As soon as I heard White Women, hell as soon as I head "Sexy Socialite" and "Jealous (I Ain't With It)," there was no question it would be my album of the year. Of course, the real gem of this album is "Old 45s." There is approximately one song on the entire album that I don't care for, but it's only an interlude, so I don't mind that very much. It is not only the funk filled tunes that drive my love for this album, but also the clever, often tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The year and a half Dave and Pee spent working on this album was definitely time well spent. I am not sure music can get anymore perfect than this... until their next album, that is.
It took about 45 seconds of listening to a snippet of the first track, "Back in the World," for me to decide I desperately needed this album in my life. When I got it, Mutineers was the perfect album for summer nights, and now it's equally perfect on winter evenings. It's full of lovely, lush orchestrations and has top-notch production values. Plus, it holds together as an album extremely well. However, the gorgeous "Snow in Vegas" and haunting "Birds of the High Arctic" remain standouts for me.
Sixx:A.M. continues to create rock music that doesn't quite sound like anything else out there. As soon as I put this album on, I knew it was a keeper. The opening track "Stars" is sweepingly epic and achingly romantic. There is not one song on Modern Vintage that I dislike. It's an incredibly strong, solid album that has been crafted with great care, which is no surprise considering the players involved -- three industry vets who are doing this because they love it and are passionate about it, not because they "need" to. While I do love the whole album, "Stars" and "Drive" are the standout tracks for me. "Drive" is of course a cover of The Cars' classic track, but Sixx:A.M. manages to make it their own while at the same time respecting the original material.
As you might guess from song titles like "Ready Set Roll," "MMM Girl," "Gonna Wanna Tonight," and "How She Rolls," this is Bro-Country territory. However, it is telling that Chase's claim to fame prior to this album and its singles was a writing credit (Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise"): dude is a hell of a song writer! Pretty much every song on the album has a damn good hook, and a lot of Chase himself in the lyrics. "Carolina Can" is particularly beautiful and personal. I've got nearly the whole shebang stuck in my head at this point (though I will admit that neither "50 Shades of Crazy" nor "Jack Daniels & Jesus" really does it for me).
I knew this album was going to be a winner based on the songs Bryan performed from it as his show in October. Avonmore reminds me a lot of Mamouna, which is fine by me since Mamouna is one of my favorite albums. As one has come to expect from Bryan Ferry, Avonmore is beautifully lush and slightly dark. It's perfect music to sink into at the end of a long day. I especially enjoy Ferry's take on Robert Palmer's "Johnny and Mary," which closes out the album. One thing that's great about Bryan Ferry albums is that they work so well as a cohesive whole, and while Ferry can make any song his own, it's rather fitting that his take on Palmer's tune is allowed to have more of its own personality because of its position as the final track.
The standouts of Super Critical are "Do It Again" and "Wrong Club," which are excellent and strut-inducing. Like Songs from Nowheresville, Super Critical is a buoyant collection of songs that makes the most of The Ting Tings' playful, yet artistically minded, approach to music. While The Ting Tings have always crafted truly masterful pop songs, Super Critical ushers in a more guitar-centric, and dare I say more sophisticated, pop sound. I didn't quite realize how much I missed this band until I discovered they had a new album coming out, and I am so glad to incorporate them back into heavy rotation.
Beyond the Serenade has all the things that make Alex Cornish's music so wonderful: lush orchestrations, suburb vocals, and well-crafted songs that make you really want to listen to the lyrics. Also, like all of Alex's other albums, Beyond the Serenade holds together as an album extremely well - the tracks are all perfectly sequenced. I seldom listen to any of the songs on their own, preferring instead to experience the rich moods and atmosphere created by the album as a whole. However, if I had to single out one song it would be "The Pine & The Birch," with it's opening and chorus that perfectly marry pulsing, pounding keys with gritty guitar.
Every song on Trouble In Paradise is solid. Like The Ting Tings, La Roux has grown more sophisticated since her last album, and her songs are the richer for it, both in lyrics and instrumentation. I saw La Roux perform most of the material from Trouble In Paradise live, before I heard the album, and I knew we were all in for a treat, since the show had a wonderfully dark, pulsating energy to it. Songs like "Uptight Downtown,""Kiss and Not Tell," "Tropical Chancer," and "Let Me Down Gently" (and the other five songs on the album) find the perfect balance between retro and futuristic, lushly layering vocals and synths to create an album that could only come from La Roux.
I bought this album because I just couldn't get "Jealous" out of my head, and was surprised to find that I love the album as a whole. It is perfect, fun dance pop than can boost a good mood or elevate a bad one. There are several songs ("Warning," "Wilderness, "Take Over," "Nothing Would Be Better") that remind me of Take That's more recent material, and even a song ("Closer") that reminds me of Kylie Minogue! I guess it makes sense that it would take a former boy-bander to bring UK pop sensibilities to the US mainstream. And then there is the dark disco deliciousness of "Teacher," in all its campy dance glory. By this point, I've accounted for half the album, and the other half is just as enjoyable, if not quite as memorable.
Ready for the Weekend this is not. In fact, Motion almost didn't make the list (Jhene Aiko's Souled Out nearly had this spot - sorry, Jhene). Even though I still LOVE Calvin Harris, I have cooled on him a bit in my old age - I didn't even seriously consider going to see him at Hakkasan on my birthday while I was in Vegas this year. The reason Motion was such a tough call is that I actually like a bunch of the songs ("Faith," "Summer," "Under Control," "Dollar Signs," "Blame," "It Was You," "Love Now," and "Pray to God"), but I haven't found myself wanting to listen to the album in full. While I do appreciate a good single and am certainly guilty of obsessing over certain songs for months at a time, I am an album girl at heart. This is demonstrated by the fact that I still buy CDs and have a CD player. I like to pop things in and listen to them all the way through. Of course, it is rare that I will like every single song on an album, but that's the way it's always been. Sometimes the songs I don't like at first will grow on me; sometimes they won't. I can deal. I don't know what it is about Motion, but I just can't get into it as an album; as something that I want to listen to in one go; as something that's easy to put on and leave for a bit. That being said, I do LOVE Calvin Harris, and I just couldn't leave Motion out in the cold as I contemplated the albums that had the biggest places in my ears, heart, and life this year.
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