The high-five awards of 2015

There was a lot of music this year that really spoke to me, but were undeniably niche.  Instead of hamfisted justifications for their presence in my top ten, I've decided to create an "honorable mentions" list of 2015.

Here are the top five things that deserve a high five, a gold star, a hug, the game ball, or maybe one of those scratch n sniff fruit stickers...

The fearless dedication to 90's alt-rock in Bully's debut, Feels Like.

It's only one note, but a loud and clear one.  I can't wait to see where they go next.  Alicia Bognanno has the range, and her band has enough hooks to do some really creative things...

Check out:  This appropriately 90's video for "Trying"

L'Orange bringing back gimmicky hip-hop in a big way.


I wanted to write about both of these L'Orange produced albums this year, but writing about hip-hop has always intimidated me. I'm a huge fan of Dan The Automator, and all the themed albums he produced in the 90s/00s, such as Deltron 3030, and Lovage.  Time?  Astonishing! and The Night Took Us In Like Family definitely follow in that same vein.  The only thing that kept these from breaking into my top ten was the way the samples were clumsily inserted into the mix without any real grace and flow.  I love me some songs about time travel and 1920s gangsters, but not enough to overlook how jarring the experiences were from song to song.

Check out:  "The Green Ray"







2015's most charming album: Noun's Throw Your Body On The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood


There is enough character in this album to cast in a film.  Baked in teen goth imagery and lore.  The delivery is just straight enough for the music to stand on its own merits, but the entire package is adorable.

Check out: "Pain"


The "best sounding" album of 2015: Sleater Kinney's comeback release, No Cities To Love


The guitars on this album sound like if lightsabers were power-tools.  No Cities To Love was only two bad song choruses away from my top ten.

Check out: "Fangless"



the telephones bow out on their own terms with Bye Bye Hello

It requires a bit of homework, and a high tolerance of... whatever the telephones do, to appreciate it; but this dumb ass band generated more sentiment than anything else I've heard all year.  The nostalgia soaked ballads are just as fun as they are heavy.  I'm gonna miss these dorks.

Check out: ... these 75 seconds of "Something Good" because that's all YouTube in NA has.  Good grief, Japanese music industry, find your chill.

(art for art's sake) - my favorite cover art of 2015

(it begins again) - My favorite songs of 2015

My favorite songs from 2015 from roomrunner on 8tracks Radio.

"when you leave me at home alone" (Noun - Throw Your Body on The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood)

Noun
Throw Your Body on The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood

why you'll love it: fun and kitschy goth, adorably grim

why you'll hate it: cheap production, tame compared to Screaming Females

I haven't played a new video game all year.  The closest I've come has been The Binding of Isaac's DLC content: Afterbirth.  It's a retro-Zelda inspired dungeon crawl that's drenched in cartoony gore and occult imagery.  The best description of Noun's sophomore album, Throw Your Body on The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood, is that it's the perfect companion to a game like The Binding of Isaac.  It's the exact same tone, very similar music, and even the album cover looks like it could be a boss fight.

For those not into indie-roguelikes, Noun would be more commonly known as a side project by Marissa Paternoster (of Screaming Females). The 2010 debut came and went, but all of the ridiculous goth influence of Throw Your Body... gives Noun some real character.  It's like a high-schooler's notebook in audio form.

Don't expect the same level of power and grit a traditional Screaming Females album has.  Right from the first few seconds of this album, you know you're getting a DIY effort.  The cheap drum machine effect would come off as irritating in most cases, but here it just adds to the kitsch.  "Pain" and "Tidal Wave" sound more like the Doom soundtracks than they do any Screaming Females songs.  There are a few outstanding guitar licks, but even those feel nerfed by the mix.

Musically, there is nothing outstanding about Throw Your Body....  Paternoser's dark imagery takes up all of the spotlight, and she does a fantastic job of walking that thin line between fun and corny.  Even some of my favorite bands that specify in horror, like The Paper Chase, sometimes threw out a cheeseball line about skeletons.  I can't think of a single moment of Noun's 36 minutes of theatric sorrow that had me roll my eyes.  This album is soaking wet with misery, but the delivery is dry as a bone.

As 2015 comes to a close, I'm seeing plenty of albums that aren't exactly a total package, but cater so well to its niche that I just want to give them a big hug.   Throw Your Body on The Gears And Stop The Machine With Your Blood is certainly one of those, as much as it would probably resent the hug.

"can you make due?" (Laura Stevenson - Cocksure)

Laura Stevenson
Cocksure

why you'll love it: heartfelt delivery

why you'll hate it: unremarkable songwriting

An all too familiar nag of frustration pokes me while I listen to the latest Laura Stevenson album.  Her 2013 album, Wheel, was a triumph in taking her folk laced songwriting to the next level.  This year's follow-up, Cocksure, just doesn't have the same kind of impact.  I really wish it did, because Laura's personal brand is higher than ever right now.  Honesty shines through in her songwriting, she's a confident live performer, and comes off as the kind of person that you believe deserves success.  Sadly, nothing in Cocksure is lives up to her best work.  The album sails by, hitting all of her familiar notes, bit delivering nothing that really sticks.

Oddly enough, her friend and occasional collaborator, Jeff Rosenstock, left the same exact impression on me this year.  A release that has me repeating "this could be better, this has been better" with every song.  The best moments of this album only feel like ancillary tracks on better albums.  "Out With A Whimper" and "You Know Where You Can Find Me" open and close Cocksure with Laura's masterful pacing.  There are compelling lows and heartfelt highs.  They aren't amazing songs, but are clear highlights compared to everything in between.

A staple of this album is Laura trying to affect a more positive vibe in her songs.  I don't necessarily feel this is a bad thing.  Limbeck wrote a country-influenced album in 2003 called Hi, Everything's Great.  It oozes with joy and optimism.  I still enjoy it today.  Laura's take on positivity comes off as forced, and just an excuse for what sounds like a mediocre radio song.  Her simplification is at its worst in "Torch Song".  This main riff is Matchbox 20 levels of "offensively simple".  With a few subtle touches, "Life is Long" delivers the best pop song of Cocksure.  She adds just a little bit of spice to the riff to make it fun, especially that little bit at 95 seconds in.

All in all, "Torch Song" is the only track on here that actually gets on my nerves.  "Ticker Tape" is one of her better slow songs, with a real density to it, like something off of Grizzly Bear's Yellow House.  That's the most remarkable thing I've got to say about the middle 15 minutes of this album! There is that little going on.   If not for Wheel really knocking my socks off, I'd probably be lighter on Cocksure.  It's another nice little country-influenced album by this talented and likable songwriter.  It's a more consistent album than the ones she did before Wheel.  It's just that Wheel exists now, and there is no going back from that.