The Top 14 Albums of 2014
By James Morovich
14. The War On Drugs- “Lost In The Dream.”
This debut album from The War On Drugs was easily the best
indie release of the year. Imagine if Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers joined
up with Coldplay and they wrote songs in both their styles as well as traveling
over to Pink Floyd’s section the world once in a while. That is what they sound
like to me. The title track and “Eyes To The Wind” are straight up Americana and
perfect for the car, while “An Ocean Between The Waves” is Coldplay in their
more adventurous musical soundscapes, while “Under The Pressure” sounds like
prog rock circa 1974, not 2014! A unique release that has me excited for what
this band does for years to come!
13. Coldplay- “Ghost Stories.”
A highly anticipated release last spring, “Ghost Stories”
had a terrible lead single in “Magic,” that fortunately didn’t reflect what was
overall a solid project from Coldplay, but certainly not their best effort. It
boasts only nine songs and lasts just over 42 minutes, which just feels too
short! As always they give us some highly energetic numbers like “A Sky Full Of
Stars” and “Ink” though the ballads like the acoustic guitar driven “Oceans”
and extended musical landscape “O” almost steal the show! Coldplay announced a
couple of month’s back that they will record only one more album before calling
it quits. I look forward to what that encore will hold for a band that is
easily one of the most important parts of music culture this past decade.
12. Kye Kye- “Fantasize.”
While I am not as big a fan of electronic music as some,
there are always those few artists who do it really, really well, and thus I
can’t help but respect and yes, like what their muse may be. New Zealand
natives Kye Kye seem to have grabbed the best of the electronic influenced
American rock of the 80’s and charged forward with it full steam ahead! The
lyrics often can buried under lush synthesizer drones, but upon multiple
listens the listener picks up more and more. They reflect both parts of
relationships, the woes and wonders, over the course of 12 songs, the
highlights of which are “Honest Affection,” “Scared Or Selfish,” “I Already See
It” and my favorite the guitar layered, perfectly at home on the radio in 1985
“Softly” which is by far the best song that was never played over the airwaves
anywhere this year!
11. Ellie Holcomb- “As Sure As The Sun”
Ellie Holcomb is best known as a part of the band fronted by
her husband Drew (Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors), but on “As Sure As The
Sun” Mrs. Holcomb shows us that she is quite an artist in her own right. The
songs are all beautiful piano driven poems of brokenness, uncertainty and
doubt, tempered beautifully by the hope of Christ. In many ways these songs
call to mind a lot of the Psalms written by King David, where both joy and pain
sit side by side. She reminds us that “His mercy will never end” on the title
track which opens the album and that sets the overall tone of the album. It is one person’s journey ‘out of the
darkness and into the Light” (“Marvelous Light”) and a realization that there
is such a predicament as “The Broken Beautiful.” She reminds us that ultimately
His “Love Never Fails” without sounding cliché and reminds us that we need to
look to Jesus as “My Portion And My Strength.” It all culminates in “The
Valley” which is easily one of the best songs I have heard about the struggle
of depression and darkness against a Christian’s desire to Hope in Jesus who is
the only One who can ‘make [us] whole’
10. All Sons & Daughters- “All Sons & Daughters.”
This is a quieter worship project, but one that is
beautiful. While not quite as musically stripped back as Audrey Assad’s
masterpiece from last year “Fortunate Fall,” this album fits similarly under a
file of ‘good albums to listen to while seeking God in prayer.’ “God With Us,”
“Christ Be All Around Me” and “Great Are You Lord” are fantastic examples of
the emerging modern folk worship scene. This duo from Tennessee are showing no
sign of slowing down either, as they continue to tour as well as lead worship
at their home church as often as possible, which is where many of these songs
were born in the first place.
9. John Mark
McMillan- "Borderland."
John Mark
McMillan has continued to push the boundaries of modern rock and roll since his
career began independently in 2005. "How He "Loves," became an
international worship sensation, and launched his career. However, McMillan as
a whole doesn't craft songs in the same vein as that anymore. He now writes songs
that express some doubts and struggles ("Love At The End,"
"Guns/Napoleon" the title track) and others about affirmation on
God's presence in our lives ("Future/Past," "Visceral"). It
is an album that gets better and better the more listens you give it!
8. Steffany
Gretzinger- "The Undoing."
This is
easily one of the most personal worship projects unleashed to the music world
in quite some time. Gretzinger writes songs about "Letting Go" of her
control and letting God take over her heart. "Morning Song,"
"Out Of Hiding" and "No Fear In Love" are reminders to all
of us that Jesus desires intimacy in our hearts, and these songs, with their
often sparsely instrumented accompaniments, are a perfect partner in helping
one who seeks such intimacy to find it.
7. American
Authors- "Oh, What A Life."
Every once in
a great while a pop/rock album is just plain good, and no matter how much I try
to rationalize to myself that I should hate it, I simply cannot get any of the
songs out of my head! "Oh, What A Life" is an album full of such
songs! It truly is impossible not to want to tap your foot or even dance around
to songs like "Best Day Of My Life," "Believer," "Hit
It," and "Think About It." There is also an overwhelmingly
optimistic tone to all of the songs, which fit the upbeat tempos. The unique
part of American Authors is their ability to incorporate mandolins and banjos
into their music without ever really sounding like Mumford & Sons or Rend
Collective. While those bands straddle folk and bluegrass, American Authors are
rock and pop exclusively.
6. Crowder-
“Neon Steeple.”
It was easy for fans to wonder what David
Crowder would do after his Band went their separate ways in January of
2012. It was certain that he wouldn’t be
done with music forever, but what would his sound be like. Would he gravitate
towards the bluegrass and folk stylings, or the more electronic tones we had
heard on a few of the later David Crowder Band albums. The answer was, simply,
that David Crowder would continue in the vein of merging both the roots sounds
with the digital sounds. This album is a mix of both, and it is done very well!
“Here’s My Heart,” “My Beloved” and “Jesus Is Calling” carry on the roots
sound, while “I Am” and “Come As You Are” fuses both the folksy with the
electronic. “You Are” and “Ain’t No Grave” are high energy, while “This I Know”
is a quieter reminder of the simplicity of our Faith and Hope. All in all, this
is a fantastic re-launch of an already stellar career!
5. Steve
Taylor & The Perfect Foil- “Goliath.”
It has been
twenty years since Steve Taylor last took a tour of duty behind a microphone!
In that time he started and operated a small Christian label (“Squint”), wrote
many lyrics for two Newsboys albums (“Going Public,” “Take Me To Your Leader”),
and produced two films (“Second Chance,” “Blue Like Jazz”). Now he has returned
to music with new band The Perfect Foil, and it is a fine, fine piece of 2014
rock and roll. Never have three-minute high-energy rock songs sounded so good.
The themes range from our current desire to be seen on social media
(“Rubberneck”), corrupt politicians (“Sympathy Vote”), and lethargic attitudes
(“Happy Go Lazy”) all through the snarky eyes of the “Comedian.” If you are
into witty lyrics and current events, you will love this album!
4. Mike Mains
& The Branches- “Calm Down, Everything Is Fine.”
Mike Mains is
another example of a thinking man or woman’s songwriter. He is a Christian, but
he lyrically sings about things like doubt, and uncertainty which at times can
come across as a bit challenging or even mildly offensive, particularly on the
title track where he expresses frustration towards Jesus’ use of parables to
illustrate Kingdom concepts. However, similar to Bono of U2, Mains’ honesty can
also be refreshing and thought provoking. He can also give us reminders that we
need to “Slow Down” sometimes from our fast paced lives. Give it multiple
listens and you will glean more each spin cycle, I can guarantee it.
3. Rend
Collective- “The Art Of Celebration.”
I first heard
of this English band back in 2012 on their sophomore release “Homemade Worship
By Handmade People” and was hooked immediately by their incredible energetic
bluegrass influenced worship songs! This album continues in that vein, as songs
like “Burn Like A Star” and “Create In Me” burst with musical speed and
excitement that is sure to make you dance in your seat! “My Lighthouse” is a
wonderful testimony to God being a guiding light bringing us ‘safe to shore.’
“More Than Conquerors” is straight out of Romans chapter eight, and my personal
favorite on this project; a project born of a band that is sure to have a very
bright future in the worship music scene!
2.
NEEDTOBREATHE- “Rivers In The Wasteland.”
Back in April
as “Rivers In The Wasteland” was about to hit the record store shelves,
RELEVANT magazine published an article where they interviewed NEEDTOBREATHE.
There, the band recounted how they had strayed away from their Christian roots
and knew God was calling them back to those roots on their new project. Needless
to say, they did just that. “Multiplied” is the most explicitly Christian song
they have written since “Signature Of Divine (Yahweh).” “Wasteland” is a song
written by someone who is emerging from a dark period in their life and finds
hope in paraphrasing Romans 8, “If God is on our side, who can be against us?”
Then there are the single ready tracks like “The Heart” and “State I’m In”
which are going to easily get caught in your head for hours after you listen.
This album is great because it meshes both the fun with the serious, and does
so with instrumentation that rivals any roots rock band you can find currently
making music.
1. The Choir-
“Shadow Weaver.”
The Choir is
one of my favorite bands in the history of Christian music, that is, Christian
music that may not always explicitly say Jesus or quote scripture in every
song, but music that is written out of inspiration by a worldview steeped
deeply in Christianity. They started in the mid-80’s and have soldiered on as
indie artists for over 15 years now, taking hiatus’s here and there, when
needed. Derri Daughterry’s voice paired with drummer Steve Hindalong’s lyrics
is a thing of beauty, and on ‘Shadow Weaver,” The Choir have made their best
album in over a decade. The songs vary in theme, but “It Hurts To Say Goodbye”
finds Hindalong lamenting the fact that three of his four daughters have now
moved away from home to different places all over the country. On one of my
favorite love songs of 2014, he writes that “True love is the antithesis of
blue” (“Antithesis of Blue”) in reference to his many, many years of marriage
to his wife. “Get Gone” is about the need we sometimes have for solitude,
written with some creative imagery might I add. “Rhythm Of The Road” as you
might expect is about touring, and “We All Know” is about something we don’t
like to talk about very much, suffering. If you haven’t heard this album, you
really need to hear it soon.
Honorable
Mentions:
JOHNNYSWIM-
“Diamonds”
Johnny Cash-
“Out Among The Stars”
Colony House- “When
I Was Younger”
LIGHTS- “Little
Machines”
Anberlin- “Lowborn”
NONONO- “We Are Only What We Feel”
