The Best Albums of 2015
- Scott
- Mar 19, 2016
- 13 min read
Against my better judgment, I’m undertaking a project to determine my top 10 albums of every year since 1960. Instead of just picking my favorite stuff out of my collection, I intend to explore, re-visit and discover. While I can’t promise to leave no stone un-turned, I am going to go deeper than I ever have before. Why would I partake in a journey that will inevitably take many years and that I ultimately may never finish? Most importantly, to uncover great music that I’ve never heard before. Second, to boost my knowledge of music history and get a sense of what was happening at a macro scale in a snapshot of time. Finally, I want to share my passion for music with you and, fingers crossed, generate a dialogue down in the comments. So without further ado, here is #1 in the series. My random number generator tells me that our next year to explore is 1969, so stay tuned!
The Best Albums of 2015
2015 was a tremendous year for music. Coming off of a pretty bad 2014, the embarrassment of riches on display this year has been refreshing. Not to say that 2014 was a total wash, but there were a lot of disappointments. All of the albums that I was looking forward to under-delivered to some degree: TV on the Radio, Broken Bells, The Roots & The Black Keys, to name a few. If it wasn’t for the 11th hour release of D’Angelo’s masterpiece, Black Messiah, my top album last year would have probably been what? Food by Kelis? Hey, that album was great fun and a really nice surprise, but the fact that Kelis almost topped my greatest albums list should tell you all you need to know about the quality of releases last year.
Before I get into praising the rich vein of music from 2015, I will say that this year was not without its own disappointments. I think, universally, the biggest unmet promise of the year was the fact that Frank Ocean’s follow up to Channel Orange didn’t materialize as promised. Fingers crossed for 2016. Much less universally disappointing, as evidenced by the fact that it tops seemingly every professional critic’s end of year list, was the release of To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. I really enjoyed Good Kid, Maad City, and eagerly bought Butterfly the day it was released, but I had mixed feelings about it after my initial listen. Yes, it was clearly ambitious, and passionate, and sonically diverse, but after a couple more spins I still couldn’t decide how I felt about it. Well, considering I have never had the desire to play it in the subsequent months, and only now have listened through it again in order to create this list, I think it’s pretty clear that the album is not one that I can recommend. I don’t need my music to make me feel good, necessarily, and that certainly wasn’t Kendrick’s aim, but it has to engage me enough to make me want to feel whatever it is that it does make me feel. Butterfly failed at that, and it even took 2014’s best song, “i”, and senselessly ruined the version that actually made its way onto the album.
Despite a few speed bumps, 2015 was a year that gave us a tremendous volume of great music. So, without further ado, let’s dive into my top 10 albums of 2015 (that I’ve heard so far, based on my current perceptions, etc., etc., caveat emptor)
1. Something More than Free – Jason Isbell
Even after this stellar year of music, Jason Isbell’s 2013 release, Southeastern, remains my favorite album of the decade. His follow-up may not contain anything quite as devastatingly beautiful or bone-chillingly dark as the best tracks off of that album, but it’s fair to say that Something More than Free is actually the more consistent of the two works. Isbell is the type of singer who seemingly has no tricks up his sleeve, and is all the better for it. Straightforward but beautiful, his vocals cut to whatever pure emotion he is evoking flawlessly. As a guitar-player, he delivers a similarly no-frills yet powerful performance. Every lick that should be there is, and nothing else. It’s no secret, though, that Isbell’s greatest strength is his song-writing. By my estimation, he’s the best in the world right now. I typically don’t think song lyrics are served well in written form (much like I expect most poems would sound silly if you sung them) but here are a few examples of what I’m talking about. The lyrics on this album are wonderfully memorable when they are couched in metaphor:
You thought God was an architect, but now you knowHe’s something like a pipe bomb, ready to blow
Identifying stark realities of the human condition:
You were riding on your mother’s hip, no taller than the cornAll the years you took from her just by being born…
Or simply adding some color to his fictional protagonists:
I don’t keep liquor hereNever did like wine or beerAnd working for the county keeps me pissin’ clear
While the previous album focused on the theme of redemption, Something More than Free is populated with characters that don’t need to be redeemed. Instead, these people are doing the best they can with the lot they were given. Despite circumstances that are often less than desirable, they are struggling to live a life of meaning. Hence the “Something More” in the title. In a country music landscape filled with songs that sound like descriptions of domestic beer commercials from the 80’s and 90’s, there is a small but refreshing crop of artists who are providing a more realistic examination of country music tropes. Isbell is leading the charge, and most impressively, he’s doing it without the cynicism of his previous band, the Drive-By Truckers, or the outlaw romanticism of his most obvious forebears (Willie, Waylon, et al). He is painting realistic pictures of pretend people and inviting us to empathize with their dashed dreams, heartaches, and ultimately hopes for the future. There is not much else out there as soul-satisfying as that.
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2. Crooked Doors – Royal Thunder
Throughout this list, and in my honorable mentions, there are albums that I feel fortunate to have discovered. I was always going to check out the new Miguel, Wilco and My Morning Jacket. Some albums, like The Epic and Summertime ’06 had enough general buzz that they were bound to catch my attention. Crooked Doors, however, is a prime example of something that I lucked onto by exploring the umpteenth year end list for some niche website. If I had packed it in a little early that day, I never would have heard about this band… and that’s a proposition that leaves me both giddy with the possibilities of all that great undiscovered music out there, but also kind of terrified because, holy shit, what if I had never heard about this band?! It seems particularly cruel that I could have easily gone my whole life without knowing the joys of “The Line” or “Time Machine”. Who knows, maybe they’ll blow up one day and their popularity will render all of this speculation moot, but I definitely feel like I dodged a bullet. And if you’re reading this, you dodged one too, because I’m imploring you to check this album out.
Now, it’s worth noting, I may be genetically predisposed to enjoy Royal Thunder’s music. Out of everyone I know, there are very few people I would expect to like it more than me. A friend described Crooked Doors as a mix of Jeff Buckley, Soundgarden and Skid Row. Weirdly, he’s totally right, but also Yes and Helmet and Queensryche. And Heart, maybe. And Clutch. They are pretty much an incredible amalgamation of hard rock from the last 30 years, but amazingly they don’t sound anachronistic. It’s not that they sound “current” exactly, but more that they sound timeless. The songs feature great, propulsive rhythms that are sort of prog but with a tribal element, and choice guitar solos that don’t dawdle around but get straight to business. The biggest selling point, however, is clearly the singing of front woman Mlny Parsons. She is basically a more badass Sebastian Bach, and she injects the tracks with so much muscle and energy that they immediately command all of your attention.
It heartens me that music like this is being made. It may seem strange that my favorite song of 2015 is a power ballad (“One Day”), but the fact that it is even possible makes me inexplicably joyful. Spread the word people. Let’s not squander our good fortune.
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3. The Waterfall – My Morning Jacket
Ever since I heard Z, My Morning Jacket’s 2005 high water mark, I have been a fan. The fact that they are not considered a “big deal” by conventional standards is one of the more constant reminders I have that music is the most subjective of art forms. They have great songs, a killer live show, and they’ve been around long enough to be as important to me as the Allman Brothers, or Guns N’ Roses, or pretty much any other multiple-guitar-slinging rock band that I love. With The Waterfall, they also have an album that represents their best, most cohesive work since Z.
It’s a very positive record. So much so, that the first two tracks, “Believe” and “Compound Fracture” left me a little concerned. They are good tracks, to be sure, but back-to-back they are so cheerful-sounding that they play a little more pop and a little less rock, and I started to worry that these guys hit the wrong side of whatever magic age divided vital rock bands from something more watered down. But then “Like a River” hit and there was the weirdness I was expecting. It sounded like the Byrds filtered through a dozen water pipes. And then “In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)” came on, and it’s even weirder and more psychedelic, and the album started coming into focus for me. Then “Spring (Among the Living)” and “Tropics (Erase Traces)” contributed some edge, and by the time the closing track, “Only Memories Remain”, floated in on a cloud of lavender-scented hookah smoke and Isley Brothers soul I was well beyond second-guessing these guys and I could simply enjoy the ride.
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4. The Epic – Kamasi Washington
I have a confession to make. The Epic is one of my top 5 albums of the year, yet I have never listened to it all the way through. I know that sounds crazy, but in a case of truth in advertising, the damn thing is three hours long! I wish I had that kind of time. The truth is, I can go a week without listening to a single, 45-minute long album straight through. I have listened to the whole thing, however, in parts, multiple times. That’s enough to understand what a stunning achievement it is.
What would inevitably sink an album of this length is a lack of diversity. The classic, Coltrane-esque vibe of the opening couple tracks (“Change of the Guard”, “Askim”) is wonderful, but if Washington continued in a straight line from there, it would become ultimately numbing. I love Coltrane and Crescent, but I never listen to them back-to-back and then throw on Lush Life for good measure. Instead, The Epic transitions from one style to the next: gospel-tinged vocal jazz; funk laced with Trouble Man-era Marvin Gaye; bouncy cocktail jazz a la Jimmy Smith or Sonny Clark. The key word here is transition, because another failure mode would have been to jumble together a bunch of disparate ideas to the point that it provokes whiplash from one track to the next. Luckily, the craftsmanship of this album is such that we are guided through a journey where we cover an incredible amount of ground but never lose our bearings, thanks to the gentle progression of the tracks and several unifying elements to keep us oriented and engaged (an angelic chorus threaded throughout; call-backs to prior songs). I have a huge blind spot when it comes to contemporary jazz, but if Kamasi Washington hasn’t expended himself entirely on this aptly named juggernaut of a debut, then I’m happy to have an artist in the genre to follow with anticipation.
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5. Coming Home – Leon Bridges
I mentioned earlier that Royal Thunder wasn’t anachronistic, despite evidence of influence from several earlier artists. Leon Bridges probably falls on the other side of that divide. If Coming Home was playing in the background of a party and you told me it was released in 1961, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. Upon closer inspection, the production has a clarity and lack of cloyingness that would tip you off to the more recent vintage, but Bridges is very deliberately following the Sam Cooke/Solomon Burke model of soul. Ordinarily, that might hurt my opinion of the album. I enjoy Sharon Jones, for example, but I hold her at a bit of an arm’s length because of her willful old-fashionedness. With Coming Home, I am able to buy in completely. It might be because the songs are simply better, but I think what really stands out for me is the level of sophistication that Bridges displays. Tracks that read simple on the surface reward the listener’s concentration with surprising depth, particularly the moving “River” and the lovely, perfectly crafted character study, “Lisa Sawyer”.
It’s very likely that Coming Home will end up my most played album from 2015. It’s the type of universally cool record that I am comfortable throwing on in any company, from my drunk friends to my mother-in-law. That’s always a nice arrow to have in your quiver.
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6. Ego Death – The Internet
By now, I know what you’re thinking: “Sure these all seem like good albums but none of them sound sexy.” Well, you’re in luck my weirdly libidinous friend, because the number six album of the year is damn sure sexy. Not sexy in a Johnny Gill, R. Kelly, between-the sheets kind of way. It isn’t specifically about sex. Except when it is, because it’s really about relationships and sex is a real part of that. One reason Ego Death is so compelling is that the confessional lyrics written by Odd Future member, Syd the Kid, don’t tiptoe around any aspect of the relationships she explores. She has the unique ability to embody confidence and vulnerability at the same time which makes her delivery both matter-of-fact and affecting. Sonically, the band delivers a lush, warm pillow of sound for Syd’s voice to skirt across, but anchored by some great hip hop beats and loads of bass. While there aren’t a lot of tempo changes across the album, it never gets dull because virtually every song pivots around the halfway point to a brand new sonic palette with a fresh beat. This stream-of-consciousness approach, coupled with the unfiltered lyrics, results in a great R&B album that is both immersive and unpredictable.
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7. Surf – Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment
Allow me to introduce Surf, the world’s first ego-less hip hop album. That might actually sound kind of terrible, but I assure you, it’s refreshingly wonderful in execution. Whether it’s the turns from Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu and Chance the Rapper (among many others) that remain uncredited, the lack of gun or money related posturing, or the fact that the whole damn thing was released for free, Surf is almost anti-hip hop. Of course that only holds true if you consider obsession with consumerism and violence as an intractable element of rap music, and many acts like De La Soul and Black Star have already dispelled that stereotype more than 20 years ago. Surf isn’t really “anti”-anything. It’s a loose and soulful affirmation that traffics in joy and delight at the expense of everything else. I’ll admit that the sparse arrangements and lack of a traditional, beat-based backbone play a little more frivolous in the cold winter months, but if ever there was an album to make you feel good on a sunny summer afternoon, this is it.
8. Traveller – Chris Stapleton
Did you know that honest-to-goodness country music was still being made? I have spent years bemoaning the state of modern country, assuming that the tripe pedaled on Clear Channel networks and CMT was representative of the genre. This is pop music with some twang, I thought, not music that you could use to draw a line to Keith Whitley or Emmylou Harris or Bob Wills. Ah, but that music does exist. It’s just not called “Country Music.” Americana is a typical code word, and one applied to the aforementioned Jason Isbell. Traveller, which is very obviously a country album, is labelled as “Rock” in iTunes. Sure, there is some pretty straightforward blues on here, and Stapleton’s voice, already reaching near-legendary status, is more Gregg Allman than Conway Twitty, but this is the music that carries the torch for the country tradition. He covers George Jones and has a track titled “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore”, for goodness’ sake. The storytelling is at turns wistful and raucous, the guitar-laden tunes whiskey-soaked. And it bears mentioning again… that voice is something else.
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9. Then Came the Morning – The Lone Bellow
Then Came the Morning partially falls into the American Roots music wheelhouse a la Fleet Foxes or Mumford and Sons. However, it is a bit more lively and less self-serious than those artists. In some ways, there is a 70’s SoCal vibe that reminds me a little of Eagles Live. This is basically a straight-forward folk/rock album that sounds like it could have come out at any point between 1976 and 2016. What makes it stand out to me is the song-writing. There are real hooks here, something I often find lacking in The Lone Bellow’s contemporary peers. The singing of Zach Williams and Kanene Pipkin is exceptional in their ability to convey passion and sincerity. Nothing about their sound will keep you at a distance, it is all very inviting and warm. It won’t be everybody’s bag, but for the folks who might be interested, this is an under-hyped little gem.
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10. Vega Intl. Night School – Neon Indian
Vega Intl. Night School is both the album I wanted Broken Bells’ After the Disco to be, and the album everybody seemed to think Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories actually was. It is future disco without any hedging. The only thing of interest to Neon Indian is making you dance, but the songs are writ with enough diversity and complexity that it doubles as a formidable headphone album as well. It’s rare that electronic music piques my interest, but Neon Indian has won me over with some of the most ebullient dance music since Jorge Ben’s Africa Brasil.
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Honorable Mentions (so many good albums this year!)
Hip Hop: Cadillactica – Big K.R.I.T.; I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside – Earl Sweatshirt; Compton – Dr. Dre; Summertime ’06 – Vince Staples; Tetsuo & Youth – Lupe Fiasco
Rock/Metal: Sound and Color – Alabama Shakes; Morning Phase – Beck; Yours, Dreamily – The Arcs; Star Wars – Wilco; What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World – The Decemberists; Sol Invictus – Faith No More
Soul/R&B: Wildheart – Miguel; In Another Life – Bilal; But You Can’t Use My Phone – Erykah Badu
Country/Folk/Bluegrass: The Phosphorescent Blues – The Punch Brothers; Mr. Misunderstood – Eric Church; Nashville Obsolete – Dave Rawlings Machine; The Sacred Heart Sessions – The Lowest Pair
Other: I Love You Honeybear – Father John Misty; From Kinshasa – Mbongwana Star
So there you have it. Please chime in with a comment to tell me what I got wrong and what I got right. I’d also really love to hear what I missed, and what you discovered by reading this post. Thanks for reading!
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