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Cathedrals – Cathedrals EP
Dammit if Cathedrals weren't the most pleasant surprise to come out of S.F. this year. The confluence of producer Johnny Hwin's artistically ambitious sounds and singer Brodie Jenkins' elegant vocals made for the most ethereal product to come out of the Bay in a hot minute. Hwin is the man behind local artist collective The SUB, where he and Jenkins formed the electronic dream pop duo. Their self-titled EP on Neon Gold has some serious fire behind it. It's conservative at only six tracks, but that hardly matters when you want to hear every single one of them on repeat. On "Harlem," Jenkins' silvery vocals guide us through punchy bass hits, catchy guitar riffs, and a feeling of being arms-open-and-head-towards-the-heavens on the most beautiful day of the year. "Unbound" boasts one of the most spectacular videos of the year, while flexing Cathedrals' unique approach to music and art. There's so much to love with this band — including a debut release that makes us hopeful for the future of the local music scene. AS
Astronauts, etc. - Sadie
Oakland's Anthony Ferraro is a classically trained pianist — he has the French composer Hector Berlioz tattooed on his arm — which makes it almost seem unfair that he's so skilled at producing the elegant, effortlessly dreamy keys- and synth-heavy electro-pop that made up this year's six-song EP, Sadie. Leave something for the rest of us, you know? We've heard he's at work on an LP that might be less electro, more ... we're not sure yet. Truth be told, Sadie's brevity left us jonesing for more of the same, but for the time being, we'll follow him wherever he wants to go. ES
Les Sins – Michael
What do you do when you've reached the apex of popularity in a genre to the degree that people actually credit you with its mainstream rise? If you're Berkeley's Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi, the boy king of chillwave for the last half-decade, you say "fuck it" and make a dance album. Michael, the first full-length offering from Bundick's side project Les Sins, has the kind of energy that only comes from an artist having serious fun while he's creating something — just try and resist a grin (or disco moves) while listening to "Why," featuring fellow East Bay resident Nate Salman, of Waterstrider, on vocals. ES
The Seshen – Unravel
Insisting that you can't be boxed into a genre is pretty standard fare for bands who combine even a few different elements of rock, pop, soul, or electronic music — but when the seven members of The Seshen tell you that they really, truly don't know how to categorize the sounds they make, you get it. Unravel, this year's EP from the East Bay crew, feels like a transmission from another place entirely: Imagine going to outer space with Erykah Badu while listening to Little Dragon, and you'll start to get the picture. The marriage of percussion-rich live instrumentation and harmonies from Lalin St. Juste and Akasha Orr with a healthy dose of ethereal electronic manipulation from in-house producer Aki Ehara keeps you on your toes. The band signed to UK label Tru Thoughts this year — we're curious to see where the next takes them. ES
HIP-HOP
Souls of Mischief – There Is Only Now
Oakland represent! Twenty years after the release of the iconic 93 'til Infinity, the East Bay kings of hip-hop put out their sixth studio album. There Is Only Now is ambitious, and it succeeds largely on the effort of Adrian Younge, a producer who's quickly becoming a go-to name in hip-hop. Dude is J-Dilla good (real talk) and drops classic soul samples throughout. Meanwhile A-Plus, Tajai, Opio, and Phesto are still steppin' to the mic with conscious rhymes, tackling relevant themes like police brutality and the justice system with multiple appearances from Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg. This is a money hip-hop release — bump the deluxe version of the record with a second disc of instrumentals. AS
K. Flay - Life As A Dog
There's never been any question that Kristine Flaherty, aka K.Flay, the Stanford grad who grabbed the hip-hop world by the collar as a college junior with her first-ever mixtape 10 years ago, has immense talent. But for the last few years, we were left wondering when her first real full-length would see the light of day. Life As A Dog, the LP she self-released (and mixed here in the city at Different Fur) after getting out of her contract with RCA, answered this question far more than satisfactorily. Showcasing a newly complex level of songwriting as well as actual singing from the emcee, it's a coming-of-age album in the best possible sense. She's still full of fast food references, stoner party anthems, and boner jokes, but this is also the perfect record for a hungover day bumming around the city, lamenting that you're still suffering unrequited crushes while your friends are having babies. In short: It sounds like turning 30, which, surprise, Flaherty is doing next year. She has plenty to celebrate. ES
Sage the Gemini – Remember Me
Either it doesn't take much to embody the sound of Bay Area rap in 2014, or Sage the Gemini makes it look easy. (Almost certainly the latter.) Following up on the twin national hits "Gas Pedal" and "Red Nose," both gently percolating slaps that ably bottle the sensation of a hundred high-tech vaporizers lighting up rhythmically in an otherwise pitch-black club, the Fairfield MC's debut full-length Remember Me mines the same lightly mechanized, nonchalantly lascivious vein to consistently satisfying effect. Sage never reaches past his technical comfort zone, but he never dilutes it much either; perhaps his best quality as a rapper is the strength of his convictions. "Fuck the cool crowd," he declares on track one: "Bitch I'm a nerd." Nerds need to party sometimes too, after all, which lends a little credence to his claim, on the "Gas Pedal" remix, that he's "the Bay's respirator." Daniel Levin Becker
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