I always seem to begin these end of year album lists by
remarking on how good a year it was for music. In this respect 2015 was no
different to previous years, proving that if you have the time and desire to
seek out and listen to music there’s an absolute abundance of stuff to
discover. It was also no different to previous years in that the pace and
volume of releases made keeping up a challenge. There were lots of albums ‘on my radar’
that probably would have featured here that I simply just didn’t get round to listening to due to lack of time/lack of
cash to buy etc.
There are lots of familiar names on this list that have
regularly appeared in my end of year round ups since I started them back in
2009. It also features many of my favourite bands. It also features lots of new artists/bands that I discovered for the first time in 2015. In the end, my favourite
band of all time narrowly eclipsed arguably my favourite band of the 90s to
claim top spot. Ones And Sixes by Low proved they are one of the most
consistent and enduring bands of the last two decades. It saw them refocus on
their core strengths whilst introducing newer elements and had everything you’d
want from a Low album. It may seem like a predictable choice (especially given
posts like this) but it’s actually the first Low album to top my list (other
albums have been edged out into second and third place in 2013 and 2011 retrospectively). In a way it’s a shame that Modern Nature by The Charlatans didn't get past it to claim number one position – it’s a fantastic album that also
re-establishes a classic, immediately identifiable sound. Given their recent
history its positive, euphoric, feel-good nature is even more remarkable and it
would have been a justified number one.
Elsewhere, the two bands that I’d rank as my second and
third favourite bands of all time (Yo La Tengo and Mercury Rev) returned with
solid offerings and other recent favourites like Beach House, Jaga Jazzist and
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat also released excellent albums. Albums by
bands/artists I’ve admired for a long time like Sleater-Kinney, Sufjan Stevens
and Calexico also all stood out.
There were also two excellent releases by two of the key
players in contemporary, experimental classical music – Bang On A Can All Stars
and Eighth Blackbird - and the adjacent genre of neo/modern classical continued to be productive with notable releases by the likes of Rachel Grimes, Lubomyr Melnyk, Michael Price, Iskra String Quartet and Nils Frahm.
In terms of global
music I really enjoyed the albums by Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal, Trio
Chemirani, Bixiga 70, Mbongwana Star and Shye Ben Tzur/Jonny Greenwood &
Rajasthan Express. Two big musical names from India – Anoushka Shankar and Jyotsna
Srikanth - also impressed once again. And then there were those excellent albums
that either came out of nowhere or were pleasing difficult to easily categorise
– Ian William Craig, Matana Roberts, The Internet, Finland, Kathryn Joseph,
Felicia Atkinson and Petrels just to name a few.
Anyway, here’s the list including links to reviews I
wrote for musicOMH.
100) Biosphere/Deathprod - Stator
99) Nadine Shah – Fast Food - album review
98) Helen – The Original Faces
97) Jib Kidder – Teaspoon To The Ocean - live review
96) Terakaft - Alone (Ténéré)
95) Luke Abbott – Music For A Flat Landscape
94) Arca - Mutant
93) Mount Eerie - Sauna
92) Romare - Projections
91) Tyondai Braxton – HIVE1
90) Linden – Rest And Be Thankful
89) Jyotsna Srikanth – Bangalore Dreams
88) Bixiga 70 – III
87) Sexwitch - Sexwitch
86) Polar Bear – Same As You
85) Philip Jeck - Cardinal
84) Jeremy Young & Aaron Martin – Pulse Passes From Hand
To Hand
83) Eivind Aarset – I.E.
82) Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band – Pat Thomas &
Kwashibu Area Band
81) Yo La Tengo – Stuff Like That There
80) Colin Stetson/Sarah Neufeld – Never Were The Way She Was
79) Thundercat – The Beyond/Where The Giants Roam
78) Portico – Living Fields
77) Ibeyi - Ibeyi - album review
76) Various Artists – A Guide To The Birdsong Of South
America
75) Kathryn Williams - Hypoxia
74) Anoushka Shankar - Home
73) Felicia Atkinson – A Readymade Ceremony
72) Goldmund - Sometimes
71) Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – Ba Power - album review
70) L A N D - Anoxia
69) Erland Dahlen – Blossom Bells
68) Steve Hauschildt – Where All Is Fled
67) Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Asunder, Sweet And Other
Distress
66) Jan St Werner - Miscontinuum
65) Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets Grim Reaper - live review
64) Pure Bathing Culture – Pray For Rain - album review
63) Haiku Salut – Etch And Etch Deep
62) Mercury Rev – The Light In You
61) Secret Pyramid – The Silent March
60) Cass – Magical Magical
59) Cinerama - Valentina
58) Nils Frahm - Solo - blog post & Prom 27 review
57) Huntsville - Pond
56) Bruce Brubaker – Glass Piano
55) Flying Saucer Attack – Instrumentals 2015
54) Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
53) David John Sheppard – Vertical Land
52) Olan Mill - Hiraeth
51) Iskra String Quartet - Iskra
50) Jerusalem In My Heart – If He Dies, If, If, If, If, If,
If
49) Blanck Mass – Dumb Flesh
48) Eric Chenaux - Skullsplitter
47) Ryley Walker – Primrose Green
46) Björk - Vulnicura
45) Michael Price - Entanglement - album review
44) Esmerine – Lost Voices - album review
43) Dan Deacon – Gliss Riffer
42) John Carpenter – Lost Themes
41) Tame Impala - Currents
40) Ian William Craig – Cradle For The Wanting
39) Lau – The Bell That Never Rang
38) Inventions – Maze Of Woods
37) Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness
36) Eighth Blackbird - Filament
35) John Grant – Grey Tickles Black Pressure
34) Rival Consoles - Howl - album review
33) Trio Chemirani - Dawar
32) Ballake Sissoko & Vincet Segal – Musique de Nuit
31) Christina Vantzou – No. 3
30) Floating Points - Elaenia
29) Eska - Eska
28) Colleen – Captain Of None
27) Calexico – Edge Of The Sun
26) John Metcalfe – The Appearance Of Colour - album review
25) Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
24) Petrels – Flailing Tomb
23) Holly Herndon - Platform
22) Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Three
21) Kamasi Washington – The Epic
20) Helios - Yume
19) Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & Rajasthan Express - Junun
18) Julia Kent – Asperities
17) Lubomyr Melnyk – Rivers And Streams - album review
16) Mbongwana Star – From Kinshasa
15) Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Most Important Place
In The World - album review
14) Mark McGuire – Beyond Belief
13) Finland – Rainy Omen
12) Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love
11) Rachel Grimes – The Clearing
10)The Go! Team – The Scene Between - live review
9) The Internet – Ego Death
8) Kathryn Joseph – Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve
Spilled
7) Vetiver – Complete Strangers - album review
6) Joanna Newsom - Divers - live review
5) Jaga Jazzist – Starfire
4) Bang On A Can Allstars – Field Recordings
3) Beach House – Depression Cherry
2) The Charlatans – Modern Nature - live review
1) Low – Ones And Sixes - interview with Alan Sparhawk
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