While we are over a month late getting this up, we wanted to put up a list of our favorite albums of the year 2015. This happened to be my favorite year of music in a long time. I also got the chance to catch a lot of incredible shows throughout the year. You will see some of the pictures I took down below. The fun thing about 2015 was the fact that it not only did proven acts release great albums, there was a lot of new acts who had classic releases at well. Hoping that 2016 can live up to its predecessor this year!
Our combined Top 25 lists are available to listen to for free on Spotify:
25.The Sonics- This Is The Sonics
After about 40 years of being a band that is disbanded, the early garage rock band has roared back with an album that feels like it could have been recorded in their heyday. Songs like “I Don’t need no doctor” let you know that the Sonics have come back with a vengeance. I got the opportunity to see them live with my Dad at the Texas Theater in Dallas. They did not disappoint. They mixed in these songs with a great collection of the songs that they sang early on that would make a lot of modern bands insanely popular, but somehow did not transform them into a household name in their early days.
24. Sufjan Stevens- Carrie and Lowell
A very confessional record about his troubled relationship with his mom. Although this is a very pretty record, I have had a hard time listening to it over and over. It seems very raw and comes off as something saved for a dark day.
23. Bob Dylan- Shadows In The Night
Just about everyone who knows me knows that my favorite music artist of all time is Bob Dylan. My top two albums of all time are Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde respectively (Both somehow released in the same year), so when he puts out a covers album I naturally question it. Needless to say Dylan more then delivers on this set. Not essential, but still enough to pull in a longtime fan.
22. La Luz- Weirdo Shrine
This is just pretty music. Surf music for the 21st century. Although I was waiting for an epic track ala “Call me in the day” from the last album, it did not have that. It still had a steady collection of songs that made me want to learn how to surf in California with a smile on my face.
21. Alex G- Beach Music
He has become one of the lo-fi kings,instantly becoming an underground music legend. Going to see him live in Orlando soon after missing him in DFW many times. He records low key songs for low key people. I really don’t have much more to say other then the fact that he puts out a lot of good music.
20. Lord Huron- Strange Trails
Great throwback acoustic based music. I first heard of them on KXT 91.7 and bought the album thinking that the mainstream had missed something. The song “Fool for love” was played on rotation on KXT. Thank God. “La belle Fleur Sauvage” is another highlight. A great double LP from start to end.
19. Belle and Sebastian- Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
This is just a great reinvention record. Dylan did it. Bowie did it. Springsteen did it. Belle and Sebastian is one of the best bands in life. They literally wrote the line “color my life with the chaos of trouble”. A line so good it was used as a fake yearbook quote in the classic movie 500 Days of Summer. They wanted to make a dance pop album, despite it being a departure that may alientate some fans. It is not their best album. I’m sure they are well aware of that. Instead it is an awesome foray into unknown territory. I also know that I went to a Waffle House with Chad after finally seeing them live and I put on “Party Line” on the jukebox . The youngsters at 2am did not get it…. but we did.
18. Alabama Shakes- Sound and Color
A lot of pretty falseto, and in a lot of ways I respect the way they departed from the last album. “Future People” is a great song and they worked hard to make a very good follow up album. Although I still prefer the bombastic blues instrumentals and vocals that made their debut album so great (no song knocked me off my feet near the way “Hold on” did) , I appreciate their willingness to push things in a completely new direction. This is a cool record from start to finish.
17. Waxahatchee- Ivy Tripp
A very weird and pretty album. There a lot of dark undertones here. I don’t even know how to describe it. She plays to a lot of different genres. She has an edge, but is responsive to pop elements at the same time. Would have loved to see her live, but she played the same random work-night as Wilco. I am looking forward to her return to the DFW Area.
16. Matthew E White- Fresh Blood
This guy makes some great easy to listen to music. “Rock and roll is cold”is one of the songs of the year. It is very restrained mood music. One of the best things about this album is he released it with two different versions. One featuring a lot of orchestration in the background, the other without. Both versions work well. I feel like this album kind of got overlooked due to the Natalie Prass album taking a lot of the Spacebomb Studio buzz this year.
15. Kurt Vile- Believe I’m Goin Down
Vile returned in 2015 with a more acoustic and less jammy set compared to his last album Wakin on a Pretty Daze. “Pretty Pimpin” is a very catchy single and has received a lot of play on Indie stations. My personal favorite song on the album is “Bad Omens”. It is a haunting instrumental with pretty piano layered with some pretty intense guitar soloing in the background. Once again this is an example of an artist showing a lot of range. Looking forward to seeing him play in Dallas in April.
14. Best Coast- California Nights
Best Coast just plays pretty music. I like how they always release their new albums around summer time, as I feel that their sunny sounding music is perfect for that time of year. As great as it is it is not going to get a lot of play during the winter. (Although it seems like we are not going to be having much of a typical winter in Texas this year.) A big highlight for me is the song “California Nights.” I saw them with my Dad at the Granada this summer, and it was one of my favorite live tracks of the year. One of the albums on this list that I feel like wasn’t given the credit it rightly deserved.
13. Boxed In- Boxed In
Shout out again to KXT 91.7 for tuning me on to Boxed In’s music. They have been playing the excellent single “Mystery” on high rotation the past few months. (Rightfully so!) Great electronic music mixed in with some great piano playing. He covers a lot of different territory within the genre here. Another highlight is the great duet “Low Life” late in the album. I think this would be an interesting act to catch live, as some of the studio sessions they have done for local indie stations that have popped up on Youtube have been excellent.
12. Julien Baker- Sprained Ankle
I think this one nudges Sufjan Steven for the saddest album of the year. Julien Baker is a young college student who recorded these sparse quiet songs at Spacebomb Studios without the intention of having them see a wide audience. Many of the songs are based on true events that occurred in her life. I am very pleased that someone decided that these needed to be heard. This record is very different from anything else I heard throughout the year. The title track is the standout, coming across as both sad and beautiful at the same time. One of my favorite vocal performances of the year.
11. Deerhunter- Fading Frontier
I got this album after hearing the terrific slinky, glam drenched single “Snakeskin”.This song sounds like it could have been recorded by Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars circa the early 1970’s. What took me by surprise (not at all in a bad way) is how different the rest of the album sounds. Starting with the great opening track “All the Same” the rest of the album besides “Snakeskin” is much more melodic, with a less aggressive tone. It adds up to be a very listenable album that I have found myself enjoying on repeat from start to finish many times.
10. Car Seat Headrest- Teens of Style
This one came out of nowhere for me. I had not heard of him at all till late in the year while reading an article in Rolling Stone. Turns out this young guy has been churning out lo-fi recordings on Bandcamp at a prolific volume. This is his first recording done for legendary Indie Label Matador. The result is a great lo-fi recording worthy of the lofty expectations that come with putting out an album on the Matador label. There are a lot of cool elements to his songs, none more then the completely awesome off the wall horns that come in during “Times to Die.” Another standout track is another of the songs longer tracks “Strangers” which features a really neat vocal break down. This is an artist on the rise who has a lot of great music to come.
9. Tobias Jesso Jr.- Goon
This is a piano driven record that recalls many of the great singer songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s. The road to this album is probably the strangest on this entire list. Jesso, who is originally from Canada ,was living in Los Angeles trying to make it as as bassist. After a lot of bad personal luck including his mom getting cancer and his means of transportation (his bike) being stolen, he moved back home. There he started to explore the piano, and instrument he did not have much experience with. The results are a very pretty record that has caught the attention of many other artists. The biggest of whom is Adele who tweeted one of his songs out to her bajillion followers. She eventually brought him in to co-write a song on her album 25. Although the most popular song on this album is “How Could you Babe” (which is a great song) I prefer the longer ballad “Hollywood” which explores the trials and tribulations he went through trying to make it as an artist there. I saw him with my dad at a very non-packed Granada Theater. Despite the small audience he played a great set and showed a great sense of humor. Definitely a performer I would recommend catching live.
8. Speedy Ortiz- Foil Deer
As Chad mentioned this seems to be the 2010’s answer to Pavement. Singer Sadie Dupuis studied creative writing in college, and this shows up in her music. All of the songs are very well written and feature smooth, relaxed vocals. The stand out tracks for me are the single “Raising The Skate” and album closer “Dvrk World” (not a typo for some reason that is the spelling they went with). Both songs are very different stylistically, but both pack a big emotional punch. This was the concert miss of the year for me. I saw a video of them on Youtube and initially thought it wasn’t for me. Maybe this was due to the fact that comedian Hannibal Buress had joined them on drums…He clearly had no idea what he was doing. However, due to this I ignored their show at Dada, only to discover how awesome they were a few weeks later. While not as bad as having us miss My Bloody Valentine a few years ago (Chad is still furious about that one) it was indeed not a good move in retrospect.
7. Madisen Ward and The Mamma Bear- Skeleton Key
This is one of the oddest/ coolest acts out there right now. It is a mother and son duo who sing primarily folk music. The complement and harmonize with each other beautifully. I was sold the first few seconds into their first single “Silent Movies.” Other great tracks include the ode “Big Yellow Taxi” about a homeless man sleeping in the back of a cab, and “Down in Mississippi” a long song that is full of emotion. I saw them with my Dad at the Kessler Theater in Dallas. It was the perfect venue for their music. They switched off vocal and guitar parts perfectly. My Dad said it was one of the best shows he’s ever seen, and I agree. This is another act that somehow got completely ignored by most critics. Although they have gained some traction with a Today show appearance, I did not see them appear on any top 50 end of year lists. It is really a shame for such a unique and beautiful act.
6. Leon Bridges- Coming Home
I do not know how it took me so long to hear about him since he hails from Fort Worth, but I am glad I am aware now. Bridges sings old school soul music that sounds like it is a lost recording from the early 60’s. As upset as I am that Madisen Ward and the Mamma Bear has been ignored, I am equally thrilled at all the attention Bridges has gotten. It seems like he took off over night. There have been numerous high exposure gigs including a spot on Saturday Night Live. Not bad for a guy who was working as a dishwasher around this time the last year. The first single “Coming Home” is a fantastic love song that has already found its way into a lot of TV spots. Besides that my two favorite tracks are “Pull Away” and “Shine”. These songs have not caught on as much with the rest of the public according to Itunes. The irony here is due to his popularity, I have not been able to see him live yet, despite the fact that we live in the same city. I hope this is amended in the near future.
5. Wilco- Star Wars
This was one of the surprises of the year. This was not due to the fact that this was an unknown band (they have been around for years obviously, with several classic albums), but due to the fact that this album was released without any prior notice. Not only that, it was released for free on Itunes this summer! I saw Wilco at the McFarlin Auditorium in March and they were not even playing any of these songs yet. I wish they had because it is a great album. Although it clocks in just under 34 minutes, it makes all of those count. The standout track is the single “Random Name Generator”, which features some of the coolest guitar sounds of the year. Other standout tracks include “King of You” and album closer “Magnetized”. I think this is probably the best Wilco album since A Ghost is Born, although it may even top it.
4. Sleater Kinney- No Cities To Love
This is the long awaited reunion of the greatest punk band of the nineties. Over the past ten years all members have been busy making other music, and Carrie Brownstein has been busy being brilliant on Portlandia. Despite the long lay off they did not disappoint. It is almost like they did not take any time off at all. They are as fierce as they ever were, with charging vocals and manic duel guitar play. Highlights from the album include the intense “Bury Our Friends” and the trippy guitar and vocals throughout “The New Age”. They were also my favorite live act of the year. I felt very privileged to see them in a relatively small venue at the Granada. They did not interact with the audience that much, but that was not necessary because they were busy putting on a brilliant show. I cannot wait to see them in concert again.
3. Chastity Belt- Time To Go Home
I came to know this band after seeing them open up for Courtney Barnett at Dada. They are probably the chillest acting band I have ever seen. They just walked up and put on a great show. Chad was with me (this is before he was lost to the massive crowd before Courtney Barnett went on) and the music seemed to hit us a lot more then the people around us. When they finished up we looked at each other like, “What was that man?” It was like we had seen something very special and unexpected. I ordered their album immediately upon returning t home. The music has a lot of post punk elements and features a lot of cool back and forth guitar playing, always led by a heavy bass riff. The vocal play is set forth in kind of a dry way that blends in with the music perfectly. Highlights include “IDC” (Best song set up at the concert singer Julia just said: “This song is called IDC…Stands for I Don’t care..), and the title track which is a slow burning tale of a long night out. The best track is the song “Joke” which is my favorite song of 2015.( Which says a lot as this is one of my favorite music years of all time) It is a longer song that features awesome duel guitar riffs going back and forth, ending in an all out jam. Every time I play it I end up doing the same ridiculous/lame dance. (Pretty sure I listened to it for 6 hours straight one day too) Its cool though, sometimes great music will do that to you.
2. Natalie Prass- Natalie Prass
This record has an interesting back story too. Natalie Prass laid down her vocal tracks at Spacebomb records something like 2 years before it came out. In the meantime she had started making dog clothes for a job. I am very glad that this eventually got released! A lot of the delay was due to the fact that the great Spacebomb band had to lay down the strings and horns that accompany the track. There are a lot of standouts here but my favorite track is the opener “My Baby Don’t Understand Me”. This song is about the gradual dissolution of a relationship over time. The vocals and songwriting are amazing, and the horns accompany it perfectly. The same is the case for the following song “Bird of Prey”, creating a fantastic opening to a fantastic album. Throughout Prass’s vocals are revolutionary, perhaps at best on the terrific “Never Get Over You”. Throughout you can feel a lot of heartbreak in a very beautiful way. I got the chance to see her at Sons Of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum with my Dad on the oddest of nights. I headed from my home in Fort Worth right after work to meet my Dad at my parent’s house in Cedar Hill. Right after we got there we were forced to go into the closet due to a tornado warning. It passed fast so we went to the show, but a lot of other concertgoers were apparently not having it that night. Very few people attended. Prass could have been upset by this (Lord knows the openers were openly peeved by the lack of attendance), but instead she came on and simply said she was glad that we were all there. She went on to play a terrific show despite the unfortunate circumstances, refusing to let it get her down. She did not have the horns and strings that appear on the album, but it was actually kind of nice to here the music without them. Seeing her show this resolve in spite of the circumstances has made me an even bigger fan of hers.
1. Courtney Barnett- Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
This is Barnett’s debut LP (She previously released two epic EPs, one including the terrific song “Avant Gardner” which helped put her on the map in the US), and what a terrific debut it was. She is easily the best song writer of the modern music era. The lyrics come out in an almost dizzying stream of conscience way. She starts off with a bang with “Elevator Operator” a tale of a young man who is very disenchanted with his life. She follows it up with “Pedestrian at Best” which is a blistering grungy song that would not have been out of place in the early nineties. The third song “An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)” is a great autobiographical song about feeling lost and alone while being in New York on her first major trip abroad away from her girlfriend. It features great winding guitar over fast paced lyrics. The first three songs set a terrific precedent for the rest of the album that follows. Barnett knows how to tell a terrific story within each song, and has a great 2 piece backing band that keeps the songs rolling on with great instrumentation. I was stunned to find out that I was able to get tickets to see her at Dada for only $15! By the day of the show I looked online and saw that I could have easily sold each of them for a minimum of 70$. Wisely, I chose not too. Although I ended up seeing the show myself as Chad got lost in the crowd shortly after Chastity Belt’s set. Seeing her at a small venue reminded me of a story my Dad once told me. When he was young and living in Louisiana he had the opportunity to see a young upstart by the name of Bruce Springsteen at a small club in New Orleans. He jumped on the opportunity and still has great memories of it today. Seeing Barnett in this small venue felt like that experience for me. I looked around and smiled, realizing I would more then likely never get this opportunity again. The Rolling Stones were playing down the road in Arlington at Jerry World, and I did not care that I was missing it. I was about 5 rows back seeing this amazing performance from an upcoming artist that cost me all of 15$! Barnett is an incredible artist who is going to continue putting out good music. In the future I’ll be there, rocking out at a MUCH bigger venue. However, I will always have the memories of seeing her at that small venue when she was just getting started.
Tones OF HOME 