The post #101. Comps of Foehn Records and El Hombre Bala Records

It's the post #101, so it's something like starting a new life. And I'd like to start this new life with something good for everyone who reads these words.

Two of the best and most innovative labels of Spain - Foehn Records (Barcelona) and El Hombre Bala (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) - have released recently their compilations of the best 2014's tracks of the bands from their rosters. And you can get them for free on the labels' bandcamp pages (see the links below).

Foehn Records 2014

El Hombre Bala Records 2014

Enjoy.

P.S. I think I should make my own compilation right now. Oh, no - no 'right now'. A bit later.

The Best Of 2014. Album #1 (and the post #100)

The fractured.

The sick.

The morbid.

The hysterical.

The ironic.

The balladesque.

The minstrel-like.

The haunted.

The dark.

The spooky.

The best album of the year is...

...01. Joe La Reina "Bailamos Por Miedo"

(p)Subterfuge

Ademas, it's my post #100 in this blog! I should clebrate this somehow...

The Best Of 2014. Albums 2 - 3

03. Rufus T. Firefly "Nueve"
(p)LagoNaranja

It was an absolute shock. At the moment when music stopped I got stuck with my mouth open and my mind totally blown out. It was not an intention, but this album crawled through my system like a venomous reptile. Call it psychedelic pop, call it space rock, call it everything you want to, but this quintet from Madrid suburbs has created an album which is deep, smart, obscure, blurry, diverse and coherent, absolutely controlled and wide as space all at once.

The thing that speaks for itself: "Nueve" was produced and mixed by Manuel Cabezali from Havalina, the man who rarely makes a fault.

02. Vetusta Morla "La Deriva"

(p)Pequeno Salto Mortal

From the moment I heard "Golpe Maestro" for the first time I was pretty sure that this album is going to be the champion. I wrote a review in English, a review in Russian as well as the first attempt of the history of Vetusta Morla in Russian. I saw no alternative for the most part of the year. And the only thing that finally made "La Deriva" a runner-up is as follows: the album that made it on the very top really came as a surprise while "La Deriva" has shown the highest level of the band but it was no surprise at all. 

The Best Of 2014. Albums 4 - 10

10. Acuario "Cassette Para Los Niños"

(p)Marxophone

The solo analogue electronica project of Nudozurdo's Leo Mateos. These great tunes (imagine something between Depeche Mode's "Some Great Reward" and Dorian's "La Ciudad Subterranea") accompanied by the familiar plaintive vocals of Leo should be the good intermediate POI for the one who's waiting for the next Nudozurdo release - but it's not good, in fact. It appears to be fucking good.

09. Guerrera "Mauna Loa"

(p)Matapadre

A supergroup of sorts (Guerrera represents the members of the local Galician indie bands - such diverse as melodic indie/grunge-oriented Holywater or blackened crust/hardcore Ictus, for example), this band is the energy, the fury and the rampage all incapsulated and wrapped up in psychedelic/ sludge/ progressive thunderstorm.

08. I Am Dive "Wolves"

(p)Foehn

A total opposite to Guerrera, I Am Dive's new album is the quiet slowcore mixed with ambient IDM and dreampop, a perfect soundtrack to the lonely hours spent on the thin border between the reality and the dream.

07. Sr. Chinarro "Perspectiva Caballera"

(p)VEEMMM

In the 2010's Antonio Luque has come to the 'album per year' schedule. But despite the short interims between albums the last one contains some visible changes to the renowned musician's usual template. On his most recent work Antonio sounds like he was bitten by Bill Callahan. So, "Perspectiva Caballera" is the most cohesive album in Sr. Chinarro's history - and probably the saddest one.

06. Niños Mutantes "El Futuro"

(p)Ernie Producciones

Though "Las Noches de Insomnio" and "Naufragos" contained some truly great songs, but they did not work for me as albums. So "El Futuro" is their first album in years which contains some great songs and works very well as a whole.

05. Sidonie "Sierra Y Canada"

(p)Sony/Octubre

The best bittersweet pop album of the year. "These songs surely will make sing and dance along and get stuck in your head for [at least] months", I wrote 8 months ago. And now I must admit that it works just like I predicted.

04. Poomse "Vs.The Kingdom Of Death"

(p)Foehn

With two albums in Top10 and absolutely fantastic Karen Koltrane short album, Barcelona-based Foehn Records is the 'Champion of All Indie Labels' in 2014. The Poomse's album was the first released by Foehn this year - in the very beginning of February, so this album follows me all the year through. With the songs like "Empty Sea", "August, 2011" and especially "Daily Bread" it's the best companion for the old school indie rock fan like me. 

The Best Of 2014. Albums 11 - 20

20. Yani Como "Tu Ninca Te Aburres"
(p)Art Of Troya

With every next album (this one is sixth) my Persons Of The Year (I suppose they know why I call them so) become better and better - just like good DO Ribera del Duero wine.

19. Tania De Sousa "Tania Tank"
(p)Talka Records

With the ideological help of Fermin Muguruza and the full throttle guitar support of Correos' frontman Fermin Bouza this Pais Vasco native punk girl creates the melodic monument to the feminine power.

P.S. "She's the model and she's looking good..."

18. Proyecto Solaz "Homeoextasis"
(p)Digimusic

Named after the Lagartija Nick song "Solaz", the six-piece from Almeria released their first album in the very end of 2013. 9 noisy nervous restless tracks of experimental alternative rock with the perfect 'from intimate to earcrushing' vocals of Maria Martinez and Standstill-like rhythmical structures.

17. El Columpio Asesino "Ballenas Muertas En San Sebastian"
(p)Mushroom Pillow

Misanthropic electro-punk from the Pamplona-born post punk quintet - as cold and icy as Baffin's Island and as friendly and cheerful as an iceberg that crashed Titanic. 

You have longed for the next "Toro"? - Haha.

16. Puma Pumku "Is It In You?"
(p)Matapadre

The impressive first long play (produced by the members of Triangulo de Amor Bizarro) from the Galician psychedelic quintet is the reign of echoes, reverb, detached vocals and old-school dreampop-drenched instrumentation.

15. Sin Rumbo "LUZ"
(p)self-released

The band on the verge of 'making it', Madrid-based Sin Rumbo have changed the direction before releasing their most ambitious project yet. But despite the genre-bending metamorphoses "LUZ" could star as a perfect example of how to change the ways and methods without losing your face.

14. Carmen Boza "La Mansion De Los Espejos"
(p)self-released

"Gran artista y mejor persona. No, en serio; hago canciones" says the bandcamp page of Carmen Boza. Her album is a true gem of the semi-acoustic folk songs and 'a girl and a guitar and a tiny backing band' template. All the 11 songs here are absolutely fantastic.

13. Velcro "Hojalata"
(p)El Hombre Bala

The great collection of re-recorded and re-produced early tracks of the Canarian leftfield electrorock outfit. As I said earlier in the beginning of this year, "Hojalata" is full of great tunes and catchy choruses and happiness for everyone who's into the post-shoegaze alternative dance rock. Since then my opinion has not changed.

12. Blusa "¡Toca Breakbeat, Perro!"
(p)Sello Salvaje

The best feature that "Toca Breakbeat, Perro!" wears on its sleeves - and that makes this wordless album so exciting - is the four musicians' outstanding three-dimensional thinking and the ability to construct the compositions with almost architecturally detailed use of the sound space.

11. Las Ruinas "Toni Bravo"
(p)El Genio Equivocado

These tracks may seem simple enough but the truth is they are so perfectly constructed that could work even without vocals ("Ultimo Tren" as a proof) said I a month ago. Like Blusa, this post punk trio also has an exceptional three-dimensional creative vision - but they use it in another way: instead of creating the slowly evolving soundscapes they make 2 minutes long songs with equally fine results.

The Best Of 2014. Albums 21 - 30

30. Yes I M "Vietnam"

(p)Foehn

The extremely catchy lo-fi 'bedroom indietronica' from Chinese Christmas Cards' singer Mario Gutierrez Brun.

29. Cosmen Adelaida "La Foto Fantasma"

(p)El Genio Equivocado

The young quintet from El Genio Equivocado's roster plays nugaze-oriented twee-tinged indie rock - a Spanish 'hi-five' to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

28. Breis "Verna"

(p)Sweet Song

The new album of Manolo Breis is a bit calmer than his two previous works "Asuntos Pendientes" and "Invisibles", but "Verna" definitely is a grower - and now I hardly can imagine my year 2014 without it.

27. Mourn "Mourn"

(p)Sones

The teen four-piece genetically related to Ramon "The New Raemon" Rodriguez (two chicks in Mourn are his daughters) plays homage to Sleater-Kinney and PJ Harvey with love and sincerety.

26. Bel Bee Bee "Still Unstirred"

(p)The Note Company

This debut disc of Belen Alvarez Doreste is detailed, deep and dreamy example of the intelligent mix of trip-hop and folk. A good pack of features to fit in this Top30.

25. Grises "Animal"

(p)Octubre/Sony

Grises go loud adding the elements of djent and rave to the standard electrorock plate.

24. Supersubmarina "Viento De Cara"

(p)Octubre/Sony

Far more catchy than "Santacruz", "Viento de Cara" puts indie-goes-major superstars Supersubmarina back on the "Electroviral" track.

23. Cuello "Modo Eterno"

(p)BCore Disc

The post-hardcore quartet's second effort in two years is a raw, fast and sarcastic fireball you can't stand against.

22. Modelo De Respuesta Polar "El Cariño"

(p)Limbo Starr

Less shoegaze and more folky than "Asi Pasen Cinco Anos", the sophomore release shows the wider spectre of this Valencian band's talents.

21. Havoc "Lo Saben Los Narvales"
(p)Subterfuge
The ideal pop music for the ideal world.

The Best Of 2014. Albums 31 - 33

Dulce Pajara de Juventud "Triumph"

(p)BCore Disc

It seems like they decided to be the Spanish The Spiritualized and started to implement the 'wall of sound' methods and elements of soul music. Sometimes it sounds really great, but overall this album is a bit 'too much' for me.

Ruin Man Band "Paraiso"

(p) Ruin Records

Strange but undeniably pleasing, this record came from Canary islands. Imagine acid jazz mixed with dirty guitars, dancehall chants, funky rhythms and lush (mostly winds) orchestrations - and you'll get an approximate impression of "Paraiso".

Is "El Duelo"

(p)Limbo Starr

Isabel Leon has produced her second effort via Limbo Starr nine years after the first disc "Istochnikov" was put out. It is very beautifully crafted indie pop album. It is delicate, it is cinematic, it is twee.