And to kill time while our blog is on annual leave exploring Australia, here’s a special edition of the loop to recap the best records that have seen the light of day so far this year, focusing in popular favourites that haven’t yet been released as singles, such as the week’s honorary number one, Philadelphia rocksters The War On Drugs and ‘Burning’ our favourite from their acclaimed latest opus; those that we originally ignored or didn’t appreciate as much as they deserved, Future Islands‘ terrific ‘Seasons’ (Waiting On You)’ is a good example; or tracks from albums that didn’t have a clear standout moment but are still worthy of notice.

Check this informal edition with the first quarter of 2014 music review after the jump Read the rest of this entry »