Top 114 Songs of 2014, Honourable Mentions

Taylor Swift, Azealia Banks, Montaigne + Lily Allen!

Oh, hey December. It's the last month of what has been a glorious year for music. We've seen Australian acts like Sia, Iggy Azalea and 5 Seconds of Summer make a huge impact on the international charts, those French robot fellas won a swag of Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year), Miley Cyrus seems to be all but forgotten again and the hottest non-feud of the year seems to be between Ariana Grande and Bette Midler. 2014 saw the end of Crystal Castles and The Knife, but it introduced us to some of our new favourites like Montaigne, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift 2.0, pop edition. Yep, it's been a fun year and we'll be celebrating all the good times over the next month. To kick things off, it's our Top 114 Songs of 2014 countdown, which officially starts tomorrow... but there were way more that 114 amazing songs this year, so we thought we'd bump it up with some honourable mentions. And to give us time to finish writing stuff and so on and so forth. What? Here are ten incredible songs from this year that just narrowly missed out on the Top 114 Songs of 2014 list. Enjoy!

Honourable Mentions:

I'm A Fantastic Wreck

by Montaigne

And if I'm a little bit deranged would you not,

Estrange me, or change me...

Humdrum Blues

by The Growlers

She wants something tangible,

Like a ring on her hand.

Chasing Time

by Azealia Banks

Check my watch, I had the future in my pocket,

But I lost it when I gave it to you.

Hard Time

by Seinabo Sey

Hard time forgiving, 

even harder forgetting...

The Haunted

by Northeast Party House

 We all stand too long on the wrong side.

Trainwreck 1979

by Death From Above 1979

I was born on the highway in a trainwreck,

With a heart that was beating outta my chest.

R.I.P CHIX

by Tempura Nights

All the girls that lied to me are dead...

All of Time

by Avec Sans

One day you'll lose somebody,

In the way I'm losing you.

 Our Time

by Lily Allen

Let your hair down it's the end of the week,

And this is our time now let's forget everything...

Blank Space

by Taylor Swift

Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane,

'Cause you know I love the players, and you love the game.

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See you tomorrow for our Top 114 Songs of 2014 kick off!

EP Review - Gilded Pleasures

Gilded Pleasures

by The Growlers

available now

How funny that I decided Sunday afternoon was the right time to write some words about the latest EP from our current Artist Of The Month, The Growlers, because Sunday afternoon is almost exactly what Gilded Pleasures sounds like it was made for. 

Opening with 'Dogheart II' and the strange lyrics "little girls don't last forever, enjoy them while you can" it doesn't take long to realise this is a band that won't hold back and aren't concerned about what you think of them, they're just here to play some tunes and have some fun, man. Isn't that how all stoner surfers speak? I don't really know, I'm not a stoner surfer and I don't really know if The Growlers are either, but they've made an album EP that certainly sounds like it and one that let's me pretend I like the beach and other things for a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon and lets me appreciate some music that sounds like it was made for California, a beach and a cold beverage. 

Second track 'Hiding Under Covers' increases the tempo slightly, with the keys taking it somewhere back to the 70s, while the single, 'Humdrum Blues' has a driving bass sound with a nod to some 90s Cali sounds, an almost happy sound for a song with such a depressing title, but it's the lyrics that reminds you who you're listening to "she's so tired of the humdrum and I understand, she wants something tangible like a ring on her pretty little hand". Yes, this is The Growlers.


'Tell It How It Is' is as close as you're going to get to a ballad on Gilded Pleasures, with Brooks Nielsen's vocals as strong as they get, his unusual style is a little addictive in this track, but it's the sound of 'Change In Your Veins' that really sounds interesting, almost Jim Morrison and Doors-esque in it's delivery. That's not to say this sounds dated, there's a little Porno For Pyros Perry Farrell-ish-ness that sneaks in there toward the end and I'm going to be honest and say I could never complain about a little Perry Farrell influence anywhere.

It's an EP that remains cohesive throughout, each track leading perfectly into the next without leaps and bounds that shock you into a sense of questioning, exactly as a Sunday afternoon surfer chilled EP should sound. It's not going to change the world, but then, not every song and not every album should. Some songs are just songs and that might be my Sunday afternoon brain talking, but then, that's the best kind of chilled thought process to have when visiting beach side California with a beverage in your mind on a weekend afternoon.

Jo Michelmore gives 'Gilded Pleasures' three Michael Hutchence heads out of five...

Top 25 - 24 February, 2014

The Growlers... music makers/magical high-five givers.

1. Jack Colwell and The Owls - Far From View





2. Holy Holy - House of Cards (NEW)





3. The Growlers - Humdrum Blues (NEW)





4. Harts - Lovers In Bloom (NEW)





5. Little Dragon - Klapp Klapp





6. JP Klipspringer - Bury Me (NEW)





7. Achoo! Bless You - Wild Eyes





8. Jessie Frye - Dear





9. Passerine - Free Again





10. Ngaiire - ABCD





11. Lurch and Chief - Mother/Father





12. Ball Park Music - She Only Loves Me When I'm There





13. All The Colours - Fragile (NEW)





14. Wild Beasts - Sweet Spot





15. The Preatures - Better Than It Ever Could Be





16. Tales In Space - All Messed Up (NEW)


 

17. Halcyon Drive - Whitewash (NEW)





18. Iluka - 12th of July (NEW)





19. I Know Leopard - Hold This Tight





20. Mr Little Jeans - Good Mistake (NEW)





21. The Griswolds - Red Tuxedo (NEW)





22. Cash + David - Funn (NEW)





23. Airling - Ouroboros (NEW)





24. The Audreys - My Darlin' Girl





25. Little Earthquake - Planets