Smashenger *.* xox

Unfortunately i am not doing a Hate Chart :o

 

But i can exclusively reveal that Passenger would indeed have won it.

Catching up...

Hurts <3 they need another Kylie duet tbh.

I know you like it

 

 

15. James Blake - Overgrown [2-3-5-6-8-14-14-15-13-14-15-17-19]

 

01. Take A Fall For Me (feat. RZA)

02. Voyeur

03. Overgrown

 

16. Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience Part 1/2 [1-1-2-3-3-5-6-8-9-14-16-17-17-16-13-14-15-14-19]

 

01. Don't Hold The Wall

02. Mirrors

03. Dress On

 

Two beautiful men cracking well into the top 20 here and two massive albums for different reasons. First the big big return from reigning king of pop Justin with the hotly anticipated first part of his crystal clear return to the scene. A mammoth album made up of scorchingly long songs that together make for what really should have been the complete 20/20 Experience. The less said about 2/2 the better, it really did hinder the momentum built up from this near flawless album. Vocals that are to die for, stylish visuals throughout and hot, hot tunes. Don't leave it another 7 years please! And following on is critics' album of choice and downright twisted 2nd coming of James Blake. My song of choice is probably an unpopular one given it sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the sounds, but that's precisely what makes it so special. The prickliest thorn amongst Overgrown thorns and a perfectly dark, brooding masterpiece. And then come the obviously huge other tracks, but really it's hard to separate post 'Take A Fall For Me', because it all flows so gracefully.

Not heard the JT album but Mirrors and Tunnel Vision are pretty good, coming from someone who's not particularly a fan of him.

You think i'm crazy... I am.

 

 

13. M.I.A. - Matangi [3-2-2-2-2-3...]

 

01. Exodus (feat. The Weeknd)

02. Come Walk With Me

03. Warriors

 

14. SZA - See.SZA.Run [13-17-12-13-10-10-10-11-14-19-20-17-15-14...]

 

01. Bed

02. Crack Dreams

03. Time Travel Undone

 

And from two beautiful men to two stunning leading ladies, one of which is the only artist in the countdown to have TWO albums featured. Where to start with SZA one of the artists of the year for me?? Well probably best to start how she opens it all in See.SZA.Run. The opening track to her sensational debut EP is both enticing, dangerous and completely full of personality. 'Bed' sets the bar high but thankfully it carries along that menacing tone with plenty of hints of beauty to shine through. She really is a lyrical master and i just can't stress enough how much her music has grabbed me. This EP is a funky trip through time straight into SZA's head making it one of the most impressionable debuts i've ever heard. Still one more collection from her to come but just how high will SZA.Fly? And still riding high in my personal chart right now and managing to score a respectable position here is Matangi. An explosive album from pretty much start to end, relentless and colourful it's M.I.A. letting it all go. Her best effort in a while and i expected nothing less after the pre-album singles surfaced. Album tracks are largely consistent too and with highs as high as Exodus (twice over) there's still only 1 mia. Gangsters, bangas she's puttin' em in a trance *.*

The fact that Body Count does not feature in that top 3 of JT's album means your opinion is rendered invalid.

No heard most of the second part to it yet, but T.K.O is obviously a career highlight.

YAY at my 2 faves (James Blake and Lorde if that wasn't obvious) making appearances here ~ I don't really listen to many albums at all, I might have heard 10 at a big push the whole year? So I can't comment on many of these. Looking forward to ur songs countdown which I may or may not pay attention to.

Once you realise you can do anything, you're free

 

 

11. Kid Cudi - Indicud [11-14-15-xx-16-12-13-15-16-18-19-xx-10-10-11-15-16-16-20]

 

01. Red Eye (feat. Haim)

02. Unf***wittable

03. Immortal

 

12. London Grammar - If You Wait [2-3-3-4-5-7-7-9-10-7-8-10-11...]

 

01. Nightcall

02. Wasting My Young Years

03. Strong

 

One for the underrated and one for the supposed overrated. London Grammar exploded quite gracefully onto the scene this year with the haunting 'Wasting My Young Years' which guaranteed my undivided attention. Exploring If You Wait in depth reveals yet more beauties, with the insane falsetto of the group's vocals coupled with the tinny instrumentals that fill it all. #1 song is undoubtedly 'Nightcall'; more on that in the singles countdown but if ever you doubt the might just give that a spin, wait for the half-way mark and feel those goosebumps. Excited to see where the go from now, but for a debut this is as solid as you can get. And very, very narrowly missing the top 10 is the King Wizard with his dark spell, Indicud, the deceptively haunting monster third album from Cudi. Ashamed that this hasn't got the attention it deserved, wall-to-wall tracks that grow with every listen, leaving nothing and everything to the imagination. 'Red Eye' takes the #1 song only because it's the one i revisit the most away from listening to the album as a whole, and the most accessible. With a prelude EP coming next year and the third instalment of the Man on the Moon trilogy, i expect he'll be rocketing into next year's countdown with whatever effort he provides in '14. But for now this is enough to keep me from being sad and lonely.

The truth is that we need each other

 

 

10. Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream [11-6-6-12-9-18-xx-18-17-18-12-16-15-16-13-12-9-10-14-18]

 

01. Adorn

02. How Many Drinks?

03. Do You...

04. Use Me

05. Where's The Fun In Forever?

 

Cheating ever so slightly. An album not released this year but one that i discovered within the time-frame and quite simply cannot omit from the countdown. A brilliantly constructed album, merging traditional R&B with funky electronics and a whole assortment of soaring vocals, it rightfully received the critical acclaim it deserved. The title sums it up perfectly, a colourful, prismatic vision into Miguel's mind - a filthy yet delicate, sex-filled mind that he lets you in on for the ride. The fact it starts and ends with 'Adorn' shows just how orgasmic the trip is. The chorus of 'Use Me', the lyrics throughout, the freestyled 'Pussy' it all just WORKS to AROUSE. Apart from one other in this top 10 (~tease~), Kaleidoscope Dream is the easiest album to get through and immerse yourself in. Just press play and let it all soak in.

Gotta let this fire keep burning

 

 

09. Disclosure - Settle [1-2-2-2-2-3-7-10-9-6-5-5-7-10-14-14-15-17]

 

01. You & Me (feat. Eliza Doolittle)

02. Help Me Lose My Mind (feat. London Grammar)

03. January (feat. Jamie Woon)

04. Stimulation

05. Defeated No More (feat. Ed Macfarlane)

 

Took me longer than most to latch onto these (pun intended) as i wasn't blown away by the big debut singles. The album however completely won me over and become one of the glorious soundtracks to my summer. Not usually a fan of this garage-dance type thing, but Disclosure made it accessible and undeniably infectious for all with Settle. It even managed the feat of debuting at #1 for me which especially for a brand new act is quite the achievement. Made up of scorching collaborations from all the big names right now and a host of jamming gems, they'll find it hard to top this with their second coming. PLUS anyone that can make an Eliza Doolittle track (shudder) sound THIS damn good has to get top marks from me.

Who's that peekin' in my window with a pistol to my curtains?

 

 

08. A$AP Rocky - LONG.LIVE.A$AP [14-1-1-3-5-8-12-17-19-xx-13-8-9-11-14-15-17-18-19]

 

01. Wild For The Night (feat. Skrillex)

02. Fashion Killa

03. F*ckin' Problems (feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)

04. Long Live A$AP

05. Hell (feat. Santigold)

 

Ok let's get things straight. Rocky comes across as a bit of a turdwipe pretty much all the time BUT with ammunition like this i'm frankly won over by it. LONG.LIVE.A$AP as the title suggests is a self-indulgent album full of huge hooks and killer choruses. His voice has started to grate on me somewhat after whoring the album out relentlessly but if you can get past that, there is a quite clever guy behind the bravado. I'm shocking myself even including it this high, but there's no denying when the gun shots sound in the opening track, or when Santigold pines in Hell or when flickers of Rihanna shine through Fashion Killa that there is a huge talent there, capable of making quite explosive tunes when it matters. Is he as confident with himself as the album suggests? I don't know, but still not the most controversial in the top 10 by any means...

Still need to check out Disclosures album. The first three singles are amazing, F For You put me off in a big way though.

Do you want to come too?

 

 

07. Postiljonen - Skyer [1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-5-9-12-14-12-13-14-15-17-17-16-16-16...]

 

01. Supreme

02. Help

03. Atlantis

04. Skying High

05. We Raise Our Hearts

 

The ultimate chill-out & feel-good album of the year slots comfortable into the top 10 (was as high as top 5 when i started compiling). The soundtrack to my summer, helping me through my dissertation and generally making things SKY HIGH when they seemed low. Amassing a mammoth SIX weeks on top of my chart throughout the entirety of the summer, Skyer is definitely the surprise smash of the year for me. Beautifully composed and delicately sung, the album is a refreshing whiff of air amongst a bed of much darker stuff surrounding it here. It takes a number of blissful turns with the insane highs of Supreme and Help before culminating in the SAX of Atlantis which draws it all together perfectly. Pop really doesn't get much easier than this.

All night, all day, all night

 

 

06. Jai Paul - Jai Paul [3-1-1-1-3-5-7-8-9-6-4-5-5-7-9-6-9-10-10-16-19-18-19-18-20]

 

01. Jasmine

02. Str8 Outta Mumbai

03. Track 15

04. BTSTU

05. Track 3

 

The biggest enigma in the countdown and the most confusing artist to get my head around. There's something extremely compelling about Jai Paul the artist AND album, making me so so excited for everything he touches. Shrouded in controversy and mystery he speaks through the music but unfortunately for clarity's sake, the music is similarly as distorted and clouded. Ranging from the downright beautifully chilling Jasmine, to the insane sounds Str8 Outta Mumbai, Jai comes full force and doesn't hold back, despite those tender moments where his cracks begin to show. With cheeky interludes splattered throughout and homages to a whole range of popular cultures, the album (at whatever stage it's supposed to be at) is still an accomplished project. Through blurring a host of styles, genres, visuals and cultures, when i'm not being spooked out in the middle of the night by the sounds i'm positively jamming to the weird and wonderful.

Top 5 albums coming soon :o

 

TWO solo females / THREE solo males. Predictions??

 

http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/images/hal_9000.jpg

One of them must be BEYONCÉ.

Maybe.

 

#NoRules

#NewRules to slay please xox

We've been talkin' about the future

 

 

05. Drake - Nothing Was The Same [1-1-1-2-3-5-10-13-12-14-11-12]

 

01. Hold On We're Going Home (feat. Majid Jordan)

02. The Motion (feat. Sampha)

03. Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2 (feat. Jay-Z)

04. Too Much (feat. Sampha)

05. From Time (feat. Jhené Aiko)

 

Of all the big releases this year, Drake was one of the ones i was most nervous about. Following on from 'Take Care' one of my favourite albums of ALL TIME was always going to be tough and so i accepted that he wouldn't come close to matching it (and indeed he didn't). But what he has managed to do is prove is that indeed Nothing Was The Same and nor will it ever be, because while not as engrossing as his previous works, the album shows a deep progression in where he sees his career and art currently, as well as where it's heading in the future. The album is full of self-adoration (a theme for a lot of albums this year!) but also admiring that everything he has become is a result of those that have helped him along the way. It's a much more subtle album from him, with soft tender sounds and a revealing look at the man behind the artist and it's all the more impactful for this reason. The huge highlight is of course 'Hold On' which is looking to head HOME in the singles countdown, but with two big samples in Pound Cake (Ellie G) and Too Much (Sampha), plus a host of pulsating beats, even though it doesn't match what has come before, this is where he's going now and he owns it.