The Fashionably Late Top 60 of 2014 #31: Graveyard Club

2014 was quite a year. Not the best of years, on a personal level, but a rather good year from a music standpoint. Having given a listen to record after record after record from the year that was, I’ve pulled together a list of favorites, finding it next to impossible to whittle the list down any further beyond 60 (I tried). In this group of 60 you’ll find records from old, faithful friends, upstart newcomers, and even a headscratcher or two. You’ll probably see some records that were a Big Deal not on this list. I either didn’t bite or didn’t buy the hype. I’m pleased as punch with this list, and I hope you’ll come across something that might have otherwise passed you by. And so, without further ado, my favorite records of 2014.

WHO: Graveyard Club

WHAT: Nightingale

WHEN: September 2014

WHERE: Self-released

WHY: Perhaps it's got something to do with this record having been recorded in the basement of an old Minneapolis mansion, but there's a little some ghostly about Graveyard Club's fine, synth-laced dream pop record Nightingale. Perhaps, too, it's because these sweet songs have a bite - scratch just beneath the surface and you'll hear forlorn moments filled with modern day laments. It's all elementary, however. This record came out of left field and wrapped me around its little finger. If you're susceptible to dream pop, be advised the very same thing might just happen to you. 

My jams: “Into the Dark,” “The Night is Mine,” “Easy, Killer,” “Sleepwalk,” “Stay Young,” “Fire in the Sky,” “October,” “Skull & Crossbones”







[posted 4.25.15]