#20 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Augustines by Augustines

The band at #20 creates formulaic, pop-driven rock & roll. That description doesn’t entice anyone I’m sure, but it’s the truth. There’s something to be said for music that hits all the right notes, is over-produced perfectly to the point of feeling clichéd, yet still manages to sink its claws into my psyche. And that’s exactly what Augustines have done. You may know them by a slightly different name, but they dropped the “We Are” part of their name in the buildup to the release of this album, their second, earlier this year.

Hit play on the video above. Ignore the fact that the it’s yet another exercise in cliché and just listen. Everything sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Normally I’m drawn to imperfection, as that is typically where the magic happens. But in the case of this Brooklyn band, the magic is in their unabashed embrace of rock and roll tropes from decades past. This song could easily have made Casey Kasem’s Top 40 in the 80s, and I would have gladly recorded it onto a cassette with my boombox, no doubt coming right before or after Mr. Mister.

The rest of the album is much like this. It falls into the guilty pleasure category for me, but I’m finding as I get older the “guilty” part is diminishing. I like what I like. And Augustines definitely fit the bill.

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21. El Pintor by Interpol
22. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#21 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

El Pintor by Interpol

I’m as surprised as you are that I’ve never written about the band at #21, Interpol, from New York City. The band formed the year I moved to Seattle and rediscovered my love of music: 1997. They’ve released five albums over that time. Turn on the Bright Lights — they’re debut in 2002, still stands up to the test of time, as does their second album, 2004’s Antics. The next two albums, Our Love to Admire from 2007 and 2010’s self-titled album, fell flat for me, which explains the lack of communication on this blog, which didn’t start until 2009.

El Pintor harkens back to an older Interpol, one rooted in energy and excitement. With the signature upper-register rhythmic guitar, crisp percussion, and near-spoken-word vocals, the band has a sound unlike any other band playing today. They come on the radio, and it’s unmistakably Interpol. That’s not as easy as it may seem, and it’s to the bands credit that they’ve found a sound that works and they can make it kill across nearly 20 decades.

This is a typical Interpol album in that each song is strong on its own merit, and not any one song rises above the rest. It’s also a slight downfall, as when I think of this album when not listening to it, I can’t hear any one song. It doesn’t stick to your ribs. But when it’s on, it’s magical. I recommend tracking it down immediately.

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22. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#22 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

I Never Learn by Lykke Li

I can pinpoint the exact day in 2014 when I fell in love with I Never Learn, the third full-length from Sweden’s Lykke Li. It was June 19. That song, “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone,” is one gorgeous song. And from the fever that enveloped me that morning as I was waking up, I listened to and consequently fell in love with the album.

Lykke Li played the Paramount Theater earlier this year, which is quite an impressive feat for a somewhat unknown singer/songwriter from the other side of the globe. Her three albums have all been solid, but it wasn’t until that particular song did I really get her. And now I can’t shake her. There is just something about her voice, that pain and sorrow, dripping with heartbreak — it doesn’t make me sad. Melancholy music usually has the opposite effect for me, bringing me out of my own funk, warming me up inside.

It’s beautiful. And if depressing music can control your moods, then maybe she’s not for you. But if you like living in the remote parts of the emotional spectrum, then maybe you should explore Lykke Li. I have a feeling this is exactly what we all need to get through whatever is dragging us down.

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23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#23 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke

I used to think Thom Yorke could do no wrong. And I suppose #23 on a countdown of albums of the year isn’t really “doing wrong” — but by Radiohead standards, and even compared to former Yorke solo-project related work, this album just isn’t as good. However, I’ve said it before: even a “not great” album by Yorke is a “fucking amazing” album by almost any other artist.

Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes is Yorke’s second solo album. It’s in the same vein as his side project Atoms for Peace (which made it on the Top 31 at #8 last year), and his previous solo album Eraser, which came out back in 2006. It has the same electronic, drum-machine based eeriness we’ve come to expect from Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich.

Maybe I’ve changed so much over the past couple years that his music no longer relates as well to me. Or maybe it’s him that’s softened over the years, no longer pushing the envelope as much, having long ago established a nice, large area of the musical spectrum just for himself. This album struggles to find itself. The songs bleed from one to the next, feeling more like snippets of songs rather than fully formed thoughts. It’s great for background listening, although now as I listen to it to prepare for this write-up, I’m hearing lots of things I hadn’t heard before.

I should know by now to expect a Radiohead or Thom Yorke album to take a few more listens, a few more times of putting it down and picking it up again, to lodge in my brain. Excuse me now, I have an album to devour, again.

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24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#24 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

The Voyager by Jenny Lewis

I’ve been a fan of the artist at #24 for a very long time. First as the lead singer of the pop rock group Rilo Kiley, and then through various solo releases, Jenny Lewis has kept my attention rapt for over ten years now. The Voyager is Lewis’s third solo release. Her first solo release, 2006’s Rabbit Fur Coat, found Lewis performing with the Watson Twins to create a beautiful countrified version of what Lewis was making popular with her former band. Her second solo album, Acid Tongue, fell flat for me.

But this new album felt different. It’s certainly hit or miss — there are some stellar rock & roll pop hits on here, mixed with lackluster songs of longing and jealousy. But overall, it’s a good record of where Lewis finds herself today, with many personal triumphs and feelings shared for us all.

My favorite song on the album is the title song, which comes at the end of the record. Orchestral, slow, and harkening back to the country songs she wrote for her first solo album, the song meanders across drug references, space travel references, loose ties to religion and many other areas, explaining nothing and everything at once.

The song featured in the video above is also a standout on the album. I wrote about this particular video back in July when it came out:

“Just One of the Guys” is a fantastic send-up of gender and parenthood roles in the music business and beyond. Helping Lewis convey this fact are Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart, Brie Larson and drummer Tennessee Thomas, sometimes dressed in drag. Listen to the words of this one. Joking nature aside, there are some very poignant things being said within.

And there’s a lot more biting commentary just like that across the album. Get it now and experience it for yourself.

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25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#25 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Voices by Phantogram

When I saw the album at #25 come up in my collected “all albums of 2014” list, I had to do a double take. I could have sworn that this album came out in 2013. But there it is, with a February 2014 release date. It feels like I’ve been listening to Voices by Phantogram for well over a year. It’s just one of those albums that is always there, and always good to listen to. How is it possible it’s not yet even a year old?

An electronic indie-rock duo from Greenwich, New York, Phantogram has been around since 2007. They didn’t really burst onto the scene until 2013, when they collaborated with the likes of Big Boi (Outkast) and the Flaming Lips, and released a self-titled four-song EP that made it onto last year’s Top 31.

Upon rereading that entry from last year, I see I correctly predicted this new album would appear on the Top 31 of 2014. They’re that good. Sarah Barthel plays keyboards and sings lead on most of the songs, and Josh Carter sings backup and plays guitar, taking the lead on a couple songs on the album. It harkens back to eighties synth-pop, but with less cheese. There are some great, singable songs on the album, and I recommend you track it down immediately.

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26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#26 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Morning Phase by Beck

In 2002, the artist at #26 released an album that ended up at #3 on my Top 10 albums of the Oughts. He then went on to release three more enjoyable albums in the remainder of the decade, before taking the longest musical hiatus of his long career: six years from the release of Modern Guilt in 2008 to the release of the wonderful album Morning Phase this past February.

Beck is somewhat of a musical enigma. He’s released over-the-top poppy disco, down-in-the-dumps country, and indie-rock fueled rap. But it’s the orchestral side of Beck that really gets me. Sea Change had that, in 2002, and so does 2014’s Morning Phase. And that is by design, as Beck brought in a number of the musicians that performed on Sea Change to record the new album. It is very much a sequel, produced 12 years and four albums later.

But it’s not as good as Sea Change. It’s impossible for it — or almost any album — to be as good as that. But for 2014, it’s better than all but 25 albums in my estimation. And if you like Beck, you certainly loved Sea Change, and you’ll love this album, too.

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27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#27 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Hungry Ghosts by OK Go

As a fan of music videos, it’s impossible for me to not like the band at #27, OK Go. Even if their music were terribly unlistenable (which it most definitely is not), I’d still frequently be writing about them here on the Bacon Review. They are the undisputed champion of music videos. To date, they’ve created 25 videos (according to Wikipedia), and every last one of them is more enticing, more watchable than most other music videos. They have a knack for the viral.

And yes, the awesome music videos influence everyone’s opinion of the music. But here’s the thing: this new album is great. It’s funky. It’s danceable. And it’s a joy to listen to. These four guys from Chicago (hooray for the first non-New York-based band on the 2014 Bacon Top 31!) make wonderfully poppy, ear-worm laden rock ‘n’ roll. So far the band has released two videos from this new album, the above video for “I Won’t Let You Down,” and one for “The Writing’s on the Wall,” which was released way back in July. Both of the videos are single-take masterpieces that took many many days to create.

The album, Hungry Ghosts, is well worth a listen. Watch the video above a couple times, and you’ll hear that song in your head all day. The rest of the album is every bit as good as that.

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28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#28 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Run The Jewels 2 by Run The Jewels

[Above video is NSFW] I listen to rap music sparingly, finding it rarely holds my attention long enough to warrant multiple plays in a row. And I write about rap music even less: once a year, tops. Consequently, I find myself ill-equipped to describe the fantastic album at #28 in anything but simple platitudes. I really like this album.

Run The Jewels is a hip-hop duo consisting of New York City’s El-P and Atlanta’s Killer Mike. El-P also produced the album, which is available for free download at the band’s website, runthejewels.net. It’s a dark, angry, and heavy trip for your headphones. You can’t help but bounce your head along to the beat, while Killer Mike speed-raps deep inside. There are a number of notable guest appearances on the album, too, with Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and drummers Travis Barker (Blink 182) and Diane Coffee (Foxygen) making appearances.

The album is free. You literally cannot afford to miss it.

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29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#29 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich

Yellow Ostrich first appeared on the Top 31 in 2010, with their third album The Mistress. The song “Whale” from that album played a big influence in my and my then-2-year-old son’s musical repertoire, as any time this unbelievably catchy song would come on, he’d pick up a little toy whale and run around the house in childlike bliss (and I’d end up doing the same).

Looking back to 2012, I made a mistake not including the band’s fourth album Strange Land on that year’s Top 31. But I’m correcting the problem here, with the band’s fifth and final album, Cosmos. Schaaf is a master of the build. Most of his songs start out slow and quiet, then climb to a crescendo of excitement that makes you bounce in your chair. If you’re only now discovering Yellow Ostrich for the first time, I recommend going back to The Mistress first, and then Cosmos. They’re both good albums, but Mistress will stick around in my playlists for a long time to come.

This post is a touch bittersweet. On November 7, this message went out on Yellow Ostrich’s Facebook page:

on December 8, Yellow Ostrich will be playing our final show as a band. We’ve had an amazing few years together, and we couldn’t be more grateful and satisfied, but the time has come to move on to the next thing.

Some musicians use band names to mark specific periods of their musical lives. Even though Yellow Ostrich originated as a solo project of lead singer/songwriter Alex Schaaf (from Brooklyn — yes, so far the Top 31 is nothing but Brooklyn bands), declaring that the band will no longer be together is a way for Schaaf to move on, to draw a line in the sand. Human Heat is his next project, and there is only a 4-song EP out right now, but I’m excited to see what they have in store. The name of the band is less important; with Alex Schaaf at the helm, musical ingenuity will follow.

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30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#30 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady

Two albums into the 2014 Bacon Top 31, two long-standing bands from Brooklyn. Although where Woods, at #31, retained their relative obscurity after a long career as a band, The Hold Steady have been at the top of their game and in the indie limelight for nearly their entire 10+ year career as a band.

Teeth Dreams is the sixth studio album from the band. Each album has built upon the same premise: hard rocking stories about drinking, clubbing, love and loss. Most of their songs have an anthemic chorus that you feel a need to pump your fist to while singing at the top of your lungs. Where The Hold Steady style excels in a rush of adrenaline, the songs themselves retain little variety from one to the next, making each album feel like it’s cut from the same studio sessions all recorded in one marathon stint back in 2004. Of course that’s not the case, but it sure feels that way.

I had the immense pleasure of seeing and reviewing The Hold Steady’s performance at the Neptune earlier this year. It was a fantastic show:

Their live show is unequaled in power, excitement, and adrenaline. Finn’s delivery is emphatic, filled with joy and power. Typically grinning from ear to ear, he is constantly beckoning the crowd to sing along, stepping away from the mic and moving to the edge of the stage, arms extended and yelling at the top of his lungs. He appears to be having the time of his life, clearly feeding off the collective energy of his worshipping fans.

and

This was a lively, fully-engrossed and thoroughly vigorous audience. “You all could have chosen to stay home, cozy on your couch,” said Finn. “But instead, you chose to come here, to enjoy some rock and roll with other like-minded folks. For that, we thank you.” Not once in my 17-year time in Seattle have I seen a crowd so in sync, so content to get sweaty and fully invested in those around them. There was crowd surfing. There was mass moshing. There was even a stage dive, and it was glorious. Every bit of it.

Get the album and you’ll hear a small bit of that excitement within.

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31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#31 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

Welcome to the 2014 Bacon Top 31! Now in its sixth year, the Top 31¹ is exactly what it says on the tin — my top 31 albums from 2014. I’ll be counting down those top 31 albums each day from now through the end of the year. Weekdays, weekends, and holidays — every day, count on a new album added to the list.

2014² was a good year for music, and there’s lots to cover. So without further adieu: to the list!

#31 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

With Light & With Love by Woods

It always surprises me when a band has been around a long time (nearly ten years!), has released eight studio albums, and I’m only now hearing of them. Woods, from Brooklyn, is such a band. A little bit country, a little bit psychedelic, Woods is difficult to narrow down into a category smaller than the massive “indie folk.”

As I said, this was the first I’d heard of the band, even though they’ve been around since 2005 and With Light & With Love is their eighth album. It’s listenable, and keeps your attention throughout, with hints of 60s rock and folk thrown around the higher-register vocals from lead singer/guitarist Jeremy Earl. Hit play on the YouTube link above to hear the best song on the album, “Moving to the Left,” which has seen quite a bit of airplay on KEXP this year.

I’m not sure this album will have much staying power long-term, hence it’s bottom-of-the-list placement, but while listening to it again preparing for this review I was struck by how catchy it is. How did I ever put this album down?

And there we go. The 2014 Top 31 is underway!

<sup>1. You may have noticed, the Top 31 has gone through a name change this year. It started out as the Musical Advent Calendar. The “advent-ness” of the countdown was never really there, so a year later I changed the name to Musical Bacon Calendar, which stuck for the last four years. This year I’m changing it up because “Calendar” suddenly struck me as odd. This isn’t a calendar. It’s a list, revealed one day at a time. So I landed on a title that has ultimate SEO appeal (but I could care less about SEO): Top 31. I kept “Bacon” as part of the title because, damn it, this is the Bacon Review (and to give a big middle finger to the SEO gods).↩
2. If you want to get technical, the period of time I pull from actually begins on November 1 of the previous year, through October 31, 2014. I’m a firm believer that an album needs to soak a bit before it can be judged. Anything released after November 1, 2014 will be considered for the 2015 Bacon Top 31.↩</sup>

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2009-2013 Top 31s