AOTY #1: FKA twigs - LP1

Its packaging seems simple enough. A closeup of FKA twigs's makeup-laden face sits on a plain, light blue background. It doesn't show on the cover, but her debut LP is aptly titled...LP1. However, like most of her work, there's more to it than meets the eye at first glance

The man behind the LP1 facade is Jesse Kanda. Working exclusively with longtime friend/renowned producer Arca (and twigs by extension) he has become known for his surreal, mind-bending music videos. It's this unique style that carefully contrasted the colors for the album artwork - a metonym for everything LP1 represents: art

Formerly a prominent dancer in several music videos, twigs dodges questions and lies about her past as she desperately tries to separate herself from being pigeonholed as nothing more than a dancer in "Video Girl". She takes on the form of those who doubted her:

The camera's on you ain’t that enough?
You’re looking for the all round good love
So nothing’s gonna get in your way
You’re gonna get yourself broke one dayDespite her performances in a couple of breathtaking music videos on the record, she was able to do exactly what the voices told her she couldn't. Instead, she chose to let her oft-haunting vocals dance across the dark, flickering production of LP1.

Similar to Perfume Genius on Too Bright, FKA twigs is able to pack an incredible amount of power into little more than a whisper. But where Hadreas speaks out "for the marginalized", twigs pulls the listener in. Her voice takes on an ethereal form, softly swaying back and forth through sonic space like a "Pendulum". It's intimate, it's sexy, and it's our #1 album of 2014

- Brock Chenier

That's it for the countdown of Rock Genius's best albums of 2014. To get a true feel for how we came to this decision, be sure to follow along with the full list of writeups

Let us know in the comments what you think we got right, what you think we left out, and any other feedback you might have. Here's to 2015!