The thing about Lost in the Dream that needs to be said by someone is that it's not an album for everyone. Some people are not going to like it, and it's not hard to see why. It can be a very difficult album to grasp or even enjoy. This is the kind of album that you need to let yourself go to, immerse yourself completely into the sounds and watch as your surroundings disappear. When this happens, you settle in and listen to the first track, "Under the Pressure". I can genuinely say that listening to "Under the Pressure" for the first time was unlike any other experience I had in 2014. It was Bob Dylan meets the heartland, a city sensibility with a midwest sound, and a deceptively soaring instrumental surrounding one man's discovery of his world crumbling down around him. Agaetis Byrjun was the best music that I experience for the first time in 2014, but not even that album inspired quite the same feelings that "Under the Pressure" inspired. Whereas Agaetis Byrjun was life-altering in its beauty, "Under the Pressure" was life-altering in its ability to be a microcosm of the life of someone who feels everything falling apart all at once, accompanied to the most glorious and uplifting music possible.
Lost in the Dream follows that theme all the way to the end. "Red Eyes" is so alive and seemingly positive that it can very easily hide the hurt that singer Adam Granduciel feels after losing the love of his life. Even more so than "Red Eyes", "An Ocean In Between the Waves" hides its sorrow under such a happy-sounding and downright joyous main instrumental. That's not to say that the album doesn't have mood swings, though. "Suffering"...well, it's as the title suggests, right down to the slowed-down and almost melancholy music. "In Reverse", the album closer, is a perfect way to end the album and also describe the album. It's a song (and an album) that takes you on the highest of highs via the music, but it also takes you to the depths with the words you listen to. The act of breaking up has never sounded as grand and as soaring as it does here.
Let's just start this blurb with the elephant in the room: {I]Siberia[/I]. My #1 album of 2011, no subsequent Lights album really stood a chance of matching it, let alone surpassing it. That was my introduction into the pop-infused world of Lights, complete with some of the best pop tunes of the last decade. No follow-up could have given me the same feelings of wonder. But it's not as if Lights is taking the foot off of the pedal. One listen to the opening track of Little Machines shows you that Lights is not playing around. What I'm about to say is not something I say lightly: "Portal" is one of the best pop songs ever made. I am dead serious. It is the culmination of everything Lights has been working for since she first started creating music nearly a decade ago. It is epic, it is beautiful, and it creates a sense of wonder that was not matched by anyone in the pop game in 2014. Lights has seemingly figured out the secret to making magical pop music, and "Portal" is her masterpiece.
With all of that having been said, this album could have very easily been "'Portal' and a Bunch of Filler". Thankfully, Little Machines (and Lights) is better than that. Would it surprise you to learn that "Up We Go", the lead single, is probably the weakest song on the album or close to it? Compare that track to the incredibly catchy "Running With the Boys", or the pounding "Same Sea" and its glorious chorus, or the wonderfully produced "Speeding", or...just everything about "Muscle Memory"? Is Little Machines better than Siberia? I don't think so. Is it even as good as Siberia? Probably not. But it's closer than I could have ever anticipated, which is a fantastic accomplishment in and of itself. I just hope that subsequent albums will match the quality of Little Machines and Siberia, because these two albums are going to be a tough act to follow. Thankfully, though, if anyone can follow them, it's Lights Valerie Poxleitner.
The top two is all that remains. If you've been paying attention in the Best of forum, you can probably figure out at least one of the two choices. And if you've REALLY been paying attention, you probably know both. Hopefully, I'll post the top two later tonight. If not, though, it WILL be up by tomorrow at the latest.
I don't know if I still wanna hear LP's album in full after seeing these enthusiastic comments but I think I'd still give it a try.
I agree with Up We Go being the weakest song in Little Machines. But I gave it a chance coz it's so damn catchy. Yes, stan for Running with the Boys and Same Sea
Ok I'm listening to this Portal song as I type cause it does sound promising.
Not gonna lie I found out about LIGHTS just this year (but I like what I know so far).
Lights! That girl is amazing! Her previous album was one of my favorites from 2011! Really good. I still need to listen to this one, but I really love the first single
We talked about our differences on The Hunting Party in the AAC chat, but I'm glad you loved it!
However, we can agree on 4 and 3. Top notch albums, the both of them!
As said previously, I'm pretty confident on #1, but not sure of #2. I don't any more of your favorites released stuff this year.Turn Blue or Sheezus maybe? I haven't seen my personal, but I have a feeling you might have missed it.
I don't know if I still wanna hear LP's album in full after seeing these enthusiastic comments but I think I'd still give it a try.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably the only person here who adored The Hunting Party. And as I've said elsewhere, I'm okay with that.
Quote:
Originally posted by mathuss
Great to see 'Lost in the Dream' at #4! Amazing album. I haven't read a better description of a song as you did with "Under The Pressure".
Well, thank you for that. But now, how am I going to follow that up when it comes to talking about that song when Singles time comes calling?
Quote:
Originally posted by AshleeSimpsonFan
Lights! That girl is amazing! Her previous album was one of my favorites from 2011! Really good. I still need to listen to this one, but I really love the first single
If you liked "Up We Go" a lot, you're going to LOVE the album. Like I said, it's probably one of the worst songs on the album, and I still like it a lot.
Quote:
Originally posted by Calvin McHobbes
As said previously, I'm pretty confident on #1, but not sure of #2. I don't any more of your favorites released stuff this year.Turn Blue or Sheezus maybe? I haven't seen my personal, but I have a feeling you might have missed it.
I'm surprised that you haven't figured out the other right now. I'll give you a big hint: Look at my profile. Or more accurately, look under my avatar.
Quote:
Originally posted by madonnas
My mom is obsesssssed with The War on Drugs, I should probably get used to him
Your mom officially has great taste in music. You learn something new every day.
Alright, need to get this last set posted, because I'm probably going to be busy tonight. Stay tuned!
#1 was a foregone conclusion up until the very end of the year. I will readily admit this, and #1 won't shock those of you who know me. But at the end of the year, I finally decided to sit down and listen to an album that I had put on the backburner, an album that I wasn't really expecting much from outside of a nice background listen while I focused on more important things. I should have known better. Damien Rice had previously only made two full-length albums, but one is a new classic of the 21st century (O), and the other has one of the most wonderful songs of the 2000s (9 and "9 Crimes"). Why was I so surprised, then, when My Favourite Faded Fantasy floored me in the manner that it did? Because it really shouldn't have, if the quality of Damien's previous work was any indication. This was an album, admittedly, that I needed to listen to twice before I really appreciated it for what it was, but man, once I did appreciate it, I REALLY appreciated it. The one thing that Damien Rice does better than anyone else is the breakup song. Hell, he's turned the breakup song into an artform. But he has outdone himself on My Favourite Faded Fantasy. The hurt that you feel coming out of Damien's voice feels so real and incredibly raw. That hurt is surrounded by fittingly sorrowful music, creating a double whammy of sadness and sorrow that had me turning into a withering mess by the time I was finished with my first listen of this album. Even if you are happily in love, this album will remind you that love can be fleeting and can be lost in an instant. And if you are coming off of a breakup, this album will be your soundtrack as you struggle to cope.
Everywhere you look, there's another piece of sorrow to break you down into a million tiny pieces. "The Greatest Bastard" features a vocal performance to die for, as emotional and as human as any male vocal performance I have ever heard. "I Don't Want To Change You" is, basically, a microcosm of the album. It's actually one of the shorter songs on the album at just over five minutes long, and because of that, it's probably the most accessible track on the album to casual listeners. It's a great starting point before diving deeper into the misery. The double shot of "Colour Me In" and "The Box" absolutely destroys me every time I listen to them, songs that force you to look at your problems and your world falling apart mercilessly. The title track is a wonderful choice for opener, as it builds and builds to an explosion of sorrow that has to be heard to be believed. But the highlight of the album is the nine-minute masterpiece that is "It Takes A Lot To Know A Man". If My Favourite Faded Fantasy had just been this one long, sweeping, powerful epic, the album would have been a winner. It is the emotional highlight and the musical peak of an album that, even more than The War on Drugs' Lost in the Dream, takes your soul and rips it apart with nothing more than a memory to leave you with. If there is any justice in the world, this will become the de facto soundtrack for those who are struggling to cope with a breakup.
Royal Blood
Royal Blood
Release Date: August 22nd, 2014
Previous Albums: N/A
YECA Albums Success: N/A
Favorite Tracks
All I've heard for the last 5+ years from people who only listen to the radio or tend not to dive deeper into the music cauldron is that "rock is dead". If someone was saying this back when Nickelback, Buckcherry and Hinder were dominating the rock charts, well, at least you would have had an argument to stand on. But 2014 should have eliminated any doubt that rock music is a dying species. Rock is genuinely in a better place than it has been in a long time. We have genuinely talented artists at the top of the rock music mountain, unlike...well, the previously mentioned trio of awfulness. The old standbys are still chugging along, creating wonderful rock albums. But the most important reason as to why rock is in really good hands is because the new crop of bands that have been appearing in recent years are incredibly good. Last year, my albums list was dominated by the old guard, artists that have been a big part of my life and will probably always be a big part of me. In comparison, this albums list was a bit more of a half-and-half deal. Sure, the old guard was there and in full force, but the new guard, rock or otherwise, was just as strong. The new guard of rock, in particular, was strong. The War on Drugs wowed, PVRIS gave me new hope for female singers in rock, and even some artists who didn't make this list, like Nothing More, had at least one incredible song to wow us all with. But no one band or artist was more important in defying the "rock is dead" mantra this year than Royal Blood, a British duo that is comprised of a bass guitarist/lead singer and a drummer. In a year where The War on Drugs impressed with a devastating mix of highs and lows, Lights returned with an incredible followup to a YECA #1 album, and Damien Rice destroyed my existence with a soul-crushing punch to the gut, two guys from Brighton wound up giving me the soundtrack of my 2014. And that soundtrack was that of complete decimation and destructive power.
Opening track "Out of the Black" is the ultimate starting point for any rock fan's 2014. No single song excited me and pumped me up in the way that "Out of the Black" did. This isn't just a great rock song. It's a triumphant middle finger to those who continue to believe that rock is a dying breed. In four minutes, Royal Blood deliver a mission statement unlike any other, with only a massive bass lick, forceful and powerful drumming, and a cocky and sneering vocal performance providing the salvo. That one song made me believe in rock music all over again. If ...Like Clockwork was the realization that rock music may have a pulse last year, then "Out of the Black" is the strong heartbeat that fed ...Like Clockwork the blood it needs to move. This album would have made the list if the rest of the album had been filler, "Out of the Black" is that strong. But these two guys were not content with one song that kicks ass. With their self-titled debut, they have created an entire album of badassery. And every single song has a moment that makes you want to raise your fist into the air. "Figure It Out" has the single best ending instrumental of any song in 2014. "Little Monster" has that all-too-brief drum solo that makes you want to beg for more. "You Can Be So Cruel" has an absolutely kickass chorus that mimics Queens of the Stone Age in the best possible ways. The opening of "Ten Tonne Skeleton" is almost overwhelming in its loudness. "Loose Change" has a bass riff that you would hear at the gates of Hell, as if to say, "This rocks more and is more evil than anything Heaven could possibly handle." That's before you even get into the last minute of awesomeness there. And all the while, everywhere you look, there is wonderful vocal performances from singer Mike Kerr, and especially quality drum destruction from Ben Thatcher, who beats on the drum in such a way that it makes you wonder what the drums ever did to him to make him so angry. And really, that's what this album feels like in a nutshell. This entire album feels like a big "**** YOU" to those who scoff at the state of rock in 2014, with two middle fingers in the air and a vicious sneer permanently etched on the faces of those performing the music. This is rock music in its purest and most potent form. And you better believe that's enough for #1.
And that's the end of that chapter. I'm probably going to take a bit of a break for Christmas, but I'm going to roar back to life after Christmas with what would normally be the big one: Red's Top 100 Singles of 2014. Let's see how long I last before I stop updating. My bet is that I make it to the top 50 and then disappear.