Top-47 albums of the 2014th year

It took me a while to finally focus on this countdown, just because I suffer from OCD and I changed my mind like 52,461 times. But I did it. And I am proud of it. Or am I? Bipolar, too.

I cannot understand why people still listen to Thom Yorke. I cannot understand why the Swans are still alive and not dead by their own boring music. I cannot understand why my beloved Beck has found himself critically acclaimed with the "Morning Phase". And, at the end of the day, why can't we all accept that Nicki Minaj and her asses have recorded a very good album? Here are the 47 albums of 2014 that I have listened to (horny) with pleasure and respect. Lykke Li #not, too.

47. Metronomy - Love Letters
46. Alt-J - This Is All Yours
45. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything
44. Kiesza - Sound of a Woman
43. La Roux - Trouble In Paradise
42. Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy
41. Kimbra - The Golden Echo
40. Royksopp - The Inevitable End
39. Prince - Plectrumelectrum/Art Official Age
38. Various Artists - Begin Again (OST)
37. Kelis - Food
36. Jessie Ware - Tough Love
35. tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack
34. Iggy Azalea - The New Classic
33.Sam Smith - In The Lonely Hour
32.Young Fathers - Dead
31. Various Artists - The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 (OST)
30. Dum Dum Girls - Too True
29. Jack White - Lazaretto
28. The Roots - …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
27. TV on the Radio - Seeds
26. Banks - Goddess
25. Mary J Blige - The London Sessions
24. Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear
23.Kele - Trick
22. Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste
21. Joas As Police Woman - The Classic
20. Katy B - Little Red
19. You+Me - rose ave.
18. Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were
17. Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint
16. Taylor Swift - 1989
15. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
14. Hozier - Hozier
13. The Smashing Pumpkins - Monuments to an Elegy
12. Ed Sheeran - x
11. Kasabian - 48:13
10. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want
9. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
8. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
7. Chet Faker - Built on Glass
6. Interpol - El Pintor
5. D'Angelo - Black Messiah
4. Charli XCX - Sucker
3. FKA twigs - LP1
2. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
1. Tinashe - Aquarius

Tinashe - Aquarius

There is no point to focus on a fresh r'n'b album, without ending up with comparisons with things you have listened to in the past twenty years. Let's be honest, there is no "new sound" in contemporary r'n'b, unless you are Janelle Monae or FKA Twigs or at least Miguel. The majority of all the neo-soul, post-dubstep, electronic-soul, rap-sung, hip-hop albums out there have probably the same 808 kicks and synth pads from the same laptop. So which is the x-factor that makes a Beyonce or a Jessie Ware album brilliant, but a Chris Brown or a Robin Thicke album simply boring?

That x-factor is called "personality". It's easy to state the obvious and say "But, come on, Rihanna has a big personality and does her own thing and does not give a fuck, blah, bluh, bleh...". That's true. But what have all these No 1 artists done so that they don't record the same tracks over and over again with different lyrics and tempo? How many of them have taken the leap of faith and risk their beauty or their voice or even their fanbase, in order to create something they can call their own and not the industry's? Well, to sum up, Tinashe could have been the new Ciara or the new Rihanna or even the new Christina. But she is not. Because she has taken that leap of faith, the same that Janelle and Jessie and Twigs have taken in the past few years. Plus, she is hot, but this is not the case.

"Aquarius" is an album that makes you dance, makes you have sex, makes you wet, makes you notice the production and the powerful Mariah-esque vocals, makes you push the "repeat" button, makes you addicted to it and its performer charms. Tinashe has mentioned that her favorite album of hers is "The Velvet Rope" by Janet Jackson. And this is actually the best comparison as far as this album is concerned. It's as old-fashioned as Janet's smooth and soulful music, but at the same time the singer embraces the new era, thus being edgy, angry, hip and 2015.

"Bet", probably the strongest mid-tempo song in the project, gives Beyonce and Solange a reason to sue Blood Orange for not delivering the demo to their managers. "2 on", the first single of the album, is as urban as it can be and a top-30 hit in the Billboard Hot 100. In "All hands on deck" Tinashe delivers a solid vocal performance, accompanied by a flute loop, a raw bassline and some killer synths, while "Far side of the moon" is a track that even the duo of Timbaland/Justin could be jealous of.

If you are a fan of the r'n'b genre, you will adore this album if you haven't already. Tinashe should be the biggest female act of 2015 if there's any music justice out there. And if there's not, oh well... let's count on the Universe's poetic one.

AnArtCalled... 9,5/10