BEST MUSIC 2015
2015 was a very detached year musically. For the first time in history I ended up rather shy on notable favourite tracks and there was little that stuck out as the ‘a-ha essential greatest song-moment’ of the year. Things seemed strange, out of sorts. Foreign confusing territory. It was kind of like getting lost on a walk through an unfamiliar park in the mild late winter; I know it’s nice to be getting outside, but I’m not sure where I am, and I want to go home.
What did indie music sound like in 2015 anyway? Much like years past, the 80’s influence is prominent, surf, punk, 60’s, low-fi, and psychedelic, and there was much less of the chilly R&B that’s dominated the past couple years. Tame Impala, Beach House, Kurt Vile, Grimes, & Jamie XX keep their steady indie-cred building with decent albums, while Kendrick Lamar stole the show on intelligent hip-hop and showed he’s creatively way ahead of his peers in the short time he’s been around.
In popular music, Bruno Mars gave us a massive wedding-friendly funk hit for our aunts to dance to while Taylor Swift churned out constant singles from last year’s “I’m pop now” 1989 album. Justin Beiber returned with a surprisingly good record that is beginning his transition into acceptable (almost cool) R&B while The Weeknd proved that he wanted complete and total pop stardom with “I Can’t Feel My Face”. In the fourth quarter Adele completely pummelled the world with “Hello” after some concern of whether people would still care about her emotionally-affected breakup songs.
They still do.
The Indie music realm is much harder to clearly define. You have your buzz bands, your critics favs, and the dime-a-dozen bottom-tier bands struggling to be heard. Wide critical praise for some groups still doesn’t equate to sold out shows or album sales. I saw about fifty concerts this year and nearly all of them were somewhat lackluster turnouts considering their online presence and catalogue. But among them were some of the best concert experiences I’ve had (favourite concert of the year for me was Destroyer in Ferndale, MI).
My picks this year are widely varied. As usual, I’ve made my choices based on songs that have affected me in a special way, the ones I keep returning to. The entire list in ranked order of my personal favourites. Notable artists include Mas Ysa, Majical Cloudz, Chelsea Wolfe, Editors, and The Velvet Teen (who returned after nearly ten years). There are a lot of indie artists scattered throughout this list that are relatively unknown but very much deserving of a listen. As usual, it is always important for me to shine a light on up and coming indie artists. Everything you’ll find below is something that stood out to me for one reason or another, some for the emotional devastation, some for the beauty, some for the lyrics, some for the dance moves, and some for the undeniable vibe. All had magic to them.
Stream the full list here
100 BEST TRACKS
5. TROPIC OF CANCER | PANDA BEAR
6. WAR ON THE EAST COAST | NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
9. THE GIVING IN | THE VELVET TEEN
10. GO! | PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
11. CAUSE I’M A MAN | TAME IMPALA
12. INSOMNIA | IAMX
14. WITHOUT YOU | TOBIAS JESSO JR.
17. ALL IS ILLUSORY | THE VELVET TEEN
18. IF I GET HIGH | NOTHING BUT THIEVES
20. ECLIPSES | THE VELVET TEEN
21. BANK ACCOUNTS AND DOLLAR BILLS | SISKIYOU
23. SOMETHING SOON | CAR SEAT HEADREST
25. CHA CHA | DRAM
26. HAPSBURG LIPP | EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
29. FLESH WITHOUT BLOOD | GRIMES
30. THE NIGHT JOSH TILMAN CAME TO OUR APT. | FATHER JOHN MISTY
31. BEAUTIFUL KIDS | MATES OF STATE
32. SYMPATHY FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY | HECTA
33. LET IT HAPPEN | TAME IMPALA
34. DANGEROUS | PONY THE PIRATE
35. XANAX | ELOHIM
36. BEAUTIFUL THINGS | HOUSE OF WOLVES
37. HIGHWAY PATROL STUNGUN | YOUTH LAGOON
38. JERRY’S DINER | BREAK UNDER PRESSURE
39. TIMES TO DIE | CAR SEAT HEADREST
42. NEIGHBORS KNOCK | JEFF ZAGERS
44. EXCUSE ME | NOTHING BUT THIEVES
45. STRANGE ENCOUNTER | FATHER JOHN MISTY
46. FRESHBLOOM | SUNDARA KARMA
49. BAD ART & WEIRDO IDEAS | BEACH SLANGBAD ART & WEIRDO IDEAS | BEACH SLANG
52. CLOUDBUSTING | MATTHEW GOOD
54. SUPERMASTER | A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
55. HALF AWAKE | PORCELAIN RAFT
60. I CAN’T EXPLAIN | SURFER BLOOD
62. CAN’T DO DRUGS LIKE I USED TO | VOIZES
64. SICK ON MY HEART | NAI HARVEST
65. FLORIDADA | ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
67. BENT OUT OF SHAPE | YOUNG RIVAL
70. CHAMPIONS OF RED WINE | NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
72. RUN AWAY WITH ME | CARLY RAE JEPSEN
73. BORED IN THE USA | FATHER JOHN MISTY
75. 100 STRANGERS | CIRCA WAVES
77. I WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN | L’AUPAIRE
78. MONKEY TREE | MOTHER MOTHER
79. FOUNDATION | YEARS & YEARS
81. I WEAR GLASSES | MATING RITUAL
82. DEATH WITH DIGNITY | SUFJAN STEVENS
84. COFFEE | MIGUEL
85. HIBOU | WHEN THE SEASON ENDS
88. ALSEEP ON THE BUS | BESTIE
89. LIONSONG | BJORK
91. CARRION FLOWERS | CHELSEA WOLFE
94. GOSH | JAIME XX
100. COLD WATER | MATTHEW GOOD
101. MEMORY REMAINS | OBERHOFER
102. 1985 (LIFTED) | PASSION PIT
103. THE FRINGE | SEGO
104. BEAR IN THE WINDOW | SOOP
105. YES I’M CHANGING | TAME IMPALA
106. SAGRES | TALLEST MAN ON EARTH
107. VENETIAN SNARES | SMERSONALITY
108. HIT THE QUAN | IHEARTMEMPHIS
109. CONTINENTAL SHELF | VIET CONG
110. I DON’T THINK SHE CARES | WHITE REAPER
111. ANNIE | NEON INDIAN
113. STOP SUFFERING | TROPIC OF CANCER
115. CIRCLES | GENTS
116. PLATES2 | AERO FLYNN
117. I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR GIRL | WET
118. PLAY IT ON MY RADIO | NIKI & THE DOVE
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BEST ALBUMS of 2015
1. EDITORS | IN DREAM
2. CHELSEA WOLFE | ABYSS
3. NEW PORNOGRAPHERS | BRILL BRUISERS
4. MAS YSA | SERAPH
5. THE VELVET TEEN | ALL IS ILLUSORY
6. IAMX | METANOIA
7. TAME IMPALA | CURRENTS
8. FATHER JOHN MISTY | I LOVE YOU, HONEYBEAR
9. NOTHING BUT THIEVES | NOTHING BUT THIEVES
10. WE ARE THE CITY | ABOVE CLUB
11. RYAN ADAMS | 1979
12. MATTHEW GOOD | CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
13. BEACH HOUSE | DEPRESSION CHERRY
14. EVERYTHING EVERYTHING | GET TO HEAVEN
15. TWIN SHADOW | ECLIPSE