15. Dark Arc – Saintseneca

Saintseneca knows how to distinguish themselves beyond Zac Little’s praise-worthy mustache — which in itself should get them a ‘stache shaped medal. This record sucks you into that semi-dark place of not quite sadness but also pounds like a rabbit in heat at just the right moments. It also just might be the most expertly layered record I’ve heard since James Blake’s Overgrown, but when you see them live, you realize that all of those layers are real and ready to resonate. This is the record that Mumford and Sons think they’re making.
– Marc Finn

14. Hoodwink’d – LVL UP

This record is like a terrible fungal infection–it keeps growing on me and I can’t get rid of it.

Unlike that infection though, I haven’t tried very hard to get rid of Hoodwink’d, At first it lures you in with a few very catchy, compact pop songs (“Annie’s A Witch” and “Hex”, to be specific). It’s those songs that bring you back for a second, third, forth, and fifth listen. And then after that fifth listen, the album’s more subtly catchy and undeniably witty tracks start to break through – and once that happens, there’s no medicine or topical cream that will get this record out your head.
– Mark Zurlo

13. Gist Is – Adult Jazz

Adult Jazz’s debut came at a time when I thought freak-folk was on the decline. But Gist Is is more than just another album in that hard-to-define genre. In just nine songs, Adult Jazz expresses an endless spectrum of emotions while turning each on its own head. They managed to weave magic into every last nook. Their ever-changing melody lines are subtly catchy, and once they had found a way into my brain, I couldn’t let them out. I’ve been bopping my head to these alien sounds since the album was released.

My favorite albums are ones I can listen to again and again, and still find something surprising. Gist Is is one of those albums.
                                                                                   – Seth Garcia

12. Burn Your Fire for No Witness – Angel Olsen

If you managed to snake your way through 2014 without this album, you have my condolences. Burn Your Fire for No Witness is Olsen’s latest release and a charmingly cold collection of tracks reflecting on and embracing loneliness. Olsen confronts loss with an matter-of-fact attitude that asks, “Are you lonely too?” and retorts with a hi-five. After plodding through memories of transient characters from the heartbroken to the breaker. Her ability to detach and rise above concludes with the salty-eyed closer, “Windows” (only made stronger by her latest music video directed by Rick Alverson), where it all changes. “It’s like reaching a wall with something,” Olsen explains, “and the step before you’re just about to give up is…’c’mon, man! Stop being so negative and open a window!’ Life is hard, but every day, we have to make even a little bit of sunlight matter.
– Jeeyoon Kim

11. Mr. Twin Sister – Mr. Twin Sister

Twin Sister has fled from the bedroom to the discotheque, and they’ve adopted a new name in the process. While the lineup is still the same, they’ve since rebranded to Mr Twin Sister, and Mr Twin Sister is like the cooler sibling that was born seven minutes earlier and prefers nights out. While the twilit themes on the album point to a sense of escapism of both space and time, Andrea Estella remains grounded against a backdrop of lush sounds (including a wonderfully delicate Kool & The Gang sample on “Rude Boy”). It’s a triumphant product for a band on their second debut. Make no mistake, Mr Twin Sister’s eponymous effort signaled something new, wiser, and more full. We’ve come a long way since “chillwave.”
– Andrew Stanko