While 2013 brought us albums from Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Kurt Vile and Haim, 2014 is shaping up to be quite the landmark year as well, with albums by Beck, Modest Mouse and others in the works.
Join us as we countdown our 10 most anticipated indie albums of 2014.
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10. Broken Bells, “After The Disco”
Release date: January 2014
James Mercer and Danger Mouse’s Broken Bells was an underrated side project for both artists. Sure, their debut album featured one of 2010’s defining singles, “High Road,” but it was far more than a one-track album.
Their follow-up, “After The Disco,” sounds even better than its predecessor, with a sleek and shiny studio 54 vibe, miraculously sans cheese. Leave it to Danger Mouse.
Listen to Broken Bells’ new single, “After The Disco,” below.
https://soundcloud.com/brokenbellsmusic/after-the-disco
9. tUnE yArDs, “Sink-o” (Working Title)
Release date: TBA
We haven’t heard much from wacky indie-a-go-go lady Merrill Garbus since 2011’s “w h o k i l l.” , that’s about to change. The producer/singer’s new album is tentatively called “Sink-o,” after Garbus’ fixation on the word “syncopation,” and has been described by the singer as chaotic and Haiti-inspired. A “Reflektor” companion piece perhaps? Regardless, if it’s near as interesting as “w h o k i l l,” we’re in.
8. ceo, “Wonderland”
Release date: February 4
It’s been four years since ceo released his enigmatic debut album, “White Magic.” For anyone that heard that record’s foreign-sample pop, his sophomore effort,”Wonderland,” comes after just as many years of anticipation. If the album’s first single, “Whorehouse,” is any indication, “Wonderland” will be one to watch for indie/electronic fans.
Listen to “Whorehouse” below.
https://soundcloud.com/modularpeople/ceo-whorehouse
7. St. Vincent, “St. Vincent”
Release date: February 25
St. Vincent’s Annie Clark has scarcely let up since she first came on the scene back with the Arrested Development-checking “Marry Me” back in 2007. Though the singer is fresh off an album/tour with (the) David Byrne, Clark already has another LP in the can. Much ado about self-titled albums, especially when it comes to St. Vincent: it’s hard to think she could sound any more like herself than she already has. If her newest album can further distill her winning formula, it could break big for Clark.
Listen to “Digital Witness” below:
6. Wilco, “TBD”
Release date: TBD
Wilco’s last album, “The Whole Love,” was a step back to the days of old for the band, and their first on their self-owned label, “dBm.” According to frontman Jeff Tweedy, their next album will sound —a welcome departure from their current stint of relatively toothless releases.
5. The War On Drugs, “Lost In The Dream”
Release date: March 18
The War On Drugs isn’t a massive, headline grabbing band by any stretch. Still, the band has created a niche for spaced-out shoe gaze that only they and the occasional Kurt Vile song can fill. “Red Eyes,” the first track off of “Lost In The Dream,” hits that sweet spot perfectly. Here’s hoping the rest of “Lost In The Dream” will follow suit.
Listen to “Red Eyes” below.
4. Modest Mouse, “TBA”
Release date: TBA
Hard to believe that it’s been about seven years since the last Modest Mouse full-length, but here we are. The band cancelled their UK/Europe tour in summer 2013, but not without : they were making room to record their follow-up to 2007’s “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.”
Based off “Brave,” a possible cut for the new album they played at Coachella, expect more of the same intense alternative rock when it’s released sometime next year.
Check out a live cut of “Brave” below.
3. Spoon, “TBA”
Release date:
Spoon sounds like an indie rock band should sound: straight rock but defiantly weird, with a gravel throated frontman. Squint a little and you can still imagine them banging out songs in some dusty Austin house party. Though their last album, 2010’s “Transference,” lagged a little, their three previous efforts were some of early 2000’s finest.
With a new featuring shots of the band back in the studio earlier this year, they’ve given indie rock fans reason to rejoice in 2014. Look for details on their new album in the coming months.
2. Beck, “Morning Phase” / 2nd 2014 album TBA
Release date: February 14 / TBA
Beck sated some of his more musically adept fans appetites with 2012’s sheet music album “Song Reader.” The rest, however, were left in the cold. The enigmatic singer-songwriter looks to make up for it in a big way in 2014, when he releases two full-lengths to follow his last LP, 2008’s “Modern Guilt.”
The few details we know about the first album are promising. “Morning Phase” will be a companion piece to the singer’s enduring and achingly beautiful wound-licking record, “Sea Change.” Beck’s been working on the album off-and-on since 2005, and he’s recovered enough from a recent spinal chord injury that he fulfill ideas previously unattainable with his condition.
As if that weren’t enough, Beck’s set to release later on in the year, which he’s already halfway through recording.
Listen to a live rendition of “Wave” off “Morning Phase” below.
1. Fleet Foxes, “TBA”
Release date: TBA
That photo uploaded to Facebook in June 2013 is all we have to go off of for the next Fleet Foxes record. It might not come to anything for the band in the near future, or at all, maybe. It’s hard to say with such vagaries. But based on the strength of virtually everything they’ve put out—and an impressive demo from frontman Robin Pecknold since their last album—there’s reason enough to fire up the hype train.
Listen to Pecknold’s demo, “Olivia, In A Separate Bed,” below.
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Dylan Owens is Reverb’s all-purpose news blogger and album reviewer. You can read more from him in Relix magazine and the comment sections of WORLDSTARHIPHOP.
