The Badger Herald picks the best albums of 2014

1. St. Vincent- St. Vincent

Annie Clark (stage name St. Vincent) has always had a skew to her work, with unconventional lyrics and fluid, impressive guitar riffs. But St. Vincent gives her an entirely new persona, showing that she is downright weird, in the best way possible. With some hefty electronic influx and distortion, songs such as “Rattlesnake” and “Digital Witness” adopt whole new definition of badass-ery. In fact, it hardly even sounds like past Annie — more like a whole new woman on the edge of a 21st century musical shift. Her songs will always be things of beauty, ruffled with her sincerely absurd attitude, but the bits and pieces of St. Vincent are high on a jolt of dreamy energy and inspiration. Many of her previous albums pushed her into the pop genre, but this one truly puts her out there on her own. And she is: a pop diva in her own right and an amazing rock star at her core (she is one of the best female guitarists of our time), she emanates unconventional creativity. St. Vincent, with every synched melody and crazy guitar phrase, is just the start to a grand scheme of self-expression and artistic wonder. ~Lexy Brodt

2. War on Drugs- Lost in the Dream

The War on Drugs gained some unwanted publicity this fall as the result of a very public feud with Mark Kozelek of Sun-Kil-Moon. “Feud” might not exactly be the right word, as the spat was a decidedly one-sided tantrum on Kozelek’s part. The unfortunate result was a shift of attention away from two amazing albums, both of which deserve acclaim, petty grievances aside. However, Lost in the Dream takes a top spot for its slow-burning combination of indistinct vocals, glittering riffs and gently rolling choruses that begins as a hazy impression and build to a sense of something monumental over repeated listens. Both formless and instantly memorable, the aptly-named album passes by like a waking dream leaving only scattered fragments stuck fast in your consciousness. From the folky harmonica of the Bob Dylan reminiscent title track to the unrestrained “woohs!” and driving riffs on lead single “Red Eyes,” “Lost in the Dream” takes the fuzzy Americana of their debut album and stretches it to the wide horizons for an ambitious statement much more assured than pretentious. ~Nathaniel Scharping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LmX5c7HoUw

3. Beck- Morning Phase

Beck’s Morning Phase sounds a lot like Sea Change. Sea Change was a dope album. Therefore, by the transitive property, Morning Phase is a dope album —although most people would argue it’s nowhere near as good or inspired as his 2002 classic.

I feel somewhat ashamed having Morning Phase as one of the top albums of 2014. It’s pretty uneven. At times, it veers into Starbucks territory (my dad likes this album). It’s unapologetically Sad Beck, with lines like “these are the words we use to say goodbye” and “isolation, isolation, isolation.”

But it’s also arguably the most beautiful record of the year, lushly produced and full of pathos. Beck doesn’t hold back on the sonic flourishes. You can almost picture him slowly stroking his little Beck penis in the studio, demanding “more beauty!” as studio musicians add string swells and perfectly-placed glockenspiel notes to the mix. Some might see this sound as indulgent. I think it’s the most beautiful and mature Beck yet.

Over spring break, I drove with eight friends to California. One morning, as we entered Denver, the sunrise coated the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in a brilliant orange light. We put Morning Phase on the rental van’s speakers and listened to it in its entirety. Those 47 minutes were some of the best of my life.

There’s no way I couldn’t put this album on the best of the year. ~Erik Sateren

4. Ariel Pink- Pom Pom

Ariel Pink is an interesting man with an even more interesting history of odd and unwarranted social commentary, but that is all beside the point. The music he has produced through various groups and collaborations is, from a critical standpoint, exemplary.

Pink has an original ability to meld sounds and styles from multiple genres and decades into a cohesive narrative. Pom Pom is a long LP but most of the tracks on the album offer original musical sensations and nuances. “Black Ballerina” is the highlight of the album, it is complicated and lacks consistency in tempo, melody and vocals but it has a continuous theme. In six minutes it takes the listener on a weird psychedelic journey through the 80s, 90s and to a modern-era strip club. It is simultaneously upbeat, dark and bizarre.

The rest of the album follows suit. A few tracks become campy with their overuse of profane themes and retro musical production. On the whole, the album is successful in taking musical and lyrical risks. It transcends genre and shows high levels of skill. ~Selena Handler