6 Albums That Got Us Through The Polar Vortex In 2014, From Beyonce To Katy B To Kylie Minogue

Katy B, Little Red (released February 10)

Promising, flame-haired Brit Katy B didn’t so much reinvent her sound with Little Red as she did perfect it. Oh, sure, there were flashes of what was to come on the 24-year-old’s 2011 debut LP On A Mission — cuts like “Broken Record” and “Lights On” hinted at the singer’s flirtation with ’90s house music. But as each Little Red single arrived over the past year, it became clear that Katy’s sophomore effort would be Big with a capital “B”.

Quite frankly, it was too cold these past three months to go out and party like it was 1992, and so Little Red filled that void in a way no dancefloor could. Kicking off with “Next Thing,” the album marauds through 17 tracks (deluxe edition, of course) of throwback beats like a club kid determined to rave all the way till dawn. Even the electro ballad “Crying For No Reason” eventually whips itself into a mournful laser-strafed frenzy by song’s end. That we had to listen to it in the confines of our own homes meant that Little Red became more of an intimate, repeat-play experience. — ROBBIE DAW

Pharrell Williams, G I R L (released March 3)

G I R L sounds exactly how you’d expect a solo Pharrell album in 2014 to sound, which also happens to be exactly how you’d want a solo Pharrell album in 2014 to sound. It’s The 20/20 Experience but more awkward, Random Access Memories with more soul.

It’s not entirely clear how Pharrell made the switch from squeaking out hooks on early aughts hits to legitimately crooning (toe-to-toe with Justin Timberlake, no less!) now. But it feels like this iteration of Pharrell has always been here, and the same goes for the simple hooks and rubber band disco grooves on the LP, from “Brand New” to “Hunter” to “Gust Of Wind.” He’s not breaking new ground anymore, because he’s too busy building castles in his own corner of the sandbox. — CARL WILLIOTT

Kylie Minogue, Kiss Me Once (released March 18)

Yes, technically, Kylie’s 12th album has yet to be released. But it’s out next week, and is currently streaming here and filling our heart and soul with major doses of pop warmth. Kylie told us last month that Kiss Me Once, which both she and Sia executive produced, took the singer down a year-long path as far as getting the record made: “It’s a strange little process…or big process. But right up until the wire we were making last minute decisions. We probably had eight tracks that everyone was absolutely certain about, and the others it was just, what would work best for the album?”

The labor of love paid off. Kiss Me Once isn’t an overly ambitious record like, say, 2010’s cohesive dancefloor manifesto Aphrodite, which producer Stuart Price was at the helm of. Instead, the emphasis here is on lyrics brimming with positivity (see lead single “Into The Blue,” the Pharrell-produced “I Was Gonna Cancel” and the LP’s gorgeous title track) and tracks crafted by collaborators like Ariel Rechtshaid, MNEK and Metro that lock together to form one of the year’s first great pop albums. That’s not an easy feat to pull off, but yet again, Kylie has delivered — ROBBIE DAW

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