Best Albums Through January 31st, 2014

Best Album January 2014

1.  Adventures In Bluesland – Phil Gammage – A New Wave stalwart continues his career trajectory through Americana to an East Coasts rock and blues sound uniquely his own. Add to that one of the best rock and roll singing voices you’ll hear and a mean harp, Gammage’s album stands as an organic response to synthetic emotions.

2. Transgender Dysphoria Blues – Against Me! – As career moves go, changing genders is a little extreme but it worked for Laura Jane Grace who changed the good but obvious Florida punk band into this towering monument to freedom and sex/ Plus, the songs rocked.

3. Elevation (The Upper Air) – Bernie Worrell – Jazz classics rearranged for solo piano that are so great it reminds you this man was a child protegee once upon a time. Bill Laswell produced.

4. Post Tropical – James Vincent McMurrow – Like Bon Iver on Xanax

4. Dirty Gold – Angel Haze – If you can get past the life lines, this is a brilliant rap album hiding out as a mainstream hip hop album .

5. Tribute – John Newman – Rudimental soul man already owns the UK and should do the exact same here on this disco beats album.

6 Croz – David Crosby – He almost cut his hair, ergo jazz inflected folk-rock where the melodies take forever to sink in but the voice is always there.

7. The Crystal Method – The Crystal Method – Mainstream modern house, meaning LeAnn Rimes sings one song (not track) and Dia Frampton another.

8. Drowners – Drowners – Want to be the Strokes but sound more like the Virgins without the disco affiliation

9. Choir Of Echoes – Peggy Sue – Indie pop, really lovely in places

10. Held In Splendor – Quilt – An acoustic white blues with hints of folk psychedelia round the edges.

11. Eject – Cazzette – As close to straight up house as pop music gets.

12. Rave Tapes – Mogwai – Scottish instrumental go electronic but sound about the same.

13. Live 1965 – The Rolling Stones – The girls in the audience scream so loud they sound like another instrument.