All stories published by stereosunset on December 24, 2014

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All Stories published by stereosunset on December 24, 2014

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2014

December

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: The War on Drugs — Lost in the Dream

This was the year of artists who had very good albums in 2011 and then came roaring back with even better ones this year, with maybe a single or EP in between. (See also: Real Estate, The Antlers). Maybe the three-year cycle is…

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Sondre Lerche — Please

Seeing old favorites reappear on these lists is satisfying. I’ve been a Sondre Lerche fan since 2003 and, naturally, have liked some albums more than others. This one required quite a few listens to acclimate to — let alone like — but eventually I…

inactive account — follow @jessicalillian in stereosunset

Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: First Aid Kit — Stay Gold

The most basic description of First Aid Kit’s sound, “two young sisters singing folk songs in harmony,” while technically correct, brings to mind a wispy little sound. It fails to capture the lush, sweeping beauty of Stay Gold. (It doesn’t even…

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Real Estate — Atlas

Interestingly — and perhaps intentionally — an album titled Atlas is short on definitive geographical guidance and certainty. Other than the vague guideposts of skies and horizons, missed connections, directional uncertainty, imposing distances and…

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Nikki Lane — All Or Nothin’

Perhaps the only brand-new 2014 discovery on the list, this album drifted onto my radar thanks to year-end publicity. Possibly NPR’s preamble “best of” discussion, when the hosts played brief song samples.

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Willie Nelson — Band of Brothers

One of the NPR hosts made the important point during the group’s year-end discussion that once an artist has developed a history and reaches a certain status, it’s significantly more difficult to release something that gets widespread…

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: Jenny Lewis — The Voyager

Let’s be honest, 2014 was the Year of Jenny Lewis. (“Mmm, no. Pretty sure 2014 was the Year of Taylor Swift.” — everyone, including the New York Times.) Last year, I feared that the only creative output we’d ever see from her again was creepy…

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Dec 23, 2014

Top 12 Albums of 2014: JJ — V

The opener on V, the title track, begins with a dissonant horn drone, then samples JJ’s own “Things Will Never Be the Same Again” from their 2009 album JJ №2 for a split second before a bell abruptly plunges the song into silence. It’s a good summary of the album: just like…

December 23, 2014

December 28, 2014

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stereosunset

Not quite official music journalism. Thoughtful, occasionally cynical, sometimes intentionally ridiculous, irregularly updated, fiercely devoted to perennial favorites, and — above all — genuine.

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