{"id":2792,"date":"2015-12-27T10:40:18","date_gmt":"2015-12-27T09:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leapfrog.nl\/blog\/?p=2792"},"modified":"2015-12-29T01:44:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-29T00:44:37","slug":"favourite-music-albums-of-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leapfrog.nl\/blog\/archives\/2015\/12\/27\/favourite-music-albums-of-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Favourite music albums of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well what do you know, a blog post. Because looking back is the thing people do this time of year and I actually have the luxury of time to look back for a change, I thought I’d compile a list of albums I enjoyed listening to in 2015 that were also released in 2015. <\/p>\n

There were quite a few albums I listened to this year that weren’t<\/em> released in 2015. Those don’t show up here. If you’re curious, there is always Last.fm<\/a>. Most notably, I discovered The Hold Steady through BEE<\/a> and got seriously hooked on ‘Boys And Girls In America’. Some of the best rock music made this side of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’, if you ask me.<\/p>\n

Anyway, here is a list of the 15 albums from 2015 that I listened to the most, in order of number of plays. A \u2764\ufe0f denotes a particular favourite. If you want to have a listen, here’s a Spotify playlist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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  1. DJ Koze \u2013 DJ Kicks<\/strong> \u2764\ufe0f (Just a flawless mix of delightful tunes that lift the spirit.)<\/li>\n
  2. Blur \u2013 The Magic Whip<\/strong> \u2764\ufe0f (Lyrically interesting, sonically a kind of review or repetition of their whole oeuvre. Atmospherically I think they captured the spirit of the times quite well.) <\/li>\n
  3. Tame Impala \u2013 Currents<\/strong> (The falsetto gets on my nerves some times, but the opening tracks have an irresistible groove to them.)<\/li>\n
  4. Courtney Barnett \u2013 Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit<\/strong> \u2764\ufe0f (Strong contender for album of the year. Funny, imaginative lyrics and music that simply rocks.)<\/li>\n
  5. Kurt Vile \u2013 b’lieve i’m goin down\u2026<\/strong> \u2764\ufe0f (It is kind of amazing to me how Vile keeps churning out one great record after an other. This is his most optimistic to date.)<\/li>\n
  6. Jamie XX \u2013 In Colour<\/strong> (There are a few letdowns on this one preventing it to be the kind of dance music album you play on repeat.)<\/li>\n
  7. Kendrick Lamar \u2013 To Pimp A Butterfly<\/strong> (All over the place. I dig the nods to P-Funk.)<\/li>\n
  8. Everything Everything \u2013 Get To Heaven<\/strong> (I binged on this in July and have hardly listened to it since because of the love hate relationship with the singer’s voice. But this remains delightfully eclectic and energetic.)<\/li>\n
  9. Dr. Dre \u2013 Compton<\/strong> (Not available on Spotify but I mention it here because I enjoyed the return to uncomplicated west side hiphop it offers.)<\/li>\n
  10. Carly Rae Jepsen \u2013 Emotion<\/strong> (Obligatory guilty pleasure. Each year I get hooked on one of these female pop stars. This was Carly Rae’s year.)<\/li>\n
  11. Miguel \u2013 Wildheart<\/strong> (Easily the best R&B album of the year. Versatile, sexy, musically interesting.)<\/li>\n
  12. Royal Headache \u2013 High<\/strong> (Great throwback to punk that sounds fresh at the same time. Great lyrics.)<\/li>\n
  13. Destroyer \u2013 Poison Season<\/strong> (Wasn’t so sure about this one until seeing them live (again) at Le Guess Who? and now that I’ve heard the songs live I understand what they’re trying to do here. These songs are meant to sound BIG.)<\/li>\n
  14. Deerhunter \u2013 Fading Frontier<\/strong> \u2764\ufe0f (Another album of the year hopeful. Most accessible album of a band that continues to fascinate. Musically and lyrically imaginative and exciting.)<\/li>\n
  15. Majical Cloudz \u2013 Are You Alone?<\/strong> (I return to this for its intimate atmosphere.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Honorary mentions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I should have listened to these more but somehow didn’t. Here they are in no particular order.<\/p>\n