album felt inescapable. People touting it as album of the year and ETID's best album. I am always hype-averse, so I laughed it off (saving my first listen for the proper release date, of course). Turns out I was dead wrong. Every Time I Die have caught a second wind.

My initial listen was not overwhelming. It sounded a bit overproduced and the songs kind of blended together. But I kept putting back into my car stereo and double clicking on it in my itunes, and the album slowly began to reveal itself. One of the first things I began to notice was just how punishing and masterful the drums on the album were. It's a drummer's opus. The badass intro to "Decayin' With the Boys" is the most obvious, but Ryan Legler's versatility shines throughout, from the skate-punk throttle on "Pelican of the Desert" to the disciplined double-bass trudge of "Idiot." As far as the production, what initially seemed like an overproduced sound unveiled itself to be perfectly suited in showcasing the band's strengths. Especially in what has long been ETID's calling card, the goddamn riffs. Never before have I been consumed by such riffage. The second half of "El Dorado," into and throughout the album's closer, "Idiot," is a non-stop riff-fest breakdown. My favorite track though, and number one song of 2014, comes right in the middle of the album. "Moor" is the biggest artistic left-turn the band have taken in their career. A lengthy, haunting piano intro morphs into a giant mid-tempo rock song illustrating a man's mental decay. It sounds like the pinnacle of a band's career.    

To define From Parts Unknown in one word: punishing. This concludes my 2014 Top 10 album countdown. 

(Goddamn, Epitaph Records had a solid fucking year.)

P.S.

Best of all, ETID and Plague Vendor both had a full summer's run on Warped Tour in 2014 and were seen interacting/hanging out on social media outlets often. Future touring partners/best friends/mentors/proteges???? 

MORE BONUS MATERIAL: 

To complete the nerdy end-of-year (beginning of year?) tradition, the following is a list of my 20 favorite songs I have acquired in 2014, regardless of actual release year. If you would like a burned CD of these tracks, I will gladly send you one. Thank you for reading, and check out ALL OF THESE BANDS. 

TRAVIS REYES'S 2014 TOP 20 MIXTAPE 

1. Every Time I Die- Moor 

2. Wu-Tang Clan- Da Mystery of Chessboxin' 

3. Single Mothers- Marbles

4. Every Time I Die- El Dorado

5. Plague Vendor- My Tongue Is So Treacherous 

6. PUP- Reservoir

7. Manchester Orchestra- Top Notch

8. PUP- Mabu 

9. Tha Grimm Teachaz- I Getz

10. Death From Above 1979- Romantic Rights

11. Plague Vendor- Black Sap Scriptures 

12. The Menzingers- Nothing Feels Good Anymore

13. Every Time I Die- Idiot

14. A Great Big Pile of Leaves- Pet Mouse

15. Tha Grimm Teachaz- Snap Ya Neck!

16. The Lawrence Arms- The YMCA Down the Street From the Clinic

17. Single Mothers- Half-Lit

18. Death From Above 1979- Turn It Out

19. Fucked Up- Sun Glass

20. El Bronx-Raise the Dead