The DMCWORLD Magazine Top 10 Albums of 2014

The happiest album of the year. Go on Todd…

1. Todd Terje: It’s Album Time (Olsen Records)
Todd Terje has bided his time before unleashing his first album on an expectant crowd – and it pays dividends on what is easily the happiest album of the year. Cosmic disco has always been in safe hands with Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas, but Terje reaches and sometimes surpasses their level thanks to an uncanny ability to make people dance, smile and whoop with sheer delight. Bryan Ferry may be a guest on ‘Johnny and Mary’, but this album really hits home with ‘Delorean Dynamite’, ‘Oh Joy’ and ‘Inspector Norse’, confirming the absolute brilliance of Todd Terje.

2. Luke Abbott: Wysing Forest (Border Community)
Luke Abbott is blossoming into a producer of the highest order, and for ‘Wysing Forest’ he builds on debut ‘Holkham Drones’ with confidence and flair. Yet this is mysterious and enchanting music, a kind of out of body experience that channels its energy towards the release of beats at the album’s central point. Abbott nails the structure of his album, so that the early exchanges are like refractions of light – weird but oddly compelling – while the later tracks head more firmly for the dancefloor. The more you listen to ‘Wysing Forest’, the better it gets.

3. Sébastien Tellier: L’Aventura (Record Makers)
Music needs characters like Sébastien Tellier, who has made one of his most colourful albums yet in ‘L’Aventura’. Here his Gallic charms are laid bare on his latest excursion into the exotic world of the modern French chanson. Whereas past efforts have been more electronically based, this album finds him using lush orchestrations to back his equally rich vocals, with the bright sounds reflecting the warmth of the cover and a focus on Brazilian styles. Of course, Tellier being Tellier, there is mischief to be found in the knowing musical nods and winks – while the instrumentation and warm vibes are two more reasons this album should be owned.

4. DELS: Petals Have Fallen (Big Dada)
The second DELS album is a thought provoking but utterly affirmative piece of work – and an insight into the corners of the mind of its creator, Kieren Gallear. Full of full of thoughtful observations and wry humour, his lyrics praise the powers of chilli soup and bourbon with ginger chasers, as well as dissecting friendships, life and the universe with the same subtly wrought humour. Gallear is a talent whose music embraces elements of dubstep – without deriving obviously from anybody. In that sense he is a true original.

5. Mark E: Product Of Industry (Ghostly International)
For his second album, Mark E looks to a relatively recent revolution, and Product of Industry uses analogue synths to portray mechanical processes and production lines. We get robotic precision, but the odd hiccup that keeps the essentially human element, so the claustrophobia of the shop floor is portrayed with a remote form of beauty, using the imagination to pan out to other more ambient thoughts. He has found something really special here, as if continuously mining until he finds what he has been looking for all along – a Black Country diamond.

6. The Bug: Angels & Devils (Ninja Tune)
Few artists paint such a vivid picture of modern life as Kevin Martin does, and his second album as The Bug is both confrontational and exceptional. The ‘Angels’ section of the album is deceptively calm but still moves with a sense of dread, building towards the horrors the ‘Devils’ section releases. It’s edgy, paranoid, hyperactive, and full of pounding dread and anxiety – pretty much reflecting the state of the world as we see it on news reports, and as such is definitely not for shrinking violets!

7. Neneh Cherry: Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound)
Neneh Cherry’s first solo album for eighteen years does not disappoint. With Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) and RocketNumberNine in tow, she has a huge range of analogue and digital backdrops to complement her voice. And what a voice it is – elevating the album with an approach that – to borrow Cherry’s first album title – is raw like sushi. Throughout the album it feels like we are eavesdropping in the studio itself, sitting in the corner as Hebden encourages Cherry to bare her soul. That she does with such intensity means we have one of the albums of the year on our hands.

8. WIFE: What’s Between (Tri Angle Records)
In an age of instant fixes it is refreshing to report back on an album that is a complete grower. Initially ‘What’s Between’ can pass you by, though on the way you will notice some really nice atmospherics and music of a hidden power. By the fifth listen you’ll be hooked on the inner strength James Kelly finds through powerful lyrics and a deceptively funky production at times. Kelly creates a wider view of his own music, and the concrete beats, flitting electronics and profound vocals all combine to make something rather special. A darkly lit view of the world it may be, splintered with paranoia, but ‘What’sBetween’ is a statement of real substance.

9. The Juan Maclean: In A Dream (DFA)
The Juan Maclean have stepped into the sizeable shoes of LCD Soundsystem to become DFA’s blue riband band – and it suits them. With each album you can sense a growing confidence within the band, and Nancy Whang’s deadpan vocals just get better and better. With such floor friendly grooves as ‘Running Back To You’ and ‘A Simple Design’ casting us back to the Moroder-filled eighties through today’s eyes, it is a hugely enjoyable trip with catchy lyrics and hooks aplenty. The sky really is the limit for these two.

10. Loscil: Sea Island (Kranky)
It is no exaggeration to say the music of Loscil takes you into another world, a place where time stands still as you take the chance to admire the sheer all-encompassing beauty of Scott Morgan’s productions. This music soars to the heights, and yet there is actually very little going on, Morgan reaching the peak of ambient music with relatively simple sounds and harmonies. If ever you were to stand at the North Pole, this would be the music you would want as a soundtrack.