So the listy is out for 2014. Some of the aritists we have liked on here, some we have ignored and some we have no clue who they are…
- Anna Calvi – One Breath
- Bombay Bicycle Club – So Long, See You Tomorrow
- Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots
- East India Youth – Total Strife Forever
- FKA twigs – LP1
- GoGo_Penguin – v2.0
- Jungle – Jungle
- Kate Tempest – Everybody Down
- Nick Mulvey – First Mind
- Polar Bear – In Each and Every One
- Royal Blood – Royal Blood
- Young Fathers – Dead
Personally I’m a fan of the Nick Mulvey and Jungle albums. What are you boys saying?
thisisnothappening.net 
I saw Kate Tempest years ago in a tent at a random little festival and she blew me away, not heard the album but I’d be interested to listen. I wasn’t much struck by the Jungle album. I like the FKA Twigs. Royal Blood supported Pixies in Manchester a few weeks ago … they were incredible! Not a huge fan of them recorded but there is something there.
It’s a funny old list, but I quite like the lack of the big hitters. I was actually just thinking the other day that guitar music being in the doldrums (which it SO is) is good news for music in general. The breadth of sounds coming through are amazing and we aren’t being swamped with indie shite.
Having said that, a lot of artists are doing *interesting* stuff without it being the finished article, and I wonder how many of these acts that’s true of.
Dying to hear the FKA Twigs (just arrived, ta Guy!). Of the others, Royal Blood do nothing for me and the Damon Albarn album can actually fuck off (and I speak, generally, as a fan). I find Anna Calvi has a voice that’s hard to love and her arrangements are too baroque for my taste. The last time I checked, Bombay Bicycle Club were a REALLY 2nd rate indie band, so unless they’ve changed enormously, I’d be surprised if that’s up to much.
I actually really like Jungle’s sound, it’s so rich, but the album is WAY too samey. I need to spend some time with Nick Mulvey, which I’ve heard is interesting but don’t know.
For me, the standout of the albums I know is EAST INDIA YOUTH. I still listen to it at least once or twice a week. It’s not that cohesive as an ‘album’ and I think he could grow as an artist a lot more, but my god, he knows his way around a heartbreaking electronic melody. As things stand, it’s probably my album of the year (or maybe ST VINCENT).
Anyway, an interesting list and at least there’s no Manic Street Preachers or some such shite.
I used to know almost nothing on the list a few years back but now I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting more tuned in or the lists are more mainstream these days, but I actually do have a few of these.
I absolutely love Everyday Robots. It seems to be a proper marmite though, as people either think it’s great or awful. I think the rest is intersting, and while I don’t have any of the albums, I’ve got a few of the tracks and I know that people rave about Royal Blood, FKA Twigs and Anna Calvi.