Heyo!
This year has been trying for everyone, with so many icons now no longer with us from all different careers and each loved by so many, it's safe to say this year hasn't exactly been cheerful. However, this hasn't stopped the release of some of the best music I have heard, with new releases from various artists finding their way onto my playlists very promptly after the first listen. I wanted to share with you my ten favourite albums of the year, with the hopes you've either already heard them, or will go ahead and lose yourself in some brilliant music after reading this post, enjoy!
10. Painting of a Panic Attack - Frightened Rabbit
I've always had a soft spot for this band, they produce some of the most beautiful songs I have ever discovered and they are a band I share a love of with one of my best friends who helped me find them. Painting of a Panic Attack is the band's fifth album, the third with record label 'Atlantic Records', who have worked with the Scottish indie rockers for the last six years. The album opens with Death Dream, which sets the tone and indicates the band will not be resorting to the cheery-sounding depressive anthems fans have come to love, and showcases the progress the band have made since their first album nine years ago. Constructed with 15 songs covering a whirlwind of emotions, it makes for a good listen to anyone struggling to cope with love, loss, lack of motivation or uncertainty. Like all Frightened Rabbit albums, there are songs to cry to, songs to sing at 3am when it's all a bit too much, and those you can hum for reassurance that it will be okay. This band are brilliant and deserve all the support they get, with such thoughtful lyrics which do not steal the show from the music that captures the emotion expressed from the band as a collective. This is a band that work together to produce brilliant music that speaks for those outspoken.
Top 3 Tracks:
Get Out
Death Dream
400 Bones
9. The Ride - Catfish and the Bottlemen
The second studio album from The Bottlemen boys came in May, and with it did my favourite album of that month (heck, I got a free trial of apple music to listen to it because it took forever for Spotify to upload it!) It's just as good as their debut album The Balcony, but feels as though the band have learnt how to work together more and enhance their already impressive sound. This album may be short, but it is full of good music to be listened to whatever the weather, but it reminds me most of the summer. In true Catfish style, they played every UK festival they could this year, except the one I was actually going to which broke my heart a little bit. The band have managed to tour around the world off of the release of their first album, a feat not many bands are able to achieve so soon in their careers. They have a lot more to give, and although some may say that they rushed this album (they wrote it whilst touring straight off of the release of The Balcony) I reckon this was best for them, they had the energy and the support they needed to write a really good album, and it was something fans were not expecting. I doubt they will write another album whilst touring with this one, but if they can produce music this good this quickly, it's clear that these guys have a very good future ahead of them.
Top 3 Tracks:
Soundcheck
Outside
7
8. Human Ceremony - Sunflower Bean
I first encountered Sunflower Bean when I went and saw The Vaccines last November in Brighton, and I was taken back by the fact there were only three of them producing all this noise. They were working on their album then, and it finally got released this year and I was so happy to get my hands on a copy! Human Ceremony is the band's debut album, and it follows my theory that the first album is most likely the best as I am struggling to imagine how they could do an album better than this one. The American-three-piece remind me a lot of Wolf Alice (another female fronted band I adore and you should too) and their playful synth-y sound makes them perfect for giving you the summer nostalgia, especially in 'Easier Said', the band's first single off the album which got a huge reception both in the UK and in the US. The album lets Julia, Jacob and Nick present themselves to the world after touring with bands all throughout 2015 and finally establishing themselves as the main act, something they really do well. I am excited for them to come back to the UK and to get myself to the nearest gig I can! It's very rare to find bands that work this well together and that can produce songs to this high a standard for their debut studio album, so well done guys, and I look forward to hearing more from you in the years to come!
Top 3 Tracks:
Come One
Wall Watcher
Easier Said
7. Skeleton Tree - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Nick Cave has such a way with words, listening to anything he has written or said feels like such a blessing, so when Skeleton Tree was released I was thrilled to be able to listen to more of his work. Many people are unaware of the presence Nick Cave has in today's world, but he was behind 'O Children' (the track in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 when Harry and Hermione are dancing in the tent) and 'Red Right Hand (The theme song for Peaky Blinders) and many other beautiful songs. He reads in the same way Patti Smith does, it's very poetic and beautiful and very underrated. Skeleton Tree is the 16th studio album from the band, the follow-up to critically acclaimed Push Away The Sky (2013, another brilliant album) and is very minimalistic, with only eight tracks, and yet it says more than most other alums dare to. It ranked number one in eight different countries, and rightfully so, with the overall sound of the album tackling love, loss and grief felt by Nick at this difficult time in his life. Addressing religion, death and loneliness, this album does everything it needs to and addresses everyone listening with haunting lyrics and beautiful mixing of all the elements needed to create something this artistic. Nick Cave is an artist, and his band all pool together to create something moving, and I urge you to listen.
Top 3 Tracks:
Rings Of Saturn
I Need You
Skeleton Tree
6. Take Control - Slaves
I love me a two-piece, so when I heard Slaves were dropping a new album this year I almost wet myself with excitement. Their first EP Sugar Coated Bitter Truth and their debut album Are You Satisfied? both had such clear messages, even with fifteen-second fan favourite 'Girl Fight', so I was eager to find out what this new album would be all about. Take Control is about just that, and in a world where nobody seems to be taking control anymore (I don't even need to say any more here) this album is essentially a massive middle finger to all that is wrong and acts as some guidance in this godforsaken dystopian world we now live in. I love the way Isaac and Laurie work together to right the wrongs with their clever use of spoken word, heavy drums and some dirty riffs to get people off their feet and having a good time. Punk isn't dead, it's here. I saw them at Reading which was FILTHY (white shirt is still beige, not even mad) and on their tour in Cardiff with Jord and Aled and Sam and it was mental, I saw all the bodily fluids in existence. This album is just a sign of what is yet to come, with tracks ranging in length from 44 seconds to just over 4 minutes with skits intermittently to keep the pace going. With Beastie Boy Mike D producing their new album with them, they're going from strength to strength, but they've managed to keep being the two guys from Kent who wrote a song about Debbie and her lost car and covered a Skepta song just because they could. They've been releasing great music for four years, and they've got many years left in them, go give them a listen and if you get the chance to see them live, go, and get sweaty in the pit.
Top 3 Tracks:
People That You Meet
Rich Man
Lies
5. Ellipsis - Biffy Clyro
This was one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and with years of experience and their god-like status in the industry, you just knew it was going to be brilliant. It wasn't brilliant, it was borderline perfection. Matt did a really good review of it track by track on his blog so go check that out on this link if you want to read a really good breakdown of the tracks (I refuse to try and copy Matt his is better than mine would be!) The album is typical Biffy, with songs that you want to shout along to at Reading (like me, I did that) and others you want to appreciate on your own because they're rather lovely. The album works well and shows the progress the band have made, and stays true to their roots and to themselves. In my opinion it's their third best album, behind Puzzle and Only Revolutions (the first Biffy album I heard, and still the best) but this album has brought together fans both old and new and is heavily celebrated as being one of the best albums this year has been blessed with. Biffy Clyro are one of those bands that don't need to write huge hits anymore with their god-like status, and yet they manage to do it just for fun. I don't need to say anything else in all honesty, go and listen to it asap.
Mon The Biff, forever and always.
Top 3 Tracks:
Animal Style
On A Bang
Wolves Of Winter
4. The Getaway - Red Hot Chili Peppers
I'm a lover of 99.999% of anything they do, and every time they release a new album it goes right to the top of my birthday list. This is no exception, and I struggled to find fault in this album. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been in the music business since before I wasvborn, and they'll probably be one of those bands that just writes music until they're all dead, and then write more beyond the grave because they're that good. The Getaway is a classic RHCP album, with songs that you can sing along to and those you can appreciate as background noise. Every song has a purpose, and not every song needs to be a 'banger', because they've done so much. When they played Reading they finished ahead of schedule purely because they'd played enough content, they had a mammoth to and a half hour set allocated to them, and when you think about it they've had more hits than we've had hot meals. The album opens with 'The Getaway', and seamlessly goes in to 'Dark Necessities', and then continues in this manner, each song going into the next to form this album of good-ness. I like this album mainly because I know what they're capable of, and just because they're not as young as when they wrote hits like 'Dani California' 'Give It Away' and 'Can't Stop', they're just as talented, if not more-so, and they are showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Top 3 Tracks:
Dark Necessities
Feasting On The Flowers
The Getaway
3. Trick - Jamie T
Jamie T went on hiatus for five years, came back and wrote Carry On The Grudge and released it in 2014 (In all honesty, it was a bit of a disappointment with the exception of three songs). So when he announced a new album would be coming out this year, I was praying it would be more 'Jamie FUCKING T' than the last, and boy was it brilliant. The album is essentially his tribute to himself, and in the most Jamie T way possible he has managed to weave in every influence he's ever had, from religion to the bands he loves and hates, this album covers everything he is, and everything he isn't, all in under an hour. It's my second favourite album he has ever done, because it shows that he's still the gobby lad downing a stella who gave us anthem 'Shelia', but he's also grown up and wants to sing about things that matter. This album is crammed with religious symbolism, from the front cover itself to tracks like 'Solomon Eagle', but all executed in a way that makes people want to engage with it all. I saw Jamie T live this year at long last with my dear gig buddy Matt and his rad girlfriend Pebbles and it was brilliant. This album is better live, and that's not something that's easily done. If you haven't already heard it then stop reading this and go put it on, then come back and finish reading this post!
Top 3 Tracks:
Drone Strike
Joan of Arc
Tinfoil Boy
2. Blackstar - David Bowie
I don't even know how to begin to summarise this beautiful work of art in a small chunk of a post, but I'll give it my best shot. Bowie was recording this album until around three weeks before his death, and it was released at the very beginning of this hellish year. He knew that this would be his last album, and wanted to give back to his fans, and provide them with comfort for when he inevitably died. It still hurts me to write that he's not here, I always thought he would be immortal because he was on a whole different level. His 27th and final studio album is seven tracks long, at 42 minutes in length, and every second is utilised by Bowie and the jazz band he worked with to pool together all his knowledge and talent. The album begins with "Blackstar' which is just shy of 10 minutes long, and sets the tone of the reflective album, and is one of my favourite songs he has ever done. Fan favourite 'Lazarus' is sung from the perspective of an alien (Newton) Bowie played in 1976 film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', and shares its name with the hit musical in America. To be able to end your career on an album representing your whole career from start to finish, exploring something completely new and to such a high standard whilst fighting cancer is incredible. This album makes me cry, not because he's gone, but because of how wonderfully it has been executed from start to finish.
Top 3 Tracks:
Lazarus
Blackstar
Dollar Days
1. "Awaken, My Love!" - Childish Gambino
Released on December 2nd, this album has not even graced our presence for a month and I feel it is truly the best album of the year. Donald Glover (aka Gambino) has gone through various stages within his musical career, with the initial release of Camp, his debut and most aggressive album, cutting right to the issues in question and directly attacking them. He then transitioned for other albums, and after 2014 he did say he would most likely not be writing more music so he could focus his energy on other things. Glover dropped the track "Me and Your Mama" out of the blue at the beginning of November, and then 'Redbone', then releasing the new that there was another album coming much to the delight of his fans. This album explores areas Glover has not really tackled before, in a more relaxed way with the use on groovy synths and funkadelic bass lines (That's right, it's groovy and funky and everything your cring-y relatives dream of). I must have listened to this album on average once every two days, it's very relaxing, with some beautiful melodies and clever use of synths to create a psychedelic sound that would make anyone happy. I was delighted to be taken on such a brilliant journey with this album, and it was foolishly overlooked by NME who once again posted their albums of the year a whole month early. This album deserves all the praise it has received and then some, and will be played at the New Year's party I will be attending if it's the last thing I do.
Top 3 Tracks:
Redbone
Boogieman
California
I hope you all go and listen to these albums, and fall in love with them the same way I did. I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year, here's to next year with more posts, more music and hopefully a better upload schedule!
B x
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