Camiele’s Top 25 Albums of 2014

25. HA:TFELT – Me?

HA:TFELT probably wins the award for an idol group member to go solo last year. Her debut mini Me? is a culmination of some of her solo work apart from the Wonder Girls, all of which is some truly beautiful acoustic soul. With her debut she proved she had the chops to succeed apart from the somewhat shaky security of her idol group visage, and no matter what the future holds for the Wonder Girls, HA:TFELT certainly has a path laid out for her.

24. Seo Taiji – Quiet Night

Legend Seo Taiji returned after a five-year musical hiatus in which he released live albums but no studio work since 2009’s Atomos. Quiet Night was a a deliciously experimental album, the likes of which we’re used to from the grandfather of K-pop. His song Christmalo.win [MV] and its subsequent video entertained and bewitched fans and newcomers alike with its dark message and sinister sonic lean.

23. Niña Pastori – La Orilla de mi Pelo

When I discovered Niña Pastori a couple years ago, I was in search of more music in the vein of one of my favorite artists, Concha Buika. After not seeing anything really recent from the artist, last year’s La Orilla de mi Pelo was such a welcome piece of flamenco-soul. Her voice is just magnetic. There’s an electricity and power in the melancholy and a prettiness in the brighter tunes that just stuck with me.

22. Crush – Crush on You

This was quite a surprise. I’d never actually heard of the producer-turned-singer until his debut album, and I was not disappointed. It’s a sexy piece of R&B that quickly made its way into my top five Korean albums from last year when it was first released. The young crooner definitely has an ear for the sensual, and he uses his R&B knowledge with incredible results.

21. Taeyang – RISE

While VIPs were waiting with baited breath for a Big Bang comeback, their resident pretty boy, Taeyang, was working on music for his latest solo. And it was phenomenal. Track Eyes, Nose, Lips [MV] was the song on everyone’s lips in the K-pop industry, yielding some gorgeous covers (arguably the best coming from an artist in my top 5). However, Taeyang’s sweet voice and competent songwriting and composing skills saw this album become more than just another R&B album from an idol. It was emotional, sexy, and personal. All the things great albums are made of.

Cy

As unexpected as my path was to loving all things weird, more unexpected is my ability to get attention for writing about the stuff.

1 Response

  1. amy says:

    FYI, Stefanie Sun is a Mandarin-speaking Singaporean.

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