Check out if you agree with our selection of the 20 best albums of 2015 (original) (raw)
SO 2015 was the year when Adele saved the music industry – or at least those who will enjoy the profits of her multi-million-selling third album, 25.
Justin Bieber finally cracked the UK charts, One Direction called it a day (for a bit), indie music continued to die a slow death and Kendrick Lamar showed that rap was more than talking about champagne over EDM beats.
As for Scots, Calvin Harris continues to be the world’s No1 DJ, C Duncan was nominated for a Mercury, Kathryn Joseph won the Scottish Album of the Year and The Twilight Sad supported The Cure in America.
So here is The Ticket’s annual list of the albums of the year.
1. Noel Gallagher
Chasing Yesterday
Why is Liam standing in front of his bedroom mirror with a hairbrush singing, “I was big in the 90s”, when Noel headlined T in the Park this year? Songs. Noel is still the master of a catchy hook and his second solo album is his best work since the first two Oasis albums. Whether it’s the quiet contemplation of Riverman or the Oasis strut of You Know We Can’t Go Back, this is an album that’s all killer, no filler.
Key track: Ballad of the Mighty I
2. Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
Rapping on Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood may have brought the US rapper to more ears but his third album showed he wasn’t a rent-a-rapper and hit No1 in the UK. Bucking the trend of big-name rappers who use EDM as their musical backbeat, Lamar has gone back to the late 80s and mixes jazz and funk with funny De La Soul skits and raps. But there’s a message about racial tensions and it’s an album that feels fresh.
Key track: King Kunta
3. Jamie xx
In Colour
Not since Bjork’s Debut has an album managed to mix pre-club and club sounds to such great effect The debut from The xx keyboard player and producer is an album you can put on and listen to anywhere – getting ready, going for a drive or even doing the housework. From the Chemical Brothers beats of Gosh to the hypnotic milk bottle beats of Loud Places, it’s pure pleasure.
Key track: Loud Places
Noel Gallagher is our top choice
4. New Order
Music Complete
Losing Hooky was meant to be the death of New Order – but, instead, the return of Gillian Gilbert, who spent a decade away from the Manchester ensemble, has resurrected them. Her synth washes and hooks – and possibly just having her rather than Hooky in the line-up – have returned the lightness and fun to the band, making it their best release since 1993’s Republic. Smile. It’s the new order of things.
Key track: Tutti Frutti
5. C Duncan
Architect
Christopher Duncan made this album in his bedroom in Glasgow. It was nominated for a Mercury Prize and, coming from the son of two classical musicians, is like nothing else you’ll hear all year. A master stroke of baroque pop featuring layered instrumentals, it mixes the haunting harmonies of Beach Boys with the wry wink of Orange Juice. In an often noisy world, this album brings peace.
Key track: For
6. Adele
25
The queen of bittersweet songs dominated 2015 – even though she only released her album in November. People often forget she’s not just a great singer but a fantastic songwriter. She takes her own pain and tells us we’re not alone. But it’s not all introspection. She likes a wee boogie in
songs such as Water Under the Bridge and Send My Love (To Your New Lover).
Key track: Hello
7. Blur
The Magic Whip
This year’s greatest comeback must be from Britpop’s finest. Ending a beautiful friendship with 2003’s Think Tank, it seemed Damon and Graham were finished – at least professionally. But live shows stoked the embers and Graham took five days of studio jamming in Hong Kong by the band and fashioned an album of exemplary tracks that stands proudly among their previous canon.
Key track: Ice Cream Man
8. Florence + the Machine
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
A heady mix of Kate Bush, Persephone and Mother Earth, Florence Welch’s third album sticks the dial to 11 – even in the quiet songs. It’s big and brassy with lots of, yes, brass, tribal drums and strings.
Key track: Ship to Wreck
9. Dr Dre
Compton
The NWA man dumped an album after watching his younger self in the rap band’s biopic Straight Outta Compton. While sometimes it’s a bit J Lo Jenny from the Block – given he’s a billionaire – Dr Dre brings in some of the best to add their feelings about the state of the streets in 2015, including his old NWA buddy Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Snoop Dogg.
Key track: Issues
Blur made the top ten
10. FFS
FFS
Take two groups and what do you get? With FFS, a sound that is like each of the bands but also like something totally different. Franz Ferdinand and Sparks took a decade to sort this but their debut was well worth the wait. Arch, melodramatic and music girls can dance to, it’s the best combination since a Mars bar was put in a deep-fat fryer.
Key track: Johnny Delusional
11. Tame Impala
Currents
Everywhere you listen, from Justin Bieber to Drake, the sound of 90s Michael Jackson is present. His beats and vocal ticks are being emulated by a generation of young singers. Kevin Parker is another childhood fan – but he goes back further to Off the Wall. The album is warmer, even though the lyrics are filled with heartbreak.
Key track: Let It Happen
12. The Libertines
Anthems for Doomed Youth
The year’s second-biggest comeback was by these likely lads, who weathered drugs, jail and robbery but still remained friends. Eleven years after their messy second album, Jake Gosling has managed to tame the beast – well, Pete Doherty – to create the album they were always promising. Raucous and wistful, it’s always mesmerising.
Key track: Gunga Din
13. Belle and Sebastian
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
While opening track Nobody’s Empire is a song about singer Stuart Murdoch’s chronic fatigue syndrome, this isn’t introspective and sad. Instead, we have B&S’s most glittertastic songs yet. Despite the title, Enter Sylvia Plath is disco heaven and the album will have even the bookiest of book worms boogying.
Key track: Play for Today
Belle & Sebastian
14. The Charlatans
Modern Nature
These Madchester baggiests have survived their fair share of knocks, the most recent being drummer Jon Brookes’s death. Tim Burgess and the remaining members worked on Jon’s final material to create an upbeat album to his memory.
Key track: Lean In
15. Chvrches
Every Open Eye
The trouble with making an incredible debut is how to follow it. Add or take away guitars? Polish or go bigger? Chvrches went bigger, emulating the outsider synth pop of Eurythmics or 80s Madonna. As Lauren Mayberry sings in Never Ending Circles: “I’ll go my own way if I’m going at all.”
Key track: Clearest Blue
16. Coldplay
A Head Full of Dreams
NEWLY released, it still needs time to bed in – but after the morose Ghost Stories, Chris Martin has bounced back from his marriage break-up and is a happy puppy once more. He’s even brought his friends such as Noel Gallagher, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. A Head Full of Dreams is Coldplay recoupling with fun – which happens to be the title of track six.
Key track: Adventure of a Lifetime
17. Iron Maiden
The Book of Souls
Those who think guitar music is dead are just looking in the wrong graveyards. Skinny boy indie might be quivering in the dark but good old-fashioned heavy rock is still massively popular. Which is why Bruce Dickinson and the boys went to No1 despite the album coming in at more than 90 minutes and one song, Empire of the Clouds, going on for over 18 minutes.
Key track: Speed of Light
18. Stereophonics
Keep the Village Alive
The Welsh band’s ninth album topped the charts again – the first time since Pull the Pin in 2007.
At their heart, they’re always a good-time band with a knack for a big chorus you can sing with your mates. This is crammed with classic Stereophonics tunes, with I Wanna Get Lost with You being a prime example.
Key track: C’est la Vie
Julia Holter has made our top 20
19. Julia Holter
Have You In My Wilderness
The fourth album by the American singer went largely unnoticed in the UK, scraping in at No29 – but Mojo made it their album of 2015 and it was No2 in Q. If you like the quirky pop of Bat for Lashes or Regina Spektor, Julia’s ethereal dream pop is worth a try.
Key track: Lucette Stranded on the Island
20. La Fontaines
Class
Since discovering the lads in 2009, I’ve been like a proud dad watching them get better and better. This year, they released their self-financed debut and sold out the Barrowland. Their heady mix of anthemic rock and gritty raps can raise any roof and in Kerr Okan they have the best new frontman
in Scotland.
Key track: King