There’s been a great deal written here and elsewhere about the best albums of 2015, but in this day and age, more often than not, it is the individual tune that has the greater impact. Albums don’t always get listened to in their entirety – unless of course you happen to be a music critic, which is probably why we bang on about them and make so many lists – so in celebration of the humble single and the killer album track here are five great songs from 2015.
The Echo and The Always were an amazing discovery this year and this track pretty much encapsulates what they are all about. I didn’t actually give ‘Capable Of’ much credit on first listen, there are other more immediate tracks on the album, but it has grown on me and repeated listens have revealed more and more.
I fell in love with Wolf Alice in the middle of 2015 and have been playing them to death ever since. ‘Your Love’s Whore’ was the track that did it for me, don’t know why really, just something about it gets me every time.
‘My Terracotta Heart’ is so wrapped in the history of Blur, and particularly the relationship between Damon and Graham, that it has a significance way beyond the norm. Anyone who loves this band cannot fail to be touched by its stark beauty.
Dave Gahan‘s album with Soulsavers had a tremendous impact on me this year, no song more so than ‘Tempted’. This is a quite sublime performance that gives me goosebumps.
IMHO, ‘Gunga Din’ is quite simply the best thing The Libertines have ever done. Lyrically, it is fantastic, musically, it nails it, but most importantly it has that little extra “I don’t know what” that great tracks need. Killer.
I’ve already done a top ten albums of 2015 over at http://www.alreadyheard.com and, to be honest, was not entirely happy with it. I felt like I should include stuff that I had rated highly under review, whilst also excluding some things that weren’t really A.H material. Anyway, the entire music media has gone all end of year, ranking and rating their favourite records, and I can’t help but feel that more often than not it’s an exercise in “I’ve got better taste than you” and they put what is critically acclaimed and what is cool to like, rather than what they actually enjoy. So, what I’ve decided to do is put together a bunch of stuff that I’ve really enjoyed this past year, in no particular order, by way of shout out to the artists who have made my listening life so cool this year. Here goes part one:
Public Enemy – Live from Metropolis
For any band, whatever the genre, this is a lesson in live performance. Chuck D, Flavor Flav, DJ Lord etc quite simply kill it from beginning to end.
The Echo and The Always – And After That The Dark…
Reviewed this for Already Heard and fell in love with it on first listen. It’s jam packed with surprises and there is not a duff tune on the record – sublime vocals, textured layers and killer hooks. This band will be everywhere in 2016.
Placebo – Unplugged
I love Placebo. I love this record, it shows another dimension to the band, every version is sublime and the special guests are just that, special.
D’Angelo – Black Messiah
Technically from 2014 but only because the release date was anticipated to coincide with Ferguson, due to the politically charged nature to some of the songs, like ‘The Charade’. Damn, this is one fine record, multiple listens revealed more and more depth to the beautifully constructed songs – basically its a ‘What’s Going On?’ for the 21st Century.
Dave Gahan & Soulsavers – Angels and Ghosts
Another album of gorgeous depth and texture that has a definite soundtrack feel to it, whilst also being hauntingly dark and moody.
Blur – The Magic Whip
Could’ve been awful, but in true Blur fashion it was well thought out and everything about it feels right. ‘Terracotta Heart’ is, quite frankly, one of the most beautiful things they’ve ever done.
While thinking back over the music I’ve enjoyed during the past year, I came to the realisation that a very large portion of it came from female artists or female fronted bands. This really shouldn’t be noteworthy in this day and age, but if you think about it, with the exception of the pop market, most musical styles are still pretty much male dominated. I mean, think of your all time favourite metal/rock/indie/rap acts and basically only indie really has a high chance of including a girl and she’s almost certainly gonna be called Kim.
As such, Indie continues to lead the way with a much higher percentage of female fronted bands; maybe it’s down to being a less image oriented genre, where who or what you are is far less important than your art, who knows? Even so, with the exception of Florence’s last minute headline slot at Glastonbury, the UK festivals were still shamelessly male dominated, indicating that there remains an undercurrent of male bias in the industry. This is highlighted by the fact that when you consider that based on merit alone, rather than the questionable practice of positive discrimination; that is, using record sales and critical acclaim as a guide, the main stage at Reading, Glastonbury, Leeds or IoW could easily have lined up Bjork, Florence, Sleater-Kinney, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett and Soak on the main stage; wouldn’t exactly have been torture now, would it?
So, whether the powers at be choose to recognize it or not, there has been a lot of damn fine records released this year by women across all genres, even Rap. Therefore, in my best Emma Watson-esque spirit, I think it only fair and right to give a shout out to some of the supremely talented ladies that have contributed so much to my listening pleasure of late.
Although the overriding misogyny of the Rap/Hip-hop scene continues to be a difficult hurdle for female talent, the likes of Kate Tempest, the classy Dej Loaf and Little Simz represent a new generation of talented girl rappers. In addition, 2015 also saw the return of some old school talent; with the unique Missy Elliott coming back with a stylish new single after stealing the half time show at the Superbowl from under Katy Perry’s nose. However, it’s Tairrie B., one of the most pioneering performers in the game, that has most surprised and challenged me this year with her return to the genre for the accomplished ‘Vintage Curses’ project (https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/tairrie-b-vintage-curses/). It showed that she still has a flow comparable with any major rap artist around right now, as well as being as empowering as ever. Check out this badass remix of ‘Wicked Witch of the West Coast’ by Mediatrix – another upcoming female talent.
Hard Rock / Heavy Metal is another complicated area for women, but the likes of Pvris and Marmozets are breaking down old fashioned sexism with the sheer quality of their material. Speaking of quality, I can’t put down the smoking ‘Into the Wild Life’ by Halestorm; Lzzy Hale has a superb hard rock vocal and on ‘I Am The Fire’ she is, well, on fire.
As I said before though, it’s the world of indie/alternative where women are really holding their own. I cannot get enough of Wolf Alice’s ‘My Love is Cool’, especially killer tracks like ‘Bros’, ‘Your Love’s Whore’ and ‘You’re a Germ’. Lead vocalist, Ellie Rowsell, has a superb voice, drifting easily from a breathy hush to a full blooded scream on WA’s classy songs – album of the year?
I discovered the old school indie sludge punk of Haybaby a couple of months back and believe they too are set for bigger things. Leslie Hong has a very strong voice and is equally good whether understated or raging; I love her screaming “I don’t give a fuck if you love me anyhow” in the middle of the chorus to ‘Old Friends’, badass.
Laura Hancock of The Echo and The Always, is another vocalist that has seriously impressed me this year. She has a little more bite to her voice, which glides easily amongst the multiple facets of their intriguing record; she can deliver a pop hook with ease, hold her own on rockier numbers but also has the smoothness of a folk singer. This band will be massive.
To be honest, there is so much amazing female talent around right now, whether it’s a tiny upcoming band like False Advertising (Jen Hingley), hot new singer-songwriter like Soak or a legend like Björk, I could go on and on giving examples. Suffice to say that with so much good music on offer I find it staggering that the issue of equality still needs to be addressed in the music business.
Hard Pressed 