Top 12 Albums of 2014: Beck — Morning Phase

This is perfect yoga music.

I know, I know. “Yoga music” has negative connotations: innocuous, fluffy, new-agey background tunes, right? Sure, it can be, but in this case, it’s high praise. I’m really serious about both my yoga…

What Really Goes Into a Year-End Top Albums List?

Before compiling my list of my favorite albums of 2014, I perused far too many year-end lists, from Big-Name Respected Music Publications and minor hipster blogs alike. The goal was to make sure I hadn’t missed out on anything vital. But…

Top 12 Albums of 2014: The Antlers — Familiars

Bringing the sounds of an orchestra into your standard rock or pop songs can be risky. When it goes wrong, those twinkling bells and swelling strings distract from the lyrics and start to make the whole thing sound like the overwrought soundtrack…

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Ryan Adams — Ryan Adams

I was excited to see Ryan Adams for the first time at Newport Folk Festival in July and left thoroughly disappointed. He’s talking too much and it doesn’t even make sense! What is this about Michael McDonald on a lobster boat? Just sing. Okay…

Top 12 Albums of 2014: The Autumn Defense — Fifth

A somewhat hidden gem, compared to many of the end-of-year superstars on here. When I bought a ticket to their show in June, I admittedly couldn’t quite remember which Wilco offshoot/side project this was. (Hey, there were several of them at…