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Another year, another slew of great albums and singles to feed our ears. Although this year's list is only slightly less diverse than 2014 (just over 70 unique artists over the 100 tracks), it might actually be
deeper, all told. As with past years, I biased the list slightly to include more unique artists overall, especially toward the back end, to help paint the broader picture. Also as always, I didn't get a chance to listen to everything that came out, much as I would love to! If you think there's an obvious omission,
let me know about it!
100. Kacey Musgraves - Late to the Party
It's becoming some sort of strange tradition that I start off the list with a song that doesn't necessarily fit with the rest of the group; something a little different. Kacey Musgraves's
Pageant Material is an almost strangely earnestly-written collection of country tunes, and there might be no better example of those lyrics than on this track. "Who needs a crowd when you're happy at a party for two?" It falls in line with the mindset of enjoying simple pleasures and the overpowering feeling of contentment when you're out with someone you'll still be thinking about long after the night ends. Musgraves's voice is clear, the chorus conjoins seamlessly with the verses with (fittingly) simple harmony over easy drums and two acoustic guitars. Simple pleasures, man.
99. Panda Bear - Boys Latin
It might be a foregone conclusion at this point that nothing Noah Lennox does solo from here on out will match, for me, what 2007's
Person Pitch provided. To his credit, he also doesn't seem too concerned with that possibility. Lennox as Panda Bear has never stopped evolving, and while the results aren't always sparkling, he still hits the mark every so often. The mostly unintelligible, self-echoing verses bounce from side to side, never settling down long enough to be considered something other than "nomadic," as electronics bubble in the background. I stop short of saying any of this makes for an uncomfortable listen - obviously, if it's on this list, I'm enjoying it - but it doesn't really allow for complacent listens. There are layers of activity going on here well before you even get to the lyrics, and I appreciate it for the sounds that are partially nonsense that still manage to have a prettiness to them.
98. Marina and the Diamonds - Forget
The beginning of Marina Diamandis's discography holds lots of songs that often steer well clear of admitting any sort of weakness. Some of them, "Primadonna," for example, are awash in self-confidence. Along comes
Froot, then, with songs that finally cop to cracks in the armor. "Forget" maintains some of that past confidence while also feeling confessional and honest, possibly/probably even a bit biographical. There isn't a lot of Diamandis's trademark pomp here, and the straightforward attitude of the song really works to her benefit here. She doesn't stray into falsetto much - save for a thrilling moment toward the end of a bridge - and the utility of the lower register of her voice adds to the genuine feeling of the track, free of any sort of smirk or thought of fingers crossed behind her back.
97. Albert Hammond, Jr. - Touché
Whenever members of a band I enjoy embark on solo efforts, I always try to identify parts of their music that have either carried over from the group, or could be credited as their particular contribution to the group's sound. In this case, "Touché" absolutely sounds like a Strokes B-side that Hammond is singing, instead of Julian Casablancas. Tin-fuzzed vocals, aggressive and irregularly-patterned drum beats along with familiar-sounding electric guitars. It's comforting to hear the parallels and be able to hear just what Hammond adds to the Strokes' collective feel. The closing 45 seconds of drum breakdown and guitar spotlighting while the bass chimes in late and chugs along behind are some of my favorite instrumental parts of any song out this year.
96. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear - Silent Movies
An instantly distinctive folk duo, Madisen Ward and his mother, Ruth, pack a rollicking 1-2 punch here with "Silent Movies." Madisen's vocal energy is almost inimitable, with tonal shifts and a prominent vocal warble throughout that serves as a trademark. Each of the Wards plays a guitar - Madisen on lead electric, Mama Ruth provided the steady, sure-handed rhythm - above a beat of a single tambourine with stray violin supplement. Put simply, the song feels like an easygoing good time.
95. Dungen - En Ga°ng Om A°ret
I don't understand a single word of Dungen's music - it's sung exclusively in Swedish - but that's not why I listen to their music or, I'm sure, how they came to gain indie cred in America. Their songs seem to create lovely atmospheres, and with no pressure to analyze any lyrical content, it's instead the
sound of the lyrics above the music that make for captivating listens. Consider this track - whose pronunciation can be learned through the first line of sung lyrics; don't ask me to try it, though - where a constant piano part patiently runs under sweeping guitars (electric and acoustic alike) and, later, crashing drums as the song builds from a soft, tinged-with-sadness ballad-type track into a triumph of noise. It feels like a fantastical world within a song, understandable lyrics be damned.
94. Modest Mouse - The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box
When Modest Mouse are at their best, they embody the sound that comes just before, as Joan Holloway-Harris would say, crossing the line from lubricated to morose. Sure, their more dirge-y tracks can still hit the right notes, but when they're swinging their arms like they've just finished their fourth or fifth Pabst and Isaac Brock decides he has something he wants to get off his chest, they're in business. So it goes here, with six minutes of the group's version of adrenaline that sounds like it could fit on any of their post-
Moon and Antarctica albums. It's a track that feels like it might be trying out a slightly more restrained version of the energy put on display in
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank standout "Dashboard," but whatever the true impetus, all the right notes are indeed hit.
93. Jason Isbell - How to Forget
The second song in this cluster referencing forgetting, sportswriter-favorite and Drive-By Truckers alum Jason Isbell has penned his latest cut-to-the-core, lay-my-soul bare track that has been the hallmark of his career resurgence over the last few years. His not-so-subtle twang and raw vocal intensity - though somewhat subdued on this track - have carried him to new heights, and the stories his songs tell can feel relatable, even if they're not necessarily universal. With this, a song about moving on and transitioning feelings, Isbell is at his most relatable, from the wistful tones on through the slightly spiteful ones.
92. Ought - Men For Miles
There's something a little uneasy about Ought's music. It could be frontman Tim Darcy's David Byrne propensities, it could be the free-flowing nature of their music, it could be that their songs are really never about anything particularly uplifting; hell, it could be all of the above. Ought never sound generic, and their mood here feels sneering as Darcy repeatedly asks "does it just bring a tear to your eye?" during what could probably be described as the song's chorus, but who can be sure? For as persistent as the guitars and drums are, they feel obscured; the image that comes to mind for me is a smoke-filled room, but your mind's eye may vary.
91. Pixx - Flee
Newcomer Hannah Rodgers, a 19-year-old Brit and 4AD signee, debuted this year with an intriguing four-song EP, highlighted by this track. It's minimalist to a T, constructed solely with a piano, snapping fingers and Rodgers's own layered vocals. In some ways her voice is reminiscent of Fear of Men's Jess Weiss; other times it feels slightly Lana del Rey-ian, still somewhat booze-soaked from the night before as the next morning dawns. The four songs on the EP showcase different sounds and ideas Rodgers has to prop up her voice, but none of the four does it quite as well as "Flee," where patience and uncomplicated arrangements allow her sound and lyrics to come to the forefront.
