Best Songs of the Year 2014: 25-1

Drumroll, fanfare, revelry! We have reached the final round of the 4th edition of the Bloodbuzzed's Best Songs of the Year. Here are our top 25 favourite tunes of this 2014. Many great songs had been left out (we could have easily extended the list to 150), so we assure you it’s been an extremely hard, never-ending, but also a very fun list to make. We hope you enjoy this last selection, as well as the whole ride. Remember, you have  the playlist available at our Soundcloud page. And Happy Holidays!

25. Younger- SW/MM/NG
24. Distant Drive- The Luxembourg Signal
23. Try- The Zebras
22. Long After Tonite’s Candles Are Blown- Comet Gain
21. Goshen '97 -Strand Of Oaks
20. Els Dies S'Allarguen- Renaldo y Clara
19. In the Water - Radical Dads
18. Descent- Fear of Men
17. Trouble- TV on the Radio
16. Raised By Wolves- U2

15. Grey Is a Lie– Boutade
14. Last January - The Twilight Sad
13. Habit- Ought
12. Kissing Can Wait- She Sir
11. Wond'ring- The Very Most
10. Super Rat - Honeyblood
9. Horseshoe- Withered Hand
8. Don't Wanna Lose- Ex Hex
7. Sleep Like a Baby Tonight- U2

6. Happening- Desperate Journalist
5. Mistakes of My Youth- Eels
4. Your Love Is Killing Me- Sharon Van Etten
3. Talking Backwards- Real Estate
2. Archie, Marry Me- Alvvays
1. Wounded Desire - Line and Circle

Best Songs of the Year 2014: 75-51

The music keeps coming! Here's the second round of our favourite 100 songs of the year, now with tunes comprised between numbers 75 to 51. As the previous list, you'll find it also at our Soundcloud page. The countdown will continue shortly with the third part, so you should stay tuned! Hope you enjoy!

75. For the Feel- Bleached
74. Weekend- Arts & Leisure
73. Crime- Real Estate
72. Leave the family - The Skygreen Leopards
71. Flesh War - Total Control
70. All the Rage Back Home- Interpol

69.You can't make me make up my mind-The Sun Days
68. Ashes and Embers- The Casket Girls
67. Party Police- Alvvays
66. Stay Gold- The Hobbes Fanclub
65. Cool Runnings- Tashaki Miyaki
64. Simple And Sure - The Pains Of Being Pure
63. Embers- Night Flowers
62. Rimbaud’s Eyes- Dum Dum Girls
61. Now Time- Close Lobsters
60. Every Morning- J.Mascis
59. Visiones- Aries
58. This Is Pop- Latimer House
57. In My Teeth- The Rosebuds
56. Head Down- The Ocean Party
55. The Rent I Pay- Spoon
54. Running Wild- La Sera
53. Coming Down- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
52.Some Dreams Come True- SW/MM/NG
51. Rabbit Run- Lily and Madeleine

Best Records of the Year 2014

After EPs and Books, now it's time for the Best Records of 2014. As previous years, we have listed our favourite 30 LPs, the releases that we have enjoyed the most. Many of these bands have already appeared at our "Discoverer Section", others have been played at our "Bloodbuzzed Jukebox Series" and a bunch of them have done our "These Go to 11" questionnaire (thank you, thank you, thank you). Many tough decissions have been made, excluding many bands & records that we love, but finally, here it is. So many amazing music gathered here!

30. Our Years in the Wilderness - The Hi-Life Companion
29. Let You Go- Tape Waves
28. Mundo Fatal- Me and the Bees
27. Do What You Want To, It’s What You Should Do- Flowers
26. The Sea- Beach Beach
25. Une Longue Si Attente- Watoo Watoo
24. Seeds- TV on the Radio
23. Floristry- Trick Mammoth
22. Feel Not Bad- Sw/mm/ng
21. Too True- Dum Dum Girls
20. Fumes- Lily and Madeleine
19. Burn Your Fire For No Witness- Angel Olsen
18. Courting Strong- Martha
17. Before There Were Pictures- Pale Lights
16. Go Guitars- She Sir
15. Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave- The Twilight Sad
14. Fruits del Teu Bosc- Renaldo y Clara
13. Paperback Ghosts- Comet Gain
12. La Foto Fantasma- Cosmen Adelaida
11. Sealed with a Kiss- Alpaca Sports
10. Siesta- The Zebras
9. The Best Hunter- Boutade
8. Up at Lagrange- The Hobbes Fanclub
7. The Luxembourg Signal- The Luxembourg Signal
6. Are We There Yet?- Sharon Van Etten
5. Always- Alvvays
4. Honeyblood- Honeyblood
3. Atlas- Real Estate
2. Loom- Fear of Men
1. Rips- Ex Hex


Want to check last year's list? Then check here
And 2012's? Click here
And 2011's? Just click here

Discoverer 103: new indie findings

Oh what a great weekend in our Discoverer Series! Two debut albums fated to be among the best-of-the-year lists plus a most intriguing & promising act. You're going to enjoy!

Flowers. Londoners Sam Ayres, Jordan Hockley and Rachel Kennedy got together in April 2012, thanks to Sam’s advert looking for a singer to make music like "Madonna through a broken tape machine". Astonishingly quickly, the trio moved in together and started writing songs. The feverishly recorded demos were offered online, creating an immediate buzz that made them tour Europe with The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart and Young Marble Giants. First singles "Until You're Dead" and "When You Lie" arrived in 2013 on Cloudberry and Odd Box Records, plus the great reception of their live shows rocketed their momentum. They signed with Fortuna POP! and with the help of Bernard Butler as producer, Flowers penned their debut album, "Do What You Want to Do, Is What You Should Do", out since September (by Kanine Records in the States). Restrained and minimal yet surprisingly affecting, the album is an indiepop delight, full of beauty and mystery, a collection of short songs with Rachel's haunting vocals presiding the fuzzy yet delicate music envelope. Absolute MUST.

SW/MM/NG. Formed in 2011 and hailing from Fayetteville, Arkansas, they originally called Swimming but slashes seemed an easy solution when a cease-and-desist order from a U.K. group of the same name arrived. The quintet started to make some noise locally with a digital, S/T EP in July 2011. After signing with Old Flame Records, their debut album, "Feel Not Bad" came out this August. Jangly indiepop blurred in haze, ethereal and sun-soaked. Real Estate floating guitars packed with that 80s English melancholy, with Brian Kupillas’ vocals about to break within the melodic feast. For those still looking for the sun, here's a perfect companion.

Black Honey. Hard to believe a band can remain unknown on these "Celebgate" days (sic) but this Brighton, UK, based act is still hidden, so we'll gladly let the music do all the talking. Three songs have surfaced already online from them, "Sleep Forever" towards the end of June, "Teenager" in August, and most recently "The Taste". Three wonderfully catchy tunes, cinematic, woozy and brooding. Jangling guitars, fuzz, atmospheric mood, and a challenging yet inviting female vocals. Sweet and obscure, like their appropriate band name. Here's promise, promise, promise.

Discoverer 102: new indie findings

Finally having a weekend relaxed enough to prepare a new chapter of our Discoverer Series. One pretty heavy on guitars, enjoy!

Ex Hex. Already posted about them on a couple of Jukebox posts, so the expectations were extremely higher. Something understandable when you know this is the new project of the great Mary Timony from Helium, Autoclave and Wild Flag, along with Laura Harris on drums and Betsy Wright on bass. Hailing from Washington D.C, the power trio assembled in 2013, played a handful of shows, released the limited 7" 'Hot and Cold' on Merge Records, backed with two additional tunes, before heading into the studio in the spring of 2014. The result is 'Rips', a flawless album of pure, unapologetic, ridiculously pleasant indie-rock. A slap in the face to every single critic and/or pedantic hipster. Because in the end, this is what music should be, or make you feel: a fun as hell, smiling, shaking, liberating experience. It comes out in a couple of weeks and, needless to say, it's an absolute must.

Radical Dads. Formed by Robbie Guertin (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), Lindsay Baker, and Chris Diken, who met in college in late 90s, and formed the band in 2008, after reuniting in Brooklyn, NY. Debut 7" 'Recklessness' arrived in 2010, followed quickly by album 'Mega-Rama' and 7" 'Skateboard Bulldog' in 2011. Another single, 'Torrential Zen', came out a year later, while 2013 saw them releasing sophomore LP 'Rapid Reality' and another 7", 'Creature Out'. The combo continues with their prolific career, now presenting a tape called 'Cassette Brain', out on Old Flame Records in early October. Energetic blasts in the form of intense pills of indie-rock devoted to the 90s (Pixies, Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth), channelled in Baker's powerful Baker's and a tone of guitar lines. Radical love.

Feature. And yet another trio, the one formed by Liv Willars, Jen Calleja and Heather Perkins, this time coming from London, UK, and active since 2011. Initially a duo (Liv & Jen), they debuted in October 2012 with EP 'Memory', a 5-track release to freely grab at their bandcamp or in limited cassette format via Cazenove Tapes. In May of 2014 came their second EP with 'Culture of the Copy' out in Tye Die Tapes and now as a trio they return with 'Tourists' EP, a 6-track split release with Slowcoaches taken from their upcoming tour, including 2 tunes plus a cover of Wire's "Mannequin". Raucous, distorted, raw punk combined with sweet-sounding vocal harmonies. Mandatory feature.