Best of the Year

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Bringing the main course to an end, here’s the conclusion of the countdown of my forty best albums of 2014. It’s been a breathtaking year. 20 | Salvatore Sciarrino – Cantare con silenzio…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * And so to the main course: the countdown of my forty best albums of the year; part 2 will follow tomorrow.

It’s that time once again, so as the year starts to sputters to its close, here’s my annual round-up of the best encounters i’ve had with 2014’s crop of new releases, beginning with the top 10 EPs. 10 | Deaf Center – Recount Feel the solemnity; Norwegian duo Erik Skodvin and Otto…

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! i want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s followed 5:4 in the last year, and especially to those of you who’ve posted comments and tweets in response. There are lots of exciting things planned for 2014, so watch this space. In…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Bringing 2013 to an end, here’s the final part of the best albums of the year. Go on, give your ears a treat, they deserve it.

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Continuing my round-up of the best music of the year, here’s the first part of the most outstanding albums of 2013; part two will be coming tomorrow.

So, having listened to no fewer than 261 EPs and albums released this year, it’s time to distil that listening into the annual Best of the Year lists. As always, we’ll start with the ten most exceptional EPs.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! Today marks 5:4‘s fifth anniversary, and so i’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who regularly read, share and respond to the articles and music explored here. Since 2008, the blog has grown from being an occasional hobby (reading the…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * The lists reduce the vastness into controllable sizes, into the size of things that can fit into our mind, where they can expand again to the size of everything.…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * This is a list surrounded by other lists leading to other lists, lists … that explain everything by being gateways into worlds of sound, feeling and information… …the love…

The list is what brings a world of chaos into some kind of pattern. The list fixes a broken world floating out into the outer world of emptiness. The list links us to ourselves, places us together, puts us in order. The list soothes us in the way it organises…

Every year, at the end of December, i publish my list of what i believe to be that year’s top 40 albums and top 10 EPs; and every year, i feel obliged to qualify the list due to the number of releases there hasn’t been time to hear. So, in…

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 5:4 is four years old today, and as in previous years, here’s a new mixtape showcasing the music from my best albums of 2011. One track from each of them—in total, 3½ hours of eclectica to start the new year in real…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * “A list gives us the surface of something, and that leads to another list, which contains more surface, and from there, more lists, and more surface. The lists make…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * The list exists as a way of celebrating the known things which we all share that make us part of the same adventure, but the list also exists as…

Lists help you believe that there will be a future – by reminding you that the things you are listing have happened, in a time that was once a future, and that therefore there will be a future where things will happen that can then be listed and taken forward…

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s 1 January, which means it’s 5:4‘s birthday, and today we’re three years old. Having spent several days looking back on last year’s most outstanding releases, what better way could there be to start the new year than with a new mixtape, featuring one track from each…

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Bringing the year to a very happy end, here’s the second twenty of my forty Best Albums of 2010:

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Continuing the 5:4 retrospective, and after probably far too much deliberation, here are the first twenty of my forty Best Albums of 2010 (to be concluded tomorrow): 40 |…

And so it finally begins, the lengthy annual retrospective of all that was best in 2010. As usual, let’s start with my run-down of the 10 Best EPs of the year: 10 | Danny Baranowsky – Steambirds (iOS) Soundtrack Something of an oddity in this list, perhaps, but Danny Baranowsky’s synthetic…