Mid-Year Top 5 Albums of 2014

We're just about halfway through the year, so it seems appropriate to start the midyear accolades. So, let's start off with my Top 5 Albums of 2014 so far.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
You're Gonna Miss it All | Modern Baseball
Singles | Future Islands
Morning Phase | Beck
Anywhere That's Wild | Adventure Galley

5. Atlas | Real Estate
I'm gonna be talking about maturity a lot on this list. It's due in part to so many bands breaking out of their usual shells and progressing on to refining their sound into something of their own. Their self-titled did that before. Just one listen through “Suburban Beverage” will show you that, but Atlas is a sign of growth in this little homegrown band that holds a special place in my heart. Real Estate before was an escapist artist. It was music you simply sat back and chilled to, but Atlas turns the mood. Suddenly, the clouds come out, the beachy twang turns into the beat of the pavement. It's like they've suddenly realized that the real world is here and it's menacing. With their same strong production and general cohesion with each other, Real Estate is back and better than ever.

4. Rooms of the House | La Dispute
Speaking of maturity, no album this year showed more growth in an artist that La Dispute's Rooms of the House. Every song is essentially a short story that taps into the emotions that almost everyone feels and makes you buy into what the song is trying to tell you. From something as simple as failure and emotional exhaustion to the complexity of the fear of the unknown, Dreyer takes you and shakes what you know to the core. The entire album is cohesive in its theme, but if you asked me to define its sound, I would just say all of the above. They don't conform to the “post-hardcore” canon, they simply use the music to support the story and that is good music if I've ever seen it.