January, February and March 2014 have treated us to the return of Prince and Kate Bush, a new Mogwai record and some incredible records by the likes of War on Drugs and I Break Horses. No matter how much time you dedicate to keeping up, you're bound to have missed a thing or two, so here's a quick rundown of the most read threads, features and reviews on DiS so far this year, but first here are five pieces which didn't make it into our most read section that are well worth your time and attention.
EDITOR'S PICKS
1) Opinion: Spotify vs DIY: It's Better Than The 0p Acts Receive From Piracy, But... - musicians aren't all doomed!
2) Interview: DiS meets Radiohead's Colin Greenwood - Dom Gourlay had an interesting chat about the early days of Radiohead and the UK's best small venues to coincide with the inaugural Independent Venue Week.
3) Opinion: Messy Lesson: How Liars are setting the blueprint for electro transformation - J.R. ponders why Liars are brilliant.
4) Interview: DiS Meets Slint - this was a bit of a coup for us to secure, so we ran the extensive chat as a two part piece.
5) Interview: Max Richter discusses revisiting Memoryhouse - a DiS classic, revisited.
Two Must Hear Records
1) Review: I Break Horses - Chiaroscuro - probably my favourite album of the year so far (bar Chino from Deftones' †††'s). Humungous sprawls of digital soundwaves and expansive post-shoegaze-ness.
2) Review: Marissa Nadler - July - Andrzej our reviews editor and I adore this record. Hints of sunrise cracks through the goth-folk veneer. It wouldn't shock us if a soundtrack or some viral internet anomaly didn't turn Marissa into the new Lana, but then she's worked with a chap from SunnO))) so that sort of 'success' isn't why Nadler makes music.
MOST READ
Top 5 Features
1) Opinion: Steven Ansell from Blood Red Shoes: Is music becoming a passive experience?
2) Column: I Left a Band: Life After Art Brut
3) Playlist: Marinate in Melancholy: A playlist of wonderfully miserable songs
4) Playlist: On The Stereo: 50 Songs We've Been Loving (Jan-March 2014)
5) Column: DiS Does Singles: The Best Songs You've Never Heard
Top 5 Reviews
1) War on Drugs - Lost In a Dream
2) ††† - †††
3) Eagulls - Eagulls
4) Mogwai - Rave Tapes
5) Warpaint - Warpaint
15 Most Read DiScussions
1) Music: Prince London Tour February 2014
2) Social: I need to learn how to treat women better
3) Music: Primavera Sound 2014
4) Music:ATP Piss Up vs The Brewery Festival 2014
5) Social: What's your SnapChat username?
6) Music: DiS Users' Album of the Year 2013: The Results
7) Social: IQ Test 2014
8) Music: New Wild Beasts
9) Social: Who the F' Are You? - Part 2.1
10) Music: Record Store Day 2014
11) Music: Kate Bush Gigs
12) Music: List The Album of the Year: For Each Year You've Been Alive
13) Music: 2014 Rolling Hip Hop Thread
14) Social: A List of Films I have Watched in 2014
15) Social: Excellent Review From My Number 1 Fan
More...
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Photo of Blood Red Shoes by Mike Burnell (full gallery).