#1 Bahamas - Q's Top 20 Albums of 2014
Our countdown of the Top 20 albums of 2014 concludes with Toronto's own Afie Jurvanen, better known as Bahamas. Bahamas is Afie is the third release from an artist whose music and philosophy can be captured in a word: measured.
You'll be hard-pressed to find moments of ostentation on this record, even though its lyrical and sonic focus throughout is the man at its core. And that's not an easy line to walk.
- Related: 'Bahamas is Afie' marks the evolution of Jurvanen's sound (please note: this post features archival video)
The album seems to find Jurvanen at a point of understanding in his life -- with knowing songs about what he's learned from his past, assertions about love, responsibility, and one's place in the world. As he sings in Nothing to Me Now: "You can have everything in this world that you like / But you can't do all that you please."
When it comes to the music, he does do it all: playing nearly every instrument on the album himself. And it is a rich record, replete with full strings, gentle percussion, and backing vocals -- not to mention that brew of adventurous electric guitar and lead vocals that waver from strength to subtlety.