Melbourne label and touring company Mistletone have a hectic summer coming up as they tour every artist who has ever appeared on Pitchfork including Connan Mockasin, Ariel Pink, The Clean, Perfume Genius, Sharon Van Etten, Parquet Courts, Forest Swords, Angel Olsen and folksters Jessica Pratt and Olivia Chaney. In between sorting hotel accommodation spreadsheets and arranging excess baggage for Ariel, one half of Mistletone, Sophie Miles found time to put together her best of 2014 for us.Weyes Blood – “Some Winters”
This song took a hold of me; her strong but shuddering voice, that cascading piano and the wonky little warped bits. So perfect. The video is a knockout too, Natalie roaming the woods with an awesome dog, collecting firewood and singing “I’m as broken as a woman can be”.Nadia Reid
New Zealanders can be a modest bunch but Nadia Reid is way under the radar even by Kiwi standards. She describes her debut full-length album Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs as "the smoldering embers of life’s firestorms” and that’s a good call. Sad and beautiful.Grouper - “Made Of Air”
The 11-minute finale to Grouper’s extraordinary new album is actually an old song, a perfect full circle to close her beautiful document, as Liz Harris calls it in the release notes, of “living in the remains of love.”
Sultry soft-focus pop-stomp trio from Melbourne.
Me and mine, all the time.Studio Lam, Bangkok
A low key bar and soundsystem run by the excellent Bangkok record store Zudrangma Records. A favourite place to hang with Thipsters, drink Thai whiskey and dance to traditional northeast Issan folk music mixed with Thai dub.Parking Lot Experiments vs Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off"
Perfect.Tony Powers — "Don't Nobody Move (This Is a Heist)"
Somewhere in the wee hours at the Ecoplex outdoor cinema at Meredith this year, this epic video, which claims to be a pioneer of the music video as art (it won a gold medal at Saint Tropez, he’ll have you know), seemed fully legit.
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This song took a hold of me; her strong but shuddering voice, that cascading piano and the wonky little warped bits. So perfect. The video is a knockout too, Natalie roaming the woods with an awesome dog, collecting firewood and singing “I’m as broken as a woman can be”.Nadia Reid
New Zealanders can be a modest bunch but Nadia Reid is way under the radar even by Kiwi standards. She describes her debut full-length album Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs as "the smoldering embers of life’s firestorms” and that’s a good call. Sad and beautiful.Grouper - “Made Of Air”
The 11-minute finale to Grouper’s extraordinary new album is actually an old song, a perfect full circle to close her beautiful document, as Liz Harris calls it in the release notes, of “living in the remains of love.”
Laura JeanLaura Jean is a beautiful soul with a poet’s heart. This album is her masterpiece.
Pearls – "Big Shot"
Sultry soft-focus pop-stomp trio from Melbourne.
Richard In Your Mind – "Hammered"
Me and mine, all the time.Studio Lam, Bangkok
A low key bar and soundsystem run by the excellent Bangkok record store Zudrangma Records. A favourite place to hang with Thipsters, drink Thai whiskey and dance to traditional northeast Issan folk music mixed with Thai dub.Parking Lot Experiments vs Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off"
Perfect.Tony Powers — "Don't Nobody Move (This Is a Heist)"
Somewhere in the wee hours at the Ecoplex outdoor cinema at Meredith this year, this epic video, which claims to be a pioneer of the music video as art (it won a gold medal at Saint Tropez, he’ll have you know), seemed fully legit.