Sorry I didn’t manage to post a playlist last week; a combination of germs, deadlines and various other professional/seasonal distractions meant that I ran out of time.

Here, though, is our last office list of 2014, with lots of strong new entries. A few highlights: Áine O’Dwyer’s sepulchral drones; Rhiannon Giddens’ rousing takes on tradition; a new Hurray For The Riff Raff video for one of my songs of the year; wonderful new albums from Steve Gunn with The Black Twig Pickers and from Ryley Walker; a preview of the forthcoming Laura Marling album; and, in a grudging concession to festive business, Wham’s “Last Christmas” slowed down to an extraordinarily beautiful 36-minute ambient piece. Album of the week, of course, has been by D’Angelo, and I made a first tentative stab at reviewing “Black Messiah” here.

Thanks again, anyhow, for all your support, encouragement and contributions this year. We’re going to keep the Uncut website busy throughout the holiday period, with plenty of longreads from the archives to keep you distracted, as well as our end of year lists. To kick off, here’s another link to my 154 best albums of 2014 – conspicuously missing “Black Messiah” now, but still hopefully of some use and interest.

Happy Solstice, and so on…

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1 Bitchin’ Bajas – Bitchin’ Bajas (Drag City)

2 Áine O’Dwyer – Music For Church Cleaners Vol. I & II (MIE)

3 The Punch Brothers – The Phosphorescent Blues (Nonesuch)

4 Rhiannon Giddens – Tomorrow Is My Turn (Nonesuch)

5 Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Body Electric (ATO)

6 [REDACTED]

7 Badbadnotgood & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul (Lex)

8 The Wu Tang Clan – A Better Tomorrow (Parlophone)

9 The Shouting Matches – Grownass Man (Middle West)

10 D’Angelo – Black Messiah (RCA)

11 Duke Garwood – Heavy Love (Heavenly)

12 Steve Earle & The Dukes – Terraplane (New West)

13 Various Artists – Imaginational Anthems 7 (Tompkins Square)

14 Pops Staples – Don’t Lose This (Anti-)

15 Dutch Uncles – O Shudder (Memphis Industries)

16 The Pretty Things – Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky: Sampler (Snapper)

17 Two Gallants – We Are Undone (ATO)

18 Dengue Fever – The Deepest Lake (Tuk Tuk/Proper)

19 H Hawkline – In The Pink Of Condition (Heavenly)

20 Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear (Bella Union)

21 Radiohead – Kid A (Parlophone)

22 Laura Marling – Short Movie (Virgin)

23 The Amazing – Picture You (Partisan)

24 M Dwinell – Golden Ratio (Amish)

25 Moon Duo – Shadow Of The Sun (Sacred Bones)

26 Wham – Last Christmas slowed down to a 36-minute ambient drone

27 Radiohead – Amnesiac (Parlophone)

28 [REDACTED]

29 Rag Lore – Blue For Al-Watawit Of Yashkur (Demo)

30 Steve Gunn & The Black Twig Pickers (Thrill Jockey)

31 Ryley Walker – Primrose Green (Dead Oceans)

32 Eternal Tapestry – Wild Strawberries (Thrill Jockey)

33 Janek Schaefer – Inner Space Memorial In Wonderland (Rekorder)