Favorite EP: HOLYCHILD – Mindspeak
I discovered HOLYCHILD through a tweet from Grouplove and it’s been the best discovery in ages. Vocalist Liz Nistico and multi-instrumentalist (but mostly drummer) Louie Diller work together to create a new subgenre called brat pop, where they take traditional elements of pop music and throw something in from left field to make it weird. Additionally, Nistico narrates her experience as a woman in society and points out struggles that all women have felt once- for example, in Happy With Me, she speaks of the struggle between being annoyed by objectification, but still wanting to appear desirable to men and feeling bad about the latter because she’s so annoyed by the former. It’s honest and I’m incredibly excited to see what they produce in the coming year.
Favorite Album: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Bands that I’ve grown up with include Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, so as Andrew McMahon started a new chapter in his life I was sure to be following him into it. An album with songs for his newborn daughter and much stronger pop influences- it’s a mature sound for him to use and it absolutely worked in his favor. Part of the reason McMahon changes monikers is to hint to fans that this is a new chapter of his life musically and personally and once again, McMahon knocked it out of the park. It most definitely helps that the recorded music is even more powerful in a live setting and since he’s sure to release some tour dates for the US in 2015, be sure to grab your ticket.
Favorite Single: Walk The Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
When it comes on the radio, Shut Up and Dance tells everyone in the car what to do immediately. I anticipated new music from Walk The Moon from the day that I saw them in August of 2012. Honestly, I was a little terrified that they’d pull a Foster the People and disappear for years and release an album that didn’t quite live up to the hype that fans had built up. I knew that would be a non issue as soon as this single came out- it’s poppy, it’s ridiculous, and it’s everything anyone wants from Walk The Moon while still showing progression from their previous album. The Ohio group has a long future ahead of them and I can’t wait to add them to my year end favorites again next year.
Man I thought Foster the People’s Supermodel was the bomb…It definitely lived up to the hype to me. You only liked 3 things out of all the music this year? I will probably pick up Walk the Moon’s cd, they seem to be good at writing pop. I didn’t realize they were from Ohio, nice.