WSPC'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2015

WSPC'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2015

For all of the music that I purchased and listened to in 2015, I think a common theme was one of sonic adventurousness. It seemed that the albums I responded to the very most were the ones that truly captured my attention by arriving from a landscape that was either more left of center or more unexpected. Studio wizadry was not the only factor in thinking about compiling this list. When I think back to all that I have listened to this year, my mind just travels to the music where just the composing, performing and presenting the music in a fashion that made my ears tingle ecstatically mattered the very most.

As with past years, this list is not presented in any discernible order other than the top two albums..and with that, let's get to the list!

"HITNRUN: Phase Two"-PRINCE

Surprise...and just under the wire at that. "HITNRUN: Phase Two," Prince's second album of the year (following September's "HITNRUN: Phase One"), the fourth album released since 2014 and his 39th overall, was released on December 12, 2015 without warning, hints or preparation and frankly, I could not have asked for a better musical Christmas present this year.

Unlike the previous "HITNRUN" installment where Prince was found taking a backseat on his own album to the likes of  guest stars and Producer Joshua Welton who orchestrated and engineered the bulk of that album's more electronic dance soundscapes, "HITNRUN: Phase Two" showcases Prince fully in the driver's seat with a release that is defiantly more organic, analog recorded and gloriously featuring a 16 piece horn section (made up of The NPG Hornz and Minneapolis' celebrated The Hornheads) that often creates sonic flourishes that sound like 21st century updates of Duke Ellington.

Over the course of just under one hour, Prince unleashes the orchestrated protest song "Baltimore," the previously digitally released selections "Rock And Roll Love Affair," "Screwdriver," "Xtralovable," and the rapturously outstanding "Groovy Potential," plus the new, fully infectious jams of "Stare" (which incorporates references to both "Kiss" and "Sexy Dancer"), the spiritual psychedelia of "Revelation" and even the extended, almost mini-suite jazz/funk fusion of "Black Muse," which does recall the landscape of "The Rainbow Children" (released November 20, 2001) or his instrumental albums "Xpectation" (released January 1, 2003) or "N.E.W.S." (released July 29, 2003). 

Throughout the entire album, and especially as expected from an artist this towering, Prince continues to deliver his nimble, peerless guitar work, proficiently propulsive bass playing and I especially loved the clean, full, dry sound of his drums and those warm electric piano keys, all suggesting a trip into the intimate setting of a late night jazz club that somehow decided to throw itself into the DEEP funk!

As with the two albums he released last year, "ART OFFICIAL AGE" and "PLECTRUM ELECTRUM" (released September 30, 2014), "HITNRUN: Phase Two" finds Prince fully engaged, rejuvenated, inspired, committed and connected, therefore making a cohesive work that stands firmly with his '14 releases, each of them the best works he has delivered in decades.

"THE EPIC"-KAMASI WASHINGTON

It would be extreme hard pressed to find another album of 2015, that referenced the full purpose of its intent and execution within its own title as correctly and as brilliantly as Composer/Producer/Arranger/Saxophonist Kamasi Washington's 3 disc/3 hour jazz fusion excursion. 

"The Epic" is indeed a fully demanding work yet it is not unaccessible. Actually, I believe that you will find much warmth and invitation throughout the course of the album even though the songs are defiantly unafraid of length (the album longest track is Latin tinged "Re Run Home," which rolls onwards for 14 plus minutes). The work is enormously melodic, rhythmically propulsive and overall staggering in its fierce and flowing musicianship that often recalls Charlie Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Ornette Coleman while also firmly staking his own powerful claim. 

"YOUNG RANDOLPHS"-POST SOCIAL

One of 2015's most addictive albums arrived from Madison's very own Post Social as they debuted their second full length release this Autumn and which you are still able to download for FREE from their Bandcamp page. The young collective of Mitch Deitz, Shannon Connor, Sam Galligan and Brendan Manley have again created a work that transfixes due to their hypnotically interlocked guitar rhythms but this time, the band takes a post-punk rock approach and emerges with a more aggressive set of music than their dreamy debut release, and the overall effect is thrilling due to their endlessly inventive songwriting and superior musicianship.

(Full album profile can be found in the October 2015 section)  

"COVERED"-ROBERT GLASPER

After the successful "Black Radio" series, which included two album plus a remix EP, Pianist/Composer Robert Glasper reunited with his trio bandmates Vicente Archer (acoustic bass) and Damion Red (drums) and recorded a set of unorthodox cover songs (from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Musiq Soulchild, John Legend as well as reinterpretations of his own selections) live at Capitol Studios for his latest release. It is a dreamlike release, where Glasper's free flowing musicianship is transportive while also containing a certain edginess, as displayed in the group cover version of Radiohead's "Reckoner," the more dissonant 13 minute "In Case You  Forgot," and the mournful political protest statement "I'm Dying Of Thirst." 

"YOURS, DREAMILY"-THE ARCS

If you are looking for a terrific headphone album, the debut release by The Arcs is a perfect find, as this latest project from The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach is a wildly diverse collection that mines deeper, wider territory than his primary band...and also gives Jack White yet another reason to be angry as I feel that Auerbach has been creatively trumping White in recent years.

Trust me, The Arcs have got it all over most alternative rock albums including the latest release from White's The Dead Weather (which--I'm sorry--is filled with decidedly underwhelming, overly recycled material and moves) as "Yours, Dreamily" casts a wide musical net to include not just the staples of rock and the blues, but also booming psychedelia ("Outta My Mind"), nods to hip-hop ("Put A Flower In Your Pocket"), Ennio Morricone influenced acid country ("Everything You Do"), grindhouse porn movie soundtracks ("Come & Go") and even more, making for an album that is exciting and unpredictable. 

Note to Jack White: If you just focused more on just making the music rather than twisting yourself inside and out proclaiming that you are the bearer of some prefabricated sense of authenticity, you could also be making albums as strong as The Arcs. 

"THE FUN RISES, THE FUN SETS"-VAN HUNT

As with The Arcs, singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Van Hunt has also released a striking headphone album this year. While I do feel that he could share the same musical space as idiosyncratic R&B/funk artists like Bilal, D'Angelo and maybe morseo someone like Cody ChesnuTT, Van Hunt has not remotely received the level of attention those figures have and he most certainly deserves to.

Using a bit of a nod to Ernest Hemingway, "The  Fun Rises, The Fun Sets" showcases two sides of a musical coin: moody funk during the first half and even moodier soul ballads during the second half, and all of the songs filtered through a simultaneously state of the art and lo-fi production style that always catches your ears of balance, therefore making a listening experience that keeps you guessing as to what exactly you heard while your hips are swiveling and your head is nodding. Van Hunt, who handles the lion's share of the album's instrumentation single-handedly, is unafraid to turn melodies inside out, throw out oodles of lyrical conundrums and utilize the instruments and the studio itself in ways that may initially sound completely "wrong" but are indeed infectious.

It is as if, he took Prince's most obscure, most arcane songs and utilized them as a base to leap from, and the effect is intoxicating.

"ALLAS SAK"-DUNGEN

The second most left-of-center album on this list (the top tiered title is forthcoming) and one of the most enjoyable albums I've heard this year. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden is Dungen, which loosely translates as "The Groove," highly apt as this band provides a 1970's influenced blend of psychedelic rock, jazz, folk and fusion that made for more addictive listening for me this year. Aside from the general descriptions that I have provided, the music of Dungen is nearly indescribable, therefore urging you to take a chance and listen to them for yourselves via their website or You Tube or some avenue that you can utilize as a tester.  But, trust me. I'd never steer you wrong. This is a warm album. An inviting one. A work filled with confidence, exploration, experimentation, and a certain adventurousness that will send you through the wormhole and back again.

"SATURNS PATTERN"-PAUL WELLER

The legendary Paul Weller, former leader of both The Jam and The Style Council, has emerged with what may be one of his finest solo releases to date, and this is already counting the wonderful "Wild Wood" (released September 6, 1993) and "22 Dreams" (released June 2, 2008). 

With "Saturns Pattern," his 12th release, Paul Weller also releases a wildly diverse collection that opens with the roaring "White Sky," continues with the psychedelic soul of "Pick It Up," the McCartney-esque confection of "Going My Way," the poignantly introspective "I'm Where I Should Be," all the way to album spectacular triptych that features the glorious "Phoenix," the 21st century travelling blues of "In The Car..." and the high flying slow jam of "These City Streets." 

Throughout all of the inspired performances and production, Paul Weller's supremely soulful vocals function as the sonic glue and carries every song to its highest peaks, demanding the entire album be experienced allover again immediately. A terrific work without question.

"MUSIC COMPLETE"-NEW ORDER

For their first album without co-founder/bassist Peter Hook, New Order must have felt as if they had something to prove and they met the challenge head on and delivered their finest album in over 20 years.

"Music Complete," deeply enveloping and absolutely sensational from start to finish, finds New Order utilizing their signature blend of propulsive dance rhythms with melancholic angst that takes the listener on an odyssey from existential unease to personal resolution over the course of 11 tracks and a hair over 64 minutes. From the nightclub heights of the extraordinary "Tutti Frutti," "People On The High Line," "Singularity" and "Plastic" to the more turbulent "Academic," "Restless" and "Nothing But A Fool" to the growling intensity of the Iggy Pop spoken word "Stray Dog" and more, the album serves as a spectacular high point for an outfit that honestly has nothing left to prove.
(Full album profile can be found in the October 2015 section)

"RUNDDANS"-TODD RUNDGREN, EMIL NIKOLAISEN & HANS-PETER LINDSTROM

The year's most left-of-center album from one of the most idiosyncratic artists we have ever been blessed to have. "Runddans" is one of two albums released this year from Todd Rundgren, (the other being "Global"). In collaborating with Norwegian musicians Emil Nikolaisen and Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Rundgren has released a work that is so far ahead of the curve that the only musical reference that I could use to compare it with would be work Rundgren released 40 years ago. This time, he has finally caught up to himself and extended even further!

While almost impossible to truly describe, here goes..."Runddans" is essentially the mostly instrumental journey through the life cycle as depicted through a repetitive eight musical chord sequence that shifts, divides, mutates, elongates, shrinks, explodes and restructures itself over and again. As the album lasts a mere 39 minutes, it feels like a complete universe, making for an album that is personal yet universal, intimate yet epic, singular yet designed for the masses, and fully inviting while seeming impenetrable. If you could somehow take Writer/Director Terrence Malick's "The Tree Of Life" (2011) and turn it into a synthetic rock album, then Todd Rundgren has achieved it.

(Full album profile can be found in the May 2015 section)

"I LOVE YOU, HONEYBEAR"-FATHER JOHN MISTY

This album floored me.

The second album by singer/songwriter/former Fleet Foxes drummer Father John Misty is a literary infused and darkly romantic song cycle that spins the non-linear tale of his romance with his wife Emma through a sonic palate that suggests the music of Pasty Cline as produced and arranged by Brian Wilson. Emotionally exhausting and completely filled with firecracker lyrics and cinematic widescreen harmonics, Father John Misty where every song serves as a short story in the novel of Misty and Emma's relationship as well as a turbulent ride into Misty's tormented psyche.

Throughout, I was consistently upended as every time I thought that I had found my bearing from song to song, Misty would then deliver a body slam of a phrase, an unrepentant vulgarity, an ever increasingly disturbing deep dive into self-loathing as if daring the listener to remain beside him during this arduous inner journey, no matter how lushly romantic the music sounded.

"I Love You, Honeybear" is a labyrinthine expression and exploration of love as it truly exists as well as a walk through the corridors of Misty's personal heartbreak hotel. And by album's end, the wind is not only knocked clean out of you, you do indeed realize what a miracle love actually is.

(Full album profile can be found in the August 2015 section)

2015 M.V.P.-RYAN ADAMS

For my personal tastes, if 2015 were to have some sort of an M.V.P., that artist would have to be none other than Ryan Adams, who this year returned to releasing music at his legendary prolific nature and then some, all the while retaining the high quality of his art. For me, this is all the more remarkable as he rarely voyages into any sense of studio wizadry, sticking solidly to the basic combination of vocals, guitars, bass. drums, piano and augmented with minimal keyboards or orchestral fourishes.

"TEN SONGS FROM LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL"

 

In April, Adams released "Ten Songs From Live From Carnegie Hall," select performances culled from the 6 LP complete set, and what that album delivered to me was a sense of what a solo acoustic performance from Adams just may be like--especially, as I have seen him perform with his now defunct backing band The Cardinals on two occasions. In contrast to his hysterical and profanity laced stage banter, this set presents Adams in a pin-drop quiet setting weaving a magical spell with minimal instrumentation, and the wonder of his beautiful vocals, which give the lyrics a grander and even more focused and fragile context in such stripped down arrangements. Simply beautiful.

There is no reason whatsoever for me to be listening to Taylor Swift. That being said, when Adams revealed that he was indeed recording his version of Swift's mega popular "1989," my ears perked upwards. It is no secret that Adams is quite the studio obsessive and he has been known to re-record albums that he has enjoyed in the past. This time around, and as he was recovering from his recent divorce from Mandy Moore, Adams took to the studio to re-craft the entire album from top to bottom, and completely without irony, somehow making the album sound as if it was always his to begin with, almost serving as a sequel or companion album to his own "Gold" (released September 25, 2001), "Love Is Hell" (released May 4, 2004) or even "29" (released December 19, 2005). Imagine a mellow Bruce Springsteen fronting The Smiths and you'll have a sense of the melancholic glory Adams has achieved with this set.

THE PAX-AM SINGLE SERIES

 

 

 

And then, there's what Ryan Adams has recorded and released in a bit before and in between his two official new albums, a collection of 7 in vinyl/digital singles, each containing three or four selections that run the gamut from his acoustic ballads, punk rock excursions, power pop bangers, Euro-pop dreamscapes and even comical studio odds and ends. All of them, readily available upon I-Tunes (all of the vinyl versions are long SOLD OUT), will give you a front row seat into Adams' restless creativity and also help you understand that he is an artist miles ahead of many. 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: RUNNER UP  "CURRENTS"-TAME IMPALA

As I first stated back in July, my own specialized brand of synesthesia has continuously received the grandest workout due to this album, the third release from Tame Impala, without any competitor is my second highest favorite album of 2015.

Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker, who wrote, sang, produced and performed every single, solitary sound on the album all by himself, created a gorgeous, resplendent sounding masterpiece that provocatively extends from his previous palate of psychedelic guitar workouts to a more keyboard based soul/R&B psychedelia, therefore challenging himself as well as his audience and the results were nothing less than spectacular. 

Leading with what I feel to be the song of the year, the nearly 8 minute wonderland of "Let It Happen," Tame Impala's "Currents" utilizes its oceans of analog synths and interstellar slow jams complete with deep, hip-swaying bass guitars and finger snaps to take the listener (as well as Parker himself) upon a dazzling emotional journey that closely touches the immediacy and melancholic greatness of The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" (released May 16, 1966).

How easy it would have been for Parker to have taken Tame Impala into a repetitive musical headspace, which would have easily been successful. But Parker's restructured his own musical approach while growing his overall sense of artistic intent and vision into a stunningly composed and sequenced album that exists as a swirling, dynamic euphoria. LP4 cannot arrive soon enough!!!

(Full album profile can be found in the July 2015 section) 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: "TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY"-KENDRICK LAMAR

And here we arrive at the tip-top, the finest album I have heard this year...and maybe it is the best album of the last five years at that. 

Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" is a pulverizing work. Dense, demanding, staggering in its audaciousness, creativity, inventiveness and power, Lamar has unrepentantly created an album that harks back to the past not just by incorporating the worlds of live instrumentation and free jazz and poetry into the world of hip-hop, he has created a work that forces the listener to focus solely upon the music for the duration of its massive, complex, 78 minute length. For us, Kendrick Lamar has created a work where the listening IS the experience itself and believe me, there is no way to be distracted from its strength and vision for even one second.

Functioning simultaneously as an introspective drama, political protest statement, spiritual allegory and cultural commentary about what it means to be Black in 21st century America, Lamar, through his astonishing almost Shakespearean lyricism and the master class delivery of his entire vocal performances, creates a narrative containing psychological meltdowns and spiritual ascension so thorough, so deeply mined that we are hearing the evolution of a young man completely from the inside out. It is a journey that contains as much self-laceration as enlightenment and Lamar presents everything through a veritable hurricane of words, characters and voices that makes so much of the current state of music sound completely trite. This is political music that confronts racism, self-loathing and self-love without blinking. It is demonstrably in-your-face and defiantly multi-layered. The only thing this album is missing is a complete libretto!

Thankfully, Lamar, working in lockstep with figures like Kamasi Washington, George Clinton, Robert Glasper, Thundercat and Flying Lotus among others, has ensured that the songs live and breathe musically, through melodies as well as rhythms, therefore making the words sing and soar as their most vibrant.  

Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" is a masterpiece without question. It is not remotely passive, it is definitely not an easy listen and it is also decidedly vulgar--therefore reflecting precisely the world we are all co-existing within. It will indeed give listeners much to debate, discuss and discern while telling a story that is individual and cultural, local and global and all leading to a hopeful plane of spiritual deliverance. 

Filled from beginning to end with feverish determination and ambition, Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" is the finest album of 2015. 

(Full album profile can be found in the April 2015 section)

And with that, the musical year of 2015 comes to a close. 2016, I'm READY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!