2015 has proven to be an extremely strong year for the music industry - there have been some ridiculously fantastic album releases that have made me jump with joy every time I hear a track from them. But, alas, crunch time is upon us, it's time to pick the ten best albums of 2k15. Of course, these choices are my personal opinion, you are most likely to disagree with many albums on this list, but, y'know, fuck you.
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N U M B E R T E N
IN COLOUR - JAMIE XX
One of my favourite UK lads, Jamie xx, is mostly known for his work in his duo, The xx. The entire album dabbles in UK bass, deep synth with some sort of future-garage undertones. It's well-produced, with extremely well, highly-tuned tracks. The opening track, Gosh, gets you going and completely opens you up to the experience you're about to have. Sleep Sound is my favourite song, a beautifully crafted bass masterpiece with a dream-synth that brings you somewhere else.
The strongest parts of this album is when Jamie works alongside collaborators such as Young Thug in the absolute TUNE 'I know there's gonna be (good times)'.
All-in-all, In Colour is a really fun album, it's very diverse, one minute you're being slowly pulled into a meditative trance, the next you'll find yourself shirtless and swinging from your curtain pole.
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N U M B E R N I N E
BEAUTY BEHIND THE MADNESS - THE WEEKND
Sex. Sex, and more sex. That's all I think about when I hear this album. It seethes sexuality and rhythm, almost as if Marvin Gaye had a baby with Hot Chocolate, and the baby was then adopted by Diplo, or some other prolific producer who can produce a 'siq beat'.
The Weeknd, surprisingly, has been lurking around our inter-webs for quite some years now, and I bet you haven't noticed him? AMIRITE? He released a three different mix-tapes, followed up by Kiss Land, his first big release.
But, years later, we're graced with The Weeknd's second big release, Beauty Behind The Madness. As mentioned before, this album is seeping with sexuality, rhythm, smooth beats and clever lyricism. Some of the most stand-out singles would be Often, The Hills and I Can't Feel My Face. All very, very strong singles. I'll leave you with one little tip though, if you haven't listened to The Weeknd's pre-album mixtape releases, then don't, because they are colossally different to his commercial releases, and you will most likely not enjoy them. But if you haven't, rejoice!
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N U M B E R E I G H T
FKA TWIGS - M3LL155X
FKA TWIGS - M3LL155X
If you told me a few years ago that one of my favourite genre-sounds of 2015 would be a hybrid of alt-pop mixed with trip-hop, mixed with sex and R&B, I would have slapped you down and called you a silly fuck. But, alas, fka Twigs has stolen my heart with her latest EP M3LL155X (Eg. Mellissa).
fka Twigs' earlier EP's, with songs including Water Me and Papi Pacify, were genre-breaking and innovate, with very unusual sampling, and a smooth, sensual vocal. Her first LP release, LP1 (fitting), included tune-rags like Pendulum and the phenomenal single, Two Weeks.
And a year later, we're graciously given M3LL155X, her most coherent, crisp and easily-digestable piece of work to-date. It's accompanied by a 16-minute visual album on YouTube, that is a fantasy to behold. But if you want to feel something real, listen to the album in full, and watch the video in full, you'll then know why fka Twigs is a force to be reckoned with, but whatever you do, don't break her heart.
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N U M B E R S E V E N
CURRENTS - TAME IMPALA
Australia produces some good shit: great politicians, beer and motherfuckin' Tame Impala. Five years, or so, ago, Mr Kevin Parker (the producer orbiting Tame Impala) brought us Innerspeaker, the odd, psych-pop, lo-fi, synth-fuck. Soon after, we've given Lonersim, a much more put-together album (not put-together in the sense of production quality, but put-together in the sense of Tame Impala creating their image, being the absolute kings of psych-pop and lo-fi rock), and an album that instantly pulled me in and forced me to become a fan of these ladz.
The huge difference in Tame Impala's newest album, Currents, is that there is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less guitar-work. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a different thing. I can't lie, 2015 for me, was the sound of synth, not just in music, but also in movie soundtracks (Ah-ehm, It Follows, only the best film soundtrack of 2015). So if you're ready to embrace some gritty lo-fi synth, mixed with dreamy lyrics and beautiful melodies, then yeah, give Currents a good hard go.
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N U M B E R S I X
SOUND AND COLOR - ALABAMA SHAKES
Brittany. Fucking. Howard. The lead vocalist of the bluesy, 60's-sounding orchestra that is Alabama Shakes, could shake a goddamn house down. I first fell in love with Alabama Shakes when I listened to their 2012 album Boys & Girls, resonating with the tracks Hold On and Goin' To The Party. Howard's vocals are something to behold in Boys & Girls, she experiments, and doesn't hold back in most of the tracks in the album, and Sound & Colour is no exception.
The video-clip for Sound & Colour is just so damn good too. Who knew that a post-apocalyptic sci-fi would be the perfect accompaniment to such a soulful tune.
You have to listen to this album, it's important, very important.
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N U M B E R F I V E
DARK NIGHT, SWEET LIGHT - HERMITUDE
What!? A Purely electronic album in the top ten best albums of the entire year!? Are you crazy!? What are you thinking James!? What next!?
There is one word I can use to describe Hermitude's latest album - genius. It's really as simple as that, Hermitude know exactly what we want to hear, and they fucking deliver it with swaggy-panache. If you are to define the 'Australian Electronica Sound', Hermitude is right up there. It's a mixture of future-bass, trap, trip-hop, synth and pure E to the D to the M.
Every track on this album is an absolute ripper, from The Buzz to Hijinx.
I've been in love with these guys since their album Hyperparadise, and I'm beside myself that Hermitude are doing nothing but shooting for the stars, just where they, and this album belongs.
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N U M B E R F OUR
SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT - COURTNEY BARNETT
The Australian music scene in 2015 was purely dominated by Tame Impala, Hermitude and Courtney mudda-fuckin' Barnett, and for good reason. Ms. Barnett slayed the ARIAs last year with four awards from eight different nominations, including best female artist and best independant release.
Love her, or hate her, CB is nothing short of genius, her lyrics are painfully relevant to almost any twenty-something Australian during the summer, and if you can't resonate there, then you'll be able to resonate with the catchy-as-hell guitar riffs and hook-lines that'll have you on the floor performing CPR on yourself, because you've passed out (because that's how good it is, fuck).
It's extremely rare that every single track on an album is worth the few minutes, but, literally every track on this glowing beacon of Aussie gold is worth the listen.
I salute you, Ms. Barnett, I salute you.
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N U M B E R T H R E E
TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY - KENDRICK LAMAR
Numerous nominations, winner of album of the year in the Danish music awards, Kendrick Lamar brings you his latest and greatest piece of work, To Pimp A Butterfly. To say Lamar is a lyrical wizard, is to say that shakespeare was an 'aight playwright', colossally understated. There's a complete narrative underneath this album, from Wesley's Theory, to For Free? (Interlude), each track tells a story, but flows to and fro' seamlessly.
Lamar hasn't overtly created an album driven by racial politics, rather, has created a hopeful ode to humanity, no matter how negative or unimaginable the odds may seem, there is still beauty in the simplicity of humanity and we still have the ability to express and create.
The equilibrium takes fine-form in the track i, which is probably one of the best songs of 2015, if I do say so myself.
Do yourself a favour, listen to this album.
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N U M B E R T W O
CARRIE & LOWELL - SUFJAN STEVENS
Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens is his best album to-date. It's an extremely personal look into his life, like a beautifully crafted auto-biography that you can't stop listening to, no matter how difficult it becomes at times. The album focuses on Stevens' relationship with his late mother and stepfather. Sufjan's mother was an addict and had abandoned him at a young age, in the track Should've Known Better, Stevens sings 'when I was three, three maybe four, she left us at that video store'.
When he sings those painful words, you can almost envisage that scene, and you can empathise with him so immensely because it's almost as if a child is crafting those lyrics, as if Stevens went back in time to write this album.
As the album progresses, we become more aware of how Stevens coped with his mother's death through his adulthood, in the track (again) Should've Known Better, he sings 'I should've wrote a letter, explaining what I feel, that empty feeling', speaking of his regret of not expressing what he really felt towards his mother, especially being so young, the track is a beautifully personified expression of childhood naivety.
I don't want to psycho-analyse Sufjan, because I believe that we're lucky to be able to listen to such a personal piece of work, so I'll leave it up to you if you want to delve deeper into his psyche or not.
But let me warn you, it's a tragic trip, and one that you won't soon forget.
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N U M B E R O N E
[ BEST ALBUM OF 2015 ]
ART ANGELS - GRIMES
Women in pop, three words that audaciously inspire pre-conceptions that they are merely a product of their producers talents. Yes, that may be the case in 99.99% of pop music, but Clare Boucher (aka Grimes) is here, yet again, to set the fucking record straight.
Gimes has been off the scene since 2012 and her album Visions (which, may I say, is one of the greatest albums ever recorded, okay bye), she's released a few singles here and there, some good, some weird, some bad, but after years of waiting, she has given us Art Angels. There is a lot to say about this album, the first thing is that it is inexplicably G-R-I-M-E-S, and nothing else.
But what do you mean when you say that this album is pure Grimes, do you ask? It means that Art Angels is utterly original, you won't hear anything like it, Bouchers' high-pitched vocals and grungy post-punk-pop sound, is something to revel in.
I'm in love with every track on this album. From the obscurely fanatic Scream, to the dreamy sun-soaked California, every track is an ode to Grimes' full-form.
Early this month Grimes' was the subject of a short documentary by The Fader, where she tells us that after touring the world, she's finally found herself as an artist, since Visions and Halafaxa. She's scrapped the dreamy inaudible lyrics (which were fantastic, don't get me wrong), and has instead started screaming, squealing and screeching in beautiful awe of the revolution of pop music.
All-in-all Art Angels is extremely well-produced, performed and written and is nothing less than a contemporary pop masterpiece.
Love you Clare, you keep doing you girl.