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.

Lo Mejor del Ano - EPes y mini-albumes/ Best of 2014 - EP's & mini-albums

Before I start revealing my annual Top30 list of the best Spanish albums I'd like to present to you the teaser. So please find below my list of Top10 EP's - in no particular order (with Karen Koltarne as winner anyway):

Karen Koltrane "Plantas De Interior" 
(p)Foehn Records
This is the classic Foehn album - intelligent, warm and thinkful. The say they play synth pop. I'd rather say Karen Koltrane (the name of this four piece only seems to be the name of a single person - and there are no females in the band either) play something like trip-hop for smartasses. The slow motion beats, the melodies that evolve in minutes, the pure electronica and lo-fi ambient. The album was recorded as a pack of demos. But if these songs are demos - what would be their high fidelity?
And as a classic Foehn record - "Plantas de Interior" is a piece of heaven for every vinyl junkie.

El Viejo Astra "Estudio Dos" 
(p)El Hombre Bala
The Canarians El Viejo Astra somehow call this album an EP. I don't know why cos it's 35 minutes long, and there are many albums of shorter lenghts which are long plays. But if they want to call it an EP - let it be. Who am I to argue with the creators? The music here is full of the layers of foggy psychedelia, and it also contains thick analogue noise and timeless melodies galore. The bastard child of ELO and Medicine (or Spacemen 3). 

Kasparov vs Deep Blue "E.P." 
self-released
The band whose name reminds the battle of the greatest Russian chess champion of Azerbaijan origin Garry Kasparov with one of the first chess-trained supercomputers named Deep Blue plays alternative rock that flows from post-rock to post-grunge with Dredg as a main transit hub.
The great guitar sound and depression flowing directly into your blood system. The song "Big Eyes" is one of the best songs of the year.

baden bah! "futuro/a"
self-released
I've already spread my opinion on this cool album HERE

Doctor Lobo "Reiniciar"
self-released
Honestly speaking, I know nothing about this band from Valencia. I have picked this mini album from their bandcamp at random and found it very interesting. Stylistically they have something in common with the band Neuman, I suppose - it seems like they also did not make the final decision on what exact genre to play. But despite the stylistic uncertainty the songs are good, and their singer really can sing.

Nixon "Alter Ego" 
self-released
The music of this a bit psychedelic indie rock band from Almeria can remind you of Second at times.
Nixon exist from 2006 and "Alter Ego" is not their first release (in fact it's second), so the issues of 'the first attempt at writing' are hardly present here - all 6 songs on this EP sound very professionally composed and recorded.

Dulce Pajara de Juventud "Faithful Songs"
(p)BCore Disc
The provocative cover hides only three songs on this EP - but all these tracks are great.
The first "Evelyn Fuck Machine" is a killer hit. The next "Faithful Song" contains at least six non-cycled melodic progressions in the range between noise rock and chamber pop. The closing song "Benjamin" is a calmer track that fits good for the purpose of a classic closing track. The great appetizer before the full lenght.

Apenino "Viravolta"
(p)Jabalina Musica
This is the classic Jabalina Musica release - intelligent, warm and thinkful - but not in the same way as Foehn's classic releases. The project of Marco Maril (who hides himself under Apenino moniker), one of the core artists of Jabalina, delivers the smooth and intimate electronica-based indie pop that fits best for the sad smiles and quiet minutes of the pairs newly in love.

Mi Pequena Radio "Mono"
(p)Audiomatic/Sony ATV/EMI Publishing

Another pack of great songs from David Tabuena. Recording now as a full band, my personal favourites Mi Pequena Radio show the signs of the creative growth and growing ambitions on this tiny EP. Godspeed you, chicos!

Walden Dos "La Distancia Indolora"
self-released
This Madrid-based formation plays music which is obscure, powerful, colourful, loud and melodic. It incorporates the elements of trip hop, old school psychedelia, shoegaze, and krautrock standing in a couple of steps from electro-industrial.

Las Resenas Casuales. Belako "AAAA!!!!", "Bele Beltzak Baino Ez"

Belako "AAAA!!!!"
Belako "Bele Beltzak Baino Ez" (p)2014 Belako Rekords

One of the breakthrough bands to emerge on the Spanish indie rock skies in the last couple of years, the Pais Vasco's Belako return this year with the pair of EPs released almost simultaneously right in the middle of the year - both being put out on the band's own imprint Belako Rekords.

"AAAA!!!!", a concert-only release, is an agressive, punching, edgy and nervous punk record in the post-Sonic Youth world.
"Bele Beltzak Baino Ez" is more inward-looking experimental post-punk covered with icy electronica and pure hysterics.
These were the two dominants in the sound of "Eurie", the successful full lenght released in 2013. Here on EPs the main components are perfected and distilled to greater effect. It's up to you what side of  Belako entity you like more, but depending on the quality of the songs the chances are you'll like them both.

Las Resenas Casuales. Baden Bah! "Futuro/a"

Baden Bah! "Futuro/a" (p)2014 self-released

This short album was recorded in Aranda, a home to Sonorama Ribera music festival, right after this year's Sonorama edition was over. The recordings were made very fast (I believe it was like one weekend or so), so it hardly took a month for the whole cycle of recording, mixing, mastering and then presenting the final result to the main digital platforms.

Such overspeeding of the process (I suppose it's not the kind of usual approach even for the truly indie band) didn't spoil the quality. So if you liked "Aleph" (the previous album of baden bah!) like as I did you will definitely like the new one as well - like as I do.

The bandmembers have changed the looks. From the white shirts with black ties and 'aleph' symbols on their sleeves they switched to 'pop art' colourful suits and bright images. Musically, without taking major steps aside the band nevertheless incorporated some additional elements to their core power pop sound.
The tubes in "Iguazu" made me curious of how that song could sound in 2-tone ska key. The Madness-like tubes return in the next track called "Invicto" making this song a potential hymn for the successfull football team. The closing "Alma" started with the simple guitar strumming but then it turned into the emotional and sublime chant orchestrated with cello and synths that fits perfectly for its role. The other tracks are more habitual to the band's template but in comparison with the previous releases from the first song to the last here baden bah! sounds more focused, more concentrated, more intense and apparently more concerned. 

The best tracks: Iguazu, Universo, Futuro

baden bah! en la red

Las Resenas Casuales. Sin Rumbo "LUZ"

Sin Rumbo "LUZ" (p)2014 Sin Rumbo

The band on the verge of 'making it', Madrid-based Sin Rumbo have changed the direction before releasing their most ambitious project yet.

Honestly speaking, I was pretty sure that they would embrase considerable success with their previous album "Forma Parte de Espectaculo". Though [probably] not so successful in terms of box office, this disc helped much to consolidate the band's fan base, and before making the further steps ahead the band decided to take some time to re-group forces, to start and successfully finalize the crowdfunding campaign, and then to finally present to us "LUZ" (as usual this album was released independently). By the way, this year marks the band's 10th anniversary, and it seems like the last two years have changed the Sin Rumbo's face more than the previous eight years. Now the band wears on the sleeves the 'electronica-cross-guitars contemporary indie' template whose reflections we may see/listen in the bands like Polock, or, for instance, Sin Rumbo's close friends The Noises (not to mention the best-known bands in this sub-genre). For not to get caught within the cliche's boundaries the guys have used one [not so] simple but effective method: the diversity.

The opening track "Frecuencias" welcomes you with Delorean-like sounds and catchy chorus, while the stomping "Horizonte" has stylistically almost nothing in common with its predecessor. The next song "1789" is a perfect piece of fast noise-pop - at this point I felt myself like I was discovering the world inside the moone along with the [arguably] best album Apples (In Stereo) ever produced. And with "Volveremos A Casa" and "Cambiar El Final" (the latter could remind you of Hurts) this feeling even increased. The things calm down a bit in the second half of the album that consists of the songs which are more in line with the bands previous works. But as a whole "LUZ" could star as a perfect guide to how to change the ways and methods without losing your face.

The best tracks: Cambiar El Final, Volveremos A Casa, Inercia, 1789

Sin Rumbo Facebook

Sin Rumbo Sitio Oficial

Las Resenas Casuales. Las Ruinas "Toni Bravo"

Las Ruinas "Toni Bravo" (p)2014 El Genio Equivocado

It came as a surprise for me as I had never heard of Las Ruinas previously.
I have no idea whether Las Ruinas are eager to be the Spanish Guided By Voices. But something (maybe their 5 or 6 releases in the last 3 years) makes me feel that way. It's clear that the band's modus operandi is not so far from Dayton, Ohio finest: the short noisy tracks with both legs in post-punk and/or college rock, relatively simple textures and quirky but undeniably catchy hooks - but fortunately, this amazing band is not a bunch of copycats at all, and the music they produce has not so much in common with Robert Pollard's main vehicle. The songs of Las Ruinas are colder, more 'robotic', more calculated and simultaneously are tighter in terms of instrumentation and wider in terms of space used. 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).
The album of the week for me.

The best tracks: Automatas, Paseo Maritimo, La Epica De La Pobreza

The buy the digital copy of "Toni Bravo" please click here.