The Five Albums of 2014 You Need to Know

Spoon, They Want My Soul Might as well start with the best and this has to be it for me. Solid from start to finish. Pretty much the way rock should be, from one of the most tried and true bands out there. Spoon took a little break after 2010's Transference (which felt a little disjointed and was a wee bit of a downer) to pursue side projects (see, Divine Fits) and came back supercharged and refreshed. And it shows. So many good tracks I have a hard time levelling it down. But Do You always rises to the top. As does Inside Out. And Rent I Pay. You get the drift.

Jack White, Lazaretto Rock God. Strange quirky moody kind of melodramatic keeps you guessing = 100% rock god. The title track, Lazaretto is a dark anthem that you must tap your toes to. And yes, I had to look up what the heck a Lazaretto is and why they quarantined people on the Isle of Man.

First Aid Kit, Stay Gold Those Swedes get it right again (Acne, Alexander Skarsgard, need I go on?). Purveyors of cool, the Swedish duo behind First Aid Kit crafted a sort of seventies folk country tribute that totally hit a sweet spot with me. Harmonies, strings, and just the right amount of guitar twang. Definitely give a listen to My Silver Lining and Stay Gold.

Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City Lyrics that make you go hmmmm, might even make you feel like you wasted your college education....and start googling (what did that word mean?!) all at the same time. The kind of song writing that makes me wonder how people manage to string together such random thoughts, events, and story lines and churn out cohesive, beautiful, pop anthems. Just give Step a listen and try to sort all that out. Faves....Step & Ya Hey.

Jenny Lewis, The Voyager Autobiographical in all the best ways. Lewis dishes on relationships gone south, depression, cheating, death, complicated relationships, wanting to become a mother, and vacations gone to hell. Her lyricism is craftful and approachable, maybe in a way that a woman of a similar age can really identify with? Or maybe I just still have a mad girl crush on Jenny Lewis stretching back from Troop Beverly Hills. Fave tracks, She's Not Me (cheating, punching through dry wall, being called that crazy chick) and Head Underwater (staring depression down and making it out the other side). Yup and yup.
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