Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Locals share their favorite music of 2014 Part 3

To start out our third day of the best music of 2014 as chosen by Charlotte artists, musicians, and others in entertainment, we have Ken Cotner, bassist for the Charlotte Americana band the Turnstiles who released the album "Souvenir Summer" earlier this year. The band's frontman Brad Thomas weighed in as well with two picks - Jeffrey Dean Foster’s “The Arrow” and the Loudermilks’ self-titled debut. Kotner calls Wussy's "Attica" his favorite album of the last five years, which bumped frontrunner "Night Surfer" to second place. 

Wussy - Attica 
Chuck Prophet - Night Surfer   
Loudermilks - Loudermilks
Walter Salas-Humara - Curve and Shake
David Childers - Serpents of the Reformation
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes
The Baseball Project - 3rd
Mike Strauss - The Whole Skinny 
Bobby Bare Jr. - Undefeated
Spottiswoode & His Enemies - English Dream
Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else

Cameron Lee heads up CLTure - a Charlotte-based company that specializes in video production, digital marketing, and event promotions. Lee and his team also cover music festivals and blog about entertainment and regional food at http://clture.org/ , where his list originally appeared.

How to Dress Well - What is This Heart?
Lake Street Drive - Bad Self Portraits
Real Estate - Atlas
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Future Islands - Singles
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
Shakey Graves - And the War Came
Sun Kil Moon - Benji
Caribou - Our Love

Charlotte rapper Stranger Day (aka Shane Coble) released his acclaimed, eclectic album "Graves" as a free download earlier this year (it's made a few Top 10 lists as well). The album - a Charlotte-centric effort which features several other local artists from disparate genres - is available here

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Lotta - Final Fantasy 2
A Wax - Pulling Strings
Gene the Southern Child - Southern Meridian
Tim Barry - Lost and Rootless
White Lung - Deep Fantasy
Antwon - Heavy Hearted in Doldrums
Sun Kil Moon - Benji
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Hungry Girl - Chiefs EP

When not prepping his next album for a 2015 release, Charlotte pop-rock singer-songwriter Jon Lindsay was working with the NC Music Love Army to further progressive political work in North Carolina. The first seven albums on Lindsay's list come from other North Carolina artists, while the other three, he says, represent his favorites in the rest of the world. 

Alternative Champs - Feelings
Benji Hughes - Songs in the Key of Animals
J Cole - Forest Hills Drive
Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers
Lost in the Trees - Past Life
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Eyes for No Witness
Taylor Swift - 1989
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Perfume Genius - Too Bright