Albums of the year: 2015
Last week my friend Giles asked how many albums I’d listened to this year and I guessed at a hundred. In putting together a list of albums that I’d listened to properly (as against tried and discarded) it came to almost exactly a hundred. Many (Kamasi Washington’s three disc opus The Epic, for instance) I haven’t had time to form a considered opinion of. The number keeps growing, even as last year’s releases are pushed aside by leaks of this year’s (Bowie’s Blackstar is very good in part). Anyway, usual drill, I cut off my list at the point where it feels like there’s serious competition to get in. The 41 is based on how much I enjoyed the album over the year, not seeking credibility points. Some albums fade over a year, but my 2015 number one established itself in my affections early on and stayed there with its combination of witty, self-lacerating lyrics and gorgeous, memorable music, building into a gloriously uplifting celebration of love. Greatly look forward to seeing him at Rock City in May. And, yes, I did buy my top three on vinyl – several of the others, too – because they seemed to belong in my collection that way.
40= The Orange Humble Band – Depressing Beauty
40 = Four Tet – Morning/Evening
39 Boz Scaggs – A Fool To Care
38 Leftfield – Alternative Light Source
37 Prince – Hitnrun Phase One
36 Seckou Keita – 22 Strings
35 Wilco – Star Wars
34 Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
33 Tame Impala – Currents
32 Sarah Cracknell – Red Kite
30= Indiana – No Romeo
30= Michael Chapman – Fish
29 Tracey Thorn – Songs From The Falling (EP)
28 Rickie Lee Jones – The Other Side of Desire
27 Sons of Bill – Love and Logic
26 Libertines – Anthems For Doomed Youth
25 Franz Ferdinand and Sparks – FFS
24 Mercury Rev – The Light In You
23 James McMurtry – Complicated Game
22 Grimes – Art Angels
21 New Order – Music Complete
20 The Delines – Scenic Sessions
19 Laura Marling – Short Movie
18 Don Henley – Cass County
17 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
16 Bill Ryder-Jones – West Kirby County Primary
15 El Vy – Return To The Moon
14 Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
13 Matthew E White – Fresh Blood
12 Destroyer – Poison Season
11 Bob Dylan – Shadows In The Night
10 Hot Chip – Why Make Sense?
9 Bjork – Vulnicura
8 Kurt Vile – B’lieve I’m Goin’ Down
7 Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too
6 Calexico – Edge of the Sun
5 James Taylor – Before This World
4 Jason Isbell – Something Other Than Free
3 Ezra Furman – Perpetual Motion People
2 Sleaford Mods – Key Markets
1 Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
