 | ||
 | Album: 1 of 75 Artist: Julia Holter Title: Have You in My Wilderness Released: 2015-09-25 Tracks: 10 Duration: 46:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Feel You (04:08) 2 Silhouette (03:53) 3 How Long? (03:58) 4 Lucette Stranded on the Island (06:46) 5 Sea Calls Me Home (03:07) 6 Night Song (04:12) 7 Everytime Boots (03:28) 8 Betsy on the Roof (06:15) 9 Vasquez (06:37) 10 Have You in My Wilderness (03:36) |
| Have You in My Wilderness : Allmusic album Review : After drawing on Greek tragedies and MGM musicals for her earlier albums, it would be hard for Julia Holter to find loftier sources of inspiration. On Have You in My Wilderness, she recasts her ambition to a more intimate scale: where her previous album Loud City Song had the heft of a novel, these songs play like a collection of short stories. Indeed, Holter remains as literary as ever; her influences include Christopher Isherwoods The Berlin Stories -- with Holter taking a sultry, Sally Bowles-meets-Nico turn on the torchy "How Long" -- as well as the novella Chance Acquaintances by Colette, whose Gigi begat Loud City Song. Wilderness bite-sized approach makes it easier to savor the breathtaking beauty of Holters music, and fits her meditations on closeness and distance. The "you" and "me" implied in the album title are united, and separated, by unpredictable emotions ("Show me how you make your second face," she urges a lover on "Night Song"). While songs like the charming opener "Feel You," which offers a glimpse of a rainy day in Mexico City with a companion who might not even be real, arent strictly autobiographical, they feel genuine. Loud City Song started this warming trend, most palpably on the gorgeous, slow-motion deconstruction of Barbara Lewis "Hello Stranger." A similar tenderness graces Have You in My Wilderness title track: even as Holter asks "Why do I feel you running away?" she sounds nearer than ever, thanks to producer Cole Marsden Greif-Neills spotlight on her vocals. The clarity of her voice matches the immediacy of her writing, which manifests itself in remarkably catchy songs like "Everytime Boots" country-pop, and in some of her most sensuous imagery. She notes how sweet a boxful of oranges smells, and how clear water looks; indeed, water is at the heart of Wilderness, from the flow of its songs to the way its characters are surrounded and isolated by it. "Lucette Stranded on the Island" sounds as beautiful, vast, and dangerous as the sea, with angelic strings, piano, and harmonies giving a deceptive sweetness to its tale of a woman robbed and left to die by her lover. "Sea Calls Me Home" dives into uneasy freedom as Holter cries "I cant swim!" while the harpsichords from the Beach Boys "God Only Knows" compel her deeper into the waves. As always, Holters adventurous choices are much more than theoretical exercises. The escalating strings and prepared piano ratchet the tension of "Betsy on the Roof" to almost unbearable levels, while "Vasquez"s spacy jazz fusion is fittingly mercurial as it ponders who the good and bad guys really are. While its tempting to say Have You in My Wilderness is her most personal music yet, it might be more accurate to say that its her most approachable: this time, her brilliance demands a lot from her listeners, but also meets them more than halfway. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 75 Artist: Kendrick Lamar Title: To Pimp a Butterfly Released: 2015-03-16 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:18:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wesley’s Theory (04:47) 2 For Free? (interlude) (02:10) 3 King Kunta (03:54) 4 Institutionalized (04:31) 5 These Walls (05:00) 6 u (04:28) 7 Alright (03:39) 8 For Sale? (interlude) (04:51) 9 Momma (04:43) 10 Hood Politics (04:52) 11 How Much a Dollar Cost (04:21) 12 Complexion (A Zulu Love) (04:23) 13 The Blacker the Berry (05:28) 14 You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said) (04:01) 15 i (05:36) 16 Mortal Man (12:07) |
| To Pimp a Butterfly : Allmusic album Review : Becoming an adult ultimately means accepting ones imperfections, unimportance, and mortality, but that doesnt mean we stop striving for the ideal, a search thats so at the center of our very being that our greatest works of art celebrate it, and often amplify it. Anguish and despair rightfully earn more Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, and Pulitzer Prizes than sweetness and light ever do, but West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar is already on elevated masterwork number two, so expect his version of the sobering truth to sound like a party at points. Hes aware, as Bilal sings here, that "Shit dont change til you get up and wash your ass," and dont it feel good? The sentiment is universal, but the viewpoint on his second LP is inner-city and African-American, as radio regulars like the Isley Brothers (sampled to perfection during the key track "I"), George Clinton (who helps make "Wesleys Theory" a cross between "Atomic Dog" and Dantes Inferno), and Dr. Dre (who literally phones his appearance in) put the listener in Lamars era of Compton, just as well as Lou Reed took us to New York and Brecht took us to Weimar Republic Berlin. These G-funky moments are incredibly seductive, which helps usher the listener through the albums 80-minute runtime, plus its constant mutating (Pharrell productions, spoken word, soul power anthems, and sound collages all fly by, with few tracks ending as they began), much of it influenced, and sometimes assisted by, producer Flying Lotus and his frequent collaborator Thundercat. "u" sounds like an MP3 collection deteriorating, while the broken beat of the brilliant "Momma" will challenge the listeners balance, and yet, Lamar is such a prodigiously talented and seductive artist, his wit, wisdom, and wordplay knock all these stray molecules into place. Survivors guilt, realizing ones destiny, and a Snoop Dogg performance of Doggystyle caliber are woven among it all; plus, highlights offer that Parliament-Funkadelic-styled subversion, as "The Blacker the Berry" ("The sweeter the juice") offers revolutionary slogans and dips for the hip. Free your mind, and your ass will follow, and at the end of this beautiful black berry, theres a miraculous "talk" between Kendrick and the legendary 2Pac, as the brutalist trailblazer mentors this profound populist. To Pimp a Butterfly is as dark, intense, complicated, and violent as Picassos Guernica, and should hold the same importance for its genre and the same beauty for its intended audience. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 75 Artist: Sufjan Stevens Title: Carrie & Lowell Released: 2015-03-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Death With Dignity (03:59) 2 Should Have Known Better (05:05) 3 All of Me Wants All of You (03:41) 4 Drawn to the Blood (03:16) 5 Eugene (02:26) 6 Fourth of July (04:41) 7 The Only Thing (03:14) 8 Carrie & Lowell (02:26) 9 John My Beloved (05:06) 10 No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross (02:38) 11 Blue Bucket of Gold (04:43) |
| Carrie & Lowell : Allmusic album Review : Nothing truly prepares anyone for the loss of a parent. No matter how aware one may be about the realities of disease and death, no matter what their attitude about their mother or father, experiencing the passing of the person who brought them into this world hits hard and deep, and the survivors are left to come to terms with their pain in their own ways. Sufjan Stevens is a songwriter and a musician, so it should come as no surprise that in the wake of the death of his mother Carrie in 2012, his grief took the form of a collection of songs. But 2015s Carrie & Lowell is not a simple homage to Stevens mother and stepfather. Stevens had a difficult relationship with his mother that would defy a simple farewell; she left his father when Stevens was just a year old, and she was a random presence throughout much of his childhood. While theres deep and genuine love in Carrie & Lowell, theres also uncertainty, sadness, and brief but jagged bursts of anger; these songs speak of loss and heartache and the difficult push and pull of familial relationships, but theyre also full of random memories, both pleasant and troubling, and they leap from reveries of family vacations faded by the passing of decades, to the immediate regrets of what was or wasnt said and done in the aftermath of death. Carrie & Lowell is about memory as much as mourning, and Stevens has drawn these songs in a purposefully elegant manner, with his introspection accompanied by beautiful but homespun melodies, and the arrangements and production only magnifying their dreamlike, whisper-quiet drift that strikes with an emotional force that a louder, more violent approach could not achieve. Carrie & Lowell is a heartfelt expression of love that is devoid of the slightest hint of sentimentality, and with these songs, Stevens strips his emotions bare and allows us all to be the audience for his anger, shame, and sense of loss as he pages through his memories of his family. Carrie & Lowell is the most harrowingly personal work Stevens has offered us to date; it also ranks with his most skillfully crafted albums despite its spartan approach, and its a sometimes difficult but profoundly moving work. Stevens has offered us some fine albums in the past, but hes never made anything quite like Carrie & Lowell. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 75 Artist: Ryley Walker Title: Primrose Green Released: 2015-03-27 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Primrose Green (04:06) 2 Summer Dress (05:10) 3 Same Minds (04:19) 4 Griffiths Bucks Blues (02:47) 5 Love Can Be Cruel (05:03) 6 On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee (05:00) 7 Sweet Satisfaction (06:23) 8 The High Road (04:48) 9 All Kinds of You (04:36) 10 Hide in the Roses (02:32) |
 | Album: 5 of 75 Artist: Father John Misty Title: I Love You, Honeybear Released: 2015-02-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 I Love You, Honeybear (04:41) 2 Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) (02:50) 3 True Affection (03:58) 4 The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt. (03:36) 5 When You’re Smiling and Astride Me (04:36) 6 Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow (04:36) 7 Strange Encounter (04:21) 8 The Ideal Husband (03:37) 9 Bored in the USA (04:22) 10 Holy Shit (04:03) 11 I Went to the Store One Day (04:27) |
 | Album: 6 of 75 Artist: Tame Impala Title: Currents Released: 2015-07-15 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Let It Happen (07:46) 2 Nangs (01:47) 3 The Moment (04:15) 4 Yes I’m Changing (04:30) 5 Eventually (05:19) 6 Gossip (00:55) 1 The Less I Know the Better (03:38) 2 Past Life (03:47) 3 Disciples (01:48) 4 Cause I’m a Man (04:01) 5 Reality in Motion (04:12) 6 Love/Paranoia (03:06) 7 New Person, Same Old Mistakes (06:02) |
| Currents : Allmusic album Review : After a long break from making Tame Impala music, during which time Kevin Parker produced other peoples albums and played in side projects, 2015s Currents shows that much has changed with the project. Like before, Parker recorded the album on his own, only this time without Dave Fridmanns guiding hand and by mostly forsaking electric guitars in favor of a wealth of synthesizers, and this time out theres a much more relaxed, intimate approach. In addition to the soft rock of the 70s feel that permeates the sound, Parker adds elements of R&B and hip-hop to the mix, gets lyrically introspective in spots, and generally sounds like hes either on the verge of a long nap or just waking up from one. These arent bad things when done right, and Parkers prowess as a producer and musician makes most of Currents palatable, if not extremely exciting. However, by focusing on all these new elements, and by sleepwalking through at least half of the songs, this new way of doing things does a lot to frustrate the expectations of anyone looking to this album as another mind-blowing expression of guitar-heavy psych-pop. Its hard to deny artists the chance for change or growth, and Parker seems dedicated to both here. Where you can fault them is if they dont change or grow in an interesting or unique way. Great chunks of Currents sound like plenty of other bands and artists in 2015, especially since practically everyone with access to recording equipment did their own takes on midtempo, chilled-out R&B. Does Parker do it as well as others like Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Caribou? Sure, he does. Is it enough to make this album worth checking out? Yes, but its not enough to make it an improvement over his previous work. At Tame Impalas best, they blend huge guitar sounds, melodic basslines, and vintage synths into sweeping psychedelic rock with energy and drive that feel hugely cinematic while still feeling real. There are only a couple times here when Parker comes close to that sweet spot. For example, the both "Let It Happen" and "Reality in Motion" have a good blend of guitars and synths and a sense of purpose thats often missing elsewhere. There are far more times where he strays too far from his strengths and gets bogged down in meandering, overly smoothed-out sounds and meandering songs that deliver no real payoff or sound half-baked at best, like the embarrassingly weak "Cause Im a Man." Its too bad that Parker stashed his guitars away instead of keeping them around to add to the mix. Its definitely not a case of addition by subtraction; its quite the opposite. While Currents would have made a decent Kevin Parker solo album, people coming to the album and expecting to hear the Tame Impala they are used to will most likely end up quite disappointed. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 75 Artist: Courtney Barnett Title: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit Released: 2015-03-15 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:10:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Elevator Operator (03:14) 2 Pedestrian at Best (03:51) 3 An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York) (03:10) 4 Small Poppies (06:59) 5 Depreston (04:52) 6 Aqua Profunda! (01:59) 7 Dead Fox (03:33) 8 Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party (02:46) 9 Debbie Downer (03:17) 10 Kim’s Caravan (06:47) 11 Boxing Day Blues (03:02) 12 Lance Jr. (03:08) 13 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (04:45) 14 Scotty Says (04:41) 15 History Eraser (04:31) 16 Avant Gardener (05:40) 17 David (03:57) |
 | Album: 8 of 75 Artist: Natalie Prass Title: Natalie Prass Released: 2015-01-27 Tracks: 9 Duration: 39:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 My Baby Don’t Understand Me (05:12) 2 Bird of Prey (05:22) 3 Your Fool (03:16) 4 Christy (03:53) 5 Why Don’t You Believe in Me (03:54) 6 Violently (05:44) 7 Never Over You (03:59) 8 Reprise (03:44) 9 It Is You (04:01) |
| Natalie Prass : Allmusic album Review : Based in Nashville and a veteran of Jenny Lewis touring band, Natalie Prass certainly has her share of Americana roots, something thats evident on her eponymous 2015 debut. Its a bit too easy to make too much of those Southern-fried roots, however, a move that would suggest the album is steeped in the humid reaches of the Delta and that Prass possesses a bit of a husky growl in her voice, neither of which is true. At times, Natalie Prass does indeed proceed at a slow, sultry crawl that suggests such earlier blue-eyed soul masterpieces as Dusty in Memphis, but Prass is a pretty, delicate singer whose exacting phrasing pushes her album toward the West Coast in a manner not dissimilar to Jenny Lewis. This, in turn, brings the record closer to the confines of Laurel Canyon of the 70s and sometimes even the epicenter of the Hollywood of the 60s, particularly when the record ends on "It Is You," a note of whimsy thats a tip of the hat to Harry Nilsson. All this means is that Prass -- with the assistance of Spacebomb head Matthew E. White, whose success with his own Big Inner in 2012 delayed the release of Natalies record by nearly three years -- has created an appealingly classicist work that draws heavily from a singer/songwriter tradition instituted in the 70s (it even lasts a brisk 40 minutes and nine songs, just like an LP from 1971) but isnt weighed down by its heritage. Whenever the album floats upon its orchestrations or sighs along with its rich swaths of brass, theres a lightness to Natalie Prass, a lightness that also reflects in songs that are sweetly melancholic, not sad. So enveloping is the sound that it can sometimes be easy to overlook Prass songs, which are as exquisitely crafted as her albums production. Her eye for telling romantic details and gift for gorgeous, lilting melodies mean this debut sinks its hooks in deep and soon seems to belong alongside the classics it so plainly resembles. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 75 Artist: Sleaford Mods Title: Key Markets Released: 2015-07-24 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Live Tonight (03:11) 2 No Ones Bothered (02:52) 3 Bronx in a Six (03:34) 4 Silly Me (03:14) 5 Cunt Make It Up (02:30) 6 Face to Faces (03:23) 7 Arabia (03:01) 8 In Quiet Streets (04:15) 9 Tarantula Deadly Cargo (03:21) 10 Rupert Trousers (03:13) 11 Giddy on the Ciggies (04:14) 12 The Blob (02:33) |
 | Album: 10 of 75 Artist: New Order Title: Complete Music Released: 2016-05-13 Tracks: 22 Duration: 2:31:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Restless (extended mix) (09:30) 2 Singularity (extended mix) (07:33) 3 Plastic (extended mix) (09:06) 4 Tutti Frutti (extended mix) (08:05) 5 People on the High Line (extended mix) (07:51) 6 Stray Dog (extended mix) (06:31) 7 Academic (extended mix) (08:57) 8 Nothing but a Fool (extended mix two) (09:09) 9 Unlearn This Hatred (extended mix) (05:25) 10 The Game (extended mix) (07:25) 11 Superheated (extended mix two) (07:07) 1 Restless (05:28) 2 Singularity (05:37) 3 Plastic (06:55) 4 Tutti Frutti (06:22) 5 People on the High Line (05:41) 6 Stray Dog (06:17) 7 Academic (05:54) 8 Nothing but a Fool (07:43) 9 Unlearn This Hatred (04:19) 10 The Game (05:06) 11 Superheated (05:04) |
 | Album: 11 of 75 Artist: Björk Title: Vulnicura Released: 2015-01-20 Tracks: 9 Duration: 58:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Stonemilker (06:49) 2 Lionsong (06:08) 3 History of Touches (03:00) 4 Black Lake (10:08) 5 Family (08:02) 6 Notget (06:26) 7 Atom Dance (08:09) 8 Mouth Mantra (06:09) 9 Quicksand (03:45) |
| Vulnicura : Allmusic album Review : Never one to do things timidly, with Vulnicura Björk delivers a breakup album that doesnt just express sadness -- it immerses listeners in the total devastation of heartbreak. Starting with the album covers wound/vulva imagery, she explores the tightly linked emotional and physical pain the end of a relationship brings with an intensity that has been missing from her music for too long. As expertly as she wedded feelings and concepts on Medúlla, Volta, and especially Biophilia, hearing her sing directly about her emotions is a galvanizing reminder of just how good she is at it. For the first time in a long time, the conceptual framework of a Björk album feels like its in service of the feelings she needs to express, and as she traces the before, during, and after of a breakup, she links Vulnicura to the most emotionally bare parts of her discography. The clearest connection is to Homogenics electro-orchestral drama, which she updates on "Stonemilker." The way Björk sings "emotional needs" echoes "Joga"s "emotional landscapes" and prepares listeners for the state of emergency that shes about to throw her listeners into. On "History of Touches," she inverts the hushed intimacy of Vespertine (the album that celebrated the beginning of her relationship with artist Matthew Barney, just as this one chronicles its end) with choppy synth-strings that convey the fractured sensuality of being physically close and emotionally worlds apart. However, Vulnicuras songs are often longer and more deconstructed than either of those albums, and the involvement of co-producers Arca and Haxan Cloak (who also handled most of the mixing) ensures that this is some of Björks darkest music yet. "Lionsong" brilliantly captures the nauseating anxiety of an uncertain relationship, its warped harmonies and teetering strings evoking a high-stakes game of "he loves me, he loves me not." Even though Björk crawls out of the abyss on the albums final third, which culminates with the relatively hopeful "Quicksand," that agonizing middle section is Vulnicuras crowning achievement and crucible. The ten-minute "Black Lake" allows Björk the space to let everything unravel, and as the strings drone and the beats tower and topple, her straightforward lyrics ("You have nothing to give/Your heart is hollow") perfectly distill the moments of purging and clarity that eventually point the way out of heartache. Here and on "Family," where Haxan Cloaks claustrophobic production makes Björks anguish (the way she sings "sorrow" contains multitudes) all the more wrenching, the purity of her expression is both highly personal and universal. Vulnicura honors her pain and the necessary path through and away from loss with some of her bravest, most challenging, and most engaging music. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 75 Artist: Unknown Mortal Orchestra Title: Multi‐Love Released: 2015-05-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Multi‐Love (04:12) 2 Like Acid Rain (02:14) 3 Ur Life One Night (04:29) 4 Can’t Keep Checking My Phone (04:16) 5 Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty (06:06) 6 The World Is Crowded (04:21) 7 Stage or Screen (03:27) 8 Necessary Evil (05:17) 9 Puzzles (07:04) |
 | Album: 13 of 75 Artist: Jim O’Rourke Title: Simple Songs Released: 2015-05-19 Tracks: 8 Duration: 37:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Friends With Benefits (05:24) 2 That Weekend (03:14) 3 Half Life Crisis (04:41) 4 Hotel Blue (03:20) 5 These Hands (03:13) 6 Last Year (05:42) 7 End of the Road (05:33) 8 All Your Love (06:21) |
 | Album: 14 of 75 Artist: Robert Forster Title: Songs to Play Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:18:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Learn to Burn (04:36) 2 Let Me Imagine You (03:07) 3 Songwriters on the Run (03:16) 4 And I Knew (03:05) 5 A Poet Walks (04:59) 6 Im So Happy for You (03:50) 7 Love Is Where It Is (03:51) 8 Turn on the Rain (03:04) 9 I Love Myself (And I Always Have) (03:35) 10 Disaster in Motion (05:55) 1 Learn to Burn (04:36) 2 Let Me Imagine You (03:07) 3 Songwriters on the Run (03:16) 4 And I Knew (03:05) 5 A Poet Walks (04:59) 6 Im So Happy for You (03:50) 7 Love Is Where It Is (03:51) 8 Turn on the Rain (03:04) 9 I Love Myself (And I Always Have) (03:35) 10 Disaster in Motion (05:55) |
 | Album: 15 of 75 Artist: Jason Isbell Title: Something More Than Free Released: 2015-07-17 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 If It Takes a Lifetime (03:40) 2 24 Frames (03:13) 3 Flagship (03:50) 4 How to Forget (04:04) 5 Children of Children (05:49) 6 The Life You Chose (04:03) 7 Something More Than Free (03:30) 8 Speed Trap Town (04:02) 9 Hudson Commodore (03:24) 10 Palmetto Rose (04:03) 11 To a Band That I Loved (03:53) |
| Something More Than Free : Allmusic album Review : Jason Isbells 2013 breakthrough album Southeastern was written and recorded in the wake of Isbells newfound sobriety, and it often sounded and felt like a musical version of the Fourth Step, in which Isbell took a long, hard look in the mirror as he came to terms with the emotional wreckage he left in his wake during his years as a drunk. By comparison, Something More Than Free, Isbells 2015 follow-up, plays out as the work of a man a year or so into his recovery, grateful but still working with the nuts and bolts of living as a better and more mature man while the shadows of the past remain faintly but clearly visible. The opening tune, "If It Takes a Lifetime," is sung in the voice of a man adjusting to a quiet existence, not in love with every aspect of life as a working stiff but happy to be in a better place, and it sets the stage for a set of songs that move back and forth between past and present as Isbells characters deal with lovers they wronged ("How to Forget"), the burdens of family ("Children of Children"), the dignity and restlessness of labor ("Something More Than Free"), and making sense of the responsibilities and disappointments of adult life ("Hudson Commodore" and "The Life You Chose"). Something More Than Free lacks some of the keen focus of Southeastern, in part because it plays on a broader emotional backdrop, and musically the set has a more eclectic feel, with poppier accents and a tone thats a bit more artful (there also isnt a full-on rocker here like Southeasterns "Super 8"). But Something More Than Free makes clear Southeastern was no fluke; the insights Isbell gained as a songwriter are just as evident on these 11 songs, and as a performer hes attained a nuanced maturity that demonstrates how far hes come since his days with the Drive-By Truckers (where he already sounded like a prodigy), but without a hint of pretension. Southeastern was a triumph from a talented songwriter and vocalist who stepped up to a new level; Something More Than Free shows Jason Isbell knows he just got there, and is still making use of that hard-won knowledge -- it confirms his status as a major artist. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 75 Artist: The Weather Station Title: Loyalty Released: 2015-05-12 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Way It Is, Way It Could Be (03:39) 2 Loyalty (03:59) 3 Floodplain (02:49) 4 Shy Women (02:47) 5 Personal Eclipse (03:34) 6 Life’s Work (03:29) 7 Like Sisters (04:40) 8 I Mined (04:57) 9 Tapes (04:16) 10 I Could Only Stand By (03:15) 11 At Full Height (02:21) |
 | Album: 17 of 75 Artist: Blur Title: The Magic Whip Released: 2015-04-24 Tracks: 13 Duration: 55:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lonesome Street (04:23) 2 New World Towers (04:03) 3 Go Out (04:40) 4 Ice Cream Man (03:25) 5 Thought I Was a Spaceman (06:16) 6 I Broadcast (02:52) 7 My Terracotta Heart (04:05) 8 There Are Too Many of Us (04:25) 9 Ghost Ship (04:59) 10 Pyongyang (05:47) 11 Ong Ong (03:08) 12 Mirrorball (03:38) 13 Yall Doomed (03:57) |
| The Magic Whip : Allmusic album Review : Blur dissolved slowly so it follows that their reunion was protracted -- a halting reconvening that produced understated singles and excellent concerts spread out over a period of six years. Finding a headlining appearance at Japans Tokyo Rocks festival canceled in the summer of 2013, the band holed up in a Hong Kong studio for five days, producing several reels of jams they abandoned until guitarist Graham Coxon decided to shape them into songs with the assistance of producer Stephen Street, the collaborator behind their greatest albums of the 90s. Its an unwieldy history for The Magic Whip, a record thats casually confident and so assured in its attack it feels like a continuation, not a comeback. Certainly, its moody meditations are of piece with Damon Albarns 2014 Everyday Robots and his noir 2007 project The Good, The Bad & The Queen, but those albums, along with 2005s Demon Days, put into sharp relief that The Magic Whip belongs not to Damon, but to Blur. Often, the rhythm section of bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree announces itself through a churning undertow -- James loping interjections on "Go Out" call attention to themselves in a manner not dissimilar to "Girls & Boys" -- but Coxon claims this record, easing the band (and listeners) into familiar territory via the bright "Lonesome Street," an evocation of Brit-pop that soon curdles into the gnarly squall of 1997s Blur and then settles into a steady thrum thats reminiscent of 13 but stripped of despair. While it retains trace elements of melancholy, The Magic Whip jettisons the internal turmoil that fueled the turn-of-the-millennium Blur albums -- 13, the record Albarn wrote in the wake of his split with Justine Frischmann, and Think Tank, the album they recorded while the band broke up -- and it also sees the world outside south London, with Albarn skewing all his observations through the prism of Hong Kong, capturing the digital isolation through the pulsating neon rush of mainland Asia. There are hooks, there are songs -- songs that sink their hooks in slowly and fully, registering in the subconscious without notice -- but its Blur claiming their status as an art-pop band, favoring texture and mood over wit and flash. Like Everyday Robots, theres an existential loneliness thrumming throughout The Magic Whip, but theres also camaraderie, a sense that companionship can pull you through, and thats especially true of Albarn and Coxon, who prove once again to be the others ideal collaborator, refining, expanding, and sharpening their ideas, turning a potential throwaway to something quietly resonant. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 75 Artist: Wilco Title: Star Wars Released: 2015-07-16 Tracks: 11 Duration: 33:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 EKG (01:15) 2 More… (02:43) 3 Random Name Generator (03:49) 4 The Joke Explained (02:33) 5 You Satellite (05:16) 6 Taste the Ceiling (03:15) 7 Pickled Ginger (02:29) 8 Where Do I Begin (02:54) 9 Cold Slope (03:11) 10 King of You (02:40) 11 Magnetized (03:40) |
| Star Wars : Allmusic album Review : Wilcos 11th studio album, Star Wars, opens with "EKG," a 1:16 burst of skronky guitars that sounds like a few capable grad students imitating early Sonic Youth after a few beers, and if it seems like a goofy way to kick off the record, thats a big part of the albums charm. Wilco released Star Wars as a free download on July 16, 2015 with no advance notice (a day later, the band announced that the physical release would hit stores on August 21), and the element of surprise fits the playful, casual nature of the album. Where Wilco (The Album) and The Whole Love were enthusiastic but artful and crafted with care, Star Wars feels like an album full of experiments and happy accidents, 11 songs where the group members gathered in their rehearsal spot, rolled tape, and let their muse do what it will. Which is not to say Star Wars comes off as sloppy or uncertain; Jeff Tweedys songs are a bit more angular than usual, but the melodies are typically strong and engaging (and often sweeter than their delivery suggests at first glance), and they give the performances a solid backbone. The relatively open spaces of these songs give Tweedy and lead guitarist Nels Cline more room to move than theyve traditionally allowed themselves in the studio, and the ringing and buzzing patterns that provide the beds for "You Satellite" and "Pickled Ginger" (as well as the reverse tape loops on "Where Do I Begin") are the work of a band happy to tinker with its traditional framework. (And drummer Glenn Kotche does a splendid job of holding the various elements in place while adding thoughtful shade and color of his own.) Wilco rock with easygoing but real enthusiasm on tunes like "Random Name Generator" and "King of You" (both of which feature fuzz guitar that would do T. Rex proud), and if there are introspective moments in "Magnetized" and "Taste the Ceiling," compared to the contemplations of life and death on Sukierae (which Jeff Tweedy recorded with his son Spencer under the group name Tweedy), these songs find the groups leader on more comfortable ground, and the tone of Star Wars is that of some good friends tossing ideas against the wall and discovering that a surprising number of them stick. If the noisy sense of play was meant to be therapy for Jeff Tweedy and his bandmates, it seems to have worked; it has been quite some time since Wilco seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as they do here, and handing it out for free makes Star Wars feel a bit like a boombox rehearsal tape passed along to some friends, only with a great songwriter, a world-class band, and a seasoned recording engineer standing in for those beery college kids and a cheap cassette machine. | ||
 | Album: 19 of 75 Artist: Mbongwana Star Title: From Kinshasa Released: 2015-05-18 Tracks: 10 Duration: 47:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 From Kinshasa to the Moon (02:25) 2 Shégué (05:15) 3 Nganshé (06:14) 4 Masobélé (03:52) 5 Coco Blues (05:41) 6 Malukayi (06:02) 7 Suzanna (04:34) 8 Kimpala Pala (04:30) 9 Kala (04:06) 10 1 million cest quoi? (05:04) |
 | Album: 20 of 75 Artist: Holly Herndon Title: Platform Released: 2015-05-15 Tracks: 10 Duration: 49:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Interference (04:41) 2 Chorus (05:54) 3 Unequal (05:11) 4 Morning Sun (05:20) 5 Locker Leak (04:14) 1 An Exit (04:58) 2 Lonely at the Top (04:31) 3 DAO (04:12) 4 Home (05:53) 5 New Ways to Love (04:37) |
| Platform : Allmusic album Review : Just as Holly Herndons debut album Movement had abundant layers in its title alone, its follow-up Platform is just as nuanced in how it combines political, technological, and structural and ideological concepts into a single word. She explores all of these ideas in thought-provoking and unsettling ways that expand on Movements fragmented, ethereal approach. On tracks such as "Chorus," which was made from samples of Herndons Internet browsing; "Home," a breathy piece of pop inspired by NSA surveillance, and the eerily erotic sketch "Lonely at the Top," she blurs the line between intimacy and invasiveness, providing commentary on the way humanity and technology interact that elevates Platform into a true work of art. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 75 Artist: Alabama Shakes Title: Sound & Color Released: 2015-04-17 Tracks: 15 Duration: 58:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sound & Color (03:03) 2 Don’t Wanna Fight (03:52) 3 Dunes (04:18) 4 Future People (03:22) 5 Gimme All Your Love (04:04) 6 This Feeling (04:29) 7 Guess Who (03:16) 8 The Greatest (03:50) 9 Shoegaze (03:00) 10 Miss You (03:47) 11 Gemini (06:36) 12 Over My Head (03:51) 1 Gimme All Your Love (Live From the Artists Den) (04:13) 2 The Greatest (Live From the Artists Den) (03:19) 3 Joe (Live From the Artists Den) (03:35) |
| Sound & Color : Allmusic album Review : On their 2012 debut Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes never hid that they were creatures of the New South -- a band with old-fashioned blues, soul, gospel, and country in their blood but raised on modern rock. On their 2015 follow-up, Sound & Color, they free themselves from the vestiges of the past, let loose, and push themselves further in either direction. This couldve resulted in a disjointed record pulling itself in two opposing directions, but the mess of Sound & Color is invigorating, likely because the album uses its title as a creed. Where Boys & Girls sometimes seemed a shade austere -- the band took pains to color within the lines, almost as if to convey their good taste -- Sound & Color bursts with oversaturated hues so vivid they seem almost tangible. Such deep digressions into shade and light accentuate both the groups roots and modernity, but the very fact that they chase after such bold, elastic sounds signals theyre hardly a throwback. Plus, the groups attack is muscular here: theres a strong, boundless funk to "Dont Wanna Fight," but theres a similar power behind the slow-churning soul ballad "Gimme All Your Love." Often, Sound & Color takes flight when Alabama Shakes channel that energy into ever-shifting, liquid performances that almost feel like roots psychedelia, typified by "Future People" skipping off its tight Memphis groove with spooky harmonies and thudding fuzz. Such unaffected weird flourishes are evidence that Alabama Shakes are creatures of their time and place -- they play Southern soul-rock in an era where the past is indistinguishable from the present, and how the band interlaces the old and the new on Sound & Color feels startlingly fresh. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 75 Artist: Gwenno Title: Y Dydd Olaf Released: 2015-07-24 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Chwyldro (05:19) 2 Patriarchaeth (03:32) 3 Calon Pieriant (05:10) 4 Sisial Y Mor (05:44) 5 Dawns Y Blaned Dirion (01:33) 6 Golau Arall (03:41) 7 Stwff (05:07) 8 Y Dydd Olaf (04:18) 9 Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki (04:44) 10 Amser (04:55) |
 | Album: 23 of 75 Artist: Sleater‐Kinney Title: No Cities to Love Released: 2015-01-20 Tracks: 12 Duration: 38:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Price Tag (03:54) 2 Fangless (03:34) 3 Surface Envy (03:06) 4 No Cities to Love (03:05) 5 A New Wave (03:38) 6 No Anthems (03:19) 7 Gimme Love (02:16) 8 Bury Our Friends (03:23) 9 Hey Darling (02:25) 10 Fade (03:37) 1 Heavy When I Need It (03:13) 2 The Fog and Filthy Air (03:22) |
 | Album: 24 of 75 Artist: Richard Thompson Title: Still Released: 2015-06-23 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 She Never Could Resist a Winding Road (04:28) 2 Beatnik Walking (03:54) 3 Patty Don’t You Put Me Down (04:30) 4 Broken Doll (03:51) 5 All Buttoned Up (04:07) 6 Josephine (03:25) 7 Long John Silver (04:00) 8 Pony in the Stable (02:45) 9 Where’s Your Heart (04:05) 10 No Peace, No End (04:16) 11 Dungeons for Eyes (03:49) 12 Guitar Heroes (07:40) |
 | Album: 25 of 75 Artist: John Grant Title: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure Released: 2015-10-09 Tracks: 14 Duration: 57:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Intro (01:37) 2 Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (05:30) 3 Snug Slacks (04:12) 4 Guess How I Know (03:34) 5 You and Him (03:26) 6 Down Here (04:09) 7 Voodoo Doll (03:07) 8 Global Warming (04:05) 9 Magma Arrives (05:03) 10 Black Blizzard (04:48) 11 Disappointing (04:55) 12 No More Tangles (06:09) 13 Geraldine (06:22) 14 Outro (00:30) |
 | Album: 26 of 75 Artist: Joanna Newsom Title: Divers Released: 2015-10-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Anecdotes (06:27) 2 Sapokanikan (05:10) 3 Leaving the City (03:48) 4 Goose Eggs (05:01) 5 Waltz of the 101st Lightborne (05:21) 6 The Things I Say (02:35) 1 Divers (07:06) 2 Same Old Man (02:26) 3 You Will Not Take My Heart Alive (04:01) 4 A Pin-Light Bent (04:26) 5 Time, as a Symptom (05:28) |
| Divers : Allmusic album Review : If music is a time machine, able to transport listeners to different places and eras as well as deep into memories, then Joanna Newsom steers Divers as deftly as Jules Verne. She flits to and from 18th century chamber music, 19th century American folk music, 70s singer/songwriter pop, and other sounds and eras with the lightness of a bird, one of the main motifs of her fourth full-length. Her on-the-wing approach is a perfect fit for Divers themes: Newsom explores "the question of whats available to us as part of the human experience that isnt subject to the sovereignty of time," as she described it in a Rolling Stone interview. Its a huge subject, and even though she worked with several different arrangers -- including Dirty Projectors David Longstreth and Nico Muhly -- she crystallizes Have One on Mes triple-album ambition into 11 urgent songs that still allow her plenty of variety. "Leaving the City," with its linear beat and electric guitar, is the closest shes come to an actual rock song; "You Will Not Take My Heart Alive" could pass for medieval music, despite its mention of "capillaries glowing with cars." While Divers is musically dense, it may be even more packed with ideas and vivid imagery; its lyrics sheet reads like a libretto (and is a necessary reference while listening). The bird calls that bookend the album -- and the way its final word ("trans-") flows into its first ("sending") -- hint at the albums looping, eternal yet fleeting nature, while "Anecdotes" introduces how each track feels like a microcosm (or parallel universe) dealing with war, love, and loss in slightly different ways. "Waltz of the 101st Lightborne," in which time-traveling soldiers end up fighting their own ghosts, highlights Divers sci-fi undercurrent, which is all the more intriguing paired with its largely acoustic sounds. Newsom combines these contrasts between theatricality and intimacy, and city and country, splendidly on "Sapokanikan," named for the Native American settlement located where Greenwich Village stands. As she layers the ghosts and memories of old Dutch masters, potters fields, Tammany Hall, and allusions to Percy Bysshe Shelleys Ozymandias, the music nods to ragtime and other vintage American styles; it could be overwhelming if she didnt return to the simple, poignant refrain: "Do you love me? Will you remember?" Indeed, despite its literacy and embellishments, Newsoms music is never just an academic exercise. The albums emotional power grows as it unfolds: "Divers" itself reaches deep, bringing the albums longing to the surface. "A Pin-Light Bent" finds Newsom accepting that time is indeed finite with a quiet, riveting intensity, building to the majestic finale "Time, As a Symptom," where the personal, historical, and cosmic experiences of time shes pondered seem to unite as she realizes, "Time is just a symptom of love." Newsom can make her audience work almost as hard as she does, but the rewards are worth it: Dazzling, profound, and affecting, Divers explorations of time only grow richer the more time listeners spend with them. | ||
 | Album: 27 of 75 Artist: Jamie xx Title: In Colour Released: 2015-05-29 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gosh (04:51) 2 Sleep Sound (03:52) 3 SeeSaw (04:28) 4 Obvs (03:51) 5 Just Saying (01:23) 6 Stranger in a Room (02:57) 7 Hold Tight (04:03) 8 Loud Places (04:43) 9 I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times) (03:33) 10 The Rest Is Noise (04:58) 11 Girl (04:05) |
| In Colour : Allmusic album Review : Compared to Jamie xxs impact on music, its easy to forget that he hasnt released much on his own. The distinctive yet surprisingly versatile blend of indie, R&B, and dance in his work with the xx, Gil Scott-Heron, and his remixes helped shape the sound of the late 2000s and 2010s, but his solo discography was limited to a handful of singles, many of which appear on his first full-length, In Colour. While one of his best singles, "All Under One Roof Raving," doesnt appear on the album, its balance of the kinetic and the atmospheric -- as well as its reverence for classic U.K. dance music -- is reflected on some of In Colours brightest highlights. "Gosh" is hard-edged yet radiant, its juddering drumnbass rhythms and shouted samples adding heft and movement before swelling synths overtake the track like a sunrise after a long night out. Indeed, for most of the album, Jamie xx uses his considerable gifts for atmosphere to make listeners remember the euphoria of dance music rather than immerse them in it. Despite its brassy flourishes, "Girl"s filtered house is haunting and aloof instead of driving, while its former B-side "Sleep Sound" fades in and out like a dream. Given his skills as a collaborator, its not surprising that some of In Colours best moments occur when he shares the spotlight. While his reunion with xx bandmate Oliver Sim on the implosive "Stranger in a Room" is almost too reminiscent of their previous work, Romy Madley Croft remains one of his most inspiring muses. She gives In Colours nostalgia more humanity on the beautifully blurred "Seesaw" and "Loud Places," where a sample of Idris Muhammads joyous "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" makes the contrast between then and now, and alone and together, all the more poignant. However, the albums most immediate moment belongs to Young Thug and Popcaan. Inspired by a drive from Manhattan to Brooklyn while listening to Hot 97, the summery "I Know Theres Gonna Be (Good Times)" embraces pop, hip-hop, and dancehall in a way that feels evocative and forward-looking. As it moves from reflective to engaging and back again, In Colour covers the entire spectrum of Jamie xxs music, delivering flashes of brilliance along the way. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 75 Artist: Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba Title: Ba Power Released: 2015 Tracks: 9 Duration: 43:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Siran Fen (05:47) 2 Musow Fanga (04:18) 3 Abé Sumaya (05:51) 4 Ayé Sira Bla (05:19) 5 Borongoli Ma Kununban (04:39) 6 Waati (04:22) 7 Fama Magni (04:18) 8 Te Duniya Laban (04:50) 9 Bassekouni (03:34) |
 | Album: 29 of 75 Artist: Kurt Vile Title: blieve im goin down... Released: 2015-09-25 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:29:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Pretty Pimpin (04:58) 2 Im an Outlaw (04:21) 3 Dust Bunnies (04:38) 4 Thats Life, tho (almost hate to say) (06:26) 5 Wheelhouse (06:14) 6 Life Like This (04:04) 7 All in a Daze Work (04:59) 8 Lost my Head there (06:55) 9 Stand Inside (05:12) 10 Bad Omens (02:50) 11 Kidding Around (04:27) 12 Wild Imagination (05:50) 13 Blieve Im Goin Down (05:12) 14 Less Talk (More Walkin Away) (03:59) 15 Nicotine Blues (04:56) 16 Bad Omens (No Faders) (05:17) 17 No Stranger To The Ball Bust (09:30) 18 Sax Omens (J Turbo) (?) |
 | Album: 30 of 75 Artist: Kamasi Washington Title: The Epic Released: 2015-05-05 Tracks: 17 Duration: 2:53:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Change of the Guard (12:16) 2 Askim (12:34) 3 Isabelle (12:12) 4 Final Thought (06:31) 5 The Next Step (14:48) 6 The Rhythm Changes (07:44) 1 Miss Understanding (08:46) 2 Leroy and Lanisha (09:24) 3 Re Run (08:19) 4 Seven Prayers (07:36) 5 Henrietta Our Hero (07:13) 6 The Magnificent 7 (12:46) 1 Re Run Home (14:06) 2 Cherokee (08:14) 3 Clair de Lune (11:07) 4 Malcolm’s Theme (08:40) 5 The Message (11:09) |
| The Epic : Allmusic album Review : The Epic is saxophonist Kamasi Washingtons aptly titled, triple-length, 172-minute debut album for Brainfeeder. He is a veteran of L.A.s music scene and has played with Gerald Wilson, Harvey Mason, Flying Lotus, and Kendrick Lamar (his horn is prominently featured on To Pimp a Butterfly), to name but a few. Most of his bandmates have played together since high school, and it shows. There are two drummers (including Ronald Bruner), two bassists (including Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner on electric), two keyboardists, trumpet, trombone, and vocals (Patrice Quinn). In various settings, they are supported by a string orchestra and full choir conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Washington composed 13 of these 17 tunes; he also meticulously arranged and produced them. At just over six to nearly 15 minutes, the jams leave room for engaged improvisation. The Epic is based on a concept, though its unnecessary to grasp in order to enjoy. The music reflects many inspirations -- John Coltrane, Horace Tapscotts Pan-African Peoples Arkestra, Azar Lawrences Prestige period, Donald Byrds and Eddie Gales jazz and choir explorations, Pharoah Sanders pan global experiments, Afro-Latin jazz, spiritual soul, and DJ culture. A formidable soloist (he plays his ass off here), Coltrane is his greatest influence, but his tone is rawer, somewhere between Sanders and Albert Ayler. Disc ones "Change of the Guard" is an overture that commences with confident modal piano, a labyrinthine ensemble head, testifying choir, and bright, expansive solos from piano, trumpet, tenor, and upright bass, creating openness and drama. Theres balladic progressivism ("Isabelle"), strident Afro-Latin grooves ("Final Thought"), and Central Avenue roots ("The Next Step"), before it turns toward soulful futurism on "The Rhythm Changes," with vocals from Quinn. Disc two features the carooming electric post-bop of "Miss Understanding" with explosive choir, nasty Rhodes piano, and killer solos by Washington and trumpeter Igmar Thomas. "Re Run" emerges as sun-kissed spiritual jazz with trilling strings and choir before it evolves swinging, with a funky swagger amid popping keys, fleet electric bass, and trombone solos and strident breaks. "The Magnificent 7" contains an obvious cinematic reference with its swirling kinetic strings and airy chorale, but the ground is roaring electric, spiritual jazz-funk courtesy of Thundercat and Brandon Colemans organ and Rhodes. Disc three features the groove-drenched single "Re Run Home." Its head is straight on; Horace Silver and Harold Land come to mind, but the body spirals and turns left toward South L.A. funk. Traditions are bridged by a sunshiny soul cover of Ray Nobles standard "Cherokee," Terence Blanchards poignant "Malcolms Theme" (a gorgeous duet between Quinn and Dwight Trible), and a lithe read of Debussys "Clair de Lune" before closing with the propulsive, Latin-tinged, funky vanguardism of "The Message." The Epic isnt fusion, retro, or remotely academic. Its 21st century jazz as accessible as it is virtuosic -- feel matters to Washington. Holistic in breadth and deep in vision, it provides a way into this music for many, and challenges the cultural conversation about jazz without compromising or pandering. | ||
 | Album: 31 of 75 Artist: Four Tet Title: Morning/Evening Released: 2015-06-21 Tracks: 2 Duration: 40:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Morning Side (20:24) 2 Evening Side (19:53) |
 | Album: 32 of 75 Artist: Sun Kil Moon Title: Universal Themes Released: 2015-06-02 Tracks: 8 Duration: 1:10:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Possum (08:59) 2 Birds of Flims (09:04) 3 With a Sort of Grace I Walked to the Bathroom to Cry (09:46) 4 Cry Me a River Williamsburg Sleeve Tattoo Blues (07:28) 5 Little Rascals (07:47) 6 Garden of Lavender (10:12) 7 Ali/Spinks 2 (06:45) 8 This Is My First Day and Im Indian and I Work at a Gas Station (10:09) |
| Universal Themes : Allmusic album Review : Universal Themes is the follow-up to Sun Kil Moons 2014 album Benji, which unexpectedly became one of the most critically acclaimed albums of that year. Like that album, Universal Themes is extremely autobiographical, with songwriter Mark Kozelek spinning yarns about friends, family, his childhood, and other life experiences, with frequent references to boxing, music, films, television, and food. Lyrically, Universal Themes isnt as heavily fixated on death as Benji; instead, there are more songs like "Bens My Friend," wherein Kozelek sings about his experiences traveling and playing shows. Opener "The Possum" does both, intertwining a story about an old dying possum with an anecdote about hanging out with Justin Broadrick before witnessing an incredible concert by his band Godflesh. "Little Rascals" and "Garden of Lavender" reference previous Kozelek songs by name, as well as fans reactions to his lyrics, such as a heckler who asks if he really hates Nels Cline (he doesnt; his name just happened to rhyme). The album doesnt contain any references to Kozeleks notorious one-sided media feud with the War on Drugs, but it does include "Cry Me a River Williamsburg Sleeve Tattoo Blues" (complete with text message notification sounds), which starts out from the point of view of a jaded fan who complains that Kozelek wont play his old material, before going into several grim short stories about early deaths and tortures, in order to drive home the first-world-problems message. Theres also plenty of lighter, more joyous recollections, such as Kozeleks memory of receiving his first guitar, and a multitude of stories about the best times of his life spent with family and friends. Most of the albums eight songs hover around nine or ten minutes in length, and there are stretches of spoken monologue rather than singing. Musically, Kozelek plays almost all of the instruments himself, other than drums from Steve Shelley and guest appearances by bassist Alex Schwartz and keyboards by Chris Connolly on one track each. A few of the songs rock out more aggressively than any of Kozeleks previous work, and he practically barks out "With a Sort of Grace I Walked to the Bathroom to Cry." As with all Sun Kil Moon albums, Kozelek produced the album himself, and his arrangements remain inventive and gorgeous; the lengthy songs are layered, multi-part suites that frequently switch tempos, drifting off into ethereal passages or graceful tarantellas before snapping back to the driving rhythm framing the story at hand. Like Benji, Universal Themes is a challenging listen, and some might view it as Kozeleks most indulgent album yet. But his brilliant musicianship and guitar playing combined with his fascinating storytelling skills ensure that his music is as poignant and life-affirming as ever, and the album is yet another success in his remarkable catalog. | ||
 | Album: 33 of 75 Artist: Matthew E. White Title: Fresh Blood Released: 2015-03-09 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:34:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Take Care My Baby (05:31) 2 Rock & Roll Is Cold (04:18) 3 Fruit Trees (05:19) 4 Holy Moly (05:19) 5 Circle round the Sun (03:17) 6 Feeling Good Is Good Enough (04:35) 7 Tranquility (05:49) 8 Golden Robes (03:59) 9 Vision (05:09) 10 Love Is Deep (03:49) 1 Take Care My Baby (05:31) 2 Rock and Roll Is Cold (04:14) 3 Fruit Trees (05:23) 4 Holy Moly (05:33) 5 Circle round the Sun (03:19) 6 Feeling Good Is Good Enough (04:37) 7 Tranquility (05:50) 8 Golden Robes (04:02) 9 Vision (05:10) 10 Love Is Deep (03:52) |
 | Album: 34 of 75 Artist: FFS Title: Police Encounters Released: 2015-10-23 Tracks: 2 Duration: 06:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Police Encounters (03:11) 2 Antarctica (03:19) |
 | Album: 35 of 75 Artist: Young Fathers Title: White Men Are Black Men Too Released: 2015-04-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 38:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Still Running (03:08) 2 Shame (04:09) 3 Feasting (02:39) 4 27 (02:27) 5 Rain or Shine (03:49) 6 Sirens (03:00) 7 Old Rock n Roll (03:11) 8 Nest (03:17) 9 Liberated (02:55) 10 John Doe (02:52) 11 Dare Me (02:39) 12 Get Started (04:47) |
 | Album: 36 of 75 Artist: Destroyer Title: Poison Season Released: 2015-08-28 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Times Square, Poison Season I (02:33) 2 Dream Lover (03:48) 3 Forces from Above (05:51) 4 Hell Is an Open Door (03:17) 5 The River (03:35) 6 Girl in a Sling (03:04) 7 Times Square (04:11) 8 Archer on the Beach (04:56) 9 Midnight Meet the Rain (03:24) 10 Solaces Bride (03:43) 11 Bangkok (05:14) 12 Sun in the Sky (05:33) 13 Times Square, Poison Season II (03:02) |
 | Album: 37 of 75 Artist: Low Title: Ones and Sixes Released: 2015-09-11 Tracks: 12 Duration: 57:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Gentle (05:06) 2 No Comprende (04:59) 3 Spanish Translation (04:18) 4 Congregation (03:51) 5 No End (02:49) 6 Into You (03:58) 7 What Part of Me (03:09) 8 The Innocents (04:23) 9 Kid in the Corner (04:32) 10 Lies (04:16) 11 Landslide (09:50) 12 DJ (05:56) |
 | Album: 38 of 75 Artist: Dave Rawlings Machine Title: Nashville Obsolete Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 7 Duration: 44:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Weekend (05:29) 2 Short Haired Woman Blues (06:43) 3 The Trip (10:55) 4 Bodysnatchers (05:56) 5 The Last Pharaoh (03:37) 6 Candy (04:10) 7 Pilgrim (You Cant Go Home) (07:57) |
 | Album: 39 of 75 Artist: Paul Weller Title: Saturns Pattern Released: 2015-05-18 Tracks: 9 Duration: 43:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 White Sky (04:57) 2 Saturns Pattern (03:24) 3 Going My Way (04:15) 4 Long Time (02:12) 5 Pick It Up (06:16) 6 I’m Where I Should Be (03:26) 7 Phoenix (05:56) 8 In the Car… (04:44) 9 These City Streets (08:26) |
 | Album: 40 of 75 Artist: Bob Dylan Title: Shadows in the Night Released: 2015-01-30 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Im a Fool to Want You (04:51) 2 The Night We Called It a Day (03:25) 3 Stay With Me (02:56) 4 Autumn Leaves (03:02) 5 Why Try to Change Me Now (03:38) 6 Some Enchanted Evening (03:28) 7 Full Moon and Empty Arms (03:26) 8 Where Are You? (03:37) 9 Whatll I Do (03:21) 10 That Lucky Old Sun (03:37) |
| Shadows in the Night : Allmusic album Review : Other peoples songs have long been a staple for Bob Dylan, who first made his name in Greenwich Village by singing folk songs in the early 60s and often returned to old tunes as the years rolled by. Sometimes, hed dip into the pre-WWII collection of standards known as the Great American Songbook, peppering set lists with unexpected selections as early as the 80s and even covering Dean Martins "Return to Me" for The Sopranos in 2001, and hes made no secret of his affection for old-fashioned crooning on the records hes made since 2001s Love and Theft, but even with this long history of overt affection for pre-rock & roll pop, the existence of 2015s Shadows in the Night might come as a surprise. Shadows in the Night finds the songwriter whose work marks the divide where artists were expected to pen their own material finding sustenance in the Great American Songbook, with every one of its songs recorded at some point by Frank Sinatra. Its songs are old and Shadows in the Night is appropriately a defiantly old-fashioned album: a record the way they used to make them, long before Dylan had a recording contract of his own. Archaic though it may be -- its a mere ten songs lasting no longer than 35 minutes, just like all the long-players of the 50s -- its hard to call it musty, not when Dylan invested considerable energy in adapting these songs to the confines of his five-piece road band. Occasionally, this roadhouse crew is augmented by horns but the brass coloring bleeds into the sweet, mournful slide of Donnie Herrons pedal steel, accentuating that these renditions arent nostalgic covers but reflections of Dylans present. His voice shows gravelly signs of wear but he knows how to use his weathered instrument to its best effect, concentrating on the cadence of the lyrics and digging deep into their emotional undercurrent. In that sense, Shadows in the Night is a truer Sinatra tribute than the stacks of smiling, swinging empty tuxes snapping along to "It Had to Be You," for Dylan inhabits these songs like an actor, just like Frank did way back when. What Dylan is saluting is not the repertoire, per se -- none of these songs is heavily associated with the Chairmen of the Board -- but rather the mournful intimacy of Sinatras "saloon" songs, the records he made to be played during the pitch black of the night. Four of the songs here can be found on 1957s Where Are You?, one of the very best of its kind, and that connection accentuates how Dylan has made a saloon song album with a band that could be heard at a saloon: just a guitar quintet, taking a moment to breathe, sigh, and perhaps weep. The fact that the feel is so richly idiosyncratic is a testament to just how well he knows these tunes, and these slow, winding arrangements are why Shadows in the Night feels unexpectedly resonant: its a testament to how deeply Dylan sees himself in these old songs. | ||
 | Album: 41 of 75 Artist: Jessica Pratt Title: On Your Own Love Again Released: 2015-01-23 Tracks: 9 Duration: 31:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Wrong Hand (03:18) 2 Game That I Play (04:15) 3 Strange Melody (05:02) 4 Greycedes (02:38) 5 Moon Dude (03:40) 6 Jacquelyn in the Background (03:23) 7 I’ve Got a Feeling (03:50) 8 Back, Baby (03:55) 9 On Your Own Love Again (01:33) |
 | Album: 42 of 75 Artist: JD McPherson Title: Let the Good Times Roll Released: 2015-02-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Let the Good Times Roll (03:04) 2 Bossy (03:18) 3 Its All Over but the Shouting (03:03) 4 Bridgebuilder (03:56) 5 It Shook Me Up (02:25) 6 Head Over Heels (03:17) 7 Shy Boy (02:54) 8 You Must Have Met Little Caroline? (03:35) 9 Precious (04:53) 10 Mother of Lies (03:36) 11 Everybodys Talking Bout the All-American (02:11) |
 | Album: 43 of 75 Artist: Ezra Furman Title: Perpetual Motion People Released: 2015-07-03 Tracks: 26 Duration: 1:25:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Restless Year (02:25) 2 Lousy Connection (04:11) 3 Hark! To the Music (01:24) 4 Haunted Head (04:49) 5 Hour of Deepest Need (04:27) 6 Wobbly (03:00) 7 Ordinary Life (02:20) 8 Tip of a Match (02:35) 9 Body Was Made (03:31) 10 Watch You Go By (04:09) 11 Pot Holes (03:18) 12 Can I Sleep in Your Brain? (03:57) 13 One Day I Will Sin No More (02:31) 1 Restless Year (02:25) 2 Lousy Connection (04:11) 3 Hark! To the Music (01:24) 4 Haunted Head (04:49) 5 Hour of Deepest Need (04:27) 6 Wobbly (03:00) 7 Ordinary Life (02:20) 8 Tip of a Match (02:35) 9 Body Was Made (03:31) 10 Watch You Go By (04:09) 11 Pot Holes (03:18) 12 Can I Sleep in Your Brain? (03:57) 13 One Day I Will Sin No More (02:31) |
 | Album: 44 of 75 Artist: Laura Marling Title: Short Movie Released: 2014-12-16 Tracks: 1 Duration: 04:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Short Movie (04:36) |
 | Album: 45 of 75 Artist: Panda Bear Title: Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper Released: 2015-01-13 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sequential Circuits (03:36) 2 Mr Noah (04:13) 3 Davy Jones’ Locker (00:35) 4 Crosswords (03:36) 5 Butcher Baker Candlestick Maker (03:07) 6 Boys Latin (04:12) 7 Come to Your Senses (07:23) 8 Tropic of Cancer (06:12) 9 Shadow of the Colossus (00:17) 10 Lonely Wanderer (04:19) 11 Príncipe Real (04:54) 12 Selfish Gene (05:05) 13 Acid Wash (03:42) |
 | Album: 46 of 75 Artist: Olivia Chaney Title: The Longest River Released: 2015-04-28 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 False Bride (04:04) 2 Imperfections (04:32) 3 Waxwing (03:25) 4 Loose Change (04:10) 5 Swimming in the Longest River (04:36) 6 The Kings Horses (04:24) 7 Too Social (03:37) 8 La Jardinera (03:22) 9 Theres Not a Swain (04:18) 10 Holiday (04:13) 11 Blessed Instant (05:10) 12 Cassiopeia (04:25) |
 | Album: 47 of 75 Artist: Miguel Title: Wildheart Released: 2015-06-26 Tracks: 16 Duration: 58:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 a beautiful exit (03:04) 2 DEAL (04:17) 3 the valley (03:05) 4 Coffee (04:46) 5 NWA (03:34) 6 waves (03:22) 7 whats normal anyway (03:13) 8 Hollywood Dreams (03:16) 9 ...goingtohell (04:04) 10 FLESH (04:29) 11 leaves (03:22) 12 face the sun (04:32) 13 gfg (03:39) 14 destinado a morir (03:01) 15 Simple Things (03:16) 16 damned (03:26) |
 | Album: 48 of 75 Artist: My Morning Jacket Title: The Waterfall Released: 2015-05-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Believe (Nobody Knows) (04:55) 2 Compound Fracture (03:44) 3 Like a River (04:50) 4 In Its Infancy (The Waterfall) (05:12) 5 Get the Point (03:01) 1 Spring (Among the Living) (06:01) 2 Thin Line (04:03) 3 Big Decisions (03:53) 4 Tropics (Erase Traces) (05:10) 5 Only Memories Remain (07:10) 1 Hillside Song (02:46) 2 I Cant Wait (03:31) |
| The Waterfall : Allmusic album Review : My Morning Jackets eclecticism has long been one of their strong suits, but their sonic wanderlust seems to fail them a bit on their seventh studio album, The Waterfall. Jim James and his bandmates have followed a lot of different stylistic paths since they made their debut at the end of the 90s, and the polished, prog-laced classic rock sound of "Believe (Nobody Knows)" and the sleek mix of soft rock and Euro-disco on "Compound Fracture" are both effective and sterling examples of stuff MMJ couldnt have pulled off in their early days. But after a promising start, the band seems to slip into something of a rut, and The Waterfall quickly loses focus and runs short of energy, the latter being this sets crippling flaw. Songs like "Thin Line" and "Tropics (Erase Traces)" easily slip into a stoned midtempo drift that plays like aural navel-gazing, despite the strength of the performances, and the closer, "Only Memories Remain," threatens to send both the players and listeners into a sound slumber as the album meanders back to shore. Its significant that the albums simplest and most emotionally direct song, "Get the Point," is in many ways the best, and if it breaks no new ground, it sounds honest and straight from the heart, and connects with a strength most of the songs on The Waterfall lack. (Most of the four bonus tracks on the deluxe edition hit harder than the material on the "official" release, which suggests the meandering tone of the album may have been deliberate.) Much of The Waterfall sounds like My Morning Jacket looking for new paths for their own sake, rather than fearlessly following their muse as they did on Evil Urges and Circuital, and the tight but comfortable give and take between the musicians and Tucker Martines clear, strong production only helps so much when the songs are often lacking. The Waterfall suggests maybe My Morning Jacket would be better off doing a few things well rather than losing their way down several different paths. | ||
 | Album: 49 of 75 Artist: Songhoy Blues Title: Music in Exile Released: 2015-02-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Soubour (03:32) 2 Irganda (03:20) 3 Al Hassidi Terei (03:43) 4 Jolie (03:01) 5 Désert mélodie (03:09) 6 Mali (03:23) 7 Sekou Oumaru (03:33) 8 Nick (03:57) 9 Ai Tchere Bele (03:32) 10 Wayei (04:10) 11 Petit métier (04:21) |
 | Album: 50 of 75 Artist: Yo La Tengo Title: Stuff Like That There Released: 2015-08-28 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 My Heart’s Not in It (02:48) 2 Rickety (03:47) 3 I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (02:52) 4 All Your Secrets (03:18) 5 The Ballad of Red Buckets (04:49) 6 Friday I’m in Love (03:11) 7 Before We Stopped to Think (02:59) 8 Butchie’s Tune (02:47) 9 Automatic Doom (02:37) 10 Awhileaway (04:03) 11 I Can Feel the Ice Melting (02:36) 12 Naples (02:45) 13 Deeper Into Movies (05:09) 14 Somebody’s in Love (02:06) |
| Stuff Like That There : Allmusic album Review : These days, every band seems eager to honor the anniversary of one of its landmark albums, usually in the form of a concert tour or an expanded reissue, and even Yo La Tengo have gotten into the act -- a quarter century after they released their endlessly charming 1990 LP Fakebook, in which they covered a handful of their favorite songs and reworked a few of their own numbers in semi-acoustic fashion, YLT have recorded what amounts to a sequel, 2015s Stuff Like That There. Just like a sequel to a 1980s horror movie, Stuff Like That There follows the template of the original as closely as possible -- there are two new songs, three remakes from the YLT back catalog, and nine covers, which range from the instantly recognizable (Hank Williams "Im So Lonesome I Could Cry," inspired by Al Greens version) to the thoroughly obscure (unless youre a Hoboken pop obsessive or a James McNew completist, "Automatic Doom" by the Special Pillows is probably not on your hit parade). Just as importantly, original Yo La Tengo guitarist Dave Schramm, who appeared on Fakebook, returned for the Stuff Like That There sessions, and while his style would have been a poor fit beside Ira Kaplans clouds of six-string skronk that became a highlight of YLTs work from President Yo La Tengo onward, for stuff like this, Schramms graceful sound, full of echo and clean single-note leads, meshes gloriously with Kaplans implacable strum and the steady shuffle of bassist James McNew and drummer and vocalist Georgia Hubley. As "quiet" Yo La Tengo goes, like Fakebook this is top shelf, beautiful, and subtly joyous, and while the songs are well chosen and the performances are warm and passionate despite the low decibel level, the real secret weapon here is Georgia Hubleys vocals. Like Maureen Tucker singing "After Hours," what Hubley lacks in range she more than makes up for in her ability to infuse a song with feeling, and from the heartache of "My Hearts Not in It" and the lovers kiss-off of "Butchies Tune" to the sweetly fractured romanticism of "Friday Im in Love," Hubleys work beautifully demonstrates how much more less can be. If Stuff Like That There isnt as revelatory as Fakebook, its a splendid, beguiling album thats perfectly suited for late nights and rainy afternoons, and a welcome reminder of one of the many, many things Yo La Tengo do so well. | ||
 | Album: 51 of 75 Artist: Algiers Title: Algiers Released: 2015-05-27 Tracks: 10 Duration: 41:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Remains (03:05) 2 Claudette (03:31) 3 And When You Fall (03:41) 4 Blood (05:38) 5 Old Girl (04:24) 6 Irony. Utility. Pretext. (04:30) 7 But She Was Not Flying (03:58) 8 Black Eunuch (03:39) 9 Games (03:49) 10 In Parallax (05:41) |
 | Album: 52 of 75 Artist: H. Hawkline Title: In the Pink of Condition Released: 2015-02-02 Tracks: 12 Duration: 38:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Sticky Slithers (03:09) 2 Isobelle (03:29) 3 Everybody’s on the Line (03:56) 4 Moons in My Mirror (03:10) 5 Rainy Summer (03:32) 6 Concrete Coloured Clothes (02:38) 7 Ringfinger (02:36) 8 In Love (02:46) 9 Dirty Dreams (03:58) 10 Moddion (01:54) 11 Spooky Dog (03:55) 12 Back in Town (03:25) |
 | Album: 53 of 75 Artist: Róisín Murphy Title: Hairless Toys Released: 2015-05-08 Tracks: 8 Duration: 50:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Gone Fishing (05:57) 2 Evil Eyes (06:42) 3 Exploitation (09:23) 4 Uninvited Guest (05:58) 5 Exile (04:01) 6 House of Glass (06:52) 7 Hairless Toys (Gotta Hurt) (06:19) 8 Unputdownable (05:10) |
 | Album: 54 of 75 Artist: Israel Nash Title: Israel Nashs Silver Season Released: 2015-10-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 49:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Willow (05:20) 2 Parlour Song (05:54) 3 The Fire & the Flood (05:00) 4 LA Lately (06:43) 5 Lavendula (04:30) 6 Strangers (06:39) 7 A Coat of Many Colors (05:34) 8 Mariner’s Ode (04:37) 9 The Rag & Bone Man (04:59) |
 | Album: 55 of 75 Artist: Neil Young + Promise of the Real Title: The Monsanto Years Released: 2015-06-26 Tracks: 23 Duration: 2:06:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A New Day for Love (05:52) 2 Wolf Moon (03:52) 3 People Want to Hear About Love (06:20) 4 Big Box (08:17) 5 A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop (05:00) 6 Workin’ Man (04:43) 7 Rules of Change (04:39) 8 Monsanto Years (07:46) 9 If I Don’t Know (04:24) 1 [opening credits] (02:35) 2 Big Box (09:20) 3 A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop (06:01) 4 Rules of Change (05:13) 5 Workin’ Man (04:42) 6 Monsanto Years (09:11) 7 A New Day for Love (06:01) 8 Wolf Moon (03:53) 9 People Want to Hear About Love (07:27) 10 If I Don’t Know (04:27) 11 [end credits] (01:05) 12 The Mission (04:15) 13 The Method (06:37) 14 The Message (05:17) |
| The Monsanto Years : Allmusic album Review : Old folkie that he is, Neil Young harbors a soft spot for songs as protest, and The Monsanto Years is full of them. Where he often railed against war, here the purported target is the agricultural company Monsanto, a firm that, among other things, specializes in genetically modified crops, but Young uses that as a pivot to rage against all manner of modern outrages. Apathy among the populace, avarice among corporations, and cultural homogenization provide the throughline on The Monsanto Years, and while the weathered hippie takes some time to lay down his electric guitar and breathe, this isnt a mournful album like Living with War, his W-era missive. This is a raging record and to that end, Young hired the Promise of the Real, a ragtag outfit led by Willie Nelsons guitarist son Lukas, to approximate Crazy Horses lop-legged lumber. Usually it works: the group roars not with righteousness but with their own glee at making noise. Plus, the Promise of the Real is adept at the softer side, too, so they ably follow Young, laying down the electric and harmonizing in a fashion reminiscent of an unwashed CSN. Young is blessed with a younger, wilier version of his old compadres and that suits his tunes, which feel comfortable yet have a bite. Young uses his sturdy footing to lash out at what he perceives as destructive forces -- to our dinner tables and social fabric -- and if the individual message may wind up fading like yesterdays newspapers, the music will keep The Monsanto Years burning bright. | ||
 | Album: 56 of 75 Artist: Deerhunter Title: Fading Frontier Released: 2015-10-16 Tracks: 9 Duration: 36:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All the Same (03:05) 2 Living My Life (03:49) 3 Breaker (03:31) 4 Duplex Planet (02:40) 5 Take Care (04:12) 6 Leather and Wood (05:55) 7 Snakeskin (04:20) 8 Ad astra (05:32) 9 Carrion (02:58) |
| Fading Frontier : Allmusic album Review : At one point on Fading Frontier, Bradford Cox sings "Take your handicaps/Channel them and feed them back/Until they become your strengths." Its a phrase that could be Deerhunters motto; theyve always excelled at celebrating misfit people and feelings, and never more so than on this album. Recorded in the wake of the accident that hospitalized Cox in December 2014, in some ways it feels like the band hit the reset button on Fading Frontier, which is as different from Monomania as that album was from what came before it. Aside from the slinky, disco-tinged outburst "Snakeskin," which could be the last remnant of Monomanias toughness, Fading Frontier hews closer to the sound the band forged on Microcastle and Halcyon Digest. Though they collaborated with Stereolabs Tim Gane and Broadcasts James Cargill -- both of whom know a thing or two about making weightless, introspective music -- "All the Same" casts a jangly spell that hovers between raucous and poignant and is classic Deerhunter. After Monomanias chaos, Fading Frontiers shimmering sonics bring literal and figurative clarity to the bands music, serving as reflecting pools for their meditations on seizing the moment -- and mourning the ones that they missed. They do both beautifully on the Cargill-assisted "Take Care" and the gorgeous "Breaker," where Cox sighs "When I die/There will be nothing to say/Except I tried not to waste another day." Cox returns to his obsession with memories on "Duplex Planet," as Ganes harpsichord adds a prickly edge to lyrics like "In your head you will fall asleep/And then you wont remember me." Nevertheless, the optimism bubbling under the melancholy makes Fading Frontier all the more affecting. "Living My Life" is one of Deerhunters most gently joyous-sounding songs yet, a blissful synth pop reverie that caresses where Monomania sneered. And while "Carrion"s reflections on enduring endings arent exactly happy, their resilience is emblematic of Fading Frontier as a whole: Musically and emotionally, this is one of Deerhunters most powerful -- and delicate -- albums. | ||
 | Album: 57 of 75 Artist: Lana Del Rey Title: Honeymoon Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:05:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Honeymoon (05:50) 2 Music to Watch Boys To (04:50) 3 Terrence Loves You (04:50) 4 God Knows I Tried (04:40) 5 High by the Beach (04:17) 6 Freak (04:55) 7 Art Deco (04:55) 8 Burnt Norton (interlude) (01:21) 9 Religion (05:23) 10 Salvatore (04:41) 11 The Blackest Day (06:05) 12 24 (04:55) 13 Swan Song (05:23) 14 Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (03:01) |
| Honeymoon : Allmusic album Review : Call Honeymoon the third installment in a trilogy if you will but theres no indication Lana Del Rey will put her doomed diva persona to rest after this album. Over the course of three albums, Lana Del Rey hasnt so much expanded her delicately sculpted persona as she has refined it, removing anything extraneous to her exquisite ennui. Honeymoon doesnt drift or float, it marks time, sometimes swelling with a suggestion of impending melodrama but often deflating to just an innervated pulse. Apart from the syncopated chorus on "High on the Beach," any lingering element of the hip-hop affectations of Born to Die have been banished and so have the shade and light Dan Auerbach brought to Ultraviolence, a record that feels cinematic in comparison to Honeymoon. Whats left behind is the essence of Lana Del Rey: iconic images of days of Los Angeles passed, all plasticized and stylized, functioning as lighthouses in stoned, sad daydreams. Mood reigns over all on Honeymoon -- melodies and tempos certainly arent prioritized over feel; all the originals are purposefully languid, which is partially why the Nancy Sinatra sample on "Terrence Loves You" and "Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood," a cover allegedly in the vein of Nina Simones original but bearing an organ out of the Animals, stick -- but underneath the dragging beats and austere arrangements, theres something approaching triumph. Where Lana Del Rey seemed weighted down by existential sorrow on her first two albums, Honeymoon seems comfortingly melancholic and thats the truest sign that it is the fullest execution of Lana Del Reys grand plan yet. | ||
 | Album: 58 of 75 Artist: Fuzz Title: II Released: 2015-10-23 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:07:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Time Collapse II / The 7th Terror (07:05) 2 Rat Race (02:45) 3 Let It Live (05:20) 4 Pollinate (03:45) 5 Bringer of Light (04:41) 6 Pipe (03:20) 7 Say Hello (04:49) 8 Burning Wreath (04:48) 9 Red Flag (01:48) 10 Jack the Maggot (04:09) 11 New Flesh (02:31) 12 Sleestak (02:34) 13 Silent Sits the Dust Bowl (05:58) 14 II (13:48) |
 | Album: 59 of 75 Artist: Stick in the Wheel Title: From Here Released: 2015-09-25 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Champion (01:37) 2 Common Ground (03:25) 3 Seven Gypsies (04:10) 4 My Barra (03:18) 5 The Blacksmith (03:28) 6 Jail Song (01:57) 7 Hard Times (04:18) 8 Me n Becky (02:34) 9 Bows of London (02:23) 10 Bedlam (03:13) 11 Hasp (04:52) 12 By Of River (02:31) 13 Who Knows (04:39) 14 By Of River (reprise) (03:26) |
 | Album: 60 of 75 Artist: Chip Taylor Title: The Little Prayers Trilogy Released: 2014-10-14 Tracks: 30 Duration: 1:51:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Hes a Good Guy (As Well You Know) (05:45) 2 Sleep With Open Windows (04:31) 3 Solitary (03:46) 4 Itll Only Be Me Once (05:34) 5 Czechoslovakian Heaven (04:32) 6 Used to Be a White Boy (03:06) 7 Nine Soldiers in Baltimore (04:21) 8 Ontario Crimes (05:49) 9 Merry Fn Christmas (04:41) 10 Ted Williams (05:11) 11 Reprise (Elmers White Boy) (01:28) 1 Hold It Right There (03:23) 2 Bardot (03:57) 3 Track 224 (04:04) 4 The Same Way (05:16) 5 Nothin Comin Out of Me That I Like (03:12) 6 Girl & Boy Thing (02:23) 7 Joans Song (02:05) 8 Reprise (Joans Song) (00:43) 1 Tryin to Let the Angels Know (03:14) 2 Solitary (03:37) 3 Czechoslovakian Heaven (04:39) 4 Martha, Martha (02:36) 5 Queen of the World (05:22) 6 Lord What Are You Giving Me Now (03:09) 7 Hes a Good Buy (As Well You Know) (05:45) 8 The Supreme Court (03:40) 9 Little Prayers (03:35) 10 Spoken Intro to Last Song (00:12) 11 Wish I Could Die Just One More Time (02:08) |
 | Album: 61 of 75 Artist: Vince Staples Title: Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 Released: 2011-12-30 Tracks: 13 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Progressive 2 (?) 2 Beeper King Exclusive (?) 3 Trigga Witta Heart (?) 4 Baron Davis (?) 5 102 (?) 6 Versace (rap) (?) 7 Phat Wemin (?) 8 Hostile (?) 9 SOB (?) 10 Aintnofun (?) 11 Swiss Army (?) 12 Dreams Turn2 Casualties (?) 13 Taxi (?) |
 | Album: 62 of 75 Artist: Titus Andronicus Title: The Most Lamentable Tragedy Released: 2015-07-28 Tracks: 28 Duration: 1:31:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 The Angry Hour (01:41) 2 No Future Part IV : No Future Triumphant (04:53) 3 Stranded ( On My Own ) (04:23) 4 Lonely Boy (05:21) 5 I Lost My Mind ( +@ ) (04:18) 6 Look Alive (00:33) 7 The Magic Morning (01:00) 8 Lookalike (00:47) 9 I Lost My Mind ( DJ ) (01:35) 10 Mr. E. Mann (03:48) 11 Fired Up (04:04) 12 Dimed Out (02:56) 1 More Perfect Union (09:39) 2 Come On, Siobhán (03:43) 3 A Pair of Brown Eyes (03:16) 4 Auld Lang Syne (01:45) 5 I’m Going Insane ( Finish Him ) (01:57) 1 Sun Salutation (00:55) 2 (S)HE SAID / (S)HE SAID (09:11) 3 Funny Feeling (03:23) 4 Fatal Flaw (03:27) 5 Please (01:14) 6 The Fall (00:46) 7 Into the Void ( Filler ) (04:36) 8 No Future Part V : In Endless Dreaming (04:40) 9 [ seven seconds ] (00:07) 10 Stable Boy (06:51) 11 A Moral (00:30) |
 | Album: 63 of 75 Artist: BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah Title: Sour Soul Released: 2015-02-23 Tracks: 12 Duration: 32:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Mono (00:58) 2 Sour Soul (02:45) 3 Six Degrees (03:40) 4 Gunshowers (03:03) 5 Stark’s Reality (02:12) 6 Tone’s Rap (02:58) 7 Mind Playing Tricks (02:37) 8 Street Knowledge (03:24) 9 Ray Gun (03:07) 10 Nuggets of Wisdom (02:11) 11 Food (03:23) 12 Experience (02:37) |
 | Album: 64 of 75 Artist: Public Image Ltd. Title: What the World Needs Now… Released: 2015-09-02 Tracks: 12 Duration: 57:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Double Trouble (03:52) 2 Know Now (02:45) 3 Bettie Page (03:21) 4 C’est la vie (06:08) 5 Spice of Choice (05:43) 6 The One (03:42) 7 Big Blue Sky (08:14) 8 Whole Life Time (03:46) 9 I’m Not Satisfied (05:43) 10 Corporate (05:23) 11 Shoom (06:30) 12 Turkey Tits (02:06) |
 | Album: 65 of 75 Artist: Bop English Title: Constant Bop Released: 2015-04-12 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Danis Blues (It Was Beyond Our Control) (03:14) 2 Struck Matches (03:00) 3 Trying (04:58) 4 Have I Got It Wrong (03:25) 5 Fake Dog (04:07) 6 Willy Spends an Evening (02:47) 7 Sentimental Wilderness (03:28) 8 Falling at Your Feet (03:01) 9 The Hardest Way (03:41) 10 Long Distance Runner (03:39) |
 | Album: 66 of 75 Artist: The Apartments Title: No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal Released: 2015-04-13 Tracks: 8 Duration: 38:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal (05:57) 2 Looking for Another Town (04:21) 3 Black Ribbons (04:01) 4 Twenty One (06:04) 5 The House That We Once Lived In (05:14) 6 September Skies (03:54) 7 Please, Dont Say Remember (03:35) 8 Swap Places (05:07) |
 | Album: 67 of 75 Artist: Micachu & The Shapes Title: Good Sad Happy Bad Released: 2015-09-11 Tracks: 13 Duration: 32:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Sad (02:06) 2 Relaxing (02:35) 3 Dreaming (02:34) 4 Sea Air (01:55) 5 Thinking It (01:37) 6 Crushed (02:27) 7 Oh Baby (03:27) 8 Waiting (01:53) 9 Unity (02:28) 10 Peach (01:41) 11 L.A. Poison (03:39) 12 Hazes (02:28) 13 Suffering (03:32) |
 | Album: 68 of 75 Artist: Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Title: Lost Time Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 12 Duration: 43:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Mister Kicks (03:42) 2 World’s in a Bad Condition (04:26) 3 Cherry Red Blues (03:31) 4 Rattlesnakin’ Daddy (04:10) 5 Hide and Seek (02:35) 6 Papa’s on the House Top (02:50) 7 In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues) (03:14) 8 Please Please Please (02:42) 9 Sit Down Baby (04:24) 10 Wee Baby Blues (05:17) 11 Feeling Happy (03:15) 12 If You See My Savior (03:48) |
 | Album: 69 of 75 Artist: Modest Mouse Title: Strangers to Ourselves Released: 2015-03-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 57:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Strangers to Ourselves (03:24) 2 Lampshades on Fire (03:08) 3 Shit in Your Cut (04:44) 4 Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996) (03:42) 5 Ansel (02:56) 6 The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box (06:12) 7 Coyotes (03:31) 8 Pups to Dust (03:41) 9 Sugar Boats (04:03) 10 Wicked Campaign (03:34) 11 Be Brave (03:31) 12 God Is an Indian and You’re an Asshole (01:17) 13 The Tortoise and the Tourist (03:41) 14 The Best Room (04:25) 15 Of Course We Know (05:21) |
| Strangers to Ourselves : Allmusic album Review : Perhaps the success of "Float On" discombobulated Isaac Brock even more than we suspected. Surely, there were signs of aimlessness on We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, the 2007 sequel to the surprise 2004 smash Good News for People Who Love Bad News, a record where hired gun Johnny Marr was brought aboard to give the band a jolt. This booster shot wore off quickly and Brock receded from the spotlight, sitting out the better part of a decade before re-emerging with Strangers to Ourselves in the spring of 2015. In the interim, he shed longterm collaborator Eric Judy -- he left sometime around 2012, replaced by Russell Higbee -- added guitarist Jim Fairchild and auxiliary player Lisa Molinaro, attempted to record an album with Big Boi, toyed with bringing Krist Novoselic aboard, then finally decided to get back to where he once belonged. Brocks return to roots is naturally a roundabout of detours, a record that bounces between stylized eccentricity and streamlined strangeness, stopping occasionally to soak in a scenic, dreamy view. Strangers to Ourselves starts at this hazy point, swooning with a narcotic sway that recalls peak Mercury Rev, but its not long before Modest Mouse begins bouncing at a syncopation that recalls "Float On," just one of many deliberate references to the ghosts of alt-rock past haunting Strangers to Ourselves. "Pistol" skeeves out like a disco-fied outtake from Weens Pure Guava, the carnivalesque "Sugar Boats" lurches forward on a circus piano reminiscent of Blur, "The Best Room" circles around a guitar riff that echoes Space Ghost Coast to Coast, each a signal that Brock is comfortable keeping the dream of the 90s. The trick is, he now has the skill of a consummate craftsman, so the raggedness here comes across as deliberate, probably because the moments that are less consciously quirky -- i.e., the bulk of the album -- are so skillfully constructed. So, Strangers to Ourselves is an album where the trees matter more than the forest: song for song, it demonstrates the exacting nature of Brock but put it all together, it sprawls. | ||
 | Album: 70 of 75 Artist: Pond Title: Man It Feels Like Space Again Released: 2015-01-18 Tracks: 9 Duration: 45:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Waiting Around for Grace (05:09) 2 Elvis Flaming Star (03:25) 3 Holding Out for You (04:43) 4 Zond (04:04) 5 Heroic Shart (04:04) 6 Sitting Up on Our Crane (06:00) 7 Outside Is the Right Side (05:09) 8 Medicine Hat (04:07) 9 Man It Feels Like Space Again (08:21) |
 | Album: 71 of 75 Artist: Drinks Title: Hermits on Holiday Released: 2015-08-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Laying Down Rock (03:52) 2 Focus on the Street (04:21) 3 Cannon Mouth (03:52) 4 She Walks So Fast (05:29) 5 Hermits on Holiday (03:28) 6 Spilt the Beans (06:44) 7 Tim, Do I Like That Dog (06:38) 8 Cheerio (02:12) 9 Time Between (05:14) |
 | Album: 72 of 75 Artist: Killing Joke Title: Pylon Released: 2015-10-23 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:31:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Autonomous Zone (06:44) 2 Dawn of the Hive (06:29) 3 New Cold War (06:51) 4 Euphoria (04:17) 5 New Jerusalem (06:11) 6 War on Freedom (04:40) 7 Big Buzz (05:03) 8 Delete (05:00) 9 I Am the Virus (05:39) 10 Into the Unknown (06:15) 11 Apotheosis (06:25) 12 Plague (05:50) 13 Star Spangled (05:30) 14 Panopticon (08:45) 15 Snakedance (Youth ‘Rattlesnake dub’ remix) (07:55) |
 | Album: 73 of 75 Artist: Phil Cook Title: Southland Mission Released: 2015-09-11 Tracks: 9 Duration: 32:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Aint It Sweet (04:02) 2 1922 (03:01) 3 Great Tide (05:20) 4 Belong (03:05) 5 Sitting on a Fence (04:57) 6 Lowly Road (03:10) 7 Time to Wake (01:26) 8 Anybody Else (03:29) 9 Gone (03:46) |
 | Album: 74 of 75 Artist: Keith Richards Title: Crosseyed Heart Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 15 Duration: 58:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Crosseyed Heart (01:52) 2 Heartstopper (03:04) 3 Amnesia (03:35) 4 Robbed Blind (04:00) 5 Trouble (04:17) 6 Love Overdue (03:28) 7 Nothing on Me (03:47) 8 Suspicious (03:42) 9 Blues in the Morning (04:26) 10 Something for Nothing (03:28) 11 Illusion (03:48) 12 Just a Gift (04:01) 13 Goodnight Irene (05:46) 14 Substantial Damage (04:21) 15 Lover’s Plea (04:23) |
 | Album: 75 of 75 Artist: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Title: Loin des Hommes Released: 2015-05-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Far From Men (01:33) 2 The Teacher (02:00) 3 Bloody Cheche (03:48) 4 Dead Horse (03:08) 5 Setting Out (02:05) 6 Mountain Scramble (02:33) 7 Dust Storm (05:00) 8 Bandits (02:17) 9 The March (03:25) 10 Berzina (04:42) 11 Farewell at Tinguit (02:31) 12 No Class Today (01:48) 13 Teacher’s Farewell (02:21) 14 Far From Men 2 (05:22) |