Exclaim!'s Best of 2014:

Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums, Part Two

BY Exclaim! StaffPublished Dec 8, 2014

Our Best of 2014 albums lists by genre continue today with our staff picks for the 20 best of pop and rock music this year. We revealed albums 20 to 11 on Friday, December 5. Today we're unveiling 10 to 1.

Click next to read through the albums one by one, or use the list below to skip ahead to your favourites.

Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums of 2014, 10-1:


To see more of our Year-End Top Tens, head over to our Best of 2014 section.



10. Tanya Tagaq
Animism
(Six Shooter)

Tanya Tagaq exceeded all expectations with Animism. Produced by Drip Audio boss Jesse Zubot, who also added strings and electronics, the album resonated with music fans from all walks of life, eventually claiming the 2014 Polaris Music Prize. This wide reach seemed remarkable given the dramatically experimental nature of its sound, going off the free jazz deep end in the clicks and sighs of "Rabbit" and the operatic "Flight." Yet, listeners were propelled through the untethered moments by the likes of Jean Martin's teased drums on "Tulugak," the gnarly bass and ticking clock in "Uja" and the almost drum & bass devastation of "Umingmak." As far out as it got, it was always driving toward something.

Though a cover of "Caribou" by the Pixies eased the listener into her style and proved she can sing gorgeously when she wants to, she expressed most of the themes via her inimitable grunts, groans, and screams. Those seeking a verbal explanation of Tagaq's causes could find that in the interviews she gave surrounding the album, but those who found their way into this record on their own did so by feel — and indeed, it's impossible not to feel something listening to Animism. (Alan Ranta)



9. Future Islands
Singles
(4AD)

It may have all begun with a performance of their single "Seasons (Waiting On You)" on The Late Show, but Future Islands' Singles was so much more than a viral moment. New to many at the beginning of the year, Future Islands were three albums deep when they dropped their fourth, Singles, in March. While their previous releases were well received, and built them a modest but loyal following, the Baltimore trio seemed to save something extra special for their 4AD debut. Like a greatest hits compilation, Singles lived up to its name: it featured ten songs, each of single calibre.

The passion and new romantic sophistication of "Seasons" spread throughout the album like some magnificent plague. From the pulsating synths of "Spirit" to the stirring climax of "A Dream Of You And Me," this was as perfect as synth-rock not made in the 1980s gets. Via word of mouth and blog love, Future Islands also became one of the year's must-see live bands. With the presence of a leaner Jack Black, frontman Samuel T. Herring shuffles like a madman hell-bent on earning the love and adoration of his audience. And yet on Singles his presence is so strong you can feel all of this. (Cam Lindsay)



8. The War on Drugs
Lost in the Dream
(Secretly Canadian)

After the feud between the War on Drugs and Sun Kil Moon this past year, it's nearly impossible to talk about or listen to the former's album, Lost in the Dream, without picturing Mark Kozelek sneering in the background. As it turns out, that's not a bad thing; Kozelek's barrage of insults forced listeners to think about the merits of subtle, lyrically-based folk versus big rock tunes, and realize that both can be profound.

The "beer commercial lead guitar" of Adam Granduciel has as much nuance, and tells as many stories, as Kozelek's singing, and it's not making crass and misogynistic commands like "suck my cock." Granduciel lets his guitar do the talking when he can't find the words, and on Lost in the Dream, that unified voice conveys truths about loneliness and depression that no lyrics could capture. (Greg Bouchard)



7. Timber Timbre
Hot Dreams
(Arts & Crafts)

There's a lot to be said for albums that have the ability to establish a mood for itself and then immediately plunge the listener into it. Taylor Kirk's vocals have never sounded more at home, going full film noir on the band's fifth studio album, one that found universal love within their sizeable fan base. The album first started to take shape while Kirk spent some time in Laurel Canyon, and appropriately, Hot Dreams incorporates elements of country, rockabilly and Americana, with songs like "Grand Canyon" and "Run From Me" evoking Elvis Presley at his melancholic best. There's a sense of fatalism that permeates the album, especially on cuts like "The New Tomorrow," and while the dark subject matter combined with the gloom of Simon Trottier's arrangements can be utterly depressing, it's also exactly why Hot Dreams is such a singular release.

Enlisting the usual suspects — including Olivier Fairfield, Mathieu Charbonneau and Mika Posen, not to mention saxophonist extraordinaire Colin Stetson — Kirk manages to include everything from the Mellotron, the Fender Rhodes and the Theremin and somehow make is seem easy and spontaneous. Hot Dreams is a cinematic masterwork. (Scott Simpson)



6. White Lung
Deep Fantasy
(Domino)

White Lung's Deep Fantasy pummels the listener like any great punk rock record should, and yet it manages to eschew many of the tired punk tropes that weigh down lesser efforts operating within that framework. Building on the sound the band developed over their previous releases, White Lung's rock solid and whip-tight rhythm section allows both Kenneth Williams' guitar lines and Mish Way's vocals to explore influences further afield.

Opener "Drown With the Monster" wails and roars in a swirling whirlpool, drawing the listener down into the dark depths of the album, which continues to pummel apace for the next all-too-brief 20 minutes. Doom hangs heavy over the chorus of "Face Down," while the verses thrash about, clawing for air. Opening the B-Side, the discordant one-two punch of "Wrong Star" and "Just For You" provides no relief to a listener lost in anxious alienation. Finally, "In Your Home" takes a desperate, frantic dash down Fascination Street that leaves the listener wondering what the fuck just happened.

A band that have consistently challenged both themselves and their listeners, White Lung faced a lot of expectation and hype when crafting Deep Fantasy, a record that stands up to repeated, high volume listening. It's safe to say they made good on those expectations — not that they gave a shit what anyone else thought anyway. (Sheldon Birnie)



5. Swans
To Be Kind
(Young God)

Thirteen reasons to listen to Swans' To Be Kind: 1. The fact that more than 30 years into their career, Michael Gira and company are just as sonically confrontational as ever. 2. That despite the earth-shaking intensity of all that noise, the tunes on To Be Kind are actually pretty catchy. 3. The pristine engineering by John Congleton, which captures the violent musical assault in high-definition. 4. The ring of the snare drum throughout the beginning of "Screen Shot." 5. Gira's protracted howls of "looooooove" beginning at the six-minute mark of "Just A Little Boy." 6. The slinking groove and menacing atmosphere of "Just A Little Boy," which sounds like a lost Birthday Party tune. 7. The sustained bombast that introduces "Bring the Sun / Toussaint L'Overture." 8. The fact that there's a song about Haitian revolutionary leader François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, whose nickname was the Black Napoleon. 9. "Some Things We Do," a necessary breather of a tune in the middle of all these massive songs. 10. The way St. Vincent's angelic voice pairs with Gira's sonorous baritone on "Kristen Supine." 11. The way Gira pronounces "ock-SEE-jaaaaaaaan" on "Oxygen." 12. The lock-step bass guitar/kick drum rhythm that propels "Nathalie Neal." 13. The final feedback-laden thrust of album closer "To Be Kind" — a cathartic conclusion to an overwhelming listening experience. (Chris Bilton)



4. Alvvays
Alvvays
(Royal Mountain Records)

By all measures but official release date, Alvvays isn't a 2014 record. The Toronto-via-Maritime retro-pop five-piece recorded the album with Chad VanGaalen back in March 2012 and spent two years shopping it around, unsuccessfully, to record labels. Given the disc has since earned worldwide acclaim and spent much of the past year atop college radio charts, those labels must now be kicking themselves.

Of course, it's easy to praise Alvvays' self-titled debut in hindsight, and it deserves the praise. The product of co-songwriters frontwoman Molly Rankin (a descendant of Celtic icons the Rankin Family) and guitarist Alec O'Hanley (formerly of PEI pop-rockers Two Hours Traffic), Alvvays' nine short tracks are an overflowing cup of infectious beach-pop hooks carved out by deadpan vocal melodies and jangling, reverb-drenched guitars. The lyrics are poignantly self-conscious, detailing the equally doleful and humorous awkwardness and anxiety of 20-something life in the city but, in a bout of subversive irony, the delivery is effortlessly cool.

Alvvays' sound may not be overly unique — steeped in C86-era nostalgia, they feel like a close cousin of Best Coast — but their mastery of the aesthetic is. Though Alvvays may not truly be a 2014 record, this was the year it finally got the recognition it deserved. (Luc Rinaldi)



3. Owen Pallett
In Conflict
(Secret City)

There are myriad reasons why Owen Pallett was a newsmaker in 2014; Cam Lindsay covers most of them here. But what about his own music, his own album, which it seems he barely had any time to tour behind? Every one of Pallett's records is better than the last, so it goes without saying that this is his best. It's supposedly his most personal; the only way you would know that would be if he told you so, because other than silly love songs, what more universal themes could there be than control and chaos, fertility and faith, memory and motion, drinking and depression, and the "terror of the infinite"?

Pallett not only transforms philosophy and poetry into pop songs, he's increasingly deft at balancing beautiful abstraction with a visceral punch, never more so than on the thunderous "Riverbed." Bringing his old Les Mouches bandmates Matt Smith and Rob Gordon into the fold brings a live energy to half the tracks here; elsewhere, Pallett plunges into whirlpools of synth arpeggios just as often as he wields his trusty violin. Ten years into his career, Pallett pulled in many new fans in 2014, all of whom discovered a rich, complex and rewarding album made by one of the most fascinating musicians of our time. (Michael Barclay)



2. St. Vincent
St. Vincent
(Loma Vista)

Even though this is St. Vincent's fourth full-length album, Annie Clark is right to have reserved the eminent self-titled record until now. This isn't to say that her previous releases haven't been notable summations of Clark's cerebral sense of melody, structure and guitar prowess, but this record feels distinctly like an almighty statement, as indicated by her powerful seat in a throne on the cover.

St. Vincent poses Clark as a melodic deity who effortlessly conjures up new alien sounds from one of music's most utilized instruments, the guitar. On "Digital Witness" and opener "Rattlesnake," it's near impossible to differentiate guitars from synths from horns; they're all malleable sounds that Clark distorts to her own advantage in order to embrace and demonstrate her unique tastes for electro-funk, jolting pop hooks and slick synth balladry.

Clark is no stranger to appearing on her own album covers, but whereas previous shots possessed vulnerability and blankness, St. Vincent's cover displays sheer determination and power. That vulnerability is still present on moving reflections like "I Prefer Your Love," but there is no doubt in our minds that Clark is taking every emotion, thought and sound and controlling it and wielding them with righteous sovereignty. (Melody Lau)



1. Mac DeMarco
Salad Days
(Captured Tracks)

Love him or hate him, there's no denying DeMarco's ability to elicit strong opinions. But the Instagram-filtered nostalgia of his latest LP, Salad Days, proved that there's far more to DeMarco than meets the eye.

In a musical landscape dominated by earnest naivety, Mac DeMarco's wry self-awareness was a breath of fresh air this year. He embraces any chance to take the spotlight, navigating media appearances with effortless cool while constantly confounding expectations of how young and hungry indie musicians are supposed to carry themselves.

A serious musician who refuses to take himself seriously, his lack of outward ambition causes many to dismiss the Vancouver-via-Brooklyn artist. But aesthetic differences aside, DeMarco proved to be the year's ultimate singer-songwriter, packaging his singular worldview into Salad Days' 11 easy-breezy tracks. He also proved to be one of the year's most capable musicians, tossing off guitar lines as warped as his sense of humour. (Ian Gormely)

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