WASHINGTON — Maybe it’s unfair to say, or maybe it’s just reflective of my personal sensibilities, but 2015 felt like something of a letdown year in terms of new music. Part of that has to do with the fact that 2013 and 2014 were both so excellent and set a high bar back-to-back. Another part is the fact that it seems like the year was dominated by pop blockbusters, from Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber to Adele (none of which you’ll find on this list).
Instead of seemingly finding new albums dropping from the sky so often it was hard to keep up, this year included deep, repetitive spinnings of a select few albums that really resonated. To help me break down this year’s Top 15 albums, I’m joined by Marcus J. Moore, who provides a nice counterpoint in terms of both his background and tastes, giving us a well-rounded list. You’ll see reviews from each of us throughout this year’s list. So with no further ado, let’s start the countdown. — Noah Frank
(WTOP/Noah Frank)
WTOP/Noah Frank
15. Floating Points — Elaenia
Floating Points’ debut album ends abruptly, just as concluding track “Peroration Six” reaches a peak. The drums get heavier and the keys grow louder, making me wonder if the follow up will pick up where Elaenia left off. The rest of producer Sam Shepherd’s album is remarkably fluid; bands Pink Floyd and Radiohead come to mind, and the music has a cinematic tinge to it. Elaenia could qualify as easy listening, though you can sense the composer’s uneasiness as the album progresses. He holds it together for the record’s seven tracks, finally letting off some steam at the end. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You still can’t stop playing Kid A and Dark Side of the Moon.
Highlighted Tracks: Peroration Six, Silhouettes (I, II, II), Argenté
(Album art courtesy Eglo Records)
Album art courtesy Eglo Records
14. Leon Bridges — Coming Home
Leon Bridges’ debut feels like it fell through a time warp and landed in your parents’ attic, only to be dusted off and discovered by a new generation for the first time. His simple, straightforward soul doesn’t reinvent anything, but hearkens back to an era decades passed. And while it may not be new, exactly, it hits all the right notes and is quite a refreshing initial effort from the now 26-year-old. The title track got the most play, but it’s the closer, “River,” that not only sticks with you, but gives hope for further exploration and a deeper lyrical venture in albums to come. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: You long for the simplicity of a resonant voice and classic, feel-good music.
Highlighted Tracks: Coming Home, Shine, River
https://youtu.be/EC5Lisj1hGI
(Album art courtesy Columbia Records)
Album art courtesy Columbia Records
13. Christian Scott — Stretch Music
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, and walking through the city, you quickly realize the stronghold it has there. Christian Scott’s recent album, Stretch Music, is creatively free, full of shape-shifting rhythms and evocative instrumentals. Scott already has a robust discography, but his 2015 LP was arguably his best work, blurring the lines without straying too far from his sonic core. Stretch Music was a fluid walk through the Big Easy, celebrating its rich diversity while casting an eye toward the world at large. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like to relax to grown folks’ music.
Highlighted Tracks: TWIN, West of the West, Tantric, The Last Chieftan
(Album art courtesy Ropeadope/Stretch Music)
Album art courtesy Ropeadope/Stretch Music
12. Algiers — Algiers
Let’s start by saying that whatever you think of when you think of Atlanta, Algiers probably isn’t it. And with good reason. It’s like a rejection of Atlanta, of the south, of everything it paints itself to look like to cover the growing cracks in the drywall caused by the seismic shifts in the landscape by the events of Ferguson or Charleston or Baltimore. Call it post-gospel punk, if labels are your thing.
Of course, the album was written and recorded before any of that. It just seems to have been destined for our time. The trio met over a decade ago at Georgia State, and did not actually begin to work together musically on this piece until two were living oversees pursuing grad programs. What they have created demands your attention. Give it to them. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: You want to channel your frustrations about our modern world.
Highlighted Tracks: Remains, Blood, Irony. Utility. Pretext.
(Album art courtesy Matador Records)
Album art courtesy Matador Records
11. The Breathing Effect — Mars is a Very Bad Place for Love
My wife can’t listen to the Breathing Effect’s “Rising Inside” without freestyling to it. It’s physically impossible. No, she’s not a rapper, but once the melody comes together, she thinks she’s MC Lyte or Queen Latifah. I can’t blame her; the Breathing Effect’s debut album is special that way. It’s rooted in jazz and soul, but there’s a bright feel to it that works on multiple levels. The band released an equally great EP in 2014, powered by the tracks “Layers of Thought” and “Losing My Mind.” Among other things, the LP showed there’s something captivating about these guys. They’re waiting on the world to catch up. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like jazz, soul and R&B all mixed into one thing.
Highlighted Tracks: Visions, Streetlights Out of Focus, Weightless Reality, Rising Inside
(Album art courtesy Alpha Pup Records)
Album art courtesy Alpha Pup Records
10. RATATAT — Magnifique
After bursting onto the scene in 2004, RATATAT seemed to have worn out their welcome after a series of increasingly lackluster efforts. Their first two albums, their self-titled debut and Classics two years later, showed just how dynamic, full and catchy instrumental rock could be. Back after a five-year hiatus between releases, Magnifique signals the New York duo’s triumphant return to the formula that endeared them to our hearts and ears in the first place.
The sharp, bright guitar overtures that punctuated the band’s first offerings are back, along with more tightly layered sounds than past efforts. The subtle complexities in how some of these secondary sounds are shaped give the sound more nuance and keep it from ever being repetitive. In an interview with Spin, the duo said they returned to writing around melodies instead of beats. Thank god for that. This is the RATATAT album those of us who fell in sonic love with the first two have been waiting quite some time for. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: You appreciate killer guitar lines and beats and don’t need lyrics to make your music essential.
Highlighted Tracks: Cream on Chrome, Abrasive, Countach
(Album art courtesy XL Recordings)
Album art courtesy XL Recordings
9. Deradoorian — The Expanding Flower Planet
Angel Deradoorian’s voice doesn’t hit you right away. Her tenor is celestial, wafting in from a distant place. Deradoorian offered serene vocals to Flying Lotus’ 2014 album, You’re Dead!, and spent time playing with bands Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks. For her solo debut, the multi-instrumentalist opted for a broad sound that funneled international themes into hypnotic arrangements. The Expanding Flower Planet was a slow burn that casually found its way. Deradoorian proved she could stand alone and loom just as large. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like international music with a pop slant.
Highlighted Tracks: A Beautiful Woman, Violet Minded, Your Creator, Ouneya
(Album art courtesy Anticon)
Album art courtesy Anticon
8. Alabama Shakes — Sound & Color
It’s pretty clear from outset — the long intro into the nearly naked bass, xylophone and drums-led title track — that Alabama Shakes’ sophomore effort is going to sound different from their attention-demanding 2012 debut. While their first album was steeped in Southern rock styles and unfiltered soul, Sound & Color is sharper, more produced, and also darker than its predecessor. It may seem an odd analogy to make, but the best comparison I can forge is to the difference in John Mayer’s first two major studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things.
That tighter production over a wider variety of styles allows each layer of sound and instrumentation on Sound & Color to come through more clearly, where Boys and Girls had a fuzz that blended everything together more flatly. It’s almost as if we saw Alabama Shakes through a cheap, disposable camera the first time around, and as good as they were, we didn’t get to enjoy them fully until we upgraded to the telescopic lens we get to see them through here. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if …: You appreciate a frontwoman whose booming voice can dominate a room.
Highlighted Tracks: Sound & Color, Don’t Wanna Fight, Shoegaze
(Album art courtesy ATO Records)
Album art courtesy ATO Records
7. Beauty Pill — Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are
Beauty Pill’s recent album marked a sharp creative shift for the D.C. band: The group’s previous work was straight-ahead rock; this was sonically challenging, full of electronic textures that were tough to wade through. Overall, Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are is a bright collage of airy synthetics and introspective lyrics. Album centerpiece “Dog with Rabbit in Mouth, Unharmed” was a gorgeous ode to frontman Chad Clark’s dog, Lucy, who died of cancer. The album title seems ironic in hindsight: Nothing was easy here. The world is a beautifully complicated place with no real answers. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like music that takes you places.
Highlighted Tracks: Dog with Rabbit in Mouth Unharmed, Afrikaner Barista, Steven and Tiwonge, Near Miss Stories
(Album art courtesy Butterscotch Records)
Album art courtesy Butterscotch Records
6. Hop Along — Painted Shut
Every few years, a new voice distinguishes itself from the pack in its unmistakable delivery, its nuanced timbre and tone. If enough people hear the sophomore effort from Philadelphia’s Hop Along, Frances Quinlan may be that next voice. She’ll tremble and quiver, the top of her range will grate like sandpaper as she grinds through the notes between the notes, stretching for that next landing place. And it all works.
I’m so disappointed I initially missed their 2013 debut, Get Disowned, which includes firecracking anthems like “Tibetan Pop Stars.” Go listen to that right now. I’ll wait. If you’re not pumped for Painted Shut after that, I don’t know what to tell you. This is a more polished and less raw collection than its predecessor, but that allows Quinlan’s vocals to shine above the noise even more clearly in all their flawless imperfection. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: You think American Idol voices are overly polished and saccharine and you yearn to hear something genuinely expressive.
Highlighted Tracks: Horseshoe Crabs, Waitress, Well-dressed
(Album art courtesy Saddle Creek Records)
Album art courtesy Saddle Creek Records
5. Kamasi Washington — The Epic
Jazz made a big comeback in 2015, due mostly to rapper Kendrick Lamar’s exquisite third album, on which saxophonist Kamasi Washington was a key contributor. Washington’s album, The Epic, held a massive sound that went in all sorts of creative directions. While mostly traditional in scope, The Epic also paid homage to cosmic acts like Sun Ra, Weather Report and late-’60s Miles Davis while remaining close to label boss Flying Lotus’ creative arc. In the era of mainstream “turn up” music, Washington created an opus that connected to wide groups of listeners. “The Rhythm Changes” hits like a radio pop single, and “Final Thought” is a layered hybrid of funk and soul. “Henrietta Our Hero,” dedicated to Washington’s grandmother, feels like a gospel song: A full choir backs up singer Patrice Quinn, giving the track a transformative resonance. The Epic reminded us that good music is good music, no matter where it comes from. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You dig expansive rhythms that take time to unfold.
Highlighted Tracks: Askim, Re Run Home, Miss Understanding, Change of the Guard
(Album art courtesy Brainfeeder Records)
Album art courtesy Brainfeeder Records
4. Beach House — Depression Cherry / Thank Your Lucky Stars
Baltimore duo Beach House threw us a curveball this year, dropping their first album since 2012’s Bloom, only to follow it up with a second release just two months later. Sonically, both Depression Cherry and Count Your Lucky Stars are cut from the same cloth, but the latter is more than just B-sides from the former.
Both albums are well worth your time, but Depression Cherry is a truly excellent home alone, big headphones and oversized sweatshirt on, snow drifting in flurries outside kind of album. Beach House fans may find more comfort in the familiarity of TYLS, but it’s not as ambitious — rather a step back toward the safety of what they’ve already done, as opposed to the step forward into the unknown that was Depression Cherry.
And goodness, the arpeggios on “Space Song” just slay me every time. It’s my single favorite song of the year. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: That old sad bastard music is a record you’ve been listening to and enjoying.
Highlighted Tracks: Space Song, She’s So Lovely, One Thing
(Album art courtesy Sub Pop Records)
Album art courtesy Sub Pop Records
3. D’Angelo and The Vanguard — Black Messiah
Released by surprise last December, Black Messiah spoke directly to the racial angst that’s grown more pronounced in recent years. “1000 Deaths” had a wartime feel; with its muddy guitar riff and deep bass drops, D’Angelo addressed the anger of watching your people be killed for sport. “The Charade” looked at inequality from an exasperated viewpoint: “All we wanted was a chance to talk/’Stead we only got outlined in chalk.” Elsewhere, Black Messiah was vintage D’Angelo, full of sweet melodies and barely-there lyrics. It’s almost easy to forget now that the album was plagued by years of false starts, blown deadlines and the singer’s own struggles. Nonetheless, Black Messiah arrived right on time. — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like transformative soul music.
Highlighted Tracks: Really Love, Another Life, 1000 Deaths, Sugah Daddy
(Album art courtesy RCA Records)
Album art courtesy RCA Records
2. Sufjan Stevens — Carrie and Lowell
There wasn’t a more personal album released than Sufjan Stevens’ latest venture. Rather than intensely study and attempt to capture a topic like he did with his two state albums, he tackles the subject he knows best, his parents. Named for his mother and stepfather, Carrie and Lowell tackles the questions and challenges of his own life head on, taking his music to a deeper level than we’ve seen before.
While Michigan showed how much Stevens can do with his minimalist style and he flexed his impressively expansive musicianship on Illinois, the songs on Carrie and Lowell evoke Nick Drake and Elliott Smith at their finest. It was once said of Drake’s music that you could “turn an album all the way up and it would still sound quiet.” Carrie and Lowell feels the same; that no matter how loud you tried to make it, each note would remain touchingly soft, as delicate as if the volume was set low in the background. — Noah Frank
This album is for you if: You want music that demands you feel every note.
Highlighted Tracks: All of Me Wants All of You, Fourth of July, No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross
(Album art courtesy Asthmatic Kitty Records)
Album art courtesy Asthmatic Kitty Records
1. Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp A Butterfly
After the great success of 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city, rapper Kendrick Lamar could’ve easily followed the same formula and achieved similar results. But this year’s To Pimp A Butterfly was a magnum opus of free jazz, spoken-word poetry and spacious funk, the likes of which the West Coast hadn’t seen since Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Butterfly is remarkably black: It arrived on the heels of intense struggle between blacks and law enforcement, and the rapper didn’t mince words in conveying his message. Butterfly is aggressive, loving and insular — often all at the same time. It’s a complicated mix of self-doubt and meditation, with Lamar pondering what it’s like to live as a black man. “Alright” became an uplifting anthem for the “Black Lives Matter” movement, and “How Much a Dollar Cost” is reportedly President Obama’s favorite song of 2015. Who needs a Grammy with that sort of praise? — Marcus J. Moore
This album is for you if: You like hip-hop with a message and aren’t scared to hear truth that might make you uncomfortable.
Highlighted Tracks: Institutionalized, Momma, Alright, The Blacker the Berry
(Album art courtesy Interscope Records)
