![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogMusic now. Films tomorrow.
This time last year, the main theme was how little music I found worth buying in 2014:
We did. And the theory has legs, because 2015 was another relatively uninspiring year in terms of “must listen” music. I only bought 22 albums/EPs this year (a couple of which seemed like a good idea at the time but now make me lament the fact that there are no refunds on iTunes).
That’s not to say the 20 albums on this year’s list are shite. They all have their merits. But only about a third of them were genuinely exciting experiences for me.
So, like last year, this is more of a list of all the music I felt was worth spending money on in 2015 – or at least ones I could actually get copies of. There were a number of new releases I wanted to buy but couldn’t because they weren’t for sale out here in Hong Kong (even on iTunes), and I couldn’t find physical copies when I went to the US in October.
So that’s why new albums by Calexico and Tricot are missing, for example.
Anyway, here’s what I spent 2015 listening to.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought/acquired/downloaded/streamed between December 2014 and November 2015, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs OF 2015
1. Public Service Broadcasting, The Race For Space (Test Card Recordings)
2. The Sonics, This is The Sonics (Revox)
3. John Carpenter, Lost Themes (Sacred Bones/Rodeo Suplex)
4. Algiers, Algiers (Matador)
5. Johnny Dowd, That's Your Wife On The Back Of My Horse (Mother Jinx)
6. FFS, FFS (Domino)
7. BadBadNotGood feat. Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul (Lex Records)
8. Violent Femmes, Happy New Year (Add It Up)
9. They Might Be Giants, Why? (Idlewild)
10. The Fall, Sub-Lingual Tablet (Cherry Red)
11. Los Plantronics, Surfing Times (Jansen Plateproduksjon)
12. Dog Party, Volume 4 (Asian Man)
13. Los Tiki Phantoms, Los Tiki Phantoms y El Misterio del Talismán (Discmedi)
14. Dave Cloud and the Gospel Of Power, Today Is The Day They Take Me Away (Fire Records)
15. Motörhead, Bad Magic (UDR)
16. Gwenno , Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly/PIAS)
17. Rocket From The Tombs, Black Record (Fire Records)
18. Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love (Sub Pop)
19. Dengue Fever, The Deepest Lake (Tuk Tuk)
20. The Mutants, Tokyo Nights (Killer Tracks)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs OF 2015: EXTENDED PLAY
1. Public Service Broadcasting, The Race For Space (Test Card Recordings)
I practically had to flip a coin to decide which album to put in the top slot, but this album – the second from Public Service Broadcasting, which is essentially an unconventional soundtrack to an imaginary documentary about the US/Russian space race, complete with soundbites from actual docs and news footage – wins for pushing all my nerd buttons about that particular slice of history. I love this album.
2. The Sonics, This is The Sonics (Revox)
Not just the most unexpected comeback of 2015, but the most surprisingly good comeback. With three original members still active, The Sonics recorded their first studio LP since the 1960s (assuming 1980’s Sinderella, which only featured singer Gerry Roslie and was basically new versions of old songs, doesn’t count), and proved they can still deliver the raucous garage rock goods – which is nice, since they practically invented the genre. Recording it in mono was a nice touch.
3. John Carpenter, Lost Themes (Sacred Bones/Rodeo Suplex)
Carpenter has been releasing music for years via the soundtracks he composed for most of his films. But this is the first time he’s recorded music just for its own sake. What you make of it will probably depend on whether you like the soundtrack music of John Carpenter films (besides Halloween). For fans, the good news is that for the most part the music sounds exactly the way you’d expect a Carpenter album to sound – pulsing beats, 80s synths, and sinister overtones.
4. Algiers, Algiers (Matador)
The debut album from Algiers, which is easily the one album of 2015 that doesn’t sound like anything else – either on this list or possibly anyone else's. Imagine Suicide or The Birthday Party as a gospel group singing philosophical protest songs. Then forget that and just listen to the album. It’s powerfully uneasy listening at its finest.
5. Johnny Dowd, That's Your Wife On The Back Of My Horse (Mother Jinx)
I’ve been a fan of Dowd’s drawling electroclash for awhile, but this is his best work in a long time, with a little more funk and a lot more consistency in sing quality, suggesting that he works best when he’s not tied down by thematic concepts. Also, great album title (albeit one lifted from a Johnny “Guitar” Watson tune).
6. FFS, FFS (Domino)
If you hate Franz Ferdinand or Sparks, this is not or you, as it is essentially both bands combined. I love both bands, but collaborations like this don’t always work (which FFS cheerfully acknowledged by writing a song about it). However, this one does – it utilizes the best aspects of both bands without sounding like one or the other (although it sometimes sounds more Sparks-ish than FF). In any case, there’s a lot more to it than FF simply serving as the Mael brothers’ backing band.
7. BadBadNotGood feat. Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul (Lex Records)
In which Ghostface Killah hires a Toronto-based jazz trio for a back-up band. Or BBNG hired Ghostface Killah to rap on their album. I confess I enjoyed this more for the backing band’s 70s-style Blaxploitation funk arrangements, but Ghostface Killah is on form too, covering a surprisingly diverse array of topics, from street violence to health food and yoga. It’s like listening to a live band perform the music for Adult Swim bumpers. Obviously rap haters will not like this on general principle. Me, I thought it was pretty cool.
8. Violent Femmes, Happy New Year (Add It Up)
The Femmes are back together – or at least Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie are. Victor DeLorenzo did some reunion shows then quit before this EP was recorded. It’s pretty good, although that’s a relative term for bands like the Femmes, which made one of the greatest and most influential debut albums of all time, then spent the rest of their career in its shadow. Is it as good as “Blister In The Sun” or “Add It Up”? Probably not. But it does feature that trademark mix of angst and dark humor that the Femmes are remembered for.
They also win this year’s Team Frog Best Album Cover Art award.
9. They Might Be Giants, Why? (Idlewild)
TMBG released two albums this year. The first one, Glean, was okay but kind of average, music-wise. This one – the latest in their series of kids’ albums – is much more satisfying. Your mileage may vary depending on whether you prefer TMBG is alt-pop mode or whimisical-quirk-pop mode. I tend to lean towards the latter, so this worked better for me.
10. The Fall, Sub-Lingual Tablet (Cherry Red)
Album no. 31, and by this time there are really just two ways to rate a Fall album: (1) whether the band comes up with better than average music jams for Mark E Smith to rant over, and (2) how funny Mark E Smith’s rants are. With topics like iPhones, Facebook trolls and Pierce Brosnan selling bedwetting pills, everything you expect from a Fall album is here. This installment also confirms the trend of Smith getting crankier and crankier with each new album. Glory be.
11. Los Plantronics, Surfing Times (Jansen Plateproduksjon)
One of two European surf/instrumental bands in this list, Norway's Los Plantronics are more twang than surf, with a bonus mariachi horn section and a more diverse approach that’s influenced as much by Ennio Morricone as Dick Dale. Also, they don't stick strictly to instrumentals – they also sing when required (and when they do, it suggests The Cramps are also an influence). The instrumentals are better, even though they're clearly stealing all the best bits from older surf albums and reassembling them – but they do steal well.
12. Dog Party, Volume 4 (Asian Man)
Fourth album from the Giles sisters, who are grown up enough that they no longer trade on the novelty of being kids playing Ramones-level punk – but it’s a gimmick they don't need to be interesting. They’ve got the basic songwriting formula down – authentic teenage lyrics, power chords, no solos – and they do it as well as any other pop-punk band, and they have enough character to set themselves apart.
13. Los Tiki Phantoms, Los Tiki Phantoms y El Misterio del Talismán (Discmedi)
A.k.a. the other European surf/instrumental band on this list. Barcelona's Los Tiki Phantoms are musically more Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet than Surfaris, and this album marks their 10th anniversary as a band. It’s not a whole lot of variation from the overall genre theme, but they do have a knack for good tunes, even if you can imagine almost all of them being used as incidental music for any TV show with Guy Fieri in it.
14. Dave Cloud and the Gospel Of Power, Today Is The Day They Take Me Away (Fire Records)
This is the final LP from Cloud, who passed away in February 2015 at the age of 58 from melanoma. This was released posthumously, which makes the title especially poignant, even though the title track was written before Cloud became ill. It sounds like you’d expect from Cloud: lo-fi garage with varying production values, and Cloud’s idiosyncratic delivery. In some ways it’s not quite as good as his previous studio LP,Practice In The Milky Way – a few of the songs are too samey in terms of subject matter (in one case, two songs are exactly the same but with different titles). Still, it’s a good note to go out on.
15. Motörhead, Bad Magic (UDR)
The 22nd Motörhead album from Motörhead, and sadly their final album with the passing of the previously-indestructible Lemmy Kilmister last month. It sounds pretty much what you’d expect from Motörhead, and while it’s not their strongest album, overall it’s better than the previous album Aftershock, and contains some bonus novelties like a pretty good cover of “Sympathy For The Devil” and a guest appearance by Brian May of Queen.
16. Gwenno, Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly/PIAS)
Guaranteed to be the only album on this or any other list that’s based on a Welsh science-fiction novel and sung in Welsh by a former member of the Pipettes. This is Gwenno Saunders’ debut solo LP, and musically it’s charming psychedelic synth pop that you don’t have to understand Welsh to appreciate (though it arguably helps).
17. Rocket From The Tombs, Black Record (Fire Records)
The third studio from the Cleveland legends that spawned Dead Boys and Pere Ubu. I missed the first two due to ignorance, but someone tipped me off about this one. It’s a little disappointing that David Thomas and Craig Bell are the only original members left (the previous album included Cheetah Chrome and Richard Lloyd). On the other hand, there’s a lot to like here, including a killer version of “Sonic Reducer” (which may be better known via Dead Boys, but it was originally an RFTT song). I can’t say how all this holds up to the previously released stuff, but on its own merits it’s reasonably solid.
18. Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love (Sub Pop)
The return of Sleater-Kinney was arguably the most hyped comeback of the year – which may be why I found myself a little disappointed with this. That, and the band has such an amazing back catalog to live up to. No Cities To Love is a major improvement over their previous albumThe Woods, but doesn’t quite reach the heights of their best work. Still, there’s enough hooks and choruses here to remind everyone why they are one of the best rock bands on the planet. It’s good to have them back.
19. Dengue Fever, The Deepest Lake (Tuk Tuk)
Sixth album from LA-based band that trades in their own version of psychedelic Cambodian pop-rock. This doesn’t vary much from the template, so there are few surprises. But where else are you going to find songs about a weeping gecko and a Cambodian folk tale about a woman whose hair soaked up the sea and turned a huge crocodile into a mountain?
20. The Mutants, Tokyo Nights (Killer Tracks)
The Mutants are more project than band – the main members are Chris Constantinou (formerly bassist with Adam Ant, among other things), Paul Frazer (Black Futures) and Rat Scabies (yes, THAT one), and they tend to collaborate with lots of guest musicians. In 2015, they went to Tokyo and teamed up with local acts like Guitar Wolf, The Let’s Gos, Rockin’ Enocky and members of The 5678s, The Neatbeats, Kananna Speedcats and Mika Bomb to name a few. The result is a nice if slightly generic showcase of Japanese underground rock.
And there you are.
PRODUCTION NOTE: For long-time readers who actually keep up with this kind of thing, I decided to drop this year’s Pre-Show Awards due to a lack of compelling material, apart from the cover art, which I decided to work into the main list.
Tomorrow: the films!
Turning Japanese,
This is dF
This time last year, the main theme was how little music I found worth buying in 2014:
Maybe it was just a slow year. Or maybe I’ve finally become like my friends who have decided that all modern music sucks and the only good “new” music is old music you haven’t heard before. I’m not convinced of that. Then again, most “new” music I like is really either old bands who are still around or new bands looking to recreate old music.
Anyway, we’ll put the theory to the test in 2015.
Anyway, we’ll put the theory to the test in 2015.
We did. And the theory has legs, because 2015 was another relatively uninspiring year in terms of “must listen” music. I only bought 22 albums/EPs this year (a couple of which seemed like a good idea at the time but now make me lament the fact that there are no refunds on iTunes).
That’s not to say the 20 albums on this year’s list are shite. They all have their merits. But only about a third of them were genuinely exciting experiences for me.
So, like last year, this is more of a list of all the music I felt was worth spending money on in 2015 – or at least ones I could actually get copies of. There were a number of new releases I wanted to buy but couldn’t because they weren’t for sale out here in Hong Kong (even on iTunes), and I couldn’t find physical copies when I went to the US in October.
So that’s why new albums by Calexico and Tricot are missing, for example.
Anyway, here’s what I spent 2015 listening to.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought/acquired/downloaded/streamed between December 2014 and November 2015, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs OF 2015
1. Public Service Broadcasting, The Race For Space (Test Card Recordings)
2. The Sonics, This is The Sonics (Revox)
3. John Carpenter, Lost Themes (Sacred Bones/Rodeo Suplex)
4. Algiers, Algiers (Matador)
5. Johnny Dowd, That's Your Wife On The Back Of My Horse (Mother Jinx)
6. FFS, FFS (Domino)
7. BadBadNotGood feat. Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul (Lex Records)
8. Violent Femmes, Happy New Year (Add It Up)
9. They Might Be Giants, Why? (Idlewild)
10. The Fall, Sub-Lingual Tablet (Cherry Red)
11. Los Plantronics, Surfing Times (Jansen Plateproduksjon)
12. Dog Party, Volume 4 (Asian Man)
13. Los Tiki Phantoms, Los Tiki Phantoms y El Misterio del Talismán (Discmedi)
14. Dave Cloud and the Gospel Of Power, Today Is The Day They Take Me Away (Fire Records)
15. Motörhead, Bad Magic (UDR)
16. Gwenno , Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly/PIAS)
17. Rocket From The Tombs, Black Record (Fire Records)
18. Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love (Sub Pop)
19. Dengue Fever, The Deepest Lake (Tuk Tuk)
20. The Mutants, Tokyo Nights (Killer Tracks)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs OF 2015: EXTENDED PLAY
1. Public Service Broadcasting, The Race For Space (Test Card Recordings)
I practically had to flip a coin to decide which album to put in the top slot, but this album – the second from Public Service Broadcasting, which is essentially an unconventional soundtrack to an imaginary documentary about the US/Russian space race, complete with soundbites from actual docs and news footage – wins for pushing all my nerd buttons about that particular slice of history. I love this album.
2. The Sonics, This is The Sonics (Revox)
Not just the most unexpected comeback of 2015, but the most surprisingly good comeback. With three original members still active, The Sonics recorded their first studio LP since the 1960s (assuming 1980’s Sinderella, which only featured singer Gerry Roslie and was basically new versions of old songs, doesn’t count), and proved they can still deliver the raucous garage rock goods – which is nice, since they practically invented the genre. Recording it in mono was a nice touch.
3. John Carpenter, Lost Themes (Sacred Bones/Rodeo Suplex)
Carpenter has been releasing music for years via the soundtracks he composed for most of his films. But this is the first time he’s recorded music just for its own sake. What you make of it will probably depend on whether you like the soundtrack music of John Carpenter films (besides Halloween). For fans, the good news is that for the most part the music sounds exactly the way you’d expect a Carpenter album to sound – pulsing beats, 80s synths, and sinister overtones.
4. Algiers, Algiers (Matador)
The debut album from Algiers, which is easily the one album of 2015 that doesn’t sound like anything else – either on this list or possibly anyone else's. Imagine Suicide or The Birthday Party as a gospel group singing philosophical protest songs. Then forget that and just listen to the album. It’s powerfully uneasy listening at its finest.
5. Johnny Dowd, That's Your Wife On The Back Of My Horse (Mother Jinx)
I’ve been a fan of Dowd’s drawling electroclash for awhile, but this is his best work in a long time, with a little more funk and a lot more consistency in sing quality, suggesting that he works best when he’s not tied down by thematic concepts. Also, great album title (albeit one lifted from a Johnny “Guitar” Watson tune).
6. FFS, FFS (Domino)
If you hate Franz Ferdinand or Sparks, this is not or you, as it is essentially both bands combined. I love both bands, but collaborations like this don’t always work (which FFS cheerfully acknowledged by writing a song about it). However, this one does – it utilizes the best aspects of both bands without sounding like one or the other (although it sometimes sounds more Sparks-ish than FF). In any case, there’s a lot more to it than FF simply serving as the Mael brothers’ backing band.
7. BadBadNotGood feat. Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul (Lex Records)
In which Ghostface Killah hires a Toronto-based jazz trio for a back-up band. Or BBNG hired Ghostface Killah to rap on their album. I confess I enjoyed this more for the backing band’s 70s-style Blaxploitation funk arrangements, but Ghostface Killah is on form too, covering a surprisingly diverse array of topics, from street violence to health food and yoga. It’s like listening to a live band perform the music for Adult Swim bumpers. Obviously rap haters will not like this on general principle. Me, I thought it was pretty cool.
8. Violent Femmes, Happy New Year (Add It Up)
The Femmes are back together – or at least Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie are. Victor DeLorenzo did some reunion shows then quit before this EP was recorded. It’s pretty good, although that’s a relative term for bands like the Femmes, which made one of the greatest and most influential debut albums of all time, then spent the rest of their career in its shadow. Is it as good as “Blister In The Sun” or “Add It Up”? Probably not. But it does feature that trademark mix of angst and dark humor that the Femmes are remembered for.
They also win this year’s Team Frog Best Album Cover Art award.
9. They Might Be Giants, Why? (Idlewild)
TMBG released two albums this year. The first one, Glean, was okay but kind of average, music-wise. This one – the latest in their series of kids’ albums – is much more satisfying. Your mileage may vary depending on whether you prefer TMBG is alt-pop mode or whimisical-quirk-pop mode. I tend to lean towards the latter, so this worked better for me.
10. The Fall, Sub-Lingual Tablet (Cherry Red)
Album no. 31, and by this time there are really just two ways to rate a Fall album: (1) whether the band comes up with better than average music jams for Mark E Smith to rant over, and (2) how funny Mark E Smith’s rants are. With topics like iPhones, Facebook trolls and Pierce Brosnan selling bedwetting pills, everything you expect from a Fall album is here. This installment also confirms the trend of Smith getting crankier and crankier with each new album. Glory be.
11. Los Plantronics, Surfing Times (Jansen Plateproduksjon)
One of two European surf/instrumental bands in this list, Norway's Los Plantronics are more twang than surf, with a bonus mariachi horn section and a more diverse approach that’s influenced as much by Ennio Morricone as Dick Dale. Also, they don't stick strictly to instrumentals – they also sing when required (and when they do, it suggests The Cramps are also an influence). The instrumentals are better, even though they're clearly stealing all the best bits from older surf albums and reassembling them – but they do steal well.
12. Dog Party, Volume 4 (Asian Man)
Fourth album from the Giles sisters, who are grown up enough that they no longer trade on the novelty of being kids playing Ramones-level punk – but it’s a gimmick they don't need to be interesting. They’ve got the basic songwriting formula down – authentic teenage lyrics, power chords, no solos – and they do it as well as any other pop-punk band, and they have enough character to set themselves apart.
13. Los Tiki Phantoms, Los Tiki Phantoms y El Misterio del Talismán (Discmedi)
A.k.a. the other European surf/instrumental band on this list. Barcelona's Los Tiki Phantoms are musically more Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet than Surfaris, and this album marks their 10th anniversary as a band. It’s not a whole lot of variation from the overall genre theme, but they do have a knack for good tunes, even if you can imagine almost all of them being used as incidental music for any TV show with Guy Fieri in it.
14. Dave Cloud and the Gospel Of Power, Today Is The Day They Take Me Away (Fire Records)
This is the final LP from Cloud, who passed away in February 2015 at the age of 58 from melanoma. This was released posthumously, which makes the title especially poignant, even though the title track was written before Cloud became ill. It sounds like you’d expect from Cloud: lo-fi garage with varying production values, and Cloud’s idiosyncratic delivery. In some ways it’s not quite as good as his previous studio LP,Practice In The Milky Way – a few of the songs are too samey in terms of subject matter (in one case, two songs are exactly the same but with different titles). Still, it’s a good note to go out on.
15. Motörhead, Bad Magic (UDR)
The 22nd Motörhead album from Motörhead, and sadly their final album with the passing of the previously-indestructible Lemmy Kilmister last month. It sounds pretty much what you’d expect from Motörhead, and while it’s not their strongest album, overall it’s better than the previous album Aftershock, and contains some bonus novelties like a pretty good cover of “Sympathy For The Devil” and a guest appearance by Brian May of Queen.
16. Gwenno, Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly/PIAS)
Guaranteed to be the only album on this or any other list that’s based on a Welsh science-fiction novel and sung in Welsh by a former member of the Pipettes. This is Gwenno Saunders’ debut solo LP, and musically it’s charming psychedelic synth pop that you don’t have to understand Welsh to appreciate (though it arguably helps).
17. Rocket From The Tombs, Black Record (Fire Records)
The third studio from the Cleveland legends that spawned Dead Boys and Pere Ubu. I missed the first two due to ignorance, but someone tipped me off about this one. It’s a little disappointing that David Thomas and Craig Bell are the only original members left (the previous album included Cheetah Chrome and Richard Lloyd). On the other hand, there’s a lot to like here, including a killer version of “Sonic Reducer” (which may be better known via Dead Boys, but it was originally an RFTT song). I can’t say how all this holds up to the previously released stuff, but on its own merits it’s reasonably solid.
18. Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love (Sub Pop)
The return of Sleater-Kinney was arguably the most hyped comeback of the year – which may be why I found myself a little disappointed with this. That, and the band has such an amazing back catalog to live up to. No Cities To Love is a major improvement over their previous albumThe Woods, but doesn’t quite reach the heights of their best work. Still, there’s enough hooks and choruses here to remind everyone why they are one of the best rock bands on the planet. It’s good to have them back.
19. Dengue Fever, The Deepest Lake (Tuk Tuk)
Sixth album from LA-based band that trades in their own version of psychedelic Cambodian pop-rock. This doesn’t vary much from the template, so there are few surprises. But where else are you going to find songs about a weeping gecko and a Cambodian folk tale about a woman whose hair soaked up the sea and turned a huge crocodile into a mountain?
20. The Mutants, Tokyo Nights (Killer Tracks)
The Mutants are more project than band – the main members are Chris Constantinou (formerly bassist with Adam Ant, among other things), Paul Frazer (Black Futures) and Rat Scabies (yes, THAT one), and they tend to collaborate with lots of guest musicians. In 2015, they went to Tokyo and teamed up with local acts like Guitar Wolf, The Let’s Gos, Rockin’ Enocky and members of The 5678s, The Neatbeats, Kananna Speedcats and Mika Bomb to name a few. The result is a nice if slightly generic showcase of Japanese underground rock.
And there you are.
PRODUCTION NOTE: For long-time readers who actually keep up with this kind of thing, I decided to drop this year’s Pre-Show Awards due to a lack of compelling material, apart from the cover art, which I decided to work into the main list.
Tomorrow: the films!
Turning Japanese,
This is dF
