2015 FBG Album Poll - Courtney Barnett is #1 (1 Viewer)

[Nigel Tufnel]

Not enough of y'all listened to Salad Boys. Thanks NV.

I'll have to correct that.

You'd like it. I loved Baroness and Titus Andronicus and of course Ty Segall too.

And Royal Headache.

 

[JZilla]

I liked the Baroness album but on first listen I thought it veered into Steel Panther self-parody territory at times. It also came out so late in the year that I only listened to it a couple of times.

I like it fine but was disappointed, especially in the crummy sound quality after Y&G had such great production

 

[JZilla]

Expected to see Faith No More.. I felt like everybody liked it but me.

Meant to throw some points at Dirty Fences but I thought they'd be on here too. Another one I could say I was mildly disappointed in but still enjoyed.

 

[Fiddles]

Had Ben folds and fnm in my top 5 but they missed the top 50. Thx for your work as always nv. Lots of listening homework here.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Pretty sure this is the first time I've hit on 4 of the top 5 albums.

Awesome work as always, NV.

I usually get 1 or 2 in the top 10, but most of my top picks end up getting ####-canned.

seems like this list is following the pitchfork/indie trend vibe of electro-poppy/easy-listening/dancey stuff. not really my scene, man.

eta: here's the list I sent NV...

1. Highest Point in Clifftown- Hooton Tennis Club (22)

2. Transfixiation- A Place to Bury Strangers (19)

3. Early Risers- Soliders of Fortune (16)

4. No Life for Me- Wavves, Cloud Nothings (16)

5. Sometimes I think and Think and Sometimes I just Sit- Courtney Barnett (16)

6. The Agent Intellect- Protomartyr (16)

7. White Men Are Black- Young Fathers (14)

8. In a Restless House- City Calm Down (13)

9. Multi-Love- Unknown Mortal Orchestra (11)

10. b'lieve i'm going down- Kurt Vile (8)

11. ll- Fuzz (8)

12. Undertow- Drenge (7)

13. Key Markets- Sleaford Mods (6)

14. Show Your Teeth- The Castillians (6)

15. Ratworld- Menace Beach (6)

16. Mind on Fire- Dan Deacon (6)

17. A Flourish and a Spoil- The Districts (6)

18. Viet Cong- Viet Cong (2)

19. What Went Down- Foals (1)

20. 11- Metz (1)

Almost...

Restarter- Torche

Sun Coming Down- Ought

Bad Magic- Motorhead

Currents- Tame Impala

No No NO- Beirut

Golem- Wand

That's about where I am. I also lost steam in the last 1/3 of the year, so I think a lot of mine were from the start of the year. Still love these countdowns, as I will go back through and find a couple albums that I did that I either didn't listen to, or didn't like on first listen. Here is the list I sent in:

30pts: Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love

30pts: Elder - Lore

25pts: Iron Maiden - Book of Souls

20pts: Mourn - Mourn

20pts: Hop Along - Painted Shut

13pts: Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think...

12pts: J.D. McPherson - Let the Good Times Roll

10pts: Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass

10pts: Bully - Feels Like

5pts: Pale Honey - Pale Honey

5pts: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

5pts: Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

5pts: Torres - Sprinter

5pts: Vince Staples - Summertime '06

1pt: The Phantom Band - Fears Trending

1pt: The Arcs - Yours, Dreamily

1pt: The Amazing - Picture You

1pt: Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy

1pt: Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Nice job as usual NV. Thanks for putting this together again.

It was a down year for me---listened to a lot less new music than any of the past 15 years.

 

[Steve Tasker]

The comments re: P4k easy listening/electropop/dance stuff are interesting, because that's right in my wheelhouse and usually the top end of my list is nowhere near the FBG collective taste and yet this year I hit on 4 of the top 5 albums. Maybe Floppo's right.

 

[Eephus]

The comments re: P4k easy listening/electropop/dance stuff are interesting, because that's right in my wheelhouse and usually the top end of my list is nowhere near the FBG collective taste and yet this year I hit on 4 of the top 5 albums. Maybe Floppo's right.

Nah, he's just a bitter old fart

 

[Northern Voice]

I have a pretty hard time classifying Grimes, Courtney Barnett, Wolf Alice, etc... as easy listening... Chvrches are synthpop,

The top 10 had indie regulars like Dawes, Decemberists, Alabama Shakes, but those albums were pretty boring compared to the ones mentioned above IMO.

 

[Northern Voice]

More of you should have listened to/voted for Maccabees and Brandon Flowers though.

 

[Steve Tasker]

More of you should have listened to/voted for Maccabees and Brandon Flowers though.

You're the only person who's listened to a Brandon Flowers product since Sam's Town.

 

[rockaction]

More of you should have listened to/voted for Maccabees and Brandon Flowers though.

You're the only person who's listened to a Brandon Flowers product since Sam's Town.

That's really funny.

 

[Eephus]

As long as we're all pimping, I'll put in a good word for the Bop English album. It's a solo project of James Petralli of White Denim who have charted in this poll before. Petralli toned down the excesses of his regular band and delivered a record that goes down like a cold beer on a hot day.

The Laura Marling is great if you like her but if you didn't like her earlier stuff, you'll absolutely hate this one. Likewise, Sparks have always been kind of an acquired taste but I acquired it about 40 years ago. To stick with the food and drink comparisons, FFS is like a plastic pumpkin head full of halloween candy.

The unknown pleasure on my list that few people have probably heard is the Girls Names album. They're a Scottish band with kind of a postpunk-Horrors thing going on.

FFS --- FFS --- 20
Laura Marling --- Short Movie --- 20
Bop English --- Constant Bop --- 20

Wolf Alice --- My Love is Cool --- 15
**** Diver --- Melbourne, Florida --- 15
Mikal Cronin --- MCIII --- 15
Girls Names --- Arms Around a Vision --- 15
Father John Misty --- I Love You, Honeybear --- 15
The Internet --- Ego Death --- 15

Django Django --- Born Under Saturn --- 10
Gold Class --- It's You --- 10
Gaz Coombes --- Matador --- 10

Beach Slang --- The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us --- 5
Car Seat Headrest --- Teens of Style --- 5
EL VY --- Return to the Moon --- 5

New Order --- Music Complete --- 1
A Projection --- Exit --- 1
Moon Duo --- Shadow of the Sun --- 1
East India Youth --- Culture of Violence --- 1
The Weeknd --- Beauty Behind the Madness --- 1

 

[rockaction]

Spoiler

1 - We Hunt Buffalo - Living Ghosts 30

this is a late entry (for me) and it is no ####### joke

2 - Drenge - Undertow 20

not the best album called that but it's real good. I don't understand if he's writing songs as a chick or as a teh gay

3 - Royal Headache - High 20

4 - Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool 20

i just kept on listening to a handful of these songs, might be #2 or 3 if "Baby Ain't Made Of China" was on it

5 - Black ##### (like the cat) - Magic Mustache 10

stupid band name, yeah yeah rolling stones we get it, stupid album name. I guess these hipsters don't like money. Pretty great record though from the guy who used to be White Orange.. what was wrong with that name?

6 - Wand - Golem 10

7 - The Atomic #####wax (rhymes with Mitch) - Gravitron 10

now there's a ####### name

8 - Kadavar - Berlin 10

ya

9 - Local H - Hey, Killer 10

10 - Failure - The Heart Is A Monster 10

11 - Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves 10

12 - Evans the Death - Expect Delays 10

13 - Clutch - Psychic Warfare 10

14 - Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down... 10

15 - Shannon and the Clams - Gone By The Dawn 10

Spoiler

https://open.spotify.com/user/juddzilla/playlist/06PiWMTmVGgKpRHdHUrKZ3

Wow, I didn't know Shannon and the Clams had a new one. Going to listen to it now. STAT!

 

[Fly]

Well dammit, I forgot to send in a list. Always good reading, though. Thanks for the work NV.

Also, a 2013-2015 song draft seems pretty fun.

 

[kupcho1]

Great work as always.

Seemed to be a number of one vote/high score entries this year

Forgot a few I did like but didn't have on my list (e.g., EL VY). Also a number I'll need to revisit

 

[Steve Tasker]

As long as we're all pimping, I'll put in a good word for the Bop English album. It's a solo project of James Petralli of White Denim who have charted in this poll before. Petralli toned down the excesses of his regular band and delivered a record that goes down like a cold beer on a hot day.

The Laura Marling is great if you like her but if you didn't like her earlier stuff, you'll absolutely hate this one. Likewise, Sparks have always been kind of an acquired taste but I acquired it about 40 years ago. To stick with the food and drink comparisons, FFS is like a plastic pumpkin head full of halloween candy.

The unknown pleasure on my list that few people have probably heard is the Girls Names album. They're a Scottish band with kind of a postpunk-Horrors thing going on.

FFS --- FFS --- 20

Laura Marling --- Short Movie --- 20

Bop English --- Constant Bop --- 20

Wolf Alice --- My Love is Cool --- 15

**** Diver --- Melbourne, Florida --- 15

Mikal Cronin --- MCIII --- 15

Girls Names --- Arms Around a Vision --- 15

Father John Misty --- I Love You, Honeybear --- 15

The Internet --- Ego Death --- 15

Django Django --- Born Under Saturn --- 10

Gold Class --- It's You --- 10

Gaz Coombes --- Matador --- 10

Beach Slang --- The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us --- 5

Car Seat Headrest --- Teens of Style --- 5

EL VY --- Return to the Moon --- 5

New Order --- Music Complete --- 1

A Projection --- Exit --- 1

Moon Duo --- Shadow of the Sun --- 1

East India Youth --- Culture of Violence --- 1

The Weeknd --- Beauty Behind the Madness --- 1

I really wanted to like MC III more. It just missed my list. Big fan of his but it just didn't grab me. Probably should give it a few more listens though.

 

[Eephus]

/

I really wanted to like MC III more. It just missed my list. Big fan of his but it just didn't grab me. Probably should give it a few more listens though.

It was a grower for me but I always tend to over-reward artists who consciously develop their sound rather than release the same album with different tunes.

 

[Ilov80s]

Totally meant to vote and never got around to it. Here are the top 7 misses IMO. The write-ups are mostly from Pitchfork. In no particular order:

Painted Shut- Hop Along

Waitress

Buddy in the Parade

The songs on the second album by the Philadelphia band Hop Along seem to have come whirling out of a fairytale, visceral but ornate, outside reality but still scarred by it. Their energy comes from punk but their style comes from somewhere older and more obscure—a Victorian attic, maybe, or the kind of basement where the band’s singer Frances Quinlan got turned onto punk in the first place.

The Epic- Kamasi Washington

Re Run Home

The Magnificent 7

The big news is that The Epic actually makes good on its titular promise without bothering to make even a faint-hearted stab in the direction of fulfilling its pre-release hype. If you came for the hip-hop associations, and can't listen for anything else, you will surely be disappointed. But to listen like that is to cheat yourself. If you want rapping over contemporary jazz, you can find it elsewhere. If you're in the mood for acoustic adaptations of electronic-music practices, look to Vijay Iyer Trio's recent Break Stuff (specifically, the track"Hood", which is a shout-out to Detroit DJ Robert Hood). You can find more studiously contemporary R&B vocals on Robert Glasper's recent Black Radio series. Kamasi Washington's epic isn't the place for those things—though it is also a zone of surprise. Instead of a self-conscious attempt to seize someone else’s idea of the zeitgeist, it's a large and generous canvas, clearly created in the hopes of attracting new visitors to the post-Coltrane wing of the jazz museum. At this point, that project is its own form of radicalism.

Joy, Departed- Sorority Noise

Using Again

Art School Wannabe

For those who identified with emo during its artistic (if not commercial) peak in the '90s, the most demoralizing development over the past decade is the term becoming synonymous with a performative, juvenile sadness that commodifies depression, often treats women as props, and is expressed in a voice that sounds like the worst version of your 8th grade inner monologue. And so it's understandable to be skeptical of an all-male band named Sorority Noise, often tagged as emo, making a song called “Art School Wannabe”. In it, Cameron Boucher sings in a nasal tone, pinpointing that post-pubescent sour spot where snark becomes an all-purpose defense mechanism against emotional disturbance. It bops along to a chipper shuffle that brings to mind, depending on your age and generosity, the Front Bottoms, mid-period Weezer, or Ben Folds Five. But it also contains the lyric upon which the entirety of Joy, Departed hinges—“Maybe I’m just scared to admit that I might not be as dark as I think/ Maybe I’m not the person that I never wanted to be.”

Escape from Evil- Lower Dens

To Die in L.A.

Quo Vadis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n78GkK7LC9YLower Dens have toyed with the raw pleasure of pop music in the past, but they’ve never embraced it like this. Three years ago, the Baltimore band’s standout single "Brains" shone as a melodic gem inside the largely experimental Nootropics; now, on the band’s third album, core songwriter Jana Hunter embraces open, ringing melodies. Like a lot of current music, Escape From Evil siphons its aesthetic from the storied pop of the '80s, but it’s not content to stop at homage. Lower Dens use the past—its clichés and its innocence—as a lens through which to imagine a queer and open future.

In the Moment- Makaya Mccraven

Slightest Right

The Jaunt

One of the year’s most mesmerizing releases, there’s a great deal happening on drummer Makaya McCraven’sIn the Moment. Its 19 tracks come from his residency at the Chicago club the Bedford. All but three of them are under five minutes long (nine are under three minutes), and all but one are heavily edited with loops and overdubs, generally resulting in layers of modal vamping. -

http://jazztimes.com/articles/170700-in-the-moment-makaya-mccraven

Expect Delays- Evans the Death

Expect Delays

Sledgehammer

In all, it's the band's discordant youthful cynicism and Whitaker's distinctive voice – both delicate and squalling - that prevail here, making Expect Delays a veritable success. It’s a quality that separates them from the rest of the modern indie pop contingent, while they simultaneously dispel the myth of the tricky follow-up. The difficult second album never sounded so effortlessly good. http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/evans-the-death-expect-delays

Space, Time, Continuum- Aaron Diehl

Uranus

The Steadfast Titan

On pianist-composer Aaron Diehl’s fourth album as a leader, his choices of both material and sidemen illuminate his recording’s title: The 29-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, creates an environment in which historic and contemporary styles of jazz, as well as the Western classical tradition, are welcome and integrated. While the album is not especially piano-centric, fans of Diehl’s exquisite touch, precise articulation and meticulous arrangements will be richly rewarded.
The six originals on Space Time Continuum reveal the influence of jazz forebears like Ellington, Bud Powell and John Lewis, an early role model to whom Diehl has been compared. Like Lewis, he draws on classical tradition; one is as likely to hear an echo of Rachmaninoff as of Ellington. As a pianist he’s equally eclectic, reminiscent of Ahmad Jamal, Monk—and, occasionally, classical virtuosi. http://jazztimes.com/articles/166464-space-time-continuum-aaron-diehl

 

[Eephus]

On the jazz tip, I really liked the Makaya McCraven album.

The Epic was just too much for me. I admire the ambition but don't think Washington is an inventive enough soloist to carry three hours of material. The third record might be the greatest thing ever but I don't think I ever lasted that long.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's deconstruction/reconstruction of Bird is worth a listen.

 

[Ilov80s]

On the jazz tip, I really liked the Makaya McCraven album.

The Epic was just too much for me. I admire the ambition but don't think Washington is an inventive enough soloist to carry three hours of material. The third record might be the greatest thing ever but I don't think I ever lasted that long.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's deconstruction/reconstruction of Bird is worth a listen.

I haven't listened to the Epic straight through in one shot, but each "disc" separately. It's a masterpiece, but definitely over the top to the 10th power.

 

[Brony]

FWIW, here's my list:

Jamie XX - Color: 30
Grimes - Art Angels: 30
Barbarossa - Imager: 20
Youth Lagoon - Savage Hills Ballroom: 20
Baio - The Names: 15
Lower Dens - Escape from Hell: 15
Fidlar - Too: 10
Tanlines - Highlights: 10
EL VY - Return to the Moon: 10
Bjork - Vulnicura: 10
City Calm Down - In a Restles House: 10
Heartless Bastards - Restless ones: 10
Small Black - Best Blues: 10

My usual sweetspots are guitar rock or electronic. This year I just found the synth stuff was really popping for my ears. Also liked Chvrches and I can't remember why I cut it off.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

The unknown pleasure on my list that few people have probably heard is the Girls Names album. They're a Scottish band with kind of a postpunk-Horrors thing going on.

Thanks for this recommendation. This is really good---the Horrors fronted by Mark E. Smith. Next time you hear something like this, let me know sooner.

I'm going to have to listen to their other 2.

 

[Steve Tasker]

FWIW, here's my list:

Jamie XX - Color: 30

Grimes - Art Angels: 30

Barbarossa - Imager: 20

Youth Lagoon - Savage Hills Ballroom: 20

Baio - The Names: 15

Lower Dens - Escape from Hell: 15

Fidlar - Too: 10

Tanlines - Highlights: 10

EL VY - Return to the Moon: 10

Bjork - Vulnicura: 10

City Calm Down - In a Restles House: 10

Heartless Bastards - Restless ones: 10

Small Black - Best Blues: 10

My usual sweetspots are guitar rock or electronic. This year I just found the synth stuff was really popping for my ears. Also liked Chvrches and I can't remember why I cut it off.

Man, I just could not get into Vulnicura. Longtime Bjork fan but man it fell flat for me.

 

[Eephus]

#10

Royal Headache - High

50 Points, 2 Votes

It was a very good year for Australian and New Zealander music. This one made my long list along with The Twerps and the Salad Boys. Tame Impala has been listed and I assume Courtney Barnett is in the top 10 somewhere. I believe Unknown Mortal Orchestra has some Antipodean connections.

My personal favorites were from **** Diver and Gold Class, which both made the short list. I'm looking forward to the US release of Marlon Williams' album next month.

I put the Marlon Williams folder on my list this year based on the 5 or so songs I've heard out there.

Mrs eephus and I saw Williams at a oddly scheduled early Tuesday night show in SF. He went on at 8PM and there was another different show booked in the same club at 9PM. Between this and the fact he has no material released in the US kept the crowd down to maybe 50 people.

Williams and his four piece band didn't seem to mind the sparse crowd. His voice is a brilliant instrument with power, range and phrasing. He played his own songs and some nicely selected covers (Nina Simone, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Bowie, Roberta Flack) that he made his own. The obvious comparison is Jeff Buckley but his command of the stage reminded me more of another New Zealander Finn Andrews of The Veils. Williams is old soul and not particularly commercial but he should be a star somewhere outside his native country.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

#10

Royal Headache - High

50 Points, 2 Votes

It was a very good year for Australian and New Zealander music. This one made my long list along with The Twerps and the Salad Boys. Tame Impala has been listed and I assume Courtney Barnett is in the top 10 somewhere. I believe Unknown Mortal Orchestra has some Antipodean connections.

My personal favorites were from **** Diver and Gold Class, which both made the short list. I'm looking forward to the US release of Marlon Williams' album next month.

I put the Marlon Williams folder on my list this year based on the 5 or so songs I've heard out there.

Mrs eephus and I saw Williams at a oddly scheduled early Tuesday night show in SF. He went on at 8PM and there was another different show booked in the same club at 9PM. Between this and the fact he has no material released in the US kept the crowd down to maybe 50 people.

Williams and his four piece band didn't seem to mind the sparse crowd. His voice is a brilliant instrument with power, range and phrasing. He played his own songs and some nicely selected covers (Nina Simone, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Bowie, Roberta Flack) that he made his own. The obvious comparison is Jeff Buckley but his command of the stage reminded me more of another New Zealander Finn Andrews of The Veils. Williams is old soul and not particularly commercial but he should be a star somewhere outside his native country.

The Buckley and Andrews comparisons drew my interest so I just watched 5 or 6 of his youtube performances. Incredibly talented guy. Looking forward to hearing his album soon.

 

[skol asylum]

Dot

 

[Fiddles]

which of these are good at the gym/running?

 

[El Floppo]

which of these are good at the gym/running?

the broads in Savages look pretty fit.

 

[Eephus]

Thanks to whoever voted for the Barbarossa album. It's probably something I wouldn't have heard otherwise but it was pretty solid

 

[kupcho1]

Maybe Spotify's Discover weekly has ruined albums for me, but it seemed like a singles year

BTW I'd have had the Hamilton soundtrack on my list if I had any sense at all when I submitted it. Just awesome.

 

[kupcho1]

Damnit

Anyway to change my vote?

#1 Hamilton (Original Broadway Soundtrack)

Phenomenal. Seriously, check it out now.

 

[Northern Voice]

2015 Song Draft Signup - If we get 10+ interested, I'll kick it off in next day or so.