One day before our 2014 Music Poll closes (you can still cast your votes here) here’s some wrapping up thoughts, followed by our own choices for every category.
The consensus about 2014 is that it won’t go down in pop history as a particularly good year for music, making of the few albums which stood up from the crowd even more relevant than usual. Our favorite of them all, Ariel Pink’s “Pom Pom”, is probably one of the year’s most under appreciated. The lo-fi veteran kept of defying expectations and delivered a great collection of gems camouflaged in the apparent shape of bonkers psychedelic experiments.
Annie Clarke, a.k.a. St. Vincent, was another of the artists who shaped the last twelve months, crafting her best album to date; so were Run The Jewels, the excellent collaboration between El-P and Killer Mike, reigniting the spirit of the most belligerent hip-hop. Mark Kozelek’s songwriting, under his latest moniker Sun Kil Moon, was particularly inspired in the beautifully sad “Benji”; he also hit the headlines by igniting a feud with another of the year’s winners, The War On Drugs.
Beyoncé delivered the first great album of her solo career, as well as a case study on how to market a record in the digital era, with her self-titled Itunes exclusive. Angel Olsen reconciled noughties folk and nineties rock, whereas Flying Lotus refined his unique blend of fusion jazz and electronica. In the meantime, heartbreak was the engine behind two of the best female records, the latest by Lykke Li and Sharon Van Etten. Our Song of the year honor goes to the MOR-tastic “Brill Bruisers” by our favorite supergroup, The New Pornographers.
In Europe, Belgian star Stromae continue his way towards global superstardom; FKA Twigs added exotic mystery to R&B; Montreal carried on generating new and exciting bands such as the post-rockers Ought and Australia did the same with the Melbourne post-punkers Total Control. The world of electronica welcomed the debut of Venezuelan producer Arca. Aphex Twin returned in good shape with his first studio album in thirteen years and Sleater-Kinney paved the way for their comeback with a retrospective box-set, while Public Enemy’s deluxe editions became our favorite reissues.
Perhaps due to this perceived lesser quality in the level of new music, the categories featuring veteran artists have been the ones which got the people voting. Fans of Kate Bush, whose return to the stage after three decades of absence was one of the highlights of the year, Stromae and Prince with his new band 3rdeyegirl entered our poll by the thousands making of the best live artist category the most heavily disputed.
Check the complete list of our Rober Awards 2014 choices here:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
• ARIEL PINK-Pom Pom
SONG OF THE YEAR
• THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS-Brill Bruisers
BEST GROUP OR DUO:
• RUN THE JEWELS
BEST MALE ARTIST:
• ARIEL PINK
BEST FEMALE ARTIST
• ST. VINCENT
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
• OUGHT
• FKA TWIGS
BEST POP ARTIST
• LYKKE LI
BEST ROCK ARTIST
• TOTAL CONTROL
BEST SONGWRITER
• SUN KIL MOON
BEST HIP-HOP
• RUN THE JEWELS
BEST ELECTRONICA
• FLYING LOTUS
BEST R&B ARTIST
• BEYONCÉ
• STROMAE
CUTTING EDGE
• FKA TWIGS
BEST HISPANIC ARTIST
• ARCA
SOUND OF 2015
• LEON BRIDGES
• SOPHIE
BEST COMPILATION
• SLEATER-KINNEY-Start Together
BEST REISSUE
• PUBLIC ENEMY-It Takes A Nation Of Millions…/Fear Of A Black Planet (Deluxe)
BEST LIVE ARTIST
• KATE BUSH
• PRINCE / 3RD EYE GIRL
BEST E.P.
• BURIAL-Rival Dealer
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
• APHEX TWIN
BEST DANCE ANTHEM
• STROMAE-Ta Fète
BEST COVER VERSION
• SKY FERREIRA FEAT. ARIEL PINK-My Molly
GUILTY PLEASURE
• ARIANA GRANDE FEAT. ZEDD-Break Free
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
• ARCA & JESSE KANDA-Trauma