As always, when I sat down to write this and look back on the albums I dug this year, I had a hard time remembering all the stuff that came out. For some reason, a lot of my favorite 2015 albums feel like they came out forever ago. I double-checked my list from last year to make sure I didn't somehow consider some of them for 2014 as well. I think it was just a top heavy year for me. I got a lot of cool albums early on and they're newness seems so long ago to me now. Lately, I haven't gotten into a lot of new stuff. This is possibly due to me being consumed with my recent cross country move... or everything is just shittier now (probably both).
Before I get to my top ten, here are some honorable mentions. Most of these artists had some cool new songs this year, I just didn't dig the rest of their albums enough to rank them.
Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta - To Pimp A Butterfly
This track's beat is a long overdue return to the g-funk beats of the early 90's. Listen for yourself and let your inner melanin vibrate.
Disasterpeace - Title - It Follows OST
From the soundtrack to the great new horror film It Follows, this track by Disasterpeace hearkens back to the spooky synth laden horror soundtracks by John Carpenter. The rest of the OST is similarly creepy, but with disarmingly pretty sounding moments.
Aphex Twin - diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13 - Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt2 - (EP)
Aphex Twin employs computer controlled robotic parts playing acoustic instruments to create an incredibly unique type of music. For those of you that can't get into overly electronic sounding stuff, this might be a good gateway into this guy's one-of-a-kind sound. Some parts of this track sound like an intensely ominous jazz jam cut up by DJ Shadow.
Ratatat - Cream on Chrome - Magnifique
These guys still have a great hip-hop inspired rhythm accompanied by their signature surging lead guitar riffage. This track summarizes everything to like about this instrumental duo.
Without further procrastination, the top ten albums that made life bearable in 2015:
10. Girlpool - Before the World Was Big
Double female vocals! Take that, IronFish! I got into this young femme-punk duo a year or two ago and was excited to see this short 10 track album drop. I had already loved the one song, "Chinatown", and was pleased to hear this album continue their style of sparse, intertwining guitar and bass lines accompanied by harshly honest vocals. I actually like the rougher harmonies on the earlier single version of "Chinatown" better though.
9. Destroyer - Poison Season
I really fell in love with this guy's sound on 2011's Kaputt. While I didn't love it as much as that album, this is something of a return to that lushly eclectic style. The song "Dream Lover" recalls a raucous Bruce Springsteen band performance.
8. Wilco - Star Wars
Has Disney's team of lawyers descended upon Wilco's headquarters in Chicago yet? I was pleasantly surprised to see a new Wilco offering this year. I saw them at a festival in May and their performance rejuvenated my interest in them. The album wasn't a letdown, still not a return to their once lofty heights of YHF and A Ghost is Born, but more excitement for me here than their previous two albums.
7. Dawes - All Your Favorite Bands
If IronFish accomplished one thing this year, it's getting me into his favorite band. I hate to give people the satisfaction of liking their recommendations! Prick. The title track is an instant classic that even the squarest Dad could love. The album contains a number of sneaky great lyrics and instrumental parts that indicate a great studio work ethic. They could use a little more roughness around the edges to make the pretty parts sparkle even brighter, but that's just me being a curmudgeon.
6. Mac DeMarco - Another One
This fella was at the festival I attended in May, but I wasn't in to him at the time and passed him up. I dug his overalls though. I got some of his albums on a whim and ended up playing this one over and over. His ironic crooning and offhand poppy riffs was briefly the soundtrack to my Florida summer. This is the album where he gives out his address at the end. I'm kinda in his neighborhood now. Maybe I'll swing by.
5. Built to Spill - Untethered Moon
I saw them again in May. They still got it. Dug brought in some new guys. They still got it. Laziness? I still got it. Just listen to this. They continue to make magic. If you don't like them, don't tell me. The intro to "Some Other Song" reminds me of Rush. Disagree? Mark-ass trick.
4. Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free
This gentleman took the #10 spot on my 2013 list with his album Southeastern. I had only been listening to it for a few weeks at that point. If I had more time with it, I definitely would've charted it higher, in retrospect. It's become one of my favorite albums of all time. Something More Than Free doesn't quite reach those heights for me. But, like Southeastern, this album is growing on me the longer I let it marinate in my ear holes. Possibly the last bastion of non-embarrassing country music and one of the best songwriters going today.
3. Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down...
I was pretty friggin' jazzed to have a new Kurt Vile album come out this year and I was not disappointed. The prolific songwriter continues to dive deeper into his own style of shambolic, hazy, idiosyncratic rock. Some of the songs on this album are odd as hell, but I love 'em. This is one artist I have yet to see live. That needs to be rectified. Potential New Year's resolution?
2. Tame Impala - Currents
Kevin Parker and his Aussie cronies just keep getting better. They headlined the festival I attended in May and destroyed thousands of young minds on a hot Atlanta night. My buddy Jake's medulla oblongata liquefied and oozed from his pores. Tame Impala did that to him. It was horrendously good. Food tastes bland now. The world is monochrome. That said, I was initially put off by the less psych-rock, more dance-groove sound of Currents. In retrospect, I'm the dumbest motherfucker that ever double-clicked on an MP3 file.
1. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
I'm as shocked as you are that the Fleet Foxes were good for something. Thank Satan for giving us the swarthy hip-swiveling dancing of Josh Tillman. He won me over with his previous album Fear Fun and this album just confirmed it for me. That said, this album is definitely more of a grower than a show-er, knowatI'msayin', Uncle Phil? The songs pay great dividends with repeated listens. His wry, sarcastic wit can make you crack up mid-song. Jonathan Wilson studio-Jesus reputation is well-deserved, as well. The instrumention swells and hangs back at the perfect times throughout. Tillman and Wilson even managed to convey FJM's signature sarcasm with ironically overdone orchestral arrangements punctuating each sardonic line.
In case you're on the outside looking in on this one, just let me say that the problem is with you. Your ears and/or brain and/or heart and/or soul are messed up. Get your shit together. Your genitals have become withered and useless. Do not attempt to listen to the band that got you off in college. The emperor HAS new clothes and they're fucking dope. The dude looks great in his tailored silks and fine accouterments and what not. Figure your stuff out and get back to me. Take your vitamins, say your prayers, take your dog for a jog, meditate on Jay Bennett's dreadlocks and their lack of place in this world or any conceivable afterlife. Your New Year's resolution is to stop resisting this sonic penis and let your soul cum. Sorry, Moms.
Father John Misty - 'Bored In The USA' Live On David Letterman from Bella Union on Vimeo.
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