Don’t worry–you’re in the right place. Likely, you saw this headline and thought, surely this is an old post; we’re two months into 2014. We’ve had this post drafted since the end of last year, and for reasons entirely incomprehensible never ran it. With the Austin Music Blogger Awards right around the corner, we wanted to take this opportunity to cite some of the Austin albums we enjoyed most last year. These are in no particular order–promise. Oh, and if you haven’t bought tickets for the Austin Music Blogger Awards, do that right here, right now.
1. Mirror Travel – Mexico
Mirror Travel’s Mexico is a near masterpiece. The trio of Lauren Green, Tiffanie Lanmon, and Paul Brinkley make a hell of a lot of noise for a three piece, constructing songs that walk the line between clanging angular riffs and swirling, shoegazey noise. Mexico is haunting, foreboding, beautiful, entrancing, and brilliant. This is the band to watch from Austin, TX.
2. Good Field – Good Field
If you’re thinking this record didn’t come out this year, you may be remembering Good Field’s self-titled EP, which did contain some of the songs found on the eventual full-length. However, the fully realized version of Good Field’s first collection of songs did drop this year and has our recommendation as one of the year’s best to come of of Austin.
3. Royal Forest – Spillway
Much of what you just read about Mirror Travel’s Mexico could be said of Royal Forest’s Spillway. It’s rare to have two albums in the same year risk such ambitious aims and venture into the sonic territories where both of these records tread. Spillway embraces a greater pop sensibility, choosing to work within an upbeat framework that’s backed by tapestries of loops and atmospheric soundscapes. Where other bands are content to merely vomit out status quo songs, Royal Forest deconstructs the very notion of a pop song and reassembles it into something simultaneously familiar and fresh.
4. Black Books – Black Books
Black Books’ self-titled debut full-length is an indie rock record at it’s best. There are few flourishes of experimentation and noise, but where the album excels is its layered rock riffs and reverbed piano parts. The album was enough to catch the ear of indie hero Wayne Coyne; we’re suggesting that you pay attention, too.
5. Frank Smith – Nineties
Frank Smith is a band, not a man. The band stepped away from some of its Americana roots to deliver a powerful and catchy album full of guitar hooks and catchy riffs. It boasted several standout tracks such as “Beaten Sacks of Death” and “How Many Ways.” It was the band’s best material to date, and many of us in the Austin music writing community were sure that the band would finally see the recognition they’ve long-since deserved. In some ways, they did—landing a spot on Fun Fun Fun Fest’s lineup and garnering plenty of positive praise. However, the band decided to change monikers recently and 2014 will be their first year as A. Sinclair. Be on the lookout.
6. A Giant Dog – Bone
Since it’s release, I’ve been hailing Bone as a Pinkerton era Weezer fronted by a completely dynamic and captivating female singer. I don’t know that everyone embraces those points of reference, but what’s undeniable is A Giant Dog’s devotion to ferocious power pop. Bone is a consistently fun collection of fuzzy rock songs worthy of a permanent place in your rotation.
7. Love Inks – Generation Club
Austin’s minimalist pop heroes, Love Inks are one of the city’s most underappreciated bands. They’ve built a musical fortress on the pillars of understatement and lighter-than-air melodies. Restraint is a virtue seldom exhibited these days, but Love Inks have it in spades.
8. Pure X – Crawling up the Stairs
I thought this Pure X record was going to blow up. It did snag some great reviews, but it seemed to fly under the radar in many regards. The album had a couple of standout songs and maintained a consistent balance of eerie electronic music, dark songwriting, and mellow pop sensibilities.
9. Aisha Burns – Life in the Midwater
Aisha Burns is a member of the celebrated orchestral rock band Balmorhea. This year, Burns released her first solo album, Life in the Midwater, via Western Vinyl, an Austin-based label that’s one of the indie music’s best kept secrets. With beautiful strings, gentle guitar, and an emphasis on lovely vocal melodies, Life in the Midwater is a gorgeous achievement, dreamily unfurling.
10. The Zoltars – Walking Through the Dark
The Zoltars’ Walking Through the Dark is another album that I felt would propel the band to at least a sliver of greater recognition in Austin’s music scene. Certainly, there are a few in the know who’ve supported the band for some time, but there are still gains to be made. Their most recent album evoked the same aesthetic as Beat Happening with tinges of Daniel Johnston.
11. White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade
White Denim have just about reached that point where some folks hardly consider them a local band. Their new album Corsicana Lemonade reminds me of their roots from the title alone, which invokes the name of a small town in East Texas. Built on their usual blend of buzzing indie rock and dirty blues riffs, the album furthers their track record as adept purveyors of a sub genre they helped pioneer.
12. Greg Mullen and the Cosmic American Band – There Are Americas Beyond This America
Greg Mullen is one of the most sincere and upbeat guys you’ll ever meet. And while that doesn’t always have a bearing on the music one creates, in this instance, all that affability comes pouring out of the songs, which draw on traditional folk sounds. Greg Mullen is the perfect answer to all those insincere facsimile Austin Americana bands, cutting through the homogeny with a healthy dose of originality.
13. Walker Lukens – Devoted
Sometimes challenging records and cerebral indie rock becomes tiresome, even for dedicated fans. We all want a little fun. Walker Lukens’ Devoted is a record that merges soul with indie pop without it sounding gimmicky. “Dear Someone” is an absolute gem, and the record is solid throughout. Also, Lukens delivers quite a set live, singing, working with loops and samples, and playing guitar and piano.
14. Grace Park and the Deer – An Argument for Observation
Grace Park’s fragile melodies become a wondrous landscape, transporting the listener to world of serenity. The album features an impressive roster of Austin musicians, including Michael McLeod who played on and produced the album. If you’re a fan of folk, female songwriters, strings and other such things, it’s not to be missed.
