So here we are again for the 15th year in a row in this little vainglorious exercise of mine. As it was from the first time we started this little tradition, the whole idea is that we're not record store clerks and we can only listen to so much music in a year. Seeing what albums everybody else loved has continually proven to be the best way to discover great new music. It's also a fun little excuse for me to take another listen to (most of) the new albums I purchased over the year. And, of course, there's the whole vanity aspect of it all. It's my chance to play record critic and force all of you to listen to my opinion. So that's great.
As for the year in music for 2015, I'm going to paraphrase buddy Matt Bergan here when I say that it was a year with a lot of albums that could have made it in the top 10, but only a handful of really outstanding albums. The top 2 albums on my list haven't changed since they were released. On the other end, though, there were easily 25 albums this year that were vying for a spot in the top 10. As much as I'd love to include a novelty album on this list like Ryan Adams' album of Taylor Swift covers (which is actually quite good) or, even better, Run the Jewels remake of their own album replacing their backing tracks entirely with sampled cat sounds (it's better than you think), or the Mountain Goats album completely devoted to big time wrestling, I just couldn't find room for anything like that this year.
Beyond that, Adele sold a billion albums in a week or something. U2 forced us all to listen to their new album once. There was an album from a band I adore that held the number one spot in 2013. There was an album from a band that I worshipped in my twenties. Pope Francis even released a rock album. For real. As much as I respect both Il Papa and Adele, neither of them made the list. But here's who did:
Really great songs off of really good albums
Unlike last year when I created a special section just to say how much I hated Sun Kil Moon's album, I'm gonna be more positive this year and mention some bands that had great albums that didn't make the list, but are notable for some really amazing songs on those albums. There's so many really. From Panda Bear to Houndmouth to Car Seat Headrest to Grimes, there was so much good stuff this year. A few tracks off of the Tame Impala record could go here but, when it's all said and done, I'm just not that into their brand of psych-rock. The one psych-rock album that I actually really liked was the latest from Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Multi-Love, in particular, is a track that you should check out. It's a hauntingly beautiful, complex track. And I really wanted to find a way to put the album from Baio on here. That's not Scott Baio, mind you. He's Vampire Weekend's bass player and he released this goofy album that's part blissful indie-pop and part electro dance. Parts of it are amazing, but it's really uneven. But, for my money, Sister of Pearl was the best song of 2015. It's undeniably a Vampire Weekend song, but that's okay with me and, I mean, it's really, really, really good.
10. Dr. Dre - Compton
Oh, the number 10 spot. Always so hard to fill! It really, really pains me not having Return to the Moon from EL VY on here. If this were a top 20 list, I probably would have EL VY at 10 and Dr. Dre at 11. But I sort of restrict myself to 10 and that means that Dre makes the list because, well, it's fucking Dr. Dre and it's his first album in over a decade. It's a little tiresome to see Dre going back to Compton for inspiration in the same year that he became the self-proclaimed first hip-hop billionaire. But I'm torn, because it's also nice to see him stick to where he grew up as his inspiration for an album that he has no monetary incentive to make. While he curated the soundtrack for the movie Straight Out of Compton, he also produced this album which is basically a soundtrack for Compton. As in, Compton, the city. And this is really Dre as producer. He's barely recognizable on the album outside of the obvious great production values. The star of the show, as ever, is Kendrick Lamar. The best songs feature his impossibly fast, impossibly dense lyrics with Darkside/Gone being the best of the lot.
9. Kamasi Washington - The Epic
Epic indeed. This is a three CD, nearly three hour long album that took Kamasi nearly five years to make. Yeah, this isn't the sort of album that you just pop in for a couple minutes at a time. You have to sit and f***ing listen to this. You've most likely heard of Kamasi before as he's often featured on Kendrick Lamar albums (that's two Kendrick references so far and won't be the last). For this project, he incorporated choirs and a full string section into a sort-of hip-hop informed jazz. It's breathtaking. The first time that I listened to this album, all I could think is that this is the best jazz album since Bitches Brew. Not that it sounds anything like Bitches Brew, but it's inclusive. This is jazz opening its boundaries to include hip hop, electronica, classical music. You don't have to make it through the entire 22 minutes of the song linked below, but try to listen to the last five minutes. That might sell you.
8. Jamie xx - In Colour
Easily the best electronic album of the year. My love for the xx is pretty well known given that they topped my list in 2012. It's a bit of a departure from his stuff with the xx, though I think the song that features Romy xx is the standout track on the album and sounds like it could have been lifted off of any xx album. It's just something about her voice that pairs really well with the sparse tracks that Jamie constructs. Beyond that, though, this is a lot of Jamie as electronic producer. I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) got the most airplay off the album mostly because it has a lot of lyrical hooks but that's the one song that probably uses Jamie's skill as a producer the least. For me, the standout tracks are Gosh and Loud Places but you really can't go wrong with anything off this album.
7. Desaparecidos - Payola
I'll always have a little bit of a premium on my list for 1) punk rock and 2) albums with a conscience. Desaparecidos fits both of those bills. Though it is always hard for me to see Conor Oberst as anything other than the lyrical sprite behind Bright Eyes, this album goes a long way to establishing Desaparecidos as the Conor Oberst band. And, in fairness, the first time I ever saw him in concert was at an Al Gore fundraiser so he's got the bona fides. This album really is what you might expect from a Conor Oberst punk band; erudite socialist lyrics over fast and loud guitars. How could I not love this?
6. Torres - Sprinter
I love an album that starts with a bang. The leadoff track, Strange Hellos, is definitely that with its coy, introspective intro brashly giving way to the rest of the song that does not shy away from telling you that "what's mine isn't really yours, but I hope you find what you're looking for." But Sprinter is more than just Courtney Love-ish f*** you riot grrl rock. There are a lot of raw, understated, vulnerable tracks on this album. Songs like A Proper Polish Welcome and Cowboy Guilt. Sprinter is pretty straightforward indie rock laced with enough anger and vulnerability to make it interesting. I love it.
5. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
I can't believe how long it took me to really discover the force of nature that is Brittany Howard. She is basically Alabama Shakes - all the way from her blues heavy riffs to the primal howls that she can conjure up. There is a point in the lead track where there's a sound that she makes that I didn't realize a human could actually make. It's at around the 45 second point of the video below. The entire album is an effort to barely cage her range of talents. Sound and Color is her at her sweetest, The Greatest is her in rock-out mode, but Don't Wanna Fight is the centerpiece. It's an instant blues classic with its traditional bluesy message ("fuck off, I don't want to fight anymore"), an unbelievably great blues riff, and that howl at the beginning!
4. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
So, I kind of hate that I have to put this album on here. Especially this high up. And that's because "Father John Misty" is such an insufferable douchebag. But part of his act is that you can't tell when he's being overly sarcastic and when he's being genuine. Hence, why the lead track and the album includes the moniker "Honeybear". All in all, this is an album about him falling in love and an ode, in general, to his new bride. That would be the eponymous "Honeybear". Of course, he can't just come out and say it, he has to be an overly tongue-in-cheek hipster about it and make a joke about it. So, yeah, he's super super annoying. Despite that, there are so many good songs on here. There's the mariachi happiness and lyrical overload of Chateau Lobby, a song that I couldn't help but listen to over and over again, the woozy bluegrassy Honeybear, the Wilco-ish vibe of Strange Encounter. He's a jerk, but this is a really, really great album.
3. Belle & Sebastian - Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
OKCupid data has declared Belle & Sebastian to be the "whitest band" out there. I suppose it's not all that surprising. I mean, come on, have you ever been to Scotland? But there is something about Belle & Sebastian that keeps them from crossing over. 6+ minute long songs that change structure mid-song and are littered with literary references are not exactly the most accessible. But that's also why I love them. Their songs always manage to sound so simple until you really dive into it. And somehow I don't think they come across as being pretentious even though they have albums with titles like Dear Catastrophe Waitress, The Boy with the Arab Strap, and Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. I didn't jump at this album at first because the first track that was released (The Party Line) just seemed like a party track. But, no Belle & Sebastian song is ever that simple. It's actually a bit of a coup for them that they've actually written a song that could be played at a party. The song that sewed this up for me was The Everlasting Muse, a sort of historical reverie for Stuart Murdoch about what sort of music he thought he should play ("A subtle gift to modern rock. She says 'Be popular. Play pop. And you will win my love.'") that starts with a real bossa nova feel to it that gives way to a sort-of Andy Sommers Police-ish guitar that gives way to a chorus that has a kind of traditional Greek vibe to it. Yeah, it doesn't sound like a winner when I describe it to you does it? But it's genius. A fantastic album.
2. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love
On the list of albums that I desperately waited for this year and wanted to be great, the Modest Mouse album had some flashes of brilliance but was overall a bit of a letdown. The other of those two albums, though? Well it just happens to be the best Sleater-Kinney album yet. 10 years since their last album that's seen Carrie Brownstein since go off to quasi-fame on Portlandia, they absolutely picked up where they left off. Tight guitar-driven hooks, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker harmonizing, self-aware lyrics, it's all there on every track. I'm a Gen X guy through and through and this is a Gen X album. Sleater-Kinney doesn't care about your success and they don't care about their success. It's about being genuine. The first track officially released (Bury Our Friends) made it pretty clear that they're not down with the trappings of success and disingenuous hangers-on with the chorus "Exhume our idols. Bury Our Friends". But from there, it's all classic indie-rock anthems from the banality of so much of urban life (No Cities to Love) to a takedown of the need to relabel everything to make it sound new and interesting (A New Wave) this is such a great album.
1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Best rap album since Dre 2001. Best conscientious rap voice since maybe Chuck D and Public Enemy? Dre and Snoop were always great at talking about life in Compton and Kendrick went there on his last album. But he's transcended that on this album to talk about the broader race issues in America and this album dropped amidst racially motivated police violence and the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement. It's so easy to focus on his unbelievable skill as a rapper - no one is as fast, as skilled at crafted a compelling rhyme as he is. And on this album he's added the production. Songs like i, King Kunta, Alright, etc. would be great party tracks if you never even listened to the lyrics. But when you get into his rhymes and his message about the state of racial inequity in the States ("I got a bone to pick!"), that's when the album goes from great to all-timer. It's enormous in scope, extraordinarily relevant, slick, layered, etc. Easily the #1 album for this year.
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