Top 5 Albums of 2014 So Far

With 2014 reaching the halfway mark, there's not better time to assess the year in music so far. To be frank, this year hasn't produced many instant classics yet, and there have been a few disappointments, but its still been a very solid year.

5. East India Youth - Total Strife Forever:
William Doyle, AKA East India Youth's debut album is an impressive display of moody electronica that had me gripped. Many of the songs have a grim, brutal beat but they often reach moments of transcendence which at points, was quite moving. The album also contains some amazing tracks that are single worthy like 'Looking For Someone' and 'Dripping Down'. I look forward to hearing more from Doyle in the future.

Listen: Looking For Someone, Heaven, How Long

4. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There:
Sharon Van Etten's fourth album is an immersive, moving exploration of relationships that is often brutal and raw in its lyrical content. The album contains a multitude of great songs that explore every aspect of relationships, many of which are unflinching in their portray of them. Van Etten's voice is also majestic and often elevates many of the songs, the instrumentals also compliment her voice and are often sparse but effective.

Listen: Taking Chances

3. St Vincent - St Vincent:
St Vincent's fourth solo album (fifth if you count her collaboration with David Bryne) is simply a fantastic, strange pop record. The album features fantastic array of songs like 'I Prefer Your Love' which sounds like a lost Madonna record, or 'Digital Witness', a mirage of all of St Vincent usual musical idiosyncrasies. It's the years best pop record that doesn't sound like one.

Listen: Digital Witness

2. Robyn & Royksopp - Do It Again:
This collaboration between Robyn & Royksopp is a huge departure for both groups in many regards, but the album does retain their respective styles. The album, like St Vincent, is a fantastic pop record featuring a plethora of great songs like 'Do It Again', which is vintage Robyn and 'Sayit', which is an addictive sugar rush! While these songs are great, the songs which bookend the EP are fantastic and drastically different to anything each artist has attempted before. The standout in the EP and current song of the year for me is 'Monument', an epic 8-minute track that has a fantastically epic sound scape and wonderful lyrical content, I can't put into words how great this track is, but it elevates the album from a great pop record into one of the best, most staggering I've heard for a while.

Listen: Do It Again, Monument

1. A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Sea When Absent:
This album is the most delightful, addictive and surprising one I've heard all year, the band's previous efforts, such as Ashes Grammar and Autumn, Again, we're good dream-pop records, but their latest LP is a masterful, harmonious blend of pop and distortion, creating a dreamy effect that I couldn't get enough of. All of the songs are distinct despite having similar instrumental elements, a feat that isn't easy to pull off, especially in the dream-pop/shoegaze genre, as seen with some Beach House LP's which I personally find to get slightly repetitious. The album contains a plethora of standout tracks, 'Golden Waves' which sounds like a Vampire Weekend/Sleigh Bells collaboration of sorts is a track of pure pleasure. 'In Love With Useless' uses distortion to fantastic effect, with the cut off vocals and dreamy instrumentals blending to make a dreamy, epic 5-minute track. Listening to this album is the most fun I've had listen to a record in a while, it's as spontaneous and thrilling as an 'Avalanches' record. This album is, as far as I'm concerned, the album to beat this year!

Listen: In Love With Useless