Pistol's 2014
2014 was a pretty big year for me. I finally paid off the last of my student loans, while still finding time to do a bachelor party in Vegas for the first time (hopefully will do bi-annual trips there from now on?). Job is the same, but this year the company will rotate me into something else which will be very welcome. Musically, I tried a lot of bands out this year I hadn't tried before (namely Swans as well as a new favorite of mine, O’Brother). The final list below has a lot of stuff I never would've expected to be on here. Wasn't as present on this site as in previous years, but I’m still listening to just as much music as ever. Wishing everyone the best for 2015, this site still leads me to some fascinating musical discoveries. |
| 28 |  | Cloudkicker
Little Histories
EP (RUNNER-UP #1): Highlights: “Sky Guide”, “Chameleon” (Progressive Metal, Post-Rock) |
| 27 |  | Cult Leader
Nothing For Us Here
EP (RUNNER-UP #2): Equal in quality to Gaza. Highlights: “Mongrel” |
| 26 |  | Rabbit Junk
Pop That Pretty Thirty
EP OF THE YEAR: Bouncy, energetic shit. Highlights: “IDONTGIVEAFUCK” |
| 25 |  | The Mire
Glass Cathedrals
Highlights: “Triple Gemini” (Post-Metal) |
| 24 |  | Cyanotic
Worst Case Scenario Vol. 1
Highlights: “sudden fragments” (Industrial Metal) |
| 23 |  | Helms Alee
Sleepwalking Sailors
Highlights: “Tumescence” (Sludge metal, post-hardcore) |
| 22 |  | Killer Be Killed
Killer Be Killed
Not exactly the crazy super-group I imagined, but still enjoyable. Highlights: “Melting of the Marrow” (Metalcore, Hardcore) |
| 21 |  | Godflesh
A World Lit Only by Fire
Highlights: “Shut Me Down” (Industrial, Sludge metal) |
| 20 |  | Death From Above 1979
The Physical World
These guys are from my hometown, in the south part of Toronto. I hear a lot of old-school QOTSA in some of the early tracks on this with all the frantic and fast-paced riffs (hearkening back to Songs for the Deaf). Highlights: “Right On Frankenstein!” (Noise Rock) |
| 19 |  | Weezer
Everything Will Be Alright in the End
I hate getting involved with the seemingly endless debates about whether Weezer have finally returned to form or still suck. This is insanely catchy to me, and I can jam to this just fine. Highlights: “Eulogy For A Rock Band” (Rock) |
| 18 |  | Coldplay
Ghost Stories
I liked this better than most I think. Yeah, it’s sappy, and that opener is so forgettable. But there are a whole bunch of strong songs here. You have to expect by now that Coldplay knows how to write a good hook and here they manage that while still experimenting with sounds they've never tried. “Midnight” is a fresh idea for them and could very well stack up as their best song yet in my opinion. (Pop Rock) |
| 17 |  | Linkin Park
The Hunting Party
Muchos heavier, muchos better. Highlights: “Wastelands” (Alt. Rock, Nu-Metal) |
| 16 |  | Broken Bells
After The Disco
Highlights: “Leave It Alone” (Indie Pop) |
| 15 |  | St. Vincent
St. Vincent
My opinion about St. Vincent has always been mixed. But on this album, I finally sat back and concluded that she can in fact make an album I enjoy. Her self-titled album does suffer a bit from a lackluster second half, which was my biggest qualm with all her albums. But on here, it’s not felt as much, especially since the first six songs are all some of the best art pop I've ever heard. Fucking “Huey Newton”, what a song. (Indie Pop) |
| 14 |  | Lana Del Rey
Ultraviolence
I like what this woman is evolving towards. Like all her albums, this one also has some small weak spots (especially the middle of the album) and, there’s this feeling her sound is getting old now. But she is experimenting, with more guitar than ever which is a nice touch. And my goodness, when that first chorus enters on “Old Money” it’s just so beautiful that I had to literally stop what I was doing, stand up, and slow clap for a good moment. In all likelihood, the defining moment of her career right there. Simply...yes. (Indie Pop) |
| 13 |  | Single Mothers
Negative Qualities
I remember watching these idiots playing at top volume in my university’s pub in London, Ontario, just annoying the hell out of everyone trying to socialize or play pool. While all of my friends kept asking the bar managers to get the guys to turn the sound down, I walked up to them and dropped $2 for a demo CD from them (love at first sight). Do they remember me? Not in a million years. For those of you who don’t know, London sits in the southwestern part of Ontario, Canada. It is the EPITOME of a university town (unbelievably fun during school season, total shithole when school’s out). And these guys will probably agree with me on that too. It’s neat to see that they finally managed to get some attention and release their first full-length album (even at 26 minutes long, I guess that still counts?). They’re very good, mixing hard rock/punk with the most belligerent vocals you could possibly imagine from vocalist Andrew Thomson. It’s insanely entertaining. (Punk, Post-Hardcore) |
| 12 |  | Animals as Leaders
The Joy of Motion
This is the first album by these guys I had checked out. I found it pretty easily digestible for an instrumental album and it only grew on me after that. Like a lot of bands I've taken to over the years, they sound comfortable in both heavy and soft. Tracks like “Kascade” race out of the gates brimming with fast-paced guitars and djent riffs, while I also liked highlight “The Future That Waited Me” for its soft and reflective tone, a nice respite. (Progressive Metal, Jazz Fusion) |
| 11 |  | Trophy Scars
Holy Vacants
I had heard great things about this band just by simply existing on this site for the last four years. I figured 2014 might as well be the year I give them a try. I grew to like their blend of blues and rock. The softer moments remind me a bit of Brand New, while his raspy growl fits well with the music once you get used to it. Highlights: “Every City, Vacant” (Blues, Post-Hardcore) |
| 10 |  | Amplifier
Mystoria
When I heard “Named After Rocky” I wrote this off immediately as another wasted effort from a band I know can do better. And I seriously doubted an album released merely a year after their last disappointment Echo Street would do anything for me. So very wrong. Highlights: “Black Rainbow” (Alt. Rock, Psychedelic) |
| 9 |  | Fallujah
The Flesh Prevails
Death metal is not a genre I listen to avidly, but there was something awe-inspiring about songs like “Sapphire” and “Starlit Path” when I first heard them. And the harsh growls are kept to a volume that I like so that they don’t become abrasive. There’s a proggy feel to the music too, with peaks that are quite astounding and glorious. The album is short, but maybe that’s a good thing. It makes it so the entire listen glides by without any moment of weakness. Like Dark Tranquillity, this is some death metal I can sink my fucking teeth into. (Death Metal, Progressive Metal) |
| 8 |  | Dog Fashion Disco
Sweet Nothings
I like these guys for how seamlessly they experiment with different genres and sounds. They do heavy well but they also show they can tone things down into funky grooves pretty well too. Highlights: “Tastes So Sweet” (Experimental Metal, Funk) |
| 7 |  | Banks
Goddess
My new crush. Highlights: “You Should Know Where I’m Coming From” – that chorus...C’MON (Downtempo, Electronic) |
| 6 |  | Nothing More
Nothing More
I haven’t heard a rock band this catchy in a while. With Fair to Midland gone now, this is really the closest thing I've seen to their level of energy. Oddly consistent for an album with more than 15 songs. These guys are promising. Highlights: “Here’s to the Heartache” (Alt. Rock) |
| 5 |  | Sam Roberts Band
Lo-Fantasy
I made a review for this album and said most of what I needed there. Even after a year of this being out I can still look back and say this is his strongest effort in years. It rekindles everything I liked about him with a modern, more energetic take on his original rock sound. Highlights: “Metal Skin”, “Angola” (Alt. Rock) |
| 4 |  | Skyharbor
Guiding Lights
This album took its sweet time to grow on me. I was predictably underwhelmed at first. I too, like many others on this site, miss the harsh vocals from their earlier album. But this is not meant to match that album, it’s a proggier metal album aimed at instilling atmosphere. Dan Tompkins puts forth one his best vocal performances to date and the album truly evolves into a beautiful masterpiece over time. Highlights: “Patience” (Progressive Metal) |
| 3 |  | Swans
To Be Kind
This marks the first year I started getting into Swans. I gave “The Seer” a good effort two years ago but I simply wasn't ready yet. This year, “To Be Kind” finally made me realize that this is a band I could get into. It’s very accessible to me and a great starting point for anyone looking to get into them. The songs are long and strenuous but oddly hypnotic and addicting. They go beyond just catchy listening, molding themselves into your mind until they’re all you can hear. And if that seven-minute build-up in “Bring The Sun” isn't one of their most epic moments yet, it’s only because Swans are machines when it comes to building up epic climaxes. Bring the motherfucking sun. (Post-Rock, Drone, Noise Rock) |
| 2 |  | Chevelle
La Gargola
This is an oddly frustrating album to have so high. Let me just say that while I consider myself arguably one of the biggest Chevelle fans on this site and have enjoyed them thoroughly since I discovered music seven years ago, a Chevelle album has not come this close to topping my annual list in a long time, probably not since “Vena Sera” in 2007. I spent this year getting into many different genres I’m not usually into. It both excites and frustrates me that after seven years this band can still churn out an album that surprises me and (unbelievably) teaches me something about my music taste that I didn’t know before. Shouldn’t I be over them yet? Chevelle is the exception to every rule about music in my life. And while their previous two efforts were both excellent, “La Gargola” brought them back up to a level of quality I haven’t seen from them in ages. This is the wake-up slap to the face I’ve been waiting for the past seven years. (Hard Rock) |
| 1 |  | Run The Jewels
Run The Jewels 2
And what do we have here, a rap album topping Pistol Pete’s end of year list? I thought I was only a rock/metal fan? Something must be off. Back when it first came out, to think that this album would be at the top of this list would’ve made me laugh. Yet it never disappeared from my weekly listening cycles. I had this on repeat at work for a month. There’s something about these two, they way they play off each other, everything sounds so natural. You can tell it’s the work of two best friends just enjoying making music with each other. This is the album “Watch the Throne” wished it could have been. That album suffered from an identity crisis, at points never knowing whether it was a serious or joke album. Run the Jewels know exactly who they are, and they juggle both sides of the coin while still making everything feel unified. Subjectively, this is the first perfect rap album I've ever heard, can't wait for Run the Jewels 3 (Rap/Hip-Hop). |
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