2014 - Favorite Unheralded Album(s)

I finally got round to that Kikigaku Moyo album, it's very derivative but joyously wonderful as well.

just from a quick listen I like the mirel wagner album as well.

Going to give another shout for that brilliant Jennifer Castle album' Pink City and mention it's ILX significance in that Owen P did the beautiful string arrangements on it.

Nathan Roche Magnetic Memories

Maybe this will be heralded, dunno, but Pure Reality, the debut from Dark Blue, comes out in a couple weeks on the Jade Tree label; it's streaming in full here:

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/228746/premiere-dark-blue-stream-debut-album-pure-reality-in-full/

Dark Blue is made up of Philly indie rock veterans John Sharkey III (Clockcleaner, Puerto Rico Flowers) Andrew Mackie Nelson (Ceremony, Paint it Black, Puerto Rico Flowers) and Michael Sneeringer (Strand of Oaks, formerly from Purling Hiss, Puerto Rico Flowers).

The debut "Pure Reality" could be the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie provided that Ian Curtis wrote it. It and it reminds me of when I was a teenager in the '80s and I would turn to a then-nascent WHFS. The album is more catchy than twitchy which is fine, and I especially love the darkness that permeates the proceedings, punctuated with slashing guitars and stately baritone vocals.

Self-released and so far, unheralded: Caroline Peyton's Homeseeker's Paradise, cut w/ Lambchop's producer and pianist, and w/ William Tyler, who recently played a show in Nashville with her to mark album release. Some trax here.

House of Cosy Cushions, _Spell_: Irish act with a few albums under his belt, latest is ambient/dark-autumnal stuff that I like quite a bit

Wizkid- Ayo

Nigerian afrobeats(dance-oriented with programmed beats and r'n'b influenced vocals).

"Revolution in the Elbow of Ragnar Agnarsson Furniture Painter" - Soundtrack to musical

Bowie+Iceland+Queen, not particularly campy or goofy. The soundtrack was actually pretty heralded by the musical crowd, but aside from The Big Takeover very little discussed in rock circles.

http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr3014-various-artists-killed-by-deathrock-vol-1

aero tipped me off to this compilation and if you have any type of fondness for gothy post-punk rock, the whole thing is FANTASTIC. "Casa Domani" by The Move is a particular favorite.

Well now I know DJP doesn't read my reviews. ;-)

Some Kind of Leader - Dog Club

Reminds me a bit of great bands like The Beta Band and Teenage Fanclub (at their best). It's not perfect, but it's a promising debut. Their album just came out the other day. It's on Spotify, of course:

https://play.spotify.com/album/1nvuwfcBv4iBEx8HkJwLOe?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Well now I know DJP doesn't read my reviews. ;-)

You described my favorite song on the whole thing as "poor Bauhaus-meets-Joy Division sounds" ;_;

true! And I stand by that description.

stand a little closer so that I can be sure to wing you as I drive over that description

woosh! felt the air move as you drove my.

Still pounding the table for Ninos du Brasil, Ibibio Sound Machine and Darius's EP.

Another recommendation from me. Dr Cosmo's Tape Lab - Ever Evolving Lounge. Great little psychedelic pop gems from a guy that used drum for the BMX Bandits:

http://drcosmostapelab.bandcamp.com/album/ever-evolving-lounge

Neil Cowley Trio, Touch and Flee – sober but lovely Brit jazz

Le Butcherettes - Cry Is for the Flies

Zebrina - Hamidbar Medaber

Angus and Julia Stone's s/t album. For a fan of duet singing, the interplay between this brother and sister is fantastic. Loved "Broken Brights" off Angus' recent solo disc, and this album has an even more consistent quality. RIYL: Kings of Leon, Paul Kelly, Mazzy Star, Nancy & Lee,... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV50lmpVk1E

Maybe this will be heralded, dunno, but Pure Reality, the debut from Dark Blue, comes out in a couple weeks on the Jade Tree label; it's streaming in full here:

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/228746/premiere-dark-blue-stream-debut-album-pure-reality-in-full/

Dark Blue is made up of Philly indie rock veterans John Sharkey III (Clockcleaner, Puerto Rico Flowers) Andrew Mackie Nelson (Ceremony, Paint it Black, Puerto Rico Flowers) and Michael Sneeringer (Strand of Oaks, formerly from Purling Hiss, Puerto Rico Flowers).

The debut "Pure Reality" could be the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie provided that Ian Curtis wrote it. It and it reminds me of when I was a teenager in the '80s and I would turn to a then-nascent WHFS. The album is more catchy than twitchy which is fine, and I especially love the darkness that permeates the proceedings, punctuated with slashing guitars and stately baritone vocals.

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Tuesday, September 30, 2014 3:38 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this album is completely great and yeah I have yet to see any signs that ppl are going to give a shit about it

1.) Geoffrey O'Connor - Fan Fiction

Been listening to this loads the last couple of weeks after seeing it on a recent Moonboots Juno chart. Lovely 80s vibe to it.

The Delicate Features album is pretty great too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhxTM2LSNZw

WILD BEASTS

http://www.nashvillescene.com/binary/bee7/1387398982-artworks-000062070854-1tytbj-t500x500.jpg

stone jack jones -- ancestor

http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a0927752743_2.jpg

Nipomo by Czech duo DVA hasn't been mentioned on ILM. Its some sort of sampler friendly freak folk in imaginary language that could be an alternative soundtrack to Svankmajer shorts, or to the Voynich manuscript. The official videos offer a sense of the cheerful oddity: Mulatu, Vespering, Nunki, No Survi, Surfi

Posting to revive this excellent thread - more unheralded albums please!

https://drcosmostapelab.bandcamp.com/album/ever-evolving-lounge

One of my favorite albums of the year. The drummer was in BMX Bandits and I think the other guy is in some kind of Beatles cover band.

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/the-pale-blue-dots-lots-of

I'm a massive Super Furry Animals fanboy, so there's no doubt I was going to love this. Bunf, their guitarist, and Richard Chester (a film/TV composer) came together and recorded some songs. They're really good. They're kind of glammy and a bit off-kilter like SFA. I think Bunf did a better job approximating the SFA sound than Gruff has on his solo albums. The album is short, so just consider it an EP. The Soundcloud is missing the lead-in track. The whole album is on Spotify.

NehruvianDOOM

I was late to it, but Jesse Boykins III's Love Apparatus is quite wonderful.

Also liking Twin Peaks' Wild Onion, despite the horrible choice of band name. It's mid0fi garagey power pop—somthing which seems to be in endless supply—but better than average hooks.

http://cdn2.thelineofbestfit.com/images/made/images/remote/http_cdn2.thelineofbestfit.com/media/2014/Samaris_-_Silkidrangar_535_535_c1.jpg

Samaris - Silkidrangar

Icelandic clarinetronica, with a vocalist in the Dreijer-Guðmundsdóttir continuum. Occassionally more sturdy tech house peers above the ramparts, but its mostly Copenhagen-sound ambient dub.

http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a3791345580_10.jpg

love this short ep, called nothing, by fake-blood. contrast the quiet vocals/folk-y arrangements and the violence implied in the lyrics (try the :50 opening song, as an example).

Is Kassem Mosse's "Workshop 19" album considered heralded?

enjoying this samaris record thanks!

Black Bombaim - Far Out. Two long jams from Portugal's answer to Earthless, with a different guest on each track.

thanks, ez, i liked their album of… ulp… 2010?… but lost track of them

http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/2014/16625-magnetica.jpg
Quantic - Magnetica

British born, Bogotá resident Will Holland takes a break from authenticity and vinyl rummaging compilations, and combines his interest in cumbia and other tropical styles with his past electronic productions. There's no ironic distance here (as in, say, Señor Coconut), just a dusting off with modern sonics.

Some videos: Duvidó, Muévelo Negro, La Plata

Gallery 47: All Will Be Well.
http://gallery47.bandcamp.com/album/all-will-be-well

Interview & performances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mOqPxsXEHo

http://noveller.bandcamp.com/album/reveries

Really nice guitar drone

The new Marianne Faithfull record is really good. If it were a 5 track EP it'd be among the years best. I actually think the songs Nick Cave wrote are better than anything he's recorded with the Bad Seeds for a long time.

Howgoodisgood? by Baro is some throwback boom-bap from an Australian teenager. V. good if you're into that style (which I am).

https://b-aro.bandcamp.com/album/howgoodisgood

Stephen Steinbrink's "Arranged Waves" ... gentle, insidiously melodic, mid-fi guitar-pop that feels of another time to me. I dunno, I have a hard time describing it, perhaps someone else will.

http://stephensteinbrink.bandcamp.com/album/arranged-waves

Need to spend more time w/ the Stephen Steinbrink album, but spent enough of a brief listen to've been pretty impressed w/ it--nice to see it mentioned on here.

vertical scratchers "daughter of everything"

xpost I just happened to click a passing mention on Twitter a month or two ago ... haven't played much else since then. Had never heard of the guy before.

Luciano Cilio - Dell' Universo Assente

this is my fave unheralded reissue of the year, it certainly isn't for everyone but I would strongly advise trying it.

The first half of the recording is beautiful, the second a bit more challenging.

So much great sounding stuff on this thread I not only have never heard but have never even heard of, and will likely never get to hear. That's why I long ago wrote off year-end round-up lists. There's just no way someone could listen to all of this, try as they might, and the inevitable mishmash of stuff both hyper obscure and really obvious gives even the broadest, most ambitious lists a weird arbitrary vibe. So much good music out there, only so many hours in the day, days in the year ...

Ha! this isn't the fucking bored old bastard, projection thread pal!

^next ILM board description pls

Riohv - 'Moondance'
(from Ottawa, but released by a Vancouver label sounding v. much in line w/ current Van City [well, Mood Hut] dusted dance zeitgeist, although what do I know from way over here in Toronto anyway)
http://1080pcollection.bandcamp.com/album/moondance

I thought the Heliocentrics/Melvin Van Peebles collab, The Last Transmission, would have gotten a lot more traction than it has.

I thought the Heliocentrics/Melvin Van Peebles collab, The Last Transmission, would have gotten a lot more traction than it has.

yeah that and their collaboration with orlando julius were definite highlights of the year for me.

that said, i do listen to the instrumental version of 'the last transmission' more than the proper album.

Eaux - Plastics

I'm kind of surprised there isn't more talk about this, actually! It's pretty good, and the vocals remind me of an earthier (or more earthbound) Liz Fraser.

Fans of this should check out Eaux's previous incarnation as the Sian Alice Group.

Listening to the Panabrite album. Really nice new age-y, synth-heavy ambient thingy stuff.