Faves of 2014 (Vol. 1)

Definitely running late on this first collection of fave tracks. I'd apologize, except that it's not due to laziness. I grab 'em as I find 'em, and the fact is 2014 has been a tad slow so far. It took a full five months to gather a mix's worth of songs that I like enough to pimp.

That's not to say the year has been lacking for awesome. The first third has already brought the return of blog faves the Breakdowns and Needles//Pins, as well as great new albums from Chains of Love, the Rich Hands, and the Cry! There's also Ted Leo and Aimee Mann teamed up as The Both (with an album that surpasses all expectation), and semi-supergroup Sweet Apple (with a guest list that includes Mark Lanegan, Bob Pollard, and J. Mascis), and the perennial blast from supa-rock stalwarts the Fleshtones. As well there's a swack of new discoveries (for me) like J.J. & the Real Jerks, Stagecoach, Role Models, and the totally awesome Nuclears. And everything else on the mix is guaranteed 100% Grade A quality UnHerd hits.

And that quality acts as my excuse. The process takes time. It takes searching and scouring. So much listened to, so much rejected, so many important chores ignored. Until, finally, there's the few gleaming nuggets left to compile. After all, you can't expect gems like these to just fall from the heavens.

I Got A New Tattoo And Money From Home

1. The Breakdowns Sweet Pamela Jayne
2. The Cry! Discotheque
3. The Both Milwaukee
4. The Nuclears Suburban Gurls
5. Stagecoach 56k Dial-Up
6. Sweet Apple Wish You Could Stay (A Little Longer)
7. Pink Mountaintops New Teenage Mutilation
8. Penny Blacks The Digital Age
9. J.J. & the Real Jerks Out Of My Means
10. Needles//Pins Only Call Me When You're Drunk
11. Tweens I'm Gonna Steal Your Boyfriend
12. The Rich Hands No Harm Blues
13. Chains of Love It's a Shame
14. Sacret Sisters Black and Blue
15. Sleeper Agent Me On You
16. Steve Cante Dark in the Spotlight
17. Role Models Saturday Night
18. Sky Pilots Only When It Rains
19. Phonograph California
20. The Fleshtones Hipster Heaven
21. Petter Baarli Don't Start Again
22. Honeyblood Killer Bangs
23. The Men Going Down