Sealing up the 2015 time capsule

I think I once told myself if doing this is still pointless after ten years, I should seriously consider stopping.  So maybe this should be the end?


ehhhhhhh, maybe.  Here are my favorite albums of 2015

NUMBER TEN

SWAMI JOHN REIS & THE BLIND SHAKE
MODERN SURF CLASSICS

Listen to: "Zulu As Kono"



This collection of gritty surf rock beat out some fine pop efforts by Hot Chip, Everything Everything, and Belle & Sebastian.  Such is the power of The Swami.

NUMBER NINE

SHERBETS
きれいな血

Listen to: "ひょっとして"




The best produced album of 2015.  Sherbets have run the boards throughout their almost 20 year existence. きれいな血 is both Sherbets' most beautiful and most powerful album.  The fragile parts are so abundantly layered that when the songs come to a swell, it hits you like a tornado.

NUMBER EIGHT

JOHN CARPENTER
LOST THEMES

Listen to: "Night"



This is one of my feel good moments of 2015.  John Carpenter's work has been very influentual in my life, but it's always been a sore spot to know his prime was before my adolescence.  Finally something comes along that I can be a part of.  Lost Themes digs deep and retrieves some of John Carpenter's enamoring essence.

NUMBER SEVEN

HOP ALONG
PAINTED SHUT

Listen to: "Waitress"



Looking at many other best of lists around the internet, this is the most deserved.  Seeing Hop Along live assured me it was only a matter of time before they released something that made waves.  Everyone has been talking about Frances Quinlan's voice, but lets talk about the songwriting.  It's unpredictable in all the best ways.  Indie rock's most common failure is a band that has all the talent, but no creative delivery.  Hop Along takes you for a ride with their songs, their hooks and high notes sneak up on you.  They've got just as much joy as substance.

NUMBER SIX

TOWA TEI
CUTE

Listen to: "Luv Pandemic"



After perfecting Shibuya-kei, Towa Tei takes his bells and whistles into a world of pure art-pop.  This is the most versatility I've heard out of an already colorful artist.  Maybe it all means nothing, but it sure is stimulating.  There's modern art for ya.

NUMBER FIVE

THE BIRTHDAY
BLOOD AND LOVE CIRCUS

Listen to: a tragically edited version of "I Know"



The Birthday is back in full swing.  Like a typical cool guy, The Birthday effortlessly walked off last year's stumble into a swagger.  Loud and cocky rock music with a compelling psychedelic bent.  Powerful singles like "Mother" and "I Know" are delivered with such confident ease, as if saying "this isn't even our final form".

NUMBER FOUR

TITUS ANDRONICUS
THE MOST LAMENTABLE TRAGEDY

Listen to: "Lonely Boy"



Okay, time to have the +@ discussion.  If this album were only the first 45 minutes, it would be my no 1, hands down.  Instead, something much more ambitious was created.  Another 45 minutes of ups & downs, hits & misses, diversions & dead ends.  The "tragedy" side of this album can easily be labeled as an anchor, but it does serve to make this the band's most memorable and important release probably ever.  I wish this album was better, but kind of love it the way it is.

NUMBER THREE

THE GO! TEAM
THE SCENE BETWEEN

Listen to: "Catch me on The Rebound"



The Go! Team huddles up and changes their playbook with their fourth release.  The retro pop sound is wonderfully mixed, with a strong assembly of obscure guest performers.  This record really does sound like something found in a dusty attic that hasn't been rooted through since 1979.

NUMBER TWO

BLUR
THE MAGIC WHIP

Listen to: "My Terracotta Heart"



Ten years after Demon Days, Damon Albarn is still getting it done.  I never knew I wanted Blur to come back this bad!  It manages to assemble the very best of Blur's moments throughout the 90s, and everything Alburn has learned with Gorillaz into a tasty ice-cream swirl.  Over 50 minutes long, and I wouldn't cut a single track.

NUMBER ONE

BUILT TO SPILL
UNTETHERED MOON

Listen to: "So"



This is an arrest.  I'm taking everyone who covers music to jail.  I haven't seen Untethered Moon on a best of 2015 list anywhere!  Not even the deep end of a top 50.  That is CRIMINAL!  Play this album, and a portal to 1999 opens up.   Built To Spill had been operating on low-batt for 15 years, and that only serves to make this "plucked out of time" release all the more epic.   This is my The Force Awakens.