Top 5 Albums Of 2014 *50th Review Special*

Hello and welcome to a very special review for Love Life, Love Music. I will be looking back at the top 5 albums of 2014 that I have reviewed on this blog. They don't have to have been released in 2014, they are albums that I have reviewed this year on my blog. At the end of the Top 5 you can find links to all the artists reviews on my blog. So sit back and guess which albums have made it onto the top 5 list! Lets go!

5. Honeyblood - Self Titled

When I first heard this album a few months back I was blown away with their unique and very 90's alternative rock/punk sound. With the Scottish female duo storming the playlists of Radio 1 and Radio 6 Music its no wonder they're becoming one of the hottest acts this year. Along with being part of the NME newcomer tour this year too they are ones to watch in 2015.

Songs such as "Fall Forever", "Killer Bangs" and "Choker" make this band very distinctive and don't sound like anything else out there. This album is a unique experience and one that I think everyone should give a listen to if you enjoy alternative rock.

4. Royal Blood - Self Titled

This is another duo that have excelled in the industry this year. These guys took the summer by storm and shot straight to number one in the UK top 40 album charts.  It was a special occasion because these guys are all about powerful rock. Its been ages since an album that's complete rock from top to bottom beat everything out the way to push straight to number one. This album was named 'The Re-Birth Of Rock' and I would agree. With the clever pedals and other technology, the bass is made to sound like a guitar and everyone was amazed on how this was done. 

Simple beats, but hard hitting fulfill this album and even though the record is just under 35 minutes long, its worth every minute. I was very impressed with each song and how different they sound from each other considering this is only a duo producing this music all in the same genre. Songs like "Figure It Out", "Little Monster" and "Come On Over" are real rock out songs, I have blasted this out in my car without a care in the world. I just hope other rock bands will follow suit. 

3. Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit

It comes to no surprise to me when this was one of the first albums I wanted in my top 5. Gregory Porter's album Liquid Spirit introduced me to one of the best male vocals in jazz at the current time. Very slick, smooth and just makes it look so easy to sing these incredible notes and any vocalist will know its very difficult to sing jazz in the first place. 

Watching a preview video for the album it showed how much Gregory puts into the album and shows how much talent this guy has. He writes all the music and composes each part, writes the lyrics and produces the music along with a producer to make sure it sounds to his desires. For someone to do that is extremely special and not many people do all of these things when recording an album. Each song is special and has a real identity and spirit to it which is rare to find in albums. Songs like "Liquid Spirit", "Hey Laura" and "Water Under Bridges" are personal songs to me and if you give the album a listen, you'll have your own personal songs from this album. 

2. The Cape Race - Home,Truths

This album was a close first because of the amount that I've been listening to these boys. The Cape Race are a rock band from Manchester and they know how to produce a quality rock album. A top quality rock album. Each song has a punchy, powerful and catchy at the same time. The vocals for this album are what make this band so unique, powerful raspy voice echoes throughout the whole record. 

A well recorded and produced album that has had me put this on repeat since its release. This was easily my summer album and chill out to and headbang away in the car, bus, train, anywhere! Its not a heavy rock album for the most part so it appeals to a large audience, though at times it gets heavy and good heavy too! The band know how to rock out in style and do it in the best way possible. I highly recommend this album to anyone who remotely is into rock because you won't turn back!

Drum roll for number 1....



1. Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love

Back in April 2014, one of the best albums of the year was released. When I first heard it from top to bottom, I instantly said "this could be my album of the year already". Come the end of the year and it still is...by a clear mile. This album came out of nowhere for me, it was an amazing surprise. I hadn't listened to Paolo Nutini a great deal before then with his previous album so I wasn't excited for this album or knew when it was coming out. 

I was extremely surprised with the pure quality that this album offers. From the songwriting to session musicians, I can't fault it. I always try find one thing that is wrong or could've been changed with an album, but this is just too good. Listening to the record from top to bottom is an experience, each song having its own unique identity. Paolo's voice has matured from the 5 year gap between his old album. Emotional, pure and faultless from his vocals which just blew me away from the first track. 

I really enjoyed the interludes in the album, not many people can pull them off but the obscurity of them is genius. Each song makes me think "how does one person come up with this song, how did he get to where this song is". Its nothing like I've heard this year and I encourage you all to buy this album on any platform. I have bought it on vinyl and as a digital download and the artwork in the vinyl sleeves are so pretty and worth the money without even listening to the album itself. 

So...there we have it, my top 5 albums of the year. Did you guess which one was going to be number one? This year has been crazy for my blog, I started it in March this year and have never looked back or regretted it. 

I wanted to thank all of you who have read my blog so far (and thanks to those in the future too). Thank you to every company or individual who has emailed me with new music, news, tours and even Christmas cards! Its been a rollercoaster and next year will be even better. This is also my 50th post as well and thinking that I've reviewed 50 artists on my blog is outstanding. Keep listening to amazing music and support live music too!

Thank you very much for reading and have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Lewis 


5. Honeyblood Review

4. Royal Blood Review

3. Gregory Porter Review

2. The Cape Race Review

1. Paolo Nutini Review

Paolo Nutini "Caustic Love"

Hello!

So...this absolute gem of an album came out of no-where for me. I never was a massive follower of Paolo Nutini's work apart from the popular songs. Could this record be a contender for the best album of 2014!?

I knew Paolo was a singer/songwriter and I did enjoy his older work such as 'Pencil Full of Lead', but since he had a five and a half year gap between albums I didn't know he was coming back and I was pleasantly surprised. I cannot stop playing this album, it has everything in it to be one of the great albums that I'll be listening to in many years to come. I bought this album on Itunes as it was the #1 in the album charts and I'm now tempted to buy it on vinyl too!

The songs that are on this album have such a diverse range of genre's from funk to soul to R&B to alternative and I love this. There is nothing for Paolo to say that he did this for popularity, there is not one song on this album he purposefully made to be top of the charts like some artists these days. Each one has been crafted into something that all musicians should look up to. He's created some outstanding pieces of music including "Iron Sky". Wow... what a powerful song that is!

Fantastic Artwork

Not only are the structure and grace of the songs well produced, its the musicians he has hired for this job that impressed me. Where he found these musicians is beyond me, they must be some of the best session musicians I've heard in a long time. It's as if they have practised these songs for years it sounds that good. Nothing seems too unbalanced or over-played, everything seems just perfectly balanced for each track. I give those musicians massive credit for making this album. If they weren't apart of it, I don't think I would be rating this album so highly.

My band mate Dan said that he had gone off Paolo Nutini after his last album because his lyrics and overall vibe of the album were too 'childish'. I listened back to his old album and I understood where he was coming from completely, but I guess everybody knew him after that album. The lyrics and overall sound on this record though are a lot more mature. Obviously having five years off does you wonders. One sentence that stands out to me in the album is from 'Iron Sky' and he says "Mass confusion, spoon-fed to the blind". I still do not understand why that sentence stands out to me, but I think its genius. 

The sections that I wasn't too keen on were the interludes between songs, but once you have heard them a few times they really grow on you. Personally 'Superfly' is a great interlude just because of the movie line at the beginning talking about boys playing in the streets, but not making them very popular. A crazy bold move by Paolo! 

One thing that stands out to me the most about this album from anything else is the amount of energy Paolo puts into the songs. You can hear in single one of them that he has poured his heart and soul into every song. Each song he has spent countless hours creating and producing and now they're ready to go onto a record he wants to put every ounce of himself into each one and its fantastic to hear. 

The top songs I would recommend on this album are "Iron Sky", "Scream (Funk My Life Up)", "Let Me Down Easy" and "One Day". The song "Better Man" is one of the songs that shouts out to me a song for a partner because they lyrics are so true from a guys point of view to a girl in a sweet way. Although don't get me wrong the other songs are fantastic, but if you don't have a lot of time these are the ones to check out!

I would seriously recommend anyone who is looking for new material to give this a good few listens and enjoy each song. This may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it shouldn't of been my sort of music, but each one grew on me and its definitely going to be a tough contender for best album of 2014 for myself and maybe in the industry!?

Thanks for reading and enjoy the music!

Lewis :) 

Website: http://www.paolonutini.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaoloNutini

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaoloNutini

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/paolonutini

P.S As a quick pointer, I was so engaged on writing this I wrote it in 20 minutes!? Though this was just the text, without putting links or photos in. Listening to the album whilst writing I guess helps, but this was one blog I've just poured out onto.