By Tyler Friedman ’15, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

After 2013 resulted in albums such as Modern Vampires of the City, AM, and Reflektor, 2014 had a tough act to follow. Although last year wasn’t quite as musically exciting as the previous year, there were still some outstanding releases. Here are a few of my favorites:

Gooey – Glass Animals

Released as a single from their debut album, ZABA, this song starts off as a simple melody, but then slowly adds layers to create a more complex sound. Becca Zimmerman, ’17, says about “Gooey,” “it’s a really cool song, and it’s definitely a little bit out there. I hadn’t heard Glass Animals before, so this was a great introduction to their music.”

Kathleen – Catfish and the Bottlemen

Thanks to Alt Nation on Sirius XM, I was exposed to this great release. Off their EP, Kathleen and the Other Three, this song feels like a cross between Walk the Moon and The Strokes circa Angles. The song successfully builds up to the chorus, and the catchy melody and upbeat rhythm make it undeniably great.

 Dream Your Life Away – Vance Joy

Vance Joy’s first album definitely lives up to the high standard set by his first EP. He stays true to his usual soft, acoustic sound but manages to keep the songs from being monotonous. This is an easy listen and great to relax or study to.

Turn Blue – the Black Keys

Turn Blue is the Black Keys’ most recent and arguably most distinct release. Moving away from their usual loud, distorted electric guitar and heavy drums, the Keys turned to a trippier, slower sound that lends a sort of melancholy feel. Tori Molinari, ’17, and I were lucky enough to attend their concert earlier this year. When asked about the concert, Tori said, “It was such a great mix at the Black Keys concert. Not only did they play some of their classic songs, but also they really showed a new sound. The music had a new feel to it, yet [they] still managed to stick to their guitar-based style that they are known for.”

Although this is just a small sampling of the many great releases from this past year, these songs and albums speak to the incredible variety of music that 2014 produced.