Best of 2015
Essential albums
Whether it was tear-stained confessionals by Björk, Girl Band's frenzied exploration of mental anguish or Kendrick Lamar’s outpourings of politically-focused fury, our favourite albums of 2015 have run the gamut of human emotions. Enjoy the best of the year below.
The Top 10
- Having spent the last few years sandwiching mix-athons with BFFs Four Tet and Caribou in-between his neuroscience PhD, you wouldn’t have thought Sam Shepherd had time to squeeze in an album. Such a vast array of vocations, however, informs the wonderfully idiosyncratic quality of his debut. Subtler than the rapturous acid wiggle of last year’s EP Nuits Sonoires, Elaenia foregrounds Shepherd's life-long love of classical and jazz music, as flawless improvisations embellish ethereal brass-arrangements and bubbling boogie-rhythms. Without settling on a fixed direction, Shepherd’s seven glorious “suites” gently hark back to the abstract utopias of his early excursions, resulting in a dreamy blend of orchestral lullabies and gentle dancefloor preludes.
- Where 2013’s {Awayland} saw Conor O’Brien expanding Villagers into a collaborative project, and upsizing his arrangements, this follow-up marks a return to his solo roots. Self-recorded at home in Malahide, near Dublin, Darling Arithmetic finds O’Brien favouring the intimacy of acoustic guitar and piano, and deliberately eschewing figurative language in order to deal candidly with former relationships. As both the title-track and album opener ‘Courage’ attest, the sparser the arrangements, the more devastating the listening. The fact these deeply-personal stories feel universal can only be testament to O’Brien’s skill as a songwriter.
- Boundaries are of little importance to Mullingar-locals Girl Band. In their blistering take on one of Blawan’s savage cuts, the four-piece established their disregard for guitar-rock conventions, and the decision to base their debut album on the psychotic episode of lead-singer Dara Kiely continues this non-conformity. Striking the perfect balance between brilliant and bizarre, Holding Hands With Jamie sees Kiely and co annihilating eardrums in nine electrifying blows. Surreal lyrical content - ranging from Sudocrem to Top Gear - is mercilessly buried beneath visceral, techno-inspired noise-rock, filled with raw, puncturing distortion. A thrilling debut.
- Dispelling the myth that braggadocio and solipsism are inseparable from major league rap, To Pimp A Butterfly finds Kendrick Lamar picking over personal struggles and societal injustice, to deliver an unflinching examination of what it means to be a black American in 2015. In the wake of the recent events in Ferguson and the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin (which is explicitly referenced on ‘The Blacker The Berry’), it’s no surprise that racial prejudice and police brutality loom large here. What might surprise the million-plus people who bought Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, is Lamar’s integration of esoteric musical influences to create ambitious, atypical arrangements, frequently rooted in free jazz and P-Funk. Combine these with the Compton rapper’s dexterous, deeply-inventive vocal delivery, and you have a dense yet richly-rewarding listen.
- Though only 16 when she released her debut EP in 2014, Bridie Monds-Watson had been a firm fixture on the Derry gig circuit since the age of 14. Now a nationally-recognised talent, the Northern Irish singer-songwriter is releasing her beautifully-understated debut through Rough Trade Records. Exhibiting her multi-instrumentalist talents, the wistfully-named Before How We Forgot How To Dream sees Soak interspersing her delicate strain of indie-folk with string-laden instrumentals, laced between poignant lyrics. Long-time fans, look out for the revamped version of 'Sea Creatures', her heartfelt ode to a troubled friend.
- Helena Hauff's recent declaration that she wishes to “destroy society” could easily provide the unofficial tagline for her debut album. From the jittering synths of ‘Tryst’ to the brooding ascent of ‘Sworn To Secrecy Pt II’ – with its austere, blood-splattered video – a tone of overwhelming nihilism pervades. It’s not an unfamiliar timbre from Hauff, whose DJ sets are home to the darkest corners of crunching, analogue techno. However, unlike the relentless kick drums and dissonance of previous works like 'Drowning Demons’ and ‘Reaktion I’, Discreet Desires signals a transition away from subterranean techno dungeons into a more obscure, less tangible space. This is Hauff employing eerie, otherworldly melodies and venturing beyond the confines of the dancefloor, out into the unknown.
- Inspired by “the chaos and ferocity” of performing Holy Fire’s heavier moments live, Foals headed straight to France with Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford to channel that energy into album number four. The upshot is, arguably, the five-piece’s most ambitious outing yet. From the raw aggression of the gothic-tinged title-track to A Knife In The Ocean’s dramatic climax of digital shrapnel and nose-diving guitars, What Went Down is a record bursting with bold musical statements. Of course, there are still traces here of the band that made Antidotes and Total Life Forever - the needling guitar lines that drive ‘Night Swimmers’ and the widescreen melancholia of ‘London Thunder’ - but, at its core, What Went Down is an album that prizes the physical above the cerebral.
Contains explicit content
Contains explicit content
