End of the Year Awards

This year, we're going to have a whole week of 2014 retrospective pieces covering such topics as our DJs' favorite music videos, live shows, twitter presences, album covers, and more! Our first post in this vein, fittingly, is the 'Best Newcomer'...

#1 ALBUM:   Arcade Fire, Reflektor åÊ Arcade Fire‰'s gradual ascent towards true rock stardom has always been endearing, in part because it was obvious that the band wanted it so bad for so long. Their earliest live shows displayed such ridiculous levels of...

#3 ALBUM:   Danny Brown, Old åÊ Danny Brown has always been a contradictory being, simultaneously rapping about his hedonistic party lifestyle while at the same time dredging the horrifying bottom of his experiences growing up poor in Detroit for inspiration. On...

#4 ALBUM:   Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City åÊ Vampire Weekend’s third album was highly anticipated, coming after their breakthrough eponymous debut and their strong sophomore outing with Contra. Modern Vampires of the City took on somewhat more...

#5 ALBUM:   Haim, Days Are Gone åÊ The coolest sisters from L.A. have dominated this year with their EPs and multiple festival appearances, quickly building up their reputation in time for their debut album Days Are Gone released at the end of September. It‰'s no...

#6 ALBUM:   My Bloody Valentine, mbv åÊ There was hardly a review of My Bloody Valentine‰'s long-awaited third LP that didn‰'t pit the record off against massively influential predecessor Loveless. How could one not? Shoegaze was a lightning rod in the early 90s,...

#7 ALBUM:   James Blake, Overgrown åÊ   Remember post-dubstep? The way we speak critically about the music James Blake makes has unquestionably shifted in the 3 years we’ve followed his trajectory from upstart DJ to Mercury Prize winner. Since the release of...

#8 ALBUM:   Chance the Rapper, Acid Rap åÊ 2013 was a good year for the Chicago based artist Chance the Rapper. After releasing his mixtapeåÊ10 Days in 2012, appropriately named after a 10 day suspension he received in high school, he quickly shot up within the...

#9 ALBUM:   The National, Trouble Will Find Me åÊ The National may be the most consistent indie band in history. Every full album since 2005’såÊAlligator explored a new variation on the band’s sonic stylings. InåÊAlligator, The National strived for simplicity,...

#10 ALBUM:   King Krule, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon åÊ Before 2013, Archy Marshall (better known now by his stage name, King Krule) had not much more than a single EP, a two-song 7‰Û, and some demos released under his name. 2013 brought Marshall to the center stage...