The Soundtrack Of My Life's Top 25 Albums Of 2014

25. Kylie Minogue - Kiss Me Once

24. Neon Trees - Pop Psychology

23. Haunted Hearts - Initiation
22. Paloma Faith - A Perfect Contradiction

21. Spoon - They Want My Soul
20. 2NE1 - Crush

19. Beck - Morning Phase

18. Röyksopp & Robyn - Do It Again

17. The Drums - Encyclopedia

16. Dum Dum Girls - Too True

15. Kiesza - Sound Of A Woman

14. RAC - Strangers

13. Taylor Swift - 1989

12. Lykke Li - I Never Learn

11. Bleachers - Strange Desire

10. Betty Who - Take Me When You Go

9. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

8. Karen O - Crush Songs 

7. Trust - Joyland

 

6. La Roux - Trouble In Paradise

5. Imogen Heap - Sparks

4. Banks - Goddess

3. St. Vincent - St. Vincent

2. Tori Amos - Unrepentant Geraldines

1. Beyoncé - Beyoncé

Grace Jones - Original Beast

Lorde is basically friends with all the cool people.  And by cool people, I mean all the musical legends and icons that you love.  First there was that picture of her casually hanging out with David Bowie and Tilda Swinton and now she's managed to get Grace Jones on the Lorde-curated Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack.  Let's not even talk about the fact that she chose to exclude a new David Lynch track from the album.

The new Grace song is called "Original Beast" and it's this insane electo-tribal attack.  Her vocals are eerie and savage, and it's pretty much the perfect Grace Jones contribution to a highly successful young adult novel-to-film adaptation that you never asked for.  What even is this world that we're living in?

Tiga - Bugatti

Tiga has created the true earworm sequel to "Shoes".  There's really not much else to say about this new single, since the otherworldly video speaks for itself.  It's like some hypnotic trance that will become imbedded within your brain, and before you know it, you'll be sporadically shouting "BUGATTI" at random intervals throughout the day.  Enjoy your new and improved life.

The Drums - I Can't Pretend

The Drums released their third album Encyclopedia last month, and I'm not quite sure why, but it's received a somewhat mellow response.  They've narrowed down the band lineup to a duo and switched up their sound ever so slightly, but the record is pretty fantastic.  One of the highlights is "I Can't Pretend", a bouncing single that already sounds like a Drums classic.

Kylie Minogue - Kylie + Garibay

Okay, so we all know Kiss Me Once came out earlier this year and it was partially amazing.  Some of it was on the less stunning side of the pop spectrum, and I'm not gonna pin the blame on anyone in particular.  I'm just saying, we would've been just fine without the Enrique Iglesias feature... and "executive producer" Sia.  But that's all said and done, and there's still a nice bundle of standout Kylie moments on the record.

Now here's the exciting news: Kylie just posted a free EP on the wonderful internet without any prior notice.  It's a collaboration with Fernando Garibay, the man who produced some of Lady Gaga's finest work.  I'm talking about "Dance In The Dark" and the majority of her Born This Way album.  With that in mind, the new EP, presumably titled "Kylie + Garibay", is completely different from Kiss Me Once.  It's dark and hard hitting, with Kylie's vocals left in a somewhat raw state.  The first two tracks are especially stunning.  "Glow" is a song that just pummels you with haunting vocals and a drilling synth, while "Wait" has a fantastic bounce that just fuses to a perfect melody.

Several of the tracks on the four song album were featured in the opening video sequence of the Kiss Me Once tour, which kicked off in Liverpool on September 24.  This means that Kylie + Garibay is more than just leftover material from an unused Kiss Me Once recording session.  And I must say, I find this EP to be far more exciting than the full-length album.  It's a daring and unusual move for someone in Kylie's position.  Why give it away for free when the label could slap together an "extended version" of Kiss Me Once with the four new songs?  She does it because she's Kylie Minogue.