Feature / Music / Year End 2014
Pass The Mic: Artists on 2014

December 14, 2014

Pass The Mic: Artists on 2014
Pass The Mic: Artists on 2014

Max Desharnais (Sonic Avenues)

1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2014? (In order 1-5)

  1. Total Control - Typical System
  2. Teenanger - E P L P
  3. Needles//Pins - Shamebirds
  4. Steve Adamyk Band - Dial Tone
  5. Feral Trash - Trash Fiction

2. What band did you discover in 2014 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

Protomartyr, Eddy Current Supression Ring - Not much of an impact on my life other than being really stoked while listening to those bands whenever I did. I also rediscovered Tropicalia and bands like Os Mutantes. That band is the shit. Just like Arthur Lee's Love, Os Mutantes have always been there when every other bands fails to pique my musical interest. Whenever I put this kind of beat on, you know I'm running low in new stuff to listen to but despite that, I'm about to have the best time.

3. How will you remember 2014? (In terms of music)

I'll remember it as being super busy trying to keep a day job while touring a lot. But it's all good memories. We played a bunch of places we'd never been before: Israel, Hungary, some towns in Czech Republic, etc. I'll remember all the awesome people we met because of music and touring.

We also learned a lot this year. Here's a recipe for success: keep doing things yourself unless you know or fully trust the people you're working with. Duh? Not always that easy.

4. What can we look forward to from you in 2015?

We're currently working on a new record that's gonna push more in the direction of some of the songs on Mistakes, our last album. That being said, we don't want to rewrite anything we've done before; that'd be the end of me and my musical motivation. So you can expect something different from us. The new songs we have so far are some of the material I've been the most proud of, musically speaking and lyrically.

5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2015?

The makings/completion of our own.

6. What trend will you forever associate with 2014 in music?

Really hard to say as I didn't listen to that much music overall except for the bands previously mentioned. So a mix of tropicalia, post-punk and new wave. Oh yeah... And Needles//Pins live. We toured with these guys and they were great every single night. Best humans.

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— words by the SPB team • December 14, 2014

Major props to all the bands, and also to Nicole Kibert for her ever-awesome photograph at the top of the feature. Thanks!

Pass The Mic: Artists on 2014
Pass The Mic: Artists on 2014

Pages in this feature

  1. Opening page
  2. ACWay (Sutekh Hexen)
  3. Anthony Anzaldo (Ceremony)
  4. Brian Phee (Counterpunch - guitar/vocals)
  5. Daryl (Spokenest - guitar/Razorcake - editor)
  6. Drew Ailes (Brain Tumors)
  7. Dwarves (Blag Dahlia)
  8. Dylan (Vacation)
  9. Faith Coloccia (Mamiffer/SIGE Records)
  10. Frank Turner
  11. Franz Nicolay
  12. George Rager (Neighborhood Brats)
  13. Heart Attack Man
  14. Jeff Ellsworth and Ben Matthews (Broughton's Rules)
  15. Jeff Lohrber (Enabler/Today Is the Day)
  16. Jesse Menard (Foxfires/Mountain Man)
  17. John Lemke
  18. Kenn (Hexis - bass)
  19. Kevin Gan Yuen (Sutekh Hexen/ Viraloptic.com)
  20. Kid Tsunami
  21. Lauren Denitzio (Worriers)
  22. Marc Euvrie (The Eye of Time/Sugartown Cabaret/Mort Mort Mort/Karysun)
  23. Max Desharnais (Sonic Avenues)
  24. Miguel Chen (Teenage Bottlerocket)
  25. Northless
  26. Roo Pescod (Bangers)
  27. Russ Rankin (Only Crime/Good Riddance)
  28. Svffer
  29. T (V.E.G.A.S.)
  30. The Blind Shake
  31. Worthwhile Way (Aki and Mayu)

Series: Year End 2014

Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

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