Skip to footer

Here's some of the great music you missed in 2014

From the British band The Feeling to singer Anaïs Mitchell, these artists probably weren't on your radar this year but are worth a listen now.

Singer/songwriter Sia
  • By John Kehe

There’s just no way to fit all the worthy music out there into our weekly Staff Picks column, though we try. So I’ve sifted through the rich musical sands of 2014 one more time and uncovered a few more shiny gold nuggets you should know about.

Let’s begin by talking about The Feeling. An aptly named British band, they are total charmers in the mold of the great Scottish band Travis – unabashed, sincere romantics without guile or artifice. Their 2014 release, Boy Cried Wolf, is a catchy, melodic delight. Their state-side doppelgänger, New Jersey band Real Estate, echoes a similar sunny and sincere outlook and a gift for memorable melodies on their album Atlas.

British heartthrob Ed Sheeran’s blockbuster album X is a nearly perfect folk/pop gem, bursting with great songwriting, soulful singing, and funky acoustic grooves. And if you enjoy Ed, I’ve got a Ben for you. Londoner Ben Howard’s I Forget Where We Were is a shift from his strictly folk roots to a more contemporary, cinematic sound with touches of synth and Edge-like guitar. He’s a major talent in ascendance.

The War on Drugs is alive and well in Philadelphia – the band, that is. Their third album, Lost in the Dream, perfectly describes their haunting, anthemic sound, propelled by the chiming guitars and compelling Dylanesque vocals of Adam Granduciel. Check out their song “Under the Pressure” and you will be an instant convert.

After supplying superstars Rihanna (“Diamonds”) and Britney Spears (“Perfume”) with hits, Australian singer/songwriter Sia proved to be the best interpreter of her own songs this year. The international smash “Chandelier,” from her album 1000 Forms of Fear, showcases her elastic, powerhouse voice in a riveting, virtuoso performance.

Vermont’s Anaïs Mitchell holed up in a Nashville, Tenn., studio with only her guitar and amazing voice to record an intimate retrospective of her 12-year career titled xoa (code for “hugs and kisses, Anaïs”). The deeply moving, engaging result confirms her place in the panoply of exceptional singer/songwriters.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Here's some of the great music you missed in 2014
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2014/1202/Here-s-some-of-the-great-music-you-missed-in-2014
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe