For anyone who claims that the album is a dying art form and argues that we should cut our losses and forget about them altogether, I reflect upon the hours I spent putting together a list of my Top 10 records from 2015 (in no particular order). From the heavy clashes of Young Fathers to the wisened folked-up words of Laura Marling, the output of cohesive albums this year has been outstanding. The industry shouldn’t give up just yet.
Stand-out tracks from each of the albums have been compiled into a playlist embedded below.
1. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
He previously released music as part of Fleet Foxes and as J. Tillman. Now, as Father John Misty, Josh Tillman releases I Love You Honeybear, his sardonic ode to love, filled with lush drawn-out melodies and ridiculously witty lyrics. A personal favourite reads: “She says, like literally, music is the air she breathes / And the malaprops make me want to fucking scream.” Technical grammatical terms in raucous lyrics get me every time. Father John Misty feels like some melodramatic stage character, but these tunes are deeply personal; sarcasm is laced between profundities; tales of threesomes and awkward sex are set against romantic lines like “I can hardly believe I found you and I’m terrified of that” and “People are boring / But you’re something else completely”. These juxtapositions make the album sensual, hilarious and deftly intelligent.
Stand-out track: ‘Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)’
2. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
The word ‘slacker’ is thrown around a lot in the Courtney Barnett-related press but this album proves she is anything but. Meticulously-strung vocals detailing mundanities such as house-hunting in outer Melbourne or organic food shopping stand out against punchy guitar riffs and a garage-like rhythm section. These songs set into a ceaseless groove and her lyrical analysis of such day-to-day trivialities sets out Barnett’s Australian drawl as one of the resounding voices of our generation.
Stand-out track: ‘Aqua Profunda’
3. Tame Impala – Currents
Pre-album releases – and there were several before the July release date – moved many hardcore Kevin Parker fans to fear as he seemed to have strayed from his signature antipodean guitar-heavy pysch-rock. But what Parker can do on a fret board he can do with even more ferocity on a synth, as the woozy genius of Currents proved. Yes, this is Parker in his most pop-like suit to date, but he does not let catchiness detract from his attention to sonic detail. The precise craft of ‘Let it Happen’ – which somehow manages to sound naturally free-wheeling, despite this precision – may well set it out as my song of the year, too.
Stand-out track: ‘Let It Happen’
4. Laura Marling – Short Movie
Each time she comes back – and with five albums by the age of 25 this is quite often – Marling is back with a vengeance. This time is no different as we hear Laura “go electric” with a bucked up Rickenbacker guitar and plenty of lovelorn lyrics. Instrumental riffs are tighter than ever, yet the songstress’ vocals comfortably take on a life of their own, her beautiful Dylan-esque sprechgesang more wonderful than ever. Marling’s musicianship is definite and precise, even if she still seems not to know where her head is at on accounts of love.
Stand-out track: ‘How Can I’
5. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Stevens’ first album in five years details his relationship with his mother and step-father (Carrie and Lowell). It would be very easy for this record to be saturated with shmush and cliché, but these melodies are sincere without dragging, his lyrical content both elegant and hard-hitting. Stunning guitar-plucking right from the very first track underpins morbid-sounding lyrics such as “we’re all gonna die” on the undeniably teary ‘Fourth of July’. The wonder here is in the uplifting poignancy of the whole album, despite this assumed melancholy.
Stand-out track: ‘Should Have Known Better’
6. Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete
Trying to describe this myriad of pulses is a hard task. The album may well first seem brash and messy; it certainly doesn’t hold back on the texture and often outlandishly computerised sounds. But with some sensitivity and a bit of time, the stark emotion of Daniel Lopatin’s creation is evident: hiding behind computers – basic MIDIs and vocoders – doesn’t make this record any less human. In fact, the story of Lopatin’s character, Ezra, which the record – along with a series of promotional blogs – tells, is as tangible as sound waves could ever be. Reversals, squirms, whooshes: the soundtrack to a teenage life.
Stand-out track: ‘Mutant Standard’
7. Ezra Furman – Perpetual Motion People
Often categorised as good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, Ezra Furman plays anything from garage to blues to funk-pop on this eclectic record. It is both politically outward-looking and personally introspective, with incessantly catchy riffs to boot. If Courtney Barnett is the voice of our generation, Furman is the voice of all those who have ever felt on the outside – the ingenious bystander who looks in from the periphery, with perhaps an even more intriguing story to tell.
Stand-out track: ‘Wobbly’
8. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
If the enthralling backstory of Ruban Nielson’s polyamorous relationship with his wife and another woman (the real meaning behind eclectic banger ‘Multi-Love’) wasn’t interesting enough, the woozy funk of this album should catch your attention. The whole record is saturated with incredibly lush drum sounds, and the continuous ebb and flow of guitar and brass harmonies is something for your ears to really grapple with. Left belting out “I don’t want to solve your puzzle anymore!”, Multi-Love is a serious cacophony of emotion, as if “we’re in love but I don’t get what you see in me” wasn’t enough for our tender heartstrings.
Stand-out track: ‘Can’t Keep Checking My Phone’
9. East India Youth – Culture of Volume
Bournemouth-born William Doyle doesn’t shy away from experimentation with his expansive electro-synth intricacies on this quietly genius second record. Initially, the throbs and crackles are unsettling. But this instrumental labyrinth of encrypted sounds and slides fits perfectly underneath Doyle’s voice, which has a deft normality and slight nasal tone. This vocal honesty is warming. Through triumphant crescendos and gritty techno beats, it is Doyle’s exquisite ear for harmonic disposition which makes this record so enthralling.
Stand-out track: ‘Hearts That Never’
10. Young Fathers – White Men are Black Men Too
The curse of the Mercury doesn’t seem to have affected this Glaswegian trio. After winning the prize for their debut, Dead, last year, Young Fathers were not thrown off course and instead went on to release this startlingly down-to-earth second record. From the initial calls and shouts of the pounding ‘Still Running’to the incessant shuffling claxon of ‘Old Rock n Roll’, the vocals on this record range from warm and ringing to harsh and gritty. Shouts of “I’m tired of playing the good black” are stark and necessarily brash, with the politicised hip-hop/rap/funk once again respectably highlighting Young Fathers as one of the few current bands who have a socio-political agenda to shout about. What’s a broken heart in comparison?
Stand-out track: ‘Liberated’
