Broken Bells

Broken Bells' James Mercer, left, and Danger Mouse.

(James Minchin)

Of all of Portland's myriad artisanal goods, music may be the hardest to keep up with. Every year, hundreds of bands apply to play PDX Pop Now! alone, and even the most obsessive #pdxmusic hunters -- we see you, Bim Ditson -- can't catch 'em all. But trying's half the fun, and with that in mind, here's a look at some of the Portland albums we're looking forward to in 2014. Stay tuned to oregonlive.com/music all year for more.

The Sure Things:

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "Wig Out at Jagbags" (Jan. 7, Matador)

The Portland indie-rock icon returns recharged after two years in Berlin with a taut, tuneful guitar-pop collection. Look for our feature on the Jicks' sixth album and Malkmus' voyage home soon.

Aminé - "Odyssey To Me" (Jan. 17, self-released)

The singer-MC has previewed his debut album with "Lovin' It," a tastefully Auto-Tuned track that's a little Drake, a little Kanye and totally promising.

TxE - "TxE vs PRTLND" (Jan. 21, TBA)

The trio has accomplished a real feat with its latest: remake an album's worth of Portland indie tracks into an on-point hip-hop collection. Portland needs more rap ambassadors, and TxE sound ready to carry the flag.

Liv Warfield - "The Unexpected" (Jan. 28, TBA)

The singer's new album -- including songs written by Prince, whose band she, ahem, plays in -- will direct her megawatt voice toward relationship-driven funk, rock and soul. Nothing unexpected about that, especially since she previewed the album at the Roseland in November.

Peter Buck - "I Am Back To Blow Your Mind Once Again" (Feb. 1, Mississippi Records)

The former R.E.M. guitarist has finished his second solo album, recorded with Adam Selzer at Type Foundry Studios. Given his first one's vinyl-only, press-free roll-out, it's likely to simply appear on the shelf at Mississippi Records one day, a late Christmas present from the rock 'n' roll gods. (The label says it'll be out "by February 1," so keep an eye out.) According to a Salon interview, he's also been working on Corin Tucker's new album.

Aan - "Amor Ad Naseum" (Feb. 4, Party Damage)

The four-piece raised nearly $13,000 on Kickstarter to fund its debut album, a bracing collection of rust-edged guitar rock.

Broken Bells - "After the Disco" (Feb. 4, Columbia)

The collaboration of Danger Mouse's Brian Burton and Portland resident/Shins frontman James Mercer will debut its sophomore installment this winter. Judging by lead track "Holding On for Life," "After the Disco" will take the duo into shimmering '80s pop territory, fleshed out with Danger Mouse' signature low end.

Battleme - "Future Runs Magnetic" (Feb. 25, El Camino)

Matt Drenik's debut album as Battleme draws on recent influences – Grandaddy, the Flaming Lips – as well as vintage rock heat. "Sons of Anarchy" fans will recognize the band from the Season 3 finale, which used Battleme's cover of Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)."

Ages and Ages - "Divisionary" (March 25, Partisan)

The Obama-approved band's sophomore set has the ramshackle charm of their Partisan Records colleagues (Deer Tick, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside), as well as buoyant songwriting that should play well beyond the campfire.

The Almost Ready:

Shy Girls

The Oregonian Portland album of the year poll-winner will follow-up their spotless "Timeshare" EP with a full-length debut. In the meantime, the band will send out 2013 with a New Year's show at Holocene opening for Le1f.

Lubec – "The Thrall" (TBA)

The fuzz-pop quartet's 13-track debut was recorded at NE Portland's Frawg Pound Studio, with Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth and old-school Slumblerland Records in mind. The group will be sending it out labels after mastering in January, with a spring release hoped for.

WL

The band's second album will arrive this spring, on a to-be-announced label. The self-produced release will be a quick follow-up to 2013's "Hold," an album of heavyweight riffs wrapped up in goth-y, gauzy production.

Sama Dams

Another Kickstarter success, the indie act raised $10,000 for its sophomore album. The cash infusion will enable a slightly more luxurious follow-up to 2013's intricate "No Vengeance," an album the band recorded in two days. They've promised a release in June.

Minden

Not every band can bring in the crowd-funding big bucks, of course, and Minden have soldiered on despite a failed Kickstarter. The '70s-reminiscent band's "Sweet, Simple Things" will be a more ambitious effort than debut album "Exotic Cakes" – with help from producer Jeremy Sherrer, "This record will have stuff we won't be able to do live on stage," Casey Burge previously told the Oregonian. The plan is to have the set out in late winter.

The Works In Progress:

Black Prairie

The rootsy group, which features a handful of Decemberists members, will release a new album at some point in 2014, their publicist confirms. It'll be the follow-up to 2012's "A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart," though they're sure to play a few more Portland dates before it lands. They'll join Amos Lee at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall on Feb. 16.

Wild Ones

The band will spend the early months of 2014 on the road, including an SXSW run, but they're already looking toward the sequel to 2013's excellent debut "Keep It Safe." "We'll be working on our second LP, hopefully releasing that in not too long," singer Danielle Sullivan told the Oregonian. "I think we're going to try and have a good chunk finished by SXSW."

Sallie Ford

With her Sound Outside done with, Ford has been writing new material for her next band, one with "some really talented local ladies." Ford and the Sound Outside released an album and an EP in 2013, "Untamed Beast" and "Summer," respectively.

The Rumor Mills:

Sleater-Kinney

The punk trio's legend has only grown since their 2006 dissolution, with a new generation of bands from Swearin' to All Dogs indebted to their hard-riffing catalog. (Not to mention the rise of Carrie Brownstein, "Portlandia" star.) The group appeared on stage together for the first time in years at Pearl Jam's Moda Center show in November, and with open schedules in 2014, a full-on reunion seems inevitable. All's quiet on the official front, but we wouldn't be surprised by a tour -- or an album.

Modest Mouse

"We look forward to sharing our new music with the world next year," the band announced in 2013. The indie veterans scrapped a round of European tour dates to work on their follow-up to 2007's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" back in June, though the band's manager tells the Oregonian there's nothing to announce just yet. Who may show up -- the group's recorded with OutKast MC Big Boi -- and when it will land is unclear, but the band's rare albums are always worth waiting for.

Fleet Foxes

The folk band's frontman Robin Pecknold moved to Portland during the band's last album cycle, so we'll include the group here -- sorry, Seattle. The group, now without drummer J. Tillman of Father John Misty, hinted at new recordings in June with a Facebook photo of a demoing setup. They're due for a follow-up: sophomore album "Helplessness Blues" was released in 2011.

-- David Greenwald