Albums of the year 2015

[A_Northern_Soul]

What are everyone's favourite albums from this year?

Mine are:

Panda Bear vs The Grim Reaper

Fourtet - Morning/Evening

Jamie XX - In Colour

And if we're allowing compilations:

Ghost Box's "In a moment: Ghost Box"

[2020k]

Jamie xx - In Colour

Chvrches - Every Open Eye

Grimes - Art Angels

Bjork - Vulnacura

FKA Twigs - M3LL155X EP

Scyye - From EP

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars / Depression Cherry

Boots - Aquaria

Little Boots - Working Girl

Arca - Mutant

Touched Music - Covert Compilation

There's a few I'm missing...

This was a really nice year for music.

[Dandegyrecorder]

Top of the list by FAR is Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion

and a couple levels lower, but still excellent:

Panda Bear - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
Tame Impala - Currents
Wolf Maps - Purity
Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete
VAPERROR - POLYCHROMATIC COMPILER
Fka Twigs - M3LL155X EP (if you count eps)

[PiotrG.]

Laurel Halo - "In Situ"

Inviting, warm & complex with very open like improvised structure. Late-night listening music.

[portiss]

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell
Tame Impala - Currents
Emancipator - Seven Seas
Beach House - Thank your lucky stars
Shlohmo - Dark Red
Nosaj Thing - Fated
The Slow Show - White Water
Hiatus - Parklands

Forgot a lot, but these were of the top of my head.

[Mexicola]

(1) The Sweet Boys - Foible Pangs
(2) Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
(3) YOU GUYS! - OneOnTwoism Vol.6
(4) Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool
(5) Christian Fitness - Love Letters In The Age of Steam.

Pretty much the soundtrack to the most crazy (literally and metaphorically) year of 42 that constitutes my life so far.

Kudos Adecentman and Twoism for producing two of the best albums I've heard in ages, regardless of origin. Well played.

[Stavorius]

1. Aphex Twins Soundcloud Dump
2. Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden Of Delete
3. Various Artists - One On Twoism Volume 6
4. Autechre - AE_LIVE
5. AFX - Orphaned Deejay Selek 2006-2008
6. Cartrox - Prolificity Part Two
7. Jamie XX - In Colour
8. Any Colour You Like - New Clear Dawn
9. Aphex Twin - Compute Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt. 2
10. Various Artists - ...We Care Because You Do

[Headphase]

Björk - vulnicura
Father john misty - I love you honeybear
FKA twigs - M3LL15X EP
Arca - Mutant

[flim]

Awesome list guys and a reminder that I have to play catch up on quite a few gems from this year!
Here are a few I have been listening to.

illocanblo - Fastakem
Any Colour You Like - Sunrise Projector
Kodomo - Patterns and Light
Zombi - Shape Shift
Indifferent Spaces - IS9​.​ADHD
John Carpenter - Lost Themes
Dan Terminus - The Wrath of Code
Various Artists - Orphans of the Sky (Remixed)

[drillkicker]

I haven't heard any albums from this year that really stuck with me. AE_LIVE is mindblowing if that counts, but it isn't actually a studio album so it doesn't really count. I still haven't gotten around to the new toe, Baby Dee, Battles, Nurse With Wound, and Keiji Haino albums from this year because I'm lazy.

Chances are that the upcoming Current 93 album is going to be my album of the year, and I will be legitimately surprised if that isn't how it turns out.

[2020k]

I forgot "Cascade" by William Basinski

Wet Eyes just released "Broken Music," which I really like as well.

Father john misty - I love you honeybear

I LOVE TRUE AFFECTION.

[The Telepathic Kid]

my top 15;

1. Jessica Pratt - On Your Own Love Again
2. Algiers - Algiers
3. Joan Shelley - Over and Even
4. Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss
5. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
6. Destroyer - Poison Season
7. The Sweet Boys - Foible Pangs
8. Paul De Jong - IF
9. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love
10. Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon
11. Milo - So the Flies Don't Come
12. Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete
13. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
14. Joanna Newsom - Divers
15. Les Passager - Mostla Tape

May not be crazy about these records, but they're very good and deserve honourable mentions:
Bjork - Vulnicura
Neon Indian - VEGA INTL Night School
Julia Holter - Have You in My Wilderness
Masayoshi Fujita - Apologues
Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon

[fujee]

Haven't listened to an awful lot of new music this year, I've been in 'Jazz mode' for quite a while now, so everything has been not much beyond 1970! *cue fast show quips*

But from what I have heard... of course, Foible Pangs was absolutely brilliant stuff! Top work there, a keep for sure. I also really enjoyed that Algiers album, really interesting and forward thinking stuff. I also loved Kamasi Washington's sprawling 'The Epic' - cannot imagine how long it took to compose and record that gargantuan score. Will catch up with 2015 at some point, I will check out the usual lists in the Quietus, Resident etc..

Is there anything I MUST hear this year? Don't wanna miss out on some lovely Twoism adored gem!

[The Telepathic Kid]

I should love The Epic.

I've loved everything I've heard from it. It just is such a mammoth task to listen to it.
I think it's gonna be like the Joanna Newsom record from a few years ago, it will unfold to me as I listen to it and grow with it. It needs time to soak in.

At the end of the day, just give me 35-45 minutes of good music, please. I'll love that more over a three hour record. Hell, my favourite record of the year is 30 fuckin' minutes.

Go figure.

[fujee]

It depends on the style of the music, duration is complementary with different ideas. The poignancy of a solo folk record wouldn't have the same emotional punch of a shorter record if it had 3 hours of the same stripped-back ensemble going on for the entire length. Imo, no matter how good the song-writing is it wouldn't have the same power, can you imagine a Nick Drake album over 2 hours? It just wouldn't tug at you in the same way (maybe that idea compliments with the myth of Drake himself, but that's another conversation). Conversely, can you imagine a recent Swans record which was under an hour? I'd feel totally unfulfilled, especially for a band which appears to solely be about the execution of monumental tension and release, again it wouldn't have that temporal power. I love long albums for the space they give you to discover, and I love short ones for their ephemeral power.. but it really all depends on the artists vision and temperament.

[The Telepathic Kid]

that's true.

The main reason the Deerhunter record didn't make my list this year was because I felt I was short changed somewhat - a band known for such an expansive sound, and giving themselves space to breathe and experiment with their records giving us just a mere 35 minutes of music.

I didn't feel exactly fulfilled.

[arvy]

Tame Impala - currents

[rolypablo]

Tame Impala too

[portiss]

that's true.

The main reason the Deerhunter record didn't make my list this year was because I felt I was short changed somewhat - a band known for such an expansive sound, and giving themselves space to breathe and experiment with their records giving us just a mere 35 minutes of music.

I didn't feel exactly fulfilled.

Thankyou,

I have never heard Deerhunter before, Fading Frontier is awesome. I just found a new favourite.

[The Telepathic Kid]

dude check out Microcastle and Halcyon Digest, the latter in particular is one of the best records of the past decade (in my opinion)