STACK NZ Jan-Feb #59

43 / 60

T he year-end of lists are out – now is
the time to see what you are missing!
Of course, music should always be a
matter of personal taste and just because
N.M.E declares one album to be the best,
doesn’t mean that you will (or should) like it). And
sometimes the artistic merits of a particular work
are not the only thing that goes into choosing the
No. 1 record of the year. Some publications go
for something particularly obscure, some stick
resolutely to the mainstream, others seem to pick
albums that are likely raise the ire of the readers
(how else to explain Rolling Stone’s choice of
U2’s latest as the best of the year?).
However, it’s always fun to see what the
world’s best known music mags go for and as
usual there is some common ground, at least at
the very top of the list.
The website helpfully
has gathered an aggregate top 50 based on the
marks in more than 60 publications, including
heavyweights like Rolling Stone, NME, Q, Mojo,
Spin, Pitchfork and Uncut.
The critics/ favourite was clearly War On Drugs’
Lost In The Dream , which was album of the year
in 10 mags and runner-up in seven others. All
told, it finished with an aggregate score of 251.
In second place was St Vincent’s eponymous
LP – six firsts’, and five seconds’ – while we are
pleased to see that Run The Jewels’ Run The
Jewels 2 shared the third spot with FKA Twigs’
LP1, with both getting an aggregate score of 221.
From there on, however, consensus begins to
evaporate, with the fifth ranked album of the year,
Our Love from Caribou, getting 141 aggregate
points. Nevertheless, the overall top 50 is a useful
starting point if you are setting out to see what
essential records you might have missed this
year, and it’s good to see a few lesser known
releases – such as the Sleaford Mods’ splendidly
splenetic Divide & Exit making the grade, too.
And while there are no NZ albums on the list,
as Graham Reid points out in his column this
month, a fair few of 2014’s critical darlings will
be playing at Laneways this year. As well as the
aforementioned St. Vincent and FKA Twigs, other
Laneways performers who made this year’s
overall top 50 include Angel Olsen (Burn Your Fire
for No Witness at No. 7), Flying Lotus (You’re
Dead, #9), Future Islands (Singles,#16), Mac
DeMarco (Salad Days, #17), Royal Blood (Royal
Blood, #46) and Ariel Pink (Pom Pom, #47). So
if you are still not sure, make your final decision
after the festival. Either way, 2014 was a great
year for music, so happy shopping.
JB Listener
THIS MONTH AT
3
MUSIC
On the
JB stereo!
Meghan Trainor
Hozier
Hozier
Hanni El Khatib
Moonlight
Dr John
In The Right Place
Devilskin
Live At The
Powerstation
The 1975
The 1975
Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti
Pond
Man It Feels Like
Space Again
Hayseed Dixie
Hair Down To My
Grass
Six60
Six60
Meghan Trainor
Title
So, what was your favourite album of 2014?BEST OF THE BEST
Run The Jewels
Sleaford Mods
The War On Drugs