50 Of 2014’s Best Albums (So Far)

It’s the end of April, which means we’re 1/3 of the way through 2014 already. Warped Tour and a bunch of other summer festivals are coming up – which albums should you be checking out? Here’s a list of what we’re listening to. Side note: Only albums released between January 1st and April 30th are included – so that new Being As An Ocean album that’s out the first week of May isn’t here. But it’s still awesome and you should buy it. You can find the complete list of albums after the jump.

Here’s where we talk a little about some of the albums and why they made our list.

Obviously this list will look very different in the next few months. But most of these (Especially the top 10) will surely stick around. Where to begin? Neck Deep’s brand of catch pop-punk starts things off, and while it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, the track “Candour” is seriously one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. The lyrics of the song are honestly very heartfelt, too.

The man I hope to become, I know is deep down inside
I know, you don’t even need to say, 
I know you’re proud in your own way

Kublai Khan’s debut record for Artery Records, Balancing Survival and Happiness, is a total banger from start to finish. Having seen the band twice previously in super tiny venues, with this release, they’re destined for big things. Passion sets them apart – check the video for “Ghost Pains” right here.

Remember Gaza, whose prolific output included some of the most extreme and noisy metal you’re ever likely to hear? They were fantastic. Cult Leader’s debut EP, Nothing For Us Here, continues that tradition with noisy and punchy guitars, and the debut EP (released on Deathwish Inc. so you know it’s awesome) is certainly one of the best of the year so far. It takes a very special EP to make this list. Check out “Skin Crawler” right here.

Backtrack’s follow up to Darker Half, entitled “Lost In Life”, is another solid slab of hardcore that carries on the proud tradition of New York hardcore, while releases like Manchester Orchestra’s “Cope” and Whitechapel’s “Our Endless War” certainly pack a punch. Sleeper Agent’s new album “About Last Night” has them poised to take over radio airwaves near you – and they’re also playing Warped Tour this year, which makes me extremely happy. Alex Kandel’s strong vocals give the band an edge over their less-talented peers.

What of these are the top-tier releases of 2014, though?

I’ll tell you what – those top 4 releases will be very hard to ever exit my list. Most of the top 20 will, too. How about Frameworks and their new album for TopShelf Records, “Loom”? Pretty good stuff – I think it’ll grow on most listeners, especially those who are fans of like-minded bands like Touche Amore and Pianos Become the Teeth. “Loom” has perfected their own sound early in their careers – listen to the track “Familiar Haze” here.

Against Me’s comeback record? Stellar. Demon Hunter’s new record “Extremist”? It contains some of the best songs of their career, especially the closer “Heart Of A Graveyard” and the slow-burning “The Last One Alive”. Tides Of Man’s comeback record “Young And Courageous”? Excellent. Tilian Pearson isn’t the vocalist anymore – there is no vocalist – but one isn’t needed when the music sounds nearly perfect.

Icarus The Owl brings us a technical pop-punk album. Yes, that is a genre. Chevelle just released possibly the best album in their discography (at least since Wonder What’s Next). Alcest went straight-up shoegaze on their newest effort “Shelter”. 311 released their best record in over a decade in “Stereolithic”, and that new Junius EP “Days Of The Fallen Sun”? Very solid.

Let’s move onto the top 4, though. I’ll be honest – outside of being somewhat familiar with Lionize (thanks to tours with Clutch and a relentless tour ethic all around) I wasn’t familiar with Wolves Like Us, Nothing, or Silver Snakes at all before this year.

How much things change in a few months. Prosthetic, Relapse, and Bridge 9 Records all were hyping 3 of these bands massively, while I personally took a chance listening to Lionize again and realized their combination of space rock, reggae, and other genres are just fantastic. “Jetpack Soundtrack” blows their previous excellent material out of the way (though you really should check out the excellent “Destruction Manual” album) and they’re immediately a must-see attraction for me personally at Warped Tour 2014.

Let’s talk about Wolves Like Us for a second. Having heard of them through a review on SputnikMusic a month or two ago, seeing they were influenced by Swervedriver and Quicksand (lofty praise for certain) told me I needed to check them out. And I’m glad I did. “Dig Out Your Hands” (which you can stream here) is seriously my song of the year for 2014. It’s full of punchy, grunge-influenced tracks, and I’m really glad Kelly Walsh from Prosthetic sent it my way. A stunning release – and definitely comparable with the aforementioned bands. Plus, they’re from Norway, which is pretty cool.

The shoegaze revival continues in a most effective way with Nothing’s full-length “Guilty Of Everything”. The track “Hymn To The Pillory” is certainly going to remind you of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine – but more aggressive tracks like “Dig” swarm with dreamy vocals bumping for position with loud guitars, and that’s one of the best things about the album.

I’m not sure I expected Bridge 9 Records to put out a release by a band like this, but it really doesn’t matter. This is my favorite release of 2014 so far – and that’s not likely to change much. Seeing them live (we have an interview with Alex Estrada that involves  some random guy on the street interrupting us, we’ll post it soon) and hearing them on record solidifies the fact that Alex Estrada and company are one of the rising stars in today’s music scene, Call it post-hardcore, grunge, alternative rock, or any number of different genres – it’s an energetic tour-de-force that will certainly have the band playing to much bigger audiences and high-profile tours this year. Of all the tracks on here, I’d highly recommend “Grey Wolf Wild” which is an unfairly catchy track, featuring some of Alex’s best vocal sections.

In closing, Silver Snakes and Wolves Like Us are fantastic bands. But really, you need to see and hear for yourself all the great releases on this list – and get stoked for Version II of this list later this year.

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