Here is the best music we heard in the past year. Most, but not all, was also released in 2015.
Top 12 (in random order) (it would have been 13; Cory tried to list “1989” again!)
Baroness, “Purple” (2015) – Everything that was ever great about Baroness – huge riffs, dual guitar leads, shout-a-long anthems – raised a couple notches. Seeing them at Lawrence’s own little Jackpot was extra special. -h
Kendrick Lamar, “To Pimp A Butterfly” (2015) – This record is really challenging, which makes it interesting that it’s as popular and lauded as it is. I initially loved “King Kunta,” which is the most straightforward track on the album, but the rest of it went over my head for the first 5-10 listens. I’ve gotten into Sigur Ros records faster than that. (Just kidding, Sigur Ros still confuses me!). Partially, the album is challenging because it’s all over the damn place, and at first, it’s hard to tell whether that way like “The Love Below” (this is a bad thing, because “The Love Below” sucks); or, if it’s diverse like a Streets record (this is enjoyable and positive). Presently, I have determined that Kendrick Lamar is one of the realest, most insightful, and introspective artists I’ve ever heard. When he talks about race, class issues, materialism, self-hatred, and substance abuse he’s so brutally honest that it scares me and gives me the chills at the same time. I’m still peeling back the layers. A highlight: On “The Blacker the Berry,” he says, “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street / When gang banging make me kill a n**** blacker than me? Hypocrite!” I’m still unpacking that one. -C
Major Games, “Major Games” (2015) – There are 80s parts, heavy psych parts, weird noise parts, and super-catchty parts all mixed together. Basically it sounds like the cover art looks. -h
Kacey Musgraves, “Pageant Material” (2015) – “Same Trailer, Different Park” was so perfect in almost every way that I thought Kacey might strike gold less often with subsequent records, but “Pageant Material” is everything I wanted it to be and more. The melodies are still impeccable, the lyrics are profound in a hokey sort of way, and no matter what kind of song is happening (twangy rocker about small town gossip, folk song about smoking a J and hanging with your boyfriend, or an upbeat bluegrass jam about being a cowgirl), she executes it to perfection. I am still waiting for the day when Kacey becomes the new big pop crossover sensation that appeals to almost any music fan. It can’t be long now. -C
The Powder Room, “Curtains” (2014) – Like a sturdy, broken-in pair of boots The Powder Room’s pummeling rock reliably doesn’t waste anything. From riff to hook to breakdown and back, “Curtains” gets in and out and leaves me wanting more, even after months of near-daily listening. -h
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Emotion” (2015) – Every year, there’s some total bubble-gum pop record that I fall in love with. Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift… and now “Emotion” by Carly Rae Jepsen. It helps that Carly Rae is the real deal, vocally. But what really makes this record shine (aside from the fact that the songs are extremely well-written) is that it’s weird enough to be interesting. It has the same overall vibe as a Haim record, except for less gloomy and a lot sillier. The songwriters and producers seem to have gotten together and said, “OK, people like songs about love and sex, and they like big kick drums and 808 sounds, and they like ’80s staccato funk guitar, so let’s put it all together and make people flip.” -C
Doomtree, “All Hands” (2015) – MSP hip-hop crew bring it harder than ever, which is *extremely* hard. All tracks bang and flow forever. “Generator” kills me, if you need just a taste. -h
Run The Jewels, “Run The Jewels 2” (2014) and “Run The Jewels” – These records are from 2014, so I am not going to put them at the top of my list. But, these guys pulled me out of a major music rut (thanks Howie!). According to Spotify, in 2015, RTJ was my most-played artist, “RTJ” was my most-played album, and my most-played song was “Run the Jewels” off of the album “Run the Jewels” by Run the Jewels. I was obsessed. I still am. And I’m still grateful that at 33, I can still get kicked in the ass by something new. -C
Drake, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” (2015) and other recordings – I listened to so much Drake in 2015. Partially because I needed something new; partially because my commute to work is much longer; mostly because people won’t shut up about him and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. The most interesting thing about Drake is that he’s nowhere near as great as everyone says he is, and yet, I can’t stop listening to him. He’s not a dynamite MC (not even close). He’s not very complex. His rhymes are filled with bad jokes. His voice actually grates on my nerves. He’s got the Kanye ego without the Kanye talent. But, his music sounds like no other music I’ve ever heard, so I keep coming back. “Hotline Bling” is not a great song, and, I’ve listened to it more than almost any other song this year. -C
Cosmic Ground, “Cosmic Ground 2” (2015) – These four 20-minute modular synth odysseys can transport me, comfort me, absorb me, or help me work on something else depending on the day. Wish I could remember how I ended up on this Bandcamp page; what a find. -h
Bully, “Feels Like” (2015) – All summer long, driving home from band practice, blasting Bully with the windows down, no A/C, Alicia’s voice going from purr to scream, the band loosely ripping grunge-pop perfection; nothing better. -h
Surfer Blood, “1000 Palms” (2015) – The first two Surfer Blood full-lengths and their “Tarot Classics” EP were instantaneously enjoyable. All songs were four-minute-long hooks that entered your head immediately and refused to leave. “1000 Palms” is their first record that comes with a learning curve. There are definitely songs on the record that are immediately great, but I didn’t love it right away like I thought I would. I listened to it off and on for months, and then one night, I randomly heard “Northwest Passage” on a playlist I’d made, and it finally made sense. -C
Honorable mention
Best Coast, “California Nights” (2015)
Waves x Cloud Nothings, “No Life For Me” (2015)
Selena Gomez, “Revival” (2015)
Beach House, “Depression Cherry” (2015)
A Is Jump, “Weird Nostalgia” (2015)
Blackalicious, “Imani vol. 1” (2015)
Brandon Flowers, “The Desired Effect” (2015)
Carla Morrison, “Amor Supremo” (2015)
Elder, “Lore” (2015)
Failure, “The Heart Is A Monster” (2015)
Halfwit, “II” and “III” (2015)
High on Fire, “Luminiferous” (2015)
Kowloon Walled City, “Grievances” (2015)
Monolord, “Vænir” (2015)
No Cave, “Eyes Brighter Than The Sun” (2015)
Sheer Mag, “II 7″” (2015)
Sleater-Kinney, “No Cities To Love” (2015)
Tame Impala, “Currents” (2015)
Torche, “Restarter” (2015)
Viol, “Deeper Than Sky” (2015)
Descendents, “Milo Goes To College” (1982), “I Don’t Want To Grow Up” (1985), “Enjoy!” (1986)
Joy, “Under The Spell Of” (2014)
Run-D.M.C., “Run-D.M.C.” (1984), “King of Rock” (1985), “Raising Hell” (1986), “Tougher Than Leather” (1988)
Sturgill Simpson, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” (2014)
I breadboarded my first partly-original pedal design this afternoon, and it worked!
The Kingman Anti-Drive is a passive volume cut circuit based on the Kinman treble bleed. It’s designed to give guitarists a clean/clean-ish/cleaner sound when placed in front of a saturated amplifier or overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal. Unlike turning down the guitar’s volume knob (which results in a dark, bass-heavy sound) or the Kinman circuit (which is optimized for only one particular point on the volume knob) the Kingman Anti-Drive offers a customizable frequency response with controls for volume, treble level, and treble cutoff frequency.
It’s simple (three pots, two capacitors, and wiring) but really, really useful. My basic live pedal setup for Mars Lights is an always-on treble boost and a Bass Big Muff Pi for choruses and big riffs, but I’m planning to replace that with an always-on Catalinbread Karma Suture (Happy Winter Non-Denominational Snow Time to me) and the Kingman in front of it for verses and quieter parts. (See how it works kind of backwards? You kick it *on* for “less”/quiet parts/cleaner sounds.)
It was really fun to play around with the volume turned pretty far down, the treble level about mid-way, and the cutoff anywhere at all. (Adjusting the cutoff is effectively a mids control, varying from a cool mid-scooped sound to a fairly flat frequency response.) Once I got the circuit in place I played Stones-y riffs for a solid 20 minutes just for kicks.
I’m also breadboarding on a new rig. The briefcase* and mounts for power, input and output jacks, and potentiometers, lets me store and transport breadboarded circuits safely. This first draft of the Kingman will be making its way to Mars Lights practice next week for a bit of testing.
A first test run on Kingmen will be completed in the next month or two I hope. Once everything is worked out I intend to open a store on Reverb.com with the first products being my “Jack of All” DS-1 mod and the Kingman.
Nice to have something work on the first attempt after some months of experimentation, frustrated Googling, and spending money on parts I wasn’t sure I’d need.
If you’re interested in the Kingman and have my email address, please reach out; I’ll be ordering parts this coming week. If you don’t have my email, I’ll be sure to announce the opening of the Reverb store here.
