Let’s get things started with my honorable mentions for 2015. These are not necessarily albums 26-30, but rather just some albums that I think deserve extra attention for one reason or another. Also featured is a dishonorable mention as well as a few other awards.
On the heels of 2014’s Northtown EP, Ratchet was one of the year’s most anticipated debut albums, as Shamir Bailey’s genre bending version of dance-pop stood out as something new and weird and impossible to classify. The Las Vegas native’s countertenor voice is easily the most striking thing you first notice, full of vulnerability in sound and lyrics, while the songs are relentlessly catchy in all their glitchy glory.
Only two albums in and Sadie Dupuis has already established herself as one of the go-to voices in the recent uptick of female empowerment dialogue found in today’s indie music scene. Dupuis scathing lyrics are on full display on the excellent Foil Dear, and musically the aggressive rock tunes serve as a perfect backdrop for all the angst Dupuis seems to have bottled up.
At 10 songs and just 26 minutes, Beach Slang’s debut album provides a non-stop barrage of anthemic punk rock songs Japandroids would be proud of. This quartet from Philadelphia (which, by the way, is on fire right now) seems to have no shortage of hooks and fist-pumping sing along jams announcing Beach Slang as one of 2015’s breakout acts.
The best 90’s grunge record of 2015 comes courtesy Mackenzie Scott and her second album as Torres. Following up her self-titled debut, Sprinter was one of my more highly anticipated releases of 2015, and the Nashville rocker didn’t disappoint with a powerfully dense album showcasing her passionate songwriting akin to a heavier rock version of Sharon Van Etten.
The second album from the Virginia Beach quartet often classified as pop-punk is so much more than that unfortunate designation. Sure, these guys recently opened for New Found Glory, but Turnover elicits an indie-rock version of pop-punk more in line with the emo stylings of The Appleseed Cast fused with the dream-pop of Real Estate. Peripheral Vision is a pleasant and infectious collection of 11 songs that does well to break away from its peers.
Let’s call this my most underrated album that didn’t finish in my top 25, because my actual most underrated album probably a good bit higher. While this is certainly a step down from the 80’s tinged Confess, I still find enough enjoyable with Eclipse that I don’t see it as quite the disaster many critics seem to think it is. Twin shadow has always been cheesy, melodramatic, and over the top and Eclipse is just taking that to the mainstream and modern arena-pop levels.
Likewise, my actual biggest surprise is probably up in my top 25 somewhere, so I’ll call this my biggest surprise that didn’t make my top 25. Surprising for not only its out of nowhere (and free!) release, Star Wars also happens to be the best Wilco album since 2004’s A Ghost Is Born. Jeff Tweedy seems rejuvenated on these 11 songs, and the short 33-minute run time allows the group to cut the fat that has marred their last few albums.
File this one under disappointing and bad. Though to be fair, my expectations weren’t super high for this album considering it’s rare for a band to come back at the top of their game after a 17 year layoff (although Faith No More seemed to handle it pretty well), but Freedom failed to meet even those paltry expectations by delivering an album of watered down stadium rock. Following up a classic like The Shape of Punk To Come was never going to be an easy task, but reuniting to release an album that seems to have no direction and full of fake conviction doesn’t necessarily tarnish the legacy of the Swedish band, but does raise the question of what was so important that they couldn’t just remain dead.
I get why this album was a critical darling: it’s a debut album full of stripped down emotionally raw folk/punk songs from a duo whose 2014 EP gave them a little bit of hype. And it’s a fine album, but it’s essentially Kimya Dawson, which outside the quirkiness of a cute indie movie comes across more irritating than charming.
Another return from a Scandinavian band, this one from Denmark’s Mew with their first album since 2009’s No More Stores…. Mew’s prior albums had a great sense of majesty that for whatever reason just didn’t connect with time this time. I’m not sure if that’s a Mew problem or a Me problem, but the spark seems be missing from +- which causes it to sound a little more phoned-in and lacking the inspiration of their previous two releases.
Let’s get things started with my honorable mentions for 2014. These are not necessarily albums 26-30, but rather just some albums that I think deserve extra attention for one reason or another. Interestingly enough, these are all debut albums from these artists, although that wasn’t intentional on my part. Also featured is a dishonorable mention as well as a few other awards.
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Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso
Mountain Man’s Amelia Meath and Megafaun’s Nick Sanborn teamed up to create this electronic album full of pop gems that also retain the folk sensibility of the duo’s main projects. “Hey Mami” and “Coffee” are two of the year’s best songs.
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Pup – Pup
Toronto quartet’s debut album which was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, and with good reason. It’s full of infectious and intelligent punk rock tunes, that while not breaking new ground, is a refreshing and reaffirming listen.
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Alvvays – Alvvays
Pronounced Always, this Toronto band specializes in indie pop tunes in the same vein as Camera Obscura, or a lo-fi version of Eisley. “Archie, Marry Me” is the best example of how great this group can be, and reaches the heights of their contemporary’s best work.
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Fear of Men – Loom
Another indie-pop group, this one from Brighton UK, features a bit more darkness and melancholy in their tunes as compared to their peers. The maudlin and almost vengeful subject matter keep this trio from falling into the twee-pop trap and allows the dreaminess of their songs to come to the forefront.
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St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Half The City
Seven-piece soul band with gospel roots from Birmingham wears their influences on their sleeve, but Paul Janeway’s vocals take the band to a level not to be expected upon first glance. They aren’t there yet, as Janeway’s vocals could use a little restraint here or there, but this is a very promising debut.
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Most Underrated Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Days of Abandon
Let’s call this my most underrated album that didn’t finish in my top 25, because my actual most underrated album of the year is quite high on my list. This is certainly the worst of TPOBPAH three albums, as the band continues to move away from the fuzz-pop that made their early work so charming, but these are still very good twee-pop songs that I believe deserve the benefit of the doubt considering the lineup turnover this band has gone through last few years.
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Biggest Surprise: Braid – No Coast
Likewise, my actual biggest surprise is probably up in my top 25 somewhere, so I’ll call this my biggest surprise that didn’t make my top 25. This is the first LP from the emo band in 16 years, after reuniting in 2011 to release an EP, which ended up being really bad. So, expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised at how strong this album was from start to finish. The songs feel like a natural progression of what we could’ve expected from this band had they not gone their separate ways a decade and a half ago.
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Dishonorable Mentions
Only one Dishonorable Mention this year, but also included is my most overrated album, and my biggest disappointment.
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Christopher Owens – A New Testament
How the mighty have fallen. Just three years ago Owens was responsible for my album of the year as frontman of the band Girls. This is his second solo album and follow up to the underwhelming Lysandre, but this album may be even worse. Owens’ new found alt-country leanings do not work for him no matter how sincere they may be. The heart and soul that made Girls so affecting has been completely lost by the cheesiness of these tunes, and while I’m thankful of his Girls catalog, he’s probably lost a fan in me.
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Most Overrated Album: Real Estate – Atlas
Another band who just three years ago found itself in my top 5 with the fantastic Days, Real Estate has returned to their boring forgetful tunes that made me think they were overrated when they debuted in 2009. Sure, there are a couple very good songs on this album and it’s beautifully produced and musically tight as ever, but as a whole, it’s completely devoid of memorable melodies, and makes me think Days is going to turn out as a fluke for these guys.
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Biggest Disappointment: The Gaslight Anthem – Get Hurt
These guys exploited their blue-collar punk image to create three straight fantastic albums in The ’59 Sound, American Slang, and Handwritten, however, with Get Hurt they’ve devolved into an arena rock band while trying to retain their blue-collar image and it now just screams of pandering.
Let’s get things started with my Honorable Mentions for 2013. These are not necessarily albums 26-30, but rather just some albums that I think deserve extra attention for one reason or another. I’m also doing things a bit differently this year, by including my most underrated album of 2013 (that doesn’t appear in my top 25), as well as taking a look at a reemerging genre.
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Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt
The second album from Birmingham, AL native Katie Crutchfield as Waxahatchee is an exquisite collection of alt-folk songs showing off Crutchfield’s impressive songwriting abilities. The songs are intimate like the Mountain Goats, sweetly charming as Kimya Dawson, beautifully sweeping as Cat Power, yet retain some of the feminine angst of a Liz Phair. It’s a pretty impressive fusion of influences that ushers in a new engaging voice in indie rock.
[“Lips and Limbs” – Cerulean Salt]
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Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
And then on the flipside, you have an established voice, and boy do I mean voice, with her latest collection of folk songs, this time as honest and personal as anything she’s ever penned. Neko Case’s mouthful of a 6th album (now Grammy nominated) is Case at her most confident with her voice impeccable as always and musically the tightest she’s ever been, but this time there’s a darkness to her songs that give a glimpse of the enigmatic psyche within.
[“Man” – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You]
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Foxygen – We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
One of 2013’s breakout acts was the L.A. psych-rock duo Foxygen, due in large part to their sophomore album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, as well as their notoriously crazed live shows. It’s a retro album, full of psychedelic songs that retain enough pop sensibility to never veer towards druggy jam band tropes. It’s a pleasant listen that while not doing anything revolutionary, is an example of a band coming into their own as fine songwriters.
[“No Destruction” – We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic]
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Rhye – Woman
The debut album from Mike Milosh and Robin Hannibal is a supergroup album of sorts, as both members were busy with their own work before initially meeting in 2010 and reconnecting after they each moved to L.A. separately. Woman is a lush group of sexy R&B songs highlighted by an opening trio of tracks as strong as any to open an album all year. The rest of the album doesn’t quite reach those heights, but it’s still a mesmerizing listen thanks to Milosh’s entrancing vocals and Hannibal’s minimalistic instrumentation.
[“Open” – Woman]
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Washed Out – Paracosm
Considered one of the founding fathers of the chillwave genre, Perry GA’s Earnest Greene is now one of its lone remaining members holding strong to the sound as his musical peers veer in other directions. Paracosm is the follow up to his fine 2011 debut and continues down the path of Within and Without and its proceeding EPs. Greene’s patented dreamy soundscapes are in full force here complete with melodies that show off Greene’s songwriting abilities serving as an example of Greene’s progression from producer to full-fledged musician and singer/songwriter status.
[“All I Know” – Paracosm]
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Most Underrated Album: Cults – Static
Now, my actual most underrated album is probably up in my top 25 somewhere, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least give a shout out to the sophomore effort from Brooklyn pop duo Cults. This album came and went with barely a whimper and coming off their very successful self-titled debut (my #9 album of 2011), that was a bit surprising to me, because it’s a very solid follow up. It’s not quite as immediate as their debut and doesn’t really have a standout track, but much of this album is centered around the breakup of Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion making for an immensely personal album that I have a hell of a lot of respect for. It’s a wonder these two were able to remain professional enough to write and perform these songs side by side, and listening to the album can almost be an uncomfortable experience, but it’s hard to deny its honesty.
[“I Can Hardly Make You Mine” – Static]
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Emo Revival
An interesting development in 2013 was the reemergence of emo as a viable genre of music. Now, when I say emo I’m not talking about the Fall Out Boys or My Chemical Romances who co-opted the genre when it gained mainstream attention about a decade ago. Before that dark time, emo was a subset of indie rock, and really was what started me on my musical journey in my late high school days. In those days, emo was evolving into what became known as the Midwestern Emo sound featuring bands like The Promise Ring, American Football, Mineral, Braid and even early Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab For Cutie among many many others. This grew out of the early D.C. underground hardcore scene which is considered the birthplace of emo and really it’s 1st wave.
In the last few years, there’s been bands trying to rekindle the Midwestern Emo sound with varying success in what is now considered the 4th wave (or 5th depending on who you talk to). Top Shelf Records came along as a home to many of these groups and is largely responsible for the attention the genre has garnered. In 2013 many of these bands have surfaced from the underground by releasing some damn good albums that feature the sounds of emo’s glory years, and many more bands have albums on the horizon. It’s something I’m looking forward to in 2014. Below, I’m featuring three of the groups who released albums in 2013 that helped legitimize this new wave’s emergence.
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The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – Whenever, If Ever
The best of these emo-revivalists is Connecticut band The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (often shortened to TWIABP), whose debut album Whenever, If Ever is a collection of passionate and tight songs filled to the brim with melody reminiscent of some of the best emo bands of the 90s. The first thing that jumps out about this group is of course that ridiculous name, which is taken from the lyrics of excellent album closer “Getting Sodas”, but if you’re able to get past how off-putting that is you’ll find some exhilarating tunes that evoke musicianship as deep as Explosions in the Sky while capturing the youthful exuberance similar to that of a Los Campesinos!, all in a nice emo package.
[“Heartbeat In The Brain” – Whenever, If Ever]
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Into It. Over It. – Intersections
Now here’s an album that probably has the most emo feel for those casual listeners of the genre dating back to right before bands started finding mainstream success. Into It. Over It. is the brainchild of Evan Weiss who is one of the forebears to this emo revival having been a part of numerous Midwestern emo bands the last few years, but with Intersections he’s put together his best group of songs which at times harkens back to Death Cab For Cutie or Hey Mercedes. Lyrically, this is certainly the most emo of the bands I’m featuring here, which isn’t necessarily a good thing, as it highlights the juvenile characteristics of the genre, which is one of its worst tendencies. But the songs are good enough that those lyrics can be overlooked, and heck for some people, it might actually strike that perfect balance. (Note: Into It. Over It. and TWIABP are heading out on tour this Winter along with fellow emo revivalist, A Great Big Pile of Leaves.)
[“A Curse Worth Believing” – Intersections]
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Crash of Rhinos – Knots
By far the best example of how Midwestern Emo isn’t really a regional identifier comes from British band Crash of Rhinos. The Derby, UK five-piece has created a very American sounding album touching on the more abrasive side of the genre; think Fugazi or Braid. If there’s an example among these revivalist of the emotional hardcore aspect of emo that actually spawned the genre, Knots is it. It’s more on the screamo side of the genre, but more Thursday than Touché Amoré (who released an excellent album this year, but can’t quite be called emo). For longtime fans of emo, this may actually be the most nostalgic listening experience, but should be enjoyable enough for those with no preexisting knowledge of the genre.
[“Luck Has A Name” – Knots]
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Dishonorable Mentions
For this year’s dishonorable mentions, I’ve added a Most Overrated Album, which shouldn’t really be called dishonorable, but I didn’t have anywhere else to put it. However, the other two albums mentioned fit this section quite well.
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Most Overrated Album: Disclosure – Settle
Now I’m no expert on dance music, so perhaps I’m not the best judge, but I really just don’t get what’s so special about this album, the debut from English duo/brothers Disclosure. Maybe it’ll eventually click with me, but I listened to Settle a good bit, and save a song here or there, nothing really jumped out at me. It seems like very generic electronic music, that isn’t really doing anything particularly original or interesting. The beats come across rather formulaic and bland to form an enjoyable, but mediocre listen, one not worthy of the critical praise it’s getting.
[“Latch” – Settle]
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Yuck – Glow & Behold
Oh my, what a massive disappointment this album was. Part of me wants to give them a pass due to the ugly departure of frontman Daniel Blumberg right before recording of this album, but no. I feel like many bands have survived similar situations, but Yuck just couldn’t recapture what it had on that self-titled album in 2011 (a top 15 album for me then), and regressed mightily on Glow & Behold. Rather than find a new lead vocalist, the group decided to promote from within, and Max Bloom just doesn’t have what’s required of a frontman. He seems so disinterested in these songs, creating a passionless and just plain boring listen. And it’s not all his fault; the songs themselves are uninspired and devoid of any ambition. It’s a purposeless album with no direction that seems to have no reason for existing. In a year of numerous disappointing follow ups to breakout albums (Smith Westerns, Surfer Blood, Free Energy, Christopher Owen’s post-Girls solo debut) this one makes those look like masterpieces.
[“Middle Sea” – Glow & Behold]
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The Avett Brothers – Magpie and the Dandelion
When Rick Rubin teamed up with The Avett Brothers to produce their 2009 breakout album I And Love And You, I thought the results were actually quite good. Sure, it was polished to a mirror sheen, but the songs showed maturation and an improved songwriting that made the album a success, while still retaining the energy that gave the songs so much of their charm. The returns weren’t quite as successful on 2012 follow up, The Carpenter, as Rubin’s style started to rob the band of that patented energy, and on Magpie and the Dandelion, the band’s 8th studio album, that energy is completely gone.
Now, part of the problem with this release is that these songs are essentially b-sides that have no business being on a proper album. These tracks were recorded during the same studio session that spawned The Carpenter, and while I’m not against using such songs to build another album (Heck, Timberlake did it this year, and Radiohead did it very successfully with Kid A & Amnesiac), when they feel so much like leftovers, it comes across a rather large miscalculation. Yes, these are songs that have been part of The Avett Brothers’ setlists at live shows over the years, and I’m sure hardcore fans of the band are excited to have these recorded, but there’s just not enough heft to warrant a brand new album. Make it a b-side or rarities release for those fans to complete their collection, but it’s pretty insulting to the casual fan to package these songs and call it a new LP.
However, what really cements this album as the worst I heard in 2013 is the inexplicable inclusion of a live version of “Souls Like The Wheels”, a song that already appeared on The Second Gleam EP back in 2008. Make it a bonus track, and that’s perfectly fine. Heck, I could maybe even forgive it if it was the final track on the album, but to place this song in the middle of its second half is as jarring and bizarre a moment I can remember on any album in quite some time. It has absolutely no place on this album, or any album that a band is trying to bill as their latest studio release and renders what was already a failure, an absolute disaster.
On the heels of 2014’s Northtown EP, Ratchet was one of the year’s most anticipated debut albums, as Shamir Bailey’s genre bending version of dance-pop stood out as something new and weird and impossible to classify. The Las Vegas native’s countertenor voice is easily the most striking thing you first notice, full of vulnerability in sound and lyrics, while the songs are relentlessly catchy in all their glitchy glory.
Only two albums in and Sadie Dupuis has already established herself as one of the go-to voices in the recent uptick of female empowerment dialogue found in today’s indie music scene. Dupuis scathing lyrics are on full display on the excellent Foil Dear, and musically the aggressive rock tunes serve as a perfect backdrop for all the angst Dupuis seems to have bottled up.
At 10 songs and just 26 minutes, Beach Slang’s debut album provides a non-stop barrage of anthemic punk rock songs Japandroids would be proud of. This quartet from Philadelphia (which, by the way, is on fire right now) seems to have no shortage of hooks and fist-pumping sing along jams announcing Beach Slang as one of 2015’s breakout acts.
The best 90’s grunge record of 2015 comes courtesy Mackenzie Scott and her second album as Torres. Following up her self-titled debut, Sprinter was one of my more highly anticipated releases of 2015, and the Nashville rocker didn’t disappoint with a powerfully dense album showcasing her passionate songwriting akin to a heavier rock version of Sharon Van Etten.
The second album from the Virginia Beach quartet often classified as pop-punk is so much more than that unfortunate designation. Sure, these guys recently opened for New Found Glory, but Turnover elicits an indie-rock version of pop-punk more in line with the emo stylings of The Appleseed Cast fused with the dream-pop of Real Estate. Peripheral Vision is a pleasant and infectious collection of 11 songs that does well to break away from its peers.
Let’s call this my most underrated album that didn’t finish in my top 25, because my actual most underrated album probably a good bit higher. While this is certainly a step down from the 80’s tinged Confess, I still find enough enjoyable with Eclipse that I don’t see it as quite the disaster many critics seem to think it is. Twin shadow has always been cheesy, melodramatic, and over the top and Eclipse is just taking that to the mainstream and modern arena-pop levels.
Likewise, my actual biggest surprise is probably up in my top 25 somewhere, so I’ll call this my biggest surprise that didn’t make my top 25. Surprising for not only its out of nowhere (and free!) release, Star Wars also happens to be the best Wilco album since 2004’s A Ghost Is Born. Jeff Tweedy seems rejuvenated on these 11 songs, and the short 33-minute run time allows the group to cut the fat that has marred their last few albums.
File this one under disappointing and bad. Though to be fair, my expectations weren’t super high for this album considering it’s rare for a band to come back at the top of their game after a 17 year layoff (although Faith No More seemed to handle it pretty well), but Freedom failed to meet even those paltry expectations by delivering an album of watered down stadium rock. Following up a classic like The Shape of Punk To Come was never going to be an easy task, but reuniting to release an album that seems to have no direction and full of fake conviction doesn’t necessarily tarnish the legacy of the Swedish band, but does raise the question of what was so important that they couldn’t just remain dead.
I get why this album was a critical darling: it’s a debut album full of stripped down emotionally raw folk/punk songs from a duo whose 2014 EP gave them a little bit of hype. And it’s a fine album, but it’s essentially Kimya Dawson, which outside the quirkiness of a cute indie movie comes across more irritating than charming.
Another return from a Scandinavian band, this one from Denmark’s Mew with their first album since 2009’s No More Stores…. Mew’s prior albums had a great sense of majesty that for whatever reason just didn’t connect with time this time. I’m not sure if that’s a Mew problem or a Me problem, but the spark seems be missing from +- which causes it to sound a little more phoned-in and lacking the inspiration of their previous two releases.
Posted by Hawkins 
By far the best example of how Midwestern Emo isn’t really a regional identifier comes from British band Crash of Rhinos. The Derby, UK five-piece has created a very American sounding album touching on the more abrasive side of the genre; think Fugazi or Braid. If there’s an example among these revivalist of the emotional hardcore aspect of emo that actually spawned the genre, Knots is it. It’s more on the screamo side of the genre, but more Thursday than Touché Amoré (who released an excellent album this year, but can’t quite be called emo). For longtime fans of emo, this may actually be the most nostalgic listening experience, but should be enjoyable enough for those with no preexisting knowledge of the genre.
A Round of Sound 