#endofyearlist

Long list of this years favourites. Spotify playlist via this link here. Buy Music Club link for albums here. Special mention to Sferic, Experiences Ltd, Youth, Motion Ward, West Mineral, and XPQ? who pushed nothing but cool stuff this year. Same for an unstoppable flow of spaced out mixes by Perila, Pontiac Streator, Special Guest DJ, Ben Bondy, Exael, Aeriform, J, JS, mdo etc. Too many to list them all really.  Most listened albums (a-z) buymusic.club link Actress - 88 ( Self Released ) ASC - Isolated Systems ( Samurai Music ) Civilistjävel! - Generalstrejk ( Low Company ) CS + Kreme - Snoopy ( The Trilogy Tapes ) DJ Python - Mas Amable ( Incienso ) DVS1 - Beta Sensory Motor Rhythm ( Axis ) Israel Vines - And Now We Know Nothing ( Interdimensional Transmissions ) Jake Muir - The Hum Of Your Veiled Voice ( Sferic ) K-Lone - Cape Cira ( Wisdom Teeth ) Koraal - La Casa del Volcán ( Nous’klaer Audio ) LF58 - Alterazione ( Astral Industries ) Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Let's Call It A Day ( Smallville ) Perko - City Rings ( Numbers ) Piezo - Perdu ( Hundebiss ) Pontiac Streator - Triz ( Motion Ward ) Regis - Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss ( Downwards ) Romeo Poerier - Hotel Nota ( Sferic ) Sockethead - Harj-o-Marj ( Youth ) Soft Boi - So Nice ( Climate Of Fear ) Terrence Dixon - From The Far Future Pt. 3 ( Tresor ) Tolouse Low Trax - Jumping Dead Leafs ( Bureau B ) Ulla - Tumbling Towards A Wall ( Experiences Ltd. ) URA - Blue ( NAFF ) Favourite mixes (a-z) Agonis - INVEINS \ Podcast \ 061 link Bake with Lewis Lowe (Redstone Press) - 30 November 2020 link Bake with Wonja - 28 September 2020 link dBridge - Essential Mix 2020-02-01 link Dino Sabatini - Global Vibe Radio 227 link Erika - vurt podcast 23 link F-on - Alpenglühen #54 link Forest Drive West - Bleep Mix #131 link Garçon - Dekmantel Podcast 284 link Garçon - MNMT 277 link GiGi FM Presents Azu Tiwaline NTS 11/11/20 link Jane Fitz - isolatedmix 97 We Fall Into The Sun link Joe Ellis - Phonons Podcast 065 link Jon K - Cav Empt /// TTT TOKYO Tape link Joy Orbison - wooly window sessions part wun - UKG 4/4 +++ link Karl Meier - The Bunker Podcast 211 link Konduku - The Memoir — Page 46 link Lcp - Blowing Up The Workshop 111 ◆ re:st link Lemna - MNMT Recordings: Lemna (live) — Contact Tokyo link mad miran - a message of manifestation, from the music room link mad miran - clone records x radio radio x ade link mdo - Knekelhuis 63 link Milo Bragg - Campfire Stories 79 (A New Dawn) link Milo Bragg - Club Rooted #1 link Nadia Khan - RA.710 Nadia Khan link Objekt - Essential Mix 2020-06-06 link Patrick Russell - IT.podcast.s09e01: No Way Back Streaming link Patrick Russell - Patterns of Perception 76 link Pessimist And That w/ DJ Python - Noods Radio - EPISODE 9 link Spekki Webu - RA.714 link Toki Fuko - Oslated Mix Episode 205 - Toki Fuko link upsammy - Bleep Mix #122 link Vlada - RA.742 link Woody92 - Patterns of Perception 68 link

Another end of year list and another great year for music. So great I have decide to double my usual count from 12 to 24 (it is 2024 after all).

I was fortunate to be able to see 10 of the bands listed live this year - I hope 2025 is as good a gigging year.

Previous year lists: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

Anyway here we go (there is a Spotify playlist at the bottom) my favourite 24 songs released this year:

King Hannah: Big Swimmer

Waxahatchee (ft MJ Lenderman): Right Back to It

Bonny Light Horseman: I Wanna Be Where You Are

Sam Evian: Rollin' In

English Teacher: Sideboob

Alan Sparlawk: Not the 1

MJ Lenderman: Wristwatch

Ex-Easter Island Head: Norther

Cassandra Jenkins: Clams Casino

Rosali: Hills on Fire

The Cure: Alone

Bon Iver: SPEYSIDE

Merce Lemon: Foolish and Fast

Tucker Zimmerman, Big Thief: The Idiot's Maze

Hannah Frances: Bromwyn

Clairo: Sexy to Someone

Wild Pink: St Catherine Street

Soccer Mommy: Driver

Dummy: Sudden Flutes

Tapir!: Nail in a Wooden Truck

Allegra Kreiger: Came

Jessica Pratt: World on a string

Jane Weaver: Love in Constant Spetacle

Adrianne Lenker: Sadness as a Gift

My end of year list for 2015. In case you were wondering.

2014 was a busy, exciting year for us, full of firsts as people and as a band. We played with lots of amazing bands, to great fans and released our album You Want the Night. At the beginning of the new year we thought we'd take an alternative take on the end of year lists and make a playlist that sums up our year. Here is our 15 for '14, enjoy!

Sorcha:

Jenny Lewis - Head Underwater (Electric Picnic)

I saw Jenny Lewis at Electric Picnic. She gave an electric performance and her band were exceptional. I'm still arguing with someone as to whether the keyboard player was Liz Wolf (who plays with Why?). I thought the songs from the new album sounded even better live, which often happens an album is toured. I've been listening to Jenny Lewis since her Rabbit Fur Coat album and she's pretty much been part of each year's soundtrack since.

Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile 

I missed these guys at Electric Picnic as I left before their set on the Sunday but I love their EP Creature Songs and found it difficult to choose beween Moaning Lisa Smile and Storms, both of which are great songs. They've pulled some of the best of the nineties into their sound, and have a great turn of melody. Coincidentally their name comes from a short story by Angela Carter - a touch of Alice in Wonderland/through the looking glass and Little Red Riding Hood. We have a song inspired by the Alice stories too, although it's a smidge darker. 

Nina Persson - Catch Me Crying

A song with a slight hint of country (likeFirst Aid Kit and Jenny Lewis, whose albums I've also had on repeat this year) it's great to hear a new album from Nina Persson. We got to play with her in a Church in LA. My teenage self couldn't have even dreamed of that.

Fleetwood Mac -Everywhere

With only a tape deck and one tape to keep us company I was very glad that tape was the amazing Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac. We've listened to it back to back while traveling between Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Belfast, Cork, Tullamore...Hard to pick a favourite but I've decided on Everywhere. We've also made it a band habit to message each other everytime a Fleetwood Mac documentary is on tv, and then regale each other with Fleetwood Mac facts. 

Lyla Foy - Feathered Tongue

This song, and her album Mirror Sky, have had me singing aloud on many a walk on a dreary day. It reminds me how powerful music is, how personal a conversation it can be between listener and creator and why making music is so worthwhile. I first heard Feathered Tongue when it came up in my song feed in soundcloud and I eagerly awaited the album while wearing out the repeat button on that one song. I still can't understand why the album seemed to go pretty much unnoticed by online media and yet is so full of magical melodies and lyrical gems. I highly recommend looking it up, I know I'll still be listening in 2015. 

Keith:

The Doobie brothers - What a fool believes - I played a lot of GTAV this year in-between making music. The soundtrack is great mix of modern classics and well... classic classics. Kenny Loggins has his own station on there and being that he co-wrote the track with Michael McDonald it was probably a playlist given.

Metronomy - boy racers - I caught this song live at electric picnic and it was one of the many highlights of they're set. I hadn't heard that album until I went searching for that smooth undeniable groove afterwards. Highly recommended.

The stokes - 12:51 - it's an odd one but regardless, my son was born at 12:51 on September 5th 2014. This track will always remind me.

Elton John - Bennie and the jets - we traveled to LA this year to play some shows and I have a vivid memory of a great classics radio station called K-Earth being on in our rental car and this song came on. It was a beautiful sunny day, we had a muscle car and Palm trees everywhere, I'll always remember that.

Chrome Canyon - generations - plucked right from a DJ set we did in in the RBS Gallery in November. Really loved that track and video when it came out.

Wayne:

Colours – From The Airport

A Korean band that turned my head when we played Culture Collide in LA - they had some serious production skills and put on a great show.  At quite a guitar-y festival, these guys were an oasis of shiny synths - with a lovely K-Pop sound to boot

Kid Karate – Louder

We savoured this banger of a tune 5 or 6 times in two weeks as we toured with KK and Fight Like Apes on the FMC Tour this year.  The new album is set to be a romper stomper...

Gazelle Twin – Anti Body

Gazelle Twin is uncompromising, confrontational, boundary pushing, and live she is an uneasy listen.  It might have been the heft of sub frequencies in the venue that left me with a vague dread in my stomach and raised neck hairs, but it was most likely her hypnotic live show...  We opened for her in London in May, a real highlight.

 Rock'N'Roll Radio – Global Warming

Another Culture Collide band, and from Korea again too.  Another reason for Pyongyang to look jealously over the border, as the South definitely get all the best tunes...  These guys were the find of that festival for me, Foals stylings and guitar dynamics with a really percussive drummer - catchy as hell too which always helps.  Their excellent album was available on Spotify Europe but its recently been pulled, likely down to copyright/clearance etc. Boo-urns...

Girl Band - Lawman

Girl Band were the first band we got to really see at Electric Picnic after the havoc of performing -  they mesmerized Body & Soul with the first trumpeting calls of the (rightful) calls to crown them best band in Ireland.  They had me at hello...

You can listen to our album here: