What a great year for new music! I’m going to give a top ten list my best shot, so here goes!
10. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color I’ll Keep this one short and sweet. I love what this album does to the subwoofer in my car. I also really enjoy the subtle merging of these classic blues licks, layered over beats I might find in a Hype Williams album. This album grooves.
9. El Ten Eleven - Fast Forward This band brings back memories of me,Luke Johnston, and Charles David Timothy Abbott grooving around our garage in Spokane, WA, blasting El Ten Eleven’s “My only Swerving”. Since then, this band is my go-to for long drives, and for days when fog keeps me into my room. This new album is full of repetitive, ambient guitar loops, and almost drum & Bass-esqe beats that make time fly. Inasmuch as the same ideas and textures that exist in El Ten Eleven’s music, exist in glitch, and maybe even dubstep, it is rare, and awesome to find a band that can take those ideas and apply them through classic rock & roll moods and feels. I enjoy this album’s approach to funk, and it’s modern take on sounds I can here similarly in rock albums.
8. Noah Gundersen - Carry The Ghost Noah Gundersen is my hero. His 2014 release, “Ledges” has invoked so much emotion from me, and a large group of my friends. You may know him from his most popular song “Jesus, Jesus”. There has never been another artist that I identify with so seamlessly on topics such as spirituality, religion, and the modern Christian church. Now, all of that being true, the bulk of this album was lacking what I have found, and admired in his previous work, and I cannot put my finger on exactly what that element is. What I think is happening, is that Noah is trying to move more and more away from where he began; just him and a guitar, and he is trying to assimilate his original drive and writing style into a more sub-pop kind of feel. As much as I can see innovation in how he is going about this, I cannot honestly say I am fully behind him in this transition. All that being said, this album held a few treasures that made it absolutely worth ranking in my top ten. “Slow Dancer” was a brilliant, sad, ballroom kind of genius, and “Selfish Art” describes his life as a touring artist in the most understandable way I can imagine. I may not like exactly where I think he’s going with his music, but I am, nevertheless very excited to see how he will continue to bare his heart
7. mewithoutyou - Pale Horsesmewithoutyou’s 2012 release, “Ten Stories” made my number one album of that year, and yet again they have released another hugely complex, almost violently atmospheric piece of art. It makes me feel like the world is ending, but everything is going to turn out just fine. The concept of this album is just that; a reflection of the downfall of humanity, but the resolve and salvation that exists within that. mewithoutyou has come a long way from their chaotic, very loud spoken word style, that initially drew me toward them in my thrashcore, punk loving days. There has never been another band like this, and mewithoutyou continues to push out some of the most creative sounds I’ve ever heard. When it comes to applying an album to a current sociological state, with a certain bias of course, I don’t think any album this year did that better than this album.
6. Young Thug - Barter 6Here’s another one I’ll keep short and sweet. This album bumps. I love hip hop, especially when I can run it through the system in my car, but this album has an ambient, melodic quality I can’t find anywhere else. Check it out, you won’t regret it.
5. Copeland - IxoraMy first Copeland CD was a burnt copy from a friend that also included some mixed tracks from Avenged Sevenfold, and 10 years. Me and my friends, and I’m sure you and your’s as well, used to trade mix cd’s of all the new and exciting music we found. For us, the standard was whoever could find the music with the most screaming was the coolest. We began our descent into hardcore and metalcore this way, starting with bands like 12 Stones, and Dizmas, and eventually finding what we were looking for in bands like Underoath, Norma Jean, and The Devil Wears Prada. From there, it was a cyclone of breakdowns and pig squeals. Since this is what we were after, you can imagine how a band like Copeland would have gotten passed over in the quest for bands that represented our teenage angst. Because of this, I didn’t actually really take time to listen to this burnt Copeland cd I had until later, in college. They became my favorite band for my entire freshman year, I played them every day, all day. Shortly after I found out they were breaking up. I was very distraught because I had never found a band that was this musical that could capture my attention this way. I was basically heartbroken that they wouldn't be making music again. So when Copeland announced their reunion, and their release of “Ixora”, I was ecstatic. When the album dropped, It did not disappoint. Aaron Marsh’s familiar vocal weaved around the classic guitar and piano I had come to idolize so much. I am stoked that copeland released this new album, and I hope they continue to write music. They do not hold the #1 spot for go-to band as they once did, but they are, and always will be, a huge part of where I am now, and especially who I am as a musician.
4. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a ButterflyControversial, Relevant, Spiritual, Vulgar, Emotional, Honest…..Life Changing. All keywords you might find in hundreds of articles and blogs written about who Kendrick Lamar is, and where he is going. There’s not really any other way to say it, other than, I believe kendrick is presenting the realest and most relevant, touchable, applicable questions about life, and spirituality, God, and the fight against self that we all have. Maybe you’ve seen his custom designed “Red, Blue” Reeboks, or seen his interviews with both Christian and secular magazines alike, or seen his work with Christian rapper Lacrae, or with just about any other rapper in the scene, ranging from Dr. Dre to yellawolf. Any person who has an open and transparent approach to life and spirituality will identify with the themes in this album.
3. Neck Deep - Life’s Not Out to Get YouIt’s been years since I’ve indulged in Pop Punk, but Neck Deep has something about their work that I would describe as far more complex than any old Taking Back Sunday or New Found Glory album. There’s something so simple and joyful about music like this that helps me to forget all the responsibilities that have become mine, as I’ve progressed upwards since my 18th birthday. This album snaps. My favorite track on the record, “Kali Ma”, is full of catchy rhymes and groovy bass driven jams. If you’re like me, and you’ve recently begun to resurrect your high school idols like A Day To Remember, All Time Low, and Good Charlotte, then you will be very pleasantly surprised with Neck Deep.
2. Andy Shauf - The Bearer of Bad NewsBefore I begin critiquing this album, let me first tell you how honored I was to meet Mr. Shauf at Hollywood’s Troubadour back in November. I was able to pick up a vinyl copy of his new album, “The Bearer of Bad News”, and it has been spinning on my turntable just about every other evening or so for the last few months. Andy’s Saskatchewan accent is hypnotizing as he spins tales within his music about old men he knew, insomnia, and about his home land. His live performance is also just about flawless. If you haven’t yet, you need to get on board the Andy Shauf train, and go pick up one of his records. It’s another album that couples perfectly with a fresh cup of coffee, and a blank itinerary.
1. The Helio Sequence - The Helio SequenceI remember discovering The Helio Sequence shortly after I first discovered Pandora, and Pandora I can thank for revealing to me what would become perhaps my favorite band (I still can’t offer a definitive answer when people ask me what my favorite band is). The Beaverton, OR Duo sums up what I believe represents much of the Northwest music scene. The Helio Sequence’s Song “Broken Afternoon” was one of the key songs that inspired my dive into songwriting and performing. This new album stays just as true to the original characteristics of the ‘2004 The Helio Sequence’ as any legend, however, as I’ve followed them, and as I’ve grown as a musician, and as a person, I’ve heard them do the same. Brandon Summers has grown so much vocally since their 2008 release “Keep Your Eyes Ahead”. 2015 was an incredible year for new music. Usually I struggle to find 10 albums that I believe worthy of ranking, but this year’s new releases left me wrestling with about 30 albums that ALL impacted me enough to want to include them all in a top ten. However, the question about album #1, was without a doubt the easiest question to answer. This album is confident, dusky, and absolutely deliberate in how it reflects The Pacific Northwest.
Counterparts - Tragedy will find us
Being as an ocean - being as an ocean
Father John Misty - I love you, honeybear
Pianos become the teeth - Keep You
William Fitzsimmons - Pittsburgh
Built to Spill - Untethered moon
dailybridgerton
ellievsbear
turnnoffyourmind
blakekathryn
areudirty
yousharknotpass
romaincrisis
