2014 Songs of the Year

While 2014 proved to be yet another great year for music, I found myself far more affected by the individual songs I heard. In light of this, here are my 15 favourite songs of the year, ranked as best I could (I think all of the top 6 were, at one point, vying for the number one position):

15. Agalloch – The Astral Dialogue

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only good song on Agalloch’s latest album.

14. Godflesh – New Dark Ages

The crushing opening track to Godflesh’s first album in 13 years is every bit as awesome as promised.

13. Opeth – Faith in Others

With the Storm Corrosion collaboration showing Mikael Åkerfeldt the beauty of strings, this closer delivers in a big way.

12. Ben Howard – Conrad

“Conrad” is perhaps the song on I Forget Where We Were most similar in style to his debut album but that makes it no less impressive. It’s a song with gorgeous melodies and hooks that will be in your head for weeks to come.

11. Anathema – Anathema

Bands naming a song after themselves always bring about unrealistic expectations that are rarely matched, but Anathema do a pretty great job with this one. “Anathema” is an emotional epic that perfectly encompasses everything about the band’s history and contains a typically awesome guitar solo to boot.

10. Every Time I Die - The Great Secret

Channelling the spirit of my favourite band, Converge, Every Time I Die absolutely tear through these two and a half minutes with a ferocity unmatched in any other hardcore record I heard this year.

9. Sun Kil Moon – Carissa

Sun Kil Moon’s 2014 effort, Benji, is an almost uncomfortably personal record and opener “Carissa” exemplifies this perfectly. The lyrics seem to have been taken straight from Mark Kozelek’s diary and this makes them seem so real, so close, it hurts.

8. Ne Obliviscaris – Painters of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux

Australian progressive metallers, Ne Obliviscaris’ latest opus is the 16 minute centrepiece of Citadel. It’s every bit as epic as you would expect and there is no shortage of wonderfully cheesy, borderline power metal moments to ensure a rousing finale.

7. Kairon; IRSE! – Swarm

“Swarm” is arguably not even the best song off this Finnish band’s newest release but it is the most memorable. In typical post-rock fashion, the song keeps building and building to a magnificent climax that might not be the most original idea ever, but it sure is effective.

6. Swans – She Loves Us

The fact that this song finds itself at number 6 is testimony to the amount of truly spectacular music released in 2014. “She Loves Us” is perhaps the most ‘badass’ song of the decade so far, with its hypnotic riffs and Gira’s maniacal vocals making it the standout on my album of the year.

5. Casualties of Cool – Flight

“Flight” is (almost) the prettiest song you’ll hear all year. When you feel that Devin Townsend’s vocals almost manage to ruin a song, you know it’s one amazing piece of music.

4. Ben Howard – End of the Affair

The best song of Ben Howard’s career so far, “End of the Affair” is the 8-minute epic that defines his darker, more mature sound in 2014. Starting off solemnly, the song eventually moves into unchartered territory for Howard, with him almost screaming “what the hell?” beneath a wash of guitar atmospherics and pounding drums. It is, quite simply, mindblowing.

3. Deafheaven – From the Kettle Onto the Coil

The band behind my Album of the Year 2013 return with a solitary song recorded for Adult Swim’s weekly singles series. The song possesses a far more blackened flair than we’ve become accustomed to from Deafheaven, with the vocals altogether more vicious and the atmosphere much darker. However, the second half launches into the heavy shoegaze we know and love, with an emotional and stirring ending. The lyrics also go beyond pure black metal cheesiness:

“To the squinting spectator who drank in the despair as I tiptoed off the plane of existence and drifted listlessly through the velvet blackness of oblivion. I am what I always was. Gleaming and empty.”

2. The Antlers – Palace

My number one song for the first half of the year and arguably tied for the number one spot at the end of it, “Palace” is the most beautiful piece of music The Antlers have released since Hospice. The hope that Familiars might even trump that 2009 classic proved to be unfounded but “Palace” remains one of the best songs in the band’s catalogue and a tearful, melancholic, yet ultimately hopeful journey.

1. The Antlers – Parade

Upon first hearing Familiars, it was immediately apparent that it wasn’t the album I had wanted it would be. The beauty of “Palace” was unmatched and the rest of the songs followed a repetitive, jazzy dream-pop formula that quickly wore out their welcome. However, upon listening to the album more and discovering that there was one more song I really liked, “Parade” quickly made its way up the list. Before I knew it, it was my go-to song for every car journey anywhere. While “Palace” would be a typical Song of the Year for me (slow and sad), “Parade” exudes a kind of swagger and attitude that ultimately defined my year – an altogether more upbeat and confident one.