2014 Albums & EPs of the Year: 1

1# Lyla Foy – Mirrors the Sky

That Lyla Foy’s debut album hasn’t appeared on, let alone atop, that many album of the year lists is something of a massive surprise to us and a fact that we struggle to comprehend. Each to their own and all that but to us, Mirrors The Sky is an album of exquisite beauty, deft and complex compositions and sublime melodies.

The more we listened to these 10 songs, the more enchanted we became. Her vocals are as pure and cool as fresh ice crystals, smooth and stunning within the sparse forest of muted basslines and electro harmonies. The songs are reflective and the arrangements offer an intimacy to the listener, a closeness brought from the instrumentation, the emotion and purity of the music and lyrics.

It’s elegant, intelligent and beautifully crafted. Strings and electronics are entwined as one while the sharp rat-a-tat of snare marches along beneath this organic dance above. The regimented beats perfectly juxtaposed with the liberated swirl and wisp of melody.

Mirrors The Sky was our most played album of 2014, it was the album we got lost in more than any other, following its magical trails like Alice down the rabbit hole, and it is the album we have loved more than any other in the last 12 months. It’s delicate, like the frayed edges of a heart whose thread could be pulled at any moment, and it’s utterly gorgeous.