Friday Mixtape! | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Friday Mixtape!

friday_mixtape.jpg

As one astute reader pointed out on the Source’s Facebook page last week, there were some quality albums that didn’t quite make the list of 2014’s top 100. Unfortunately the frenetic crunch to fit all of a year’s best music into one list—even one with 100 slots—means that something is going to get squeezed out.

So before moving on to all of the great music sure to come out of 2015—Father John Misty anyone?—this Friday Mixtape tidies up the last year and highlights some records that fell just short of making the final cut.

One of the records Mr. Penpek rightly picked out in that post as needing some recognition is the debut album from Australian pop star Jessica Anne Newham, who records under the moniker Betty Who. Her soaring voice and punchy synth make for an album squarely pop and sweetly delectable.

Also included in the playlist is the latest album from the power soul group Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings as well as the 2014 offering from bluesy singer/songwriter Ryan Adams. Although his most recent album feels like a tiny step backward for the deeply vulnerable artist, it is still filled with gritty tracks that many fans fell in love with including one of Bend’s favorites from the genre, Eric Tollefson.

If any track in the Mixtape inspires a little bit of digging deeper, it should be that of Philly’s Damon McMahon and his project Amen Dunes. His third album Love features members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and trudges dutifully through psych folk.

And once you've checked out songs from these albums in the playlist below, be sure to dig into some of these other year-end lists from our dear friends Let Your Ears Decide and New Music Michael.

LYED: Top Albums of the Year
LYED: Top EPs of the Year

NMM: Top Albums of the Year
NMM via Gig City: Top 10 Edmonton Records of 2014

Ethan Maffey

Both a writer and a fan of vinyl records since age 5, it wasn't until nearly three decades later that Oregon Native Ethan Maffey derived a plan to marry the two passions by writing about music. From blogging on MySpace in 2007 and then Blogspot, to launching his own website, 83Music, and eventually freelancing...
Comments (0)
Add a Comment
For info on print and digital advertising, >> Click Here