The New Yorker 2014

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2014 gathers twenty of the best short stories of the year, selected from thousands published in literary magazines. The winning stories roam the world, from Nigeria to Venice, from an erupting volcano in Iceland to a brothel in the old Wild West. They feature a dazzling array of characters: a young American falling in love in Japan, a girl raised by snake-handling fundamentalists, an old man mourning his late wife, and a fierce guard dog with a talent for escape. Accompanying the stories are the editor’s introduction, essays from the eminent jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines.

The release, Bahamas Is Afie, is the first self-produced album from the Ontario-based musician. With this record he pursued a far more complex sound than on prior releases and is responsible for the majority of the instrumentation. The album follows 2011's Barchords, which was praised for being a reserved yet melodically rewarding exploration of relationships and heartache by The New Yorker. SPIN recently premiered the first pre-release track from the album, All The Time, saying Bahamas distills his brand of breezy soul…with summer-ready falsetto harmonies that float over a distorted riff, before ending with a quick solo, a move that reminds this laidback Canuck can shred.