WRMC’s 2015 in Review
by WRMC Middlebury College on December 31, 2015
Posted in: Album Review, Blues, Country, Eclectic, Electronic, Folk, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Music, Pop, Pop Punk, Punk, R&B / Soul, Rap, Rock
YEAR END WRAP UP
Amidst all the shit that went down in the tumultuous year that was 2015, at least there was great music. In Vermont, our frigid first months of the year featured a substantial amount of sparseness and heartbreak with strong releases from Viet Cong, Title Fight, Mount Eerie, and Bjork. We rallied our spirits at night shouting along to scrappy anthems by Shinobu, Jeff Rosenstock and QUARTERBACKS and drifted off into dreamland during the day with Natalie Prass, Jessica Pratt and Yumi Zouma. We felt the lightning with Dan Deacon, met the Grimm Reaper with Panda Bear, and buried our friends with Sleater-Kinney. Though our bones were cold our hearts were warmed when Kanye went acoustic dad mode for campfire classic “FourFiveSeconds.”
We saw Cloud Nothings shred the McCullough stage at Middlebury’s annual Winter Carnival concert, and afterwards we confirmed our suspicion that Dylan Baldi and Speedy Ortiz‘s Sadie Depuis were an official ~indie rock item~ two months in advance of any media outlet breaking the news. Drake dominated the latter half of February and most of March until Kendrick and Sufjan came along with, *arguably*, two of the best albums of the year. As our first annual College Radio March Madness bracket unfolded, it became clear that To Pimp A Butterfly and Carrie & Lowell consistently dominated the pool of 32 albums from early 2015. Besting some very solid releases from Lower Dens, Courtney Barnett, Father John Misty, and of course, Drake, the two finally faced off in the bracket’s championship round, and Kendrick walked away with the crown. Competitive tensions melted with warmer April weather and new releases from lyrical queens Waxahatchee, Speedy Ortiz, and Torres. In May we danced ourselves clean at Sepomana with Yonatan Gat, Ratking, and Lunice and rounded out the semester by counting down our favorite songs of the school year at Top 91. Pitted against the likes of top ten contenders Shamir, Grimes, Taylor Swift and Drake, Kendrick Lamar once again came out on top with the most votes from WRMC DJs, this time for his single “King Kunta.”
A summer dominated by great hip-hop and neo soul began with Surf and “Good Times” in late May, followed by the tender sexiness of Miguel’s Wildheart and the sharp gloom and seagull noises on Vince Staples’ excellent Summertime ’06 in late June. However, the king of the summertime hip-hop game, if not the entire year in hip-hop, was none other than Future, who catapulted on the success of March’s 56 Nights mixtape to deliver impressive followup DS2 in July. Later that month Tame Impala’s Currents took a strong hold on the radio waves, spending the second half of Summer 2015 reigning over WRMC’s Top 30 Chart. The brash punks in Titus Andronicus, Desaparecidos, Bully, and All Dogs injected some much-needed energy and urgency into the dog days of summer in late July and August, while Beach House dazzled listeners with a brilliant collection of dream pop on their fifth studio album, Depression Cherry.
The first weekend back at school we sang along as Hop Along played a blistering and beautiful set on McCullough Lawn for WRMC’s annual S.O.S. Fest. In October we took a road trip to Montreal to see Destroyer and a few weeks later we took an even longer road trip to attend The CMJ Music Marathon for the station’s first time in several years. Upon returning to Vermont from the big city, the weary travelers said of their experience: “What A Time To Be Alive and No Longer Afraid to Die.” October also brought a slew of great releases from bands we saw live at CMJ like PWR BTTM, Protomartyr, and Modern Baseball, along with other stellar releases from Joanna Newsom, Nicole Dollanganger, and Deafheaven. Oh yeah and also, surprise, in October there was MORE BEACH HOUSE. In November we asked ourselves if we were alone with Majical Cloudz at Grooveyard and marveled at Warren Hildebrand’s weird Canadian accent between Foxes in Fiction songs. The rest of the month was swept clean by WRMC’s Patron Saint Grimes, who will most definitely dominate the airwaves and party playlists well into 2016. By December 2015, “Hotline Bling” and its accompanying video had been remixed, memed, and covered to death (most successfully we might note, by Miss Erykah Badu). Amidst the pop cultural oversaturation of Drake and the lampooning of major Wu-Tang Fan / Phrama Bro Martin Shrkeli, our exam week featured the smooth sounds of Floating Points’ Elaenia and Archy Marshall’s A New Place 2 Drown, peppered with some Pusha T here and there. And best of all, on Christmas Eve, LCD Soundsystem miraculously returned to deliver into our stockings the most simultaneously depressing and uplifting holiday song you’ll ever hear.
And that’s to name just a few of the notable releases that impacted the station in 2015. As the year draws to a close, we must lament the bands that we lost: Krill, Chumped, and Cobra Starship, and we must question those who have taken too long to deliver: CHROMATICS, The Wrens, and Frank Ocean. But above all we must celebrate those who did deliver in 2015 in the form of a sprawling list of end of year lists. Below you’ll find WRMC’s most played songs and albums of 2015, year end lists and favorites from WRMC’s Executive Board, and a Spotify Playlist to put it all in your ears.
WRMC’S MOST PLAYED
WRMC’s Most Played Albums of 2015:
10. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
9. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
8. Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
7. Beach House – Depression Cherry
6. Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp
5. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
4. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone?
3. Grimes – Art Angels
2. Tame Impala – Currents
1. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
WRMC’s Most Played Tracks of 2015:
10. Rihanna, Kanye West, Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
9. Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian At Best
8. Purity Ring – Begin Again
7. Adele – Hello
6. Tame Impala – Let It Happen
5. Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better
4. Majical Cloudz – Downtown
3. Justin Bieber – Sorry
2. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood
1. Drake – Hotline Bling
These charts are based on airplay statistics from January 2015 to now, and therefore will skew results towards albums and songs that came out earlier in the year. Songs and albums not released in 2014 were omitted.
WRMC STAFF LISTS
Andrew Goulet – Creative Director
Let’s not forget, 2015 began with “Only One.”
365 days later and still no Swish in sight, yet somehow, in a year full of excellent hip-hop, Kanye made musical waves (not to mention all the other stuff). I guess if people are signing petitions against you, you’re probably doing something right. (If you signed one of those petitions, please read this.)
The singles were Nice. SWISH as a whole might not live up, but that remains to be seen. And then there were the live performances …
But where Ye really shined for me this year was on other rapper’s tracks.
Here are my top five tracks blessed by Yeezus in 2015 🙏:
- “All Your Fault” – Big Sean (feature & production)
“People sayin’ I’m the closest thing to Mike since Janet,
Tom Cruise, homie, we jumpin’ up on them couches”
- “Piss On Your Grave” – Travi$ Scott (feature & production)
“Piss on your grave, piss on your grave
Turn this up teacher, play this in the third grade
In the third grade”
- “Blessings” – Big Sean (feature)
“And my daughter right there getting home-schooled
I’m blessed
And I was thinking ’bout starting up my own school
A Montessori”
- “SMUCKERS” – Tyler, The Creator (feature)
“Richer than white people with black kids
Scarier than black people with ideas
Nobody can tell me where I’m headin
But I feel like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen at my weddin”
“They wanna throw me under a white jail
Cause I’m a black man with confidence of a white male
Hallelujah”
Kate Leib – General Manager
Times to Die Alone
ALBUMS
25. Title Fight – Hyperview
24. Fred Thomas – All Are Saved
23. Bully – Feels Like
22. Annabel – Having It All
21. QUARTERBACKS – QUARTERBACKS
20. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
19. SPORTS – All of Something
18. Sorority Noise – Joy, Departed
17. Alex G – Beach Music
16. Eskimeaux – O.K.
15. Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets the Grimm Reaper
14. Shamir – Ratchet
13. American Wrestlers – American Wrestlers
12. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
11. The band fka Viet Cong – Viet Cong
10. Beach House – Depression Cherry
9. Painted Zeros – Floriography
8. Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss
7. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
6. PWR BTTM – Ugly Cherries
5. Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy
4. Grimes – Art Angels
3. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone?
2. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
1. Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Style
SONGS
25. SLUTEVER – Open Wide
24. katie dey – unkillable
23. Shamir – On the Regular
22. Bully – I Remember
21. Fred Thomas – Bed Bugs
20. Shinobu – Untitled Michael Haneke Project
19. Downtown Boys – Monstro
18. PWR BTTM – 1994
17. American Wrestlers – There’s No One Crying Over Me Either
16. Drake – Know Yourself
15. Beach House – Space Song
14. Panda Bear – Tropic of Cancer
13. Chelsea Wolfe – Iron Moon
12. Jenny Hval – That Battle is Over
11. Protomartyr – The Devil in His Youth
10. Tiny Rick – posted
9. Dilly Dally – Desire
8. R.L. Kelly – Seein* Starz
7. Eskimeaux – The Thunder Answered Back
6. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood
5. Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better
4. Car Seat Headrest – Times to Die
3. Titus Andronicus – I Lost My Mind (Daniel Johnston version)
2. Painted Zeros – Apocalypse (Interlude)
1. Majical Cloudz – Control
FAVORITE LYRICS:
- “The straight boy canon is a royal bore” – G.L.O.S.S., “G.L.O.S.S. (We’re From The Future)”
- “Tranquilize me with your ideal world” – GIRLPOOL, “Ideal World”
- “Game too emo” – Ab Liva on Pusha T’s “Got Em Covered“
- “And if suddenly I die / I hope they will say / That he was obsessed and it was okay” – Majical Cloudz, “Downtown”
- “We’re all gonna die” – Sufjan Stevens, “Fourth of July”
FAVORITE EPS/TAPES/COMPILATIONS
- Tiny Rick – “thank you, ben franklin, for the night vision goggles.” – barun majumdar
- catbedamned//bulldog eyes split tape (@catbedamned also wins for Best Twitter 2015)
- LVL UP – Three Songs
- Orchid Tapes – Angeltown II (Compilation)
- Tenement – Bruised Music Vol. 1
OVERLOOKED ALBUMS:
- Peach Kelli Pop – Peach Kelli Pop III
- Free Cake for Every Creature – Moving Songs
- Forth Wanderers – Tough Love
- pinkshinyultrablast – Everything Else Matters
Aashna Aggarwal – Programming Director
Beach House Meets the Grim ReaperSONGS
25. Jack Ü (ft. Justin Bieber) – Where Are Ü Now
24. Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness
23. BadBadNotGood, GhostfaceKillah – Experience
22. Julia Holter – Sea Calls Me Home
21. Miguel – coffee
20. Iron & Wine (ft. Ben Bridwell) – This Must Be The Place
19. Shamir – In For The Kill
18. Joanna Newsom – You Will Not Take My Heart Alive
17. Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt.
16. Sun Kil Moon – Garden of Lavender
15. Jamie xx (ft. Romy) – Loud Places
14. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
13. Lana Del Ray – God Knows I Tried
12. Tame Impala – Let It Happen
11. The Tallest Man on Earth – Little Nowhere Towns
10. Purity Ring – Bodyache
9. Mac DeMarco – A Heart Like Hers
8. Erykah Badu – Cel U Lar Device
7. Tobias Jesso Jr. – Hollywood
6. Beach House – Bluebird
5. Sóley – Follow Me Down
4. Grimes – Flesh Without Blood
3. Lianne La Havas – Unstoppable
2. Panda Bear – Boys Latin
1. Beach House – 10:37
Rachael Morris – Music Director
Shamir Impala
ALBUMS
10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
9. Vince Staples – Summertime ‘06
8. Neon Indian – VEGA INTL. Night School
7. Milo – Until The Flies Come
6. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
5. Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown
4. Benjamin Clementine – At Least For Now
3. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone?
2. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
1. Tame Impala – Currents
SONGS
20. Protomartyr – Why Does It Shake?
19. Kelley Stoltz – Heart Full Of Rain
18. Dr. Dre – Genocide (Feat. Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius & Candice Pillay)
17. Foals – A Knife In The Ocean
16. PWR BTTM – I Wanna Boi
15. Carly Rae Jepson – LA Hallucinations
14. Miguel – the valley
13. F(X) – Papi
12. Hot Chip – Why Make Sense
11. Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique – Set Me Free
10. Death Grips – Billy Not Really
9. Dan Deacon – When I Was Done Dying
8. Open Mike Eagle / Busdriver / Nietzschecortez / Promnite – Lyp
7. Jamie xx – Obvs
6. Painted Palms – Refractor
5. Erykah Badu – Hello Ft. Andre 3000
4. Mr Twin Sister – The Erotic Book
3. Girl Band – Pears For Lunch
2. FKA Twigs – In Time
1. Shamir – On The Regular
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Milo
OVERLOOKED ALBUMS
- The Love Junkies – Blowing On The Devil’s Strumpet
- Micachu And The Shapes – Good Sad Happy Glad
- Froth – Bleak
- Fever The Ghost – Zirconium Meconium
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
- Of Montreal, Grimes, Frank Ocean (where ya at?)
ANTICIPATED IN 2016
- Black Moth Super Rainbow – Seefu Lilac
- Animal Collective – Painting With
- Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (because I’m still 13)
Brandi Fullwood – Music Director
To Carrie A Butterfly
ALBUMS
20. Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets The Grimm Reaper
19. SPORTS – All of Something
18. Future – DS2
17. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone?
16. Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside
15. Kamasi Washington – The Epic
14. Speedy Ortiz – Foil Deer
13. QUARTERBACKS – QUARTERBACKS
12. Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
11. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
10. Lianne La Havas – Blood
9. Shamir – Ratchet
8. PWR BTTM – Ugly Cherries
7. Yung Thug – Barter 6
6. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
5. Beach House – Depression Cherry
4. Tame Impala – Currents
3. Vince Staples – Summertime ’06
2. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
FAVORITE EPs
- Kelela – Hallucinogen
- Nao – February 15
- Thundercat – The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam
- FKA Twigs – M3LL155X
- Petit Noir – The King of Anxiety
- Aye Nako – The Blackest Eye
FAVORITE DISCOVERIES
- Georgia, Shopping, Babeo Baggins, Violent Mae, QUARTERBACKS, Daddy Issues, Gwilym Gold, Diet Cig, PWR BTTM, Okay Kaya, Nao
Emily Becker – Library Manager
Painted Poison
SONGS
24. Fred Thomas – Every Song Sung to A Dog
23. M.I.A – Borders
22. Dej Loaf – Back Up
21. Karen O – Rapt (TRZTN Remix)
20. Alabama Shakes – This Feeling
19. Drake – Energy
18. Jeff Rosenstock – Nausea
17. GoldLink – Dark Skin Women
16. Hot Chip – Huarache Lights
15. Diet Cig – Harvard
14. Wet – It’s All in Vein
13. Mal Blum – Better Go
12. Titus Andronicus – Dimed Out
11. Waxahatchee – Summer of Love
10. Jamie xx ft. Young Thug – I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)
9. Prinzhorn Dance School – Reign
8. MADE IN HEIGHTS – Slow Burn
7. Carly Rae Jepsen – Run Away With Me
6. Father John Misty – Strange Encounter
5. Courtney Barnett – Depreston
4. Torres – New Skin
3. Kendrick Lamar – These Walls
2. Destroyer – Times Square
1. Hop Along – Waitress
Charlie Dulik – Concerts Committee
Built to Ye
ALBUMS
10. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think, Sometimes I Just Sit
9. Blank Body – Explicit Deluxe
8. PASS – Ways Out
7. Future – DS2
6. Ari Solus – Caveman EP
5. Shinobu – 10 Thermidor
4. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
3. Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone?
2. Rod – Where I Had Gone
1. Built To Spill – Untethered Moon
SONGS
10. Trill Youngins – I Look Fly
9. Pass – Trailer Man
8. Shinobu – 2tone Tuesday
7. Jidenna, Roman GianArthur – Classic Man
6. The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face
5. Post Malone – White Iverson
4. Kanye West – Only One
3. Eastghost – Praey
2. Jack Ü Feat Justin Bieber – Where Are Ü Now
1. Kanye West – All Day
Kyle Kysela – Business Director
A Harmless Sprain
ALBUMS
Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle
I really love this album. It’s very simple and very good all the way through. I especially like the final track, “Go Home.” I haven’t heard downer music this straightforward and honest in a long time.
Beach Slang – The Things We Do To Find The People Who Feel Like Us
This was a solid album from a new artist that I really love. Some people are put off by the overzealous earnestness of the lead singer, and I thought this album did get a little repetitive, but I still really like this band. Before listening to the album, though, I would suggest going back to their first EP and listening to “Filthy Luck”—that was the first song I heard by Beach Slang and I still think it’s their best by a significant margin.
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – Harmlessness
I was anticipating the new album from The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die for a long time. I fell in love with their first release and mined all their old demos for more (pro tip: the demos are great). This album was a big leap forward, but did not forsake their emo roots. I really love the interplay between the two vocalists on this album, especially on the track “January 10th, 2014”—one of my favorite songs of the year.
Hop Along – Painted Shut
I was very happy to see Hop Along at Middlebury this semester. They put on a great show. This album is full of awesome tracks that showcase the lead singer’s amazing and interesting voice. Favorite song is probably “Horseshoe Crabs”—it has an awesome buildup and tells a great story (based on true events!).
Desaparecidos – Payola
Although this album has its flaws and, in typical Oberst fashion, goes a little overboard with its thoughts/feelings/opinions (I heard one lukewarm review refer to it as “MSNBC: The Album”), I still think the band really pulled through here, making track after track of catchy, energizing punk rock. Considering the long hiatus between this and their last album, I’m just happy they retained some of the impact and immediacy that they captured so peculiarly well back in 2002. Great tracks on this album include “MariKKKopa,” “City on the Hill,” and “10 Steps Behind.” I really suggest, also, going back to their first release and listening to “Man and Wife, the Latter” to relive some of that sweet sweet Bush-era angst and anomie.
Nana Grizol – Night Lights I-III + Tacoma Center 1600
Even though this EP came out in 2014, I put it on here because I started listening to it in Spring 2015 and I got to see Nana Grizol this summer at Mahall’s in Cleveland. Nana Grizol is made up of Theo Hilton from Defiance, Ohio (one of my all-time favorite bands) and some collaborators, including a couple former members of Neutral Milk Hotel. They make amazing music and this EP is just as awesome as their previous two albums. The last track is about undocumented immigrants ending up in a privately-owned detention center in Tacoma, WA. The EP is available at “name your price” on their Bandcamp and 100% of the proceeds go to the Queer Undocumented Immigrants Project. Again, this is a really amazing band and it was incredible to see them this summer in a basement in Lakewood, playing trumpets and guitars on the floor, standing in amongst the audience. I even got to hug Theo Hilton after the show. I miss those kinds of concerts.
SONGS
Modern Baseball – “The Thrash Particle”
Great track from Modern Baseball off their new EP. It’s definitely a more mature direction for this resolutely un-mature band.
SOPHIE – “Just Like We Never Said Goodbye”
Thanks to Dan Bateyko for turning me on to this artist from the UK’s PC Music group. At first I hated this kind of music, but after awhile the sweetly oversatured electronic hooks got stuck in my head. I love this song, the closing track from Sophie’s debut album. It’s almost so faux-sentimental that it becomes genuinely sentimental.
WESTKUST – “Weekends”
Awesome track from this Swedish shoegaze band’s debut album. Thanks to Youtube user Tabatha Mustang’s “☆ International Dream Pop//Shoegaze Compilation ☆”for turning me on to this awesome song as well as many others.
Majical Cloudz –“Control”
This is my favorite song from Majical Cloudz’s new album Are You Alone? —It was great to see them at Middlebury this semester for WRMC’s Fall concert.
Yo La Tengo – “Deeper Into Movies”
This is an awesome reworking of an old Yo La Tengo song, from their new compilation/covers album. It has an amazing sound and is definitely a great entry into Downer Music with Kyle’s slowcore/sadcore catalogue.
Garrett Griffin – Tech Director
If You're Reading This The Rented World Is Darkest Before Dawn and I am No Longer Afraid to Surf
I feel as though most retrospectives wind up being greatest hits versions of “what things happened this year that we remember happening and being the best when they happened” as opposed to looking back at things that happened over the course of the year so in light of that I’m going to do a chronological-ish reassessment of what albums I listened to the most / enjoyed the most / thought were the best this year because that seems tight.
January: Rae Sremmurd – SremmLife
This album is hella good wow every time I thought I was worn out by Rae Sremmurd I got obsessed with a new song on this album, from the singles that were released hella long in advance (“No Flex Zone”/ “No Type” / “Throw Sum Mo” ) to the ones released after the album (“This Could Be Us” / “Come Get Her” ) and the non-single album cuts (“My x” / “Lit Like Bic” / “Safe Sex Pay Checks”), this album is perpetually lit.
Februrary: Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Remember when this album came out? 2015 was the year of Drake for like, the fifth year in a row, basically ever since take care was released. Anyway this album isn’t actually that good but I dont think I listened to anything else that was that cool then (lol @ ppl who enjoyed the Panda Bear/Slater Kinney [sic]/Viet Cong/Bjork/Father John Misty albums more than Drake’s worst release so far, just lmao)
March – The Menzingers – Rented World
Yep, I can say without a doubt that there was no album released in march of 2015 that I listened to, enjoyed, or appreciated even close to as much as this album that was released in april 2014. I didnt really start listening to it until I saw it on some best albums year-end list and then I didn’t stop listening to it throughout the rest of the year. So many bangers, definitely my AOTY 2015 (of special note though is that the two most overrated albums of the year – Carrie & Lowell by everyone’s favorite choir boy Sufjan Stenvens [sic] (whose cover of “Hotline Bling” is better than any song on this boring album (because its a drake song so its actually interesting ya feel)) and Kendrick Lamar’s really overzealous and ultimately uninteresting To Pimp A Butterfly – were released in March, so I guess it must have been a pretty shitty month for new music releases anyway)
April – Jidenna – “Classic Man”
Song of the spring and the summer (even tho it was released in like, Feb), song of the year, song of my life, GOAT
May – Jamie xx – In Colour
My official “least overrated album” of 2015, this song actually deserves all the heaping amounts of hype slathered on it by music people because it is actually great and moving, unlike The xx’s other music which is good for hooking up and not really anything else. Anyway “Loud Places” and “Good Times” are two of the best songs released in 2015 and the rest of the album actually comes close to being as good as those two songs, which is a feat in and of itself, and also Jamie xx’s DJ set is probably the best concert/show/performance I’ve been to in the past year, so there’s that also.
June – Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment – Surf
I started listening to this album a bunch I guess because I was really happy and I connected with it on a super emotional level. I feel like everybody thinks that art and sadness/angst/melancholy and all those bullshit bad emotions are synonymous, but this album seems like a bunch of people digging into themselves and pulling out an extremely intense happiness and I can’t really think of any art created this year that’s better than this album for that exact reason. Stop performing sadness everyone, it officially stopped being cool when this album came out, so you can stop now.
July – Vince Staples – Summertime ’06
Inarguably and objectively the only hip-hop release of the year, this album is just a never ending series of bangers and incredible moments. Compare Kendrick/Fetty/Drake (who were all trying hella hard to get a grammy/even more mainstream success/both, respectively) to Vince Staples (who just, like, made an incredible hip-hop album) and tell me that this album doesn’t embarrass those artists’ 2015 releases, song for song, in terms of quality, intensity, and beauty. srsly tho, every song on the first disk is an absolute banger until summertime, which is like the most moving song of the year, and then the sun sets and the second disk gets even more super dark and intense.
August – Jack Ü ft. Justin Bieber – “Where Are Ü Now” / Justin Bieber – “What Do You Mean”
Like have ü even seen the video of Justin Bieber flying and then sobbing at the VMAs.
September – Destroyer – Poison Season
This album is Dan Bejar at his most lit, string instruments and shit, he sounds pretentious as always and, as he says himself, “[his] poems are shit” but there are some certified pop-rock moments on here and all the songs are hella cool regardless of how obnoxious most of Destroyer’s lyrics are, so like listen to all of the three renditions of “Times Square”, and “Dream Lover”, and “Archer on the Beach” and “Bangkok” and “Sun in the Sky” and also the rest of the songs, then listen to Kaputt because it is objectively the best album released.
October – The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – Harmlessness
This album has so many mind-boggling moments, like the synths on “The Word Lisa” or when “I Can Be Afraid of Anything” rly gets started or the line “Change your life” on “Haircuts For Everybody” or any of the hella angsty moments on “Rage Against the Dying of the Light” “Willie (For Howard)” or all of “January 10th, 2014” (that was a great day btw). My official “best guitar having album” released in 2015.
November – Carly Rae Jepsen – Emotion
Every song is legitimately amazing, like synthy hi-fi Sky Ferreira or less fake, less obnoxious, less aggressively white Taylor Swift or less cheerleader peppy more artsy Katy Perry – CRJ absolutely killed it, I just cant believe it took me so long to listen to this album.
December – Ty Dolla $ign – Free Tc / Jerimih – Late Nights / Pusha T – King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
Hard to choose between these three cause I just started listening to Free TC when Late Nights came out so then I just started listening to Late Nights when Darkest Before Dawn came out then I just started listening to Darkest Before Dawn when I started writing this but all three of them are incredible and we were waiting so long (some more so than others) for new album releases from all of them and now they’re here and they’re all amazing wow what a great year for hip-hop in spite of an extremely disappointing release from Kendrick.
