{"id":6945,"date":"2014-12-30T05:30:36","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T10:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=6945"},"modified":"2014-12-30T05:30:36","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T10:30:36","slug":"best-of-2014-new-music-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2014\/12\/30\/best-of-2014-new-music-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of 2014: New Music, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/center>Yesterday <\/a>I surveyed four of my favorite albums of new music from this year. There was modern psych\/garage; raw Americana; punk; and classic guitar pop aka powerpop. Today I present the second half of my \u201ctop eight,\u201d and \u2013 perhaps unsurprisingly \u2013 these four tread similar territory in musical genre-land.<\/p>\n

American Professionals \u2013 <\/strong>We Make It Our Business<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nThis group’s smart-alecky powerpop strikes me as a cross between the high-energy guitar-based rock of Cheap Trick<\/strong> and the large-canvas, theatrical lyricism of The Tubes<\/strong><\/a> circa Completion Backward Principle<\/em>. Like the latter, We Make It Our Business<\/em> is high-concept rock’n’roll, tightly played and arranged. In a perfect world, this music would shift millions of units. The tunes are great, and the lyrics stand up to close scrutiny (and they’ll often make you chuckle).<\/p>\n

Gramercy Arms \u2013 <\/strong>The Seasons of Love<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nWhether one views Gramercy Arms<\/strong> as supergroup, side project or both, there’s no denying the strength of the songs. Fans of Ben Folds Five<\/strong> and Elton John<\/strong> are all but guaranteed to fall deeply in love with this album. Timeless pop that is informed by the song construction of such greats as Carole King<\/strong> and (of course) The Beatles<\/strong>, The Seasons of Love<\/em> is long on melody and \u2013 once again on my Best of 2014 list \u2013 the lyrics are really, really strong.<\/p>\n

The Movements \u2013 <\/strong>Like Elephants I and II<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nA dizzying, sometimes intentionally unfocused collection of songs, this paired set (I<\/em> and II<\/em> are ostensibly separate albums) reveals its charms gradually. But once you allow it time to burrow its way into your consciousness, for you it may (like me) stand proudly among such albums as The Flaming Lips<\/strong>‘ The Soft Bulletin<\/em>, Radiohead<\/strong>‘s OK Computer<\/em> and Olivia Tremor Control<\/strong>‘s Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle<\/em>. The Like Elephants<\/em> albums sound unlike any of those, but the Swedish group’s music seems to flow from a like-minded sensibility.<\/p>\n

Sloan \u2013 <\/strong>Commonwealth<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nWhen I first listened to Commonwealth<\/em>, everything about it \u2013 the sequencing, the overall sonic approach, the production values, the songs themselves \u2013 made me think of The Beatles<\/strong>‘ self-titled 1968 double LP (the so-called White Album<\/em>). Future listens \u2013 and there have been many, I’m here to tell you \u2013 have only reinforced that initial impression. Sloan<\/strong> often sound to my ears like Belle and Sebastian<\/strong>, and their all-hands-on-deck songwriting presence reminds me of Teenage Fanclub<\/strong> circa Thirteen<\/em> and Grand Prix<\/em>. The individual songs are delightful when chosen at random, but this is \u2013 here’s an old-school quality for you \u2013 an album that is best enjoyed in one start-to-finish listen. It’s also my pick for the best album of new music released in 2014.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, I’ll present a list of my favorite reissue\/compilation albums of 2014.<\/p>\n

Follow \u201cthe_musoscribe\u201d on \"\" Twitter<\/a> and get notified
\nwhen new features, reviews and essays are published.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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