Best of 2015
Renaldo Matadeen's picks (2015)
Adam Eisenberg
Hey all! Hope 2015 was awesome for you guys. And hoping 2016 is even better. Can’t wait to see Usain Bolt break world records again. Germany add the Euros to follow up the World Cup. Enjoy my list and remember, stay classic much like The Great Renaldo…
20. Envy:
Atheist’s Cornea
There are some bands that create worlds, remarkable and immersive, for you to spend years in. Enjoying their art, enjoying their culture, enjoying their overall outlook on life. However, few create worlds as unique as Envy. Atheist’s Cornea returns the band to their more aggressive roots and finds them deep-seated in a noisy atmosphere that is as cerebral as it is head-banging. It's a record that goes deep, slow and pensive at times, but then quickly gears up into its natural beast, staying in this state and allowing you to bask in its chaos. Standout track: "Footsteps In The Distance."
19. Deafheaven:
New Bermuda
A brilliant, similarly soul-crushing take on the bleak world by a band that's as artistically free as they come. Melodic when need be, aggressive at other times - the recipe for one of the loudest, most frenetic masterpieces in the realm of black metal, yet again. Standout track: "Brought To The Water."
18. After the Fall:
Dedication
They continue to be one of the most underrated acts doing that aggressive/melodic punk gig today. This album though is much more tempered dealing with the loss of someone close and while Unkind was brash and breathless, this here's much more personal and tuned to something deeper. For fans of No Trigger and A Wilhelm Scream.
17. Red City Radio:
Red City Radio
If you loved Titles, then you'll love this. RCR have shaken their sound up a bit but understandably so given their lineup shift. That said, singalong choruses, loads of depth, big hooks and melodic punk jams that kill it? Yeah, they're consistent at doing this.
16. The Front Bottoms:
Back On Top
They aren't as folky as you'd remember them. I kinda hated this on first listen but the record's a grower. Yes, it's made for the commercial teeny-bopping crowd and also to capitalize on the band's Tumblr success, but through all the mud, there's the same earnest stories and great indie-pop sensibility we all came to love in the first place. It's annoyingly catchy and gets extra points for GDP fucking wading in! Standout track: "Historic Cemetery."
Slow-burning and haunting as ever. Foxing picked up right where The Albatross left off and maintain their presence as one of the most profound act meshing indie, emo and a dark, grating brand of post-rock together. Music for Kylo Ren to listen to in the dark. Standout track: "Glass Coughs."
14. Caspian:
Dust and Disquiet
Orchestral. Cinematic. Post-rock gold. Caspian continue to explode in ways that fans of Mogwai would enjoy. They continue to prove so cerebral through all their riffage, genius and tempo shifts that you're left wondering how come they aren't used more in video games. Seriously, they're like the Daft Punk of this genre. Standout track: "Arcs of Command."
13. War On Women:
War On Women
War On Women's full-length debut emotionally covers a wide range of topics. Feminism. Sexism. Politics. Abortion. It's very thought-provoking, undeniably hard-hitting and fucking brutal. In terms of mixing thrash, punk, metal and hardcore together, it's safe to say that after repeatedly spinning War On Women for the better part of 2015 thus far, few bands do what they do so well. Fans of RVIVR, enjoy! Standout track: "Meathead."
12. Millencolin:
True Brew
They reconcile the best snippets off each of their previous albums and bombard you with the original essence of the band as well as any magic these veterans have picked up on the ride over the past few years. This is one of their biggest statements to date and it's their experience that really shape these 13 tracks. Countless massive hooks, melodic riffs and punk-anthem feels throughout. Standout track: "Sense & Sensibility."
Derek Archambault's worked his way through a lot of health issues and found an outlet through Defeater to up the ante on the screamo/post-hardcore realm. He's taken the concept of a priest who has lost faith and made it one of the best-written and bloody cinematic pieces of noise this year. Standout track: "December 1943."
10. Desaparecidos:
Payola
Conor Oberst continues to lay waste to society and the superficial state of the world. His political punk continues to make waves in a record that lived up to expectations and reminded us just how fucked the universe truly is. Standout track: "City On The Hill."
9. Soda Bomb:
Wanna Jam?
Broken World
Infectious. Catchy. Obnoxious. An ambush of a punk record that doesn't give a fuck. Think Glocca Morra meets Oso Oso meets Joyce Manor. Yup. You want this. Standout track: "Brain Buster."
8. The Sidekicks:
Runners in the Nerved World
If you're into Brand New and Band of Horses, then think of them joining up. This would be the result. Warm, charming, charismatic indie-rock but when they swing for the dark fences, they don't hold back. There's something quite visceral (refer to "Hell Is Warm") with the music these guys make and this album really hit home early on in the year. Standout track: "Century Schoolbook Grown-Ups."
Frances Quinlan's raw, raspy voice continues to light the way for the best act in indie-rock today. Her writing also carries a lot of weight with Joe Reinhart's guitars bringing further gravity to a band that knows how to tug at your heartstrings in the most warm manner. Get Disowned was always going to be tough to top but this does a pretty good job of trying. Infectious, scratchy yet as expected, melodiously profound as with “The Knock†about religious fanatics and “Powerful Man†about gender intimidation. Standout track: "Waitress."
6. Sorority Noise:
Joy, Departed
Cam Boucher creates one of the most vulnerable pieces of indie music this year by detailing his bout of depression. For fans of The Hotelier and Annabel. It's very exposed and brutally honest. Poppy at times then slow and dark at others. Not the easiest diary to listen to but one that really expresses how fragile mental health can be. Standout track: “Corrigan.â€
One of the most bubbly, well-written pieces of indie-rock out this year. Feels a lot like the energy of Tiny Moving Parts crashing into the abstract lyrics of The Hotelier. Yet it manages to pan out direct, chorus-driven and singalong as fuck. Sounds cliched but it's a fun, anthemic trip. Standout track: "Catch."
4. Youth Decay:
The Party's Over
New Damage
Skate and melodic punk? Hardcore influence of Comeback Kid? Some of the year's fastest and angriest jams that make you wanna kick doors down? You want this. Catchy yet furious. Trust me. You've got a lot of variety on tap here. There are too many awesome tracks to chose from but definitely, it’s an album that rips and shreds front to back. Standout track: "Hysteria."
3. The Wonder Years:
No Closer To Heaven
TWY have evolved into more grittier territory while staying true to their pop-punk roots. What makes this album stand out even more is how much Soupy's lyrics and overall, storytelling, have grown; evident with the theme of 'we’re no saviours if we can’t save our brothers’. This record's filled with character and intimate stories from a tragic past that paint the band as contemplative and restless as ever. Yet they’re now optimistic, moving on and ready to harness that to make some of the best rock music flooding the market today. Standout track: "Cardinals."
2. Annabel:
Having It All
This record's a brilliant stab at indie/emo from a band that's been slowly but surely living up to its potential. Themes of loneliness, depression, love and relationships in general form the backbone about moving on past failures. If you're a fan of The Hotelier or Prawn, then this is for you. Catchy and telling, to say the least but what really describes their accessible brand -- is relatable. Honest and endearing indie done really fucking well. Standout track: "Nothing Good Gets Away."
1. Choke Up:
Black Coffee, Bad Habits
Melodic punk done right. One of the most emotional, hard-hitting records I've heard in years and an album that didn't make it out my player this year. Infectious. Angry. Music to punch the world in its fucking gut. Not much to say in this blurb except that this album will do the "Training Day" and push your shit in. Seriously, fuck with this. You won’t regret it. Every track is mindblowing. Standout track: "Wildflower."
Special Mention:
It was a pretty solid year. Really solid I should say. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly deserves some special mention as they just cut it past the likes of Dr. Dre and Earl Sweatshirt for me. Back to the more conventional side of things, punk really found its hold as well with Great Collapse’s Holy War acting as a great intermediate drug for fans of Strike Anywhere while EPs from Brutal Youth (Bottoming Out), Modern Baseball (The Perfect Cast) and Great Lakes USA (Stumbling Distance) coming pretty good as well. Blacklisted (When People Grow, People Go) was a really raw hardcore monster to take note of as well. Prawn and Moving Mountains also had a great split towards year-end but there were quite a bit of indie/post-hardcore records that just missed out - The World is a Beautiful Place… had a decent sophomore record in Harmlessness as well as Lithuania’s Hardcore Friends, toyGuitar’s In This Mess and Looming’s Nailbiter. I’d also be remiss not to mention H2O’s Use Your Voice as another solid punk outing, Geoff Rickly and ex-Lostprophets doing a nifty synth-pop gig with No Devotion’s Permanence, Twinsmith’s airy dream-pop on Saddle Creek with Alligator Years with screamo records from Worthwhile (Old World Harm) and Trophy Lungs (Day Jobs) also mixing 2015 up pretty nicely.
Movies/TV/Comics:
Not a bad year with the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road, Ex Machina, The Room, Sicario, Tangerine (for fans of transvestites), Kingsman, Southpaw, TurboKid and Creed all satisfying the geek and sport enthusiast in me. Stallone’s speech in Creed also punched me to tears. Finally caught wind of The Revenant (which is so good you know Leo’s not gonna get that Oscar) and The Hateful Eight which was also pleasant fun. Krampus though really felt like one of the most underrated trips this year as it reminded me so much of a gory Ernest Scared Stupid. Star Wars: The Force Awakens can fuck off though, with a shoddy script that feels like A New Hope reloaded, and a villain that’s as emo and whiny, as well…me. Seriously, no backstory for Kylo Ren? How the fuck am I supposed to buy into Leia telling us he’s got good in him? Well, it wasn’t as bad as outrunning a T-Rex in heels, right or the disaster that FoxTrank tried to pass off as the Fantastic Four? Avengers: AOU was alright but again, Ultron just wasn’t intimidating enough. I can’t wait to see Bucky destroy Stark in Civil War and Doomsday’s final form vs. the DC Trinity. Deadpool’s got me hyped as well but not sure if I’m up for seeing that studio fuck up Apocalypse. Side note, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl = feels galore. Watch but not under the influence.
Mr. Robot, Daredevil and Penny Dreadful continue to draw my attention on the tele. Really amazing characters and arcs. Jessica Jones could have been a few episodes shorter as they dragged it out but hey, Tennant was a beast. South Park also came good this year with its sociopolitical views, helping quell my anger at the never ending fillers of Naruto. The manga’s done and we’ve got two movies which also focus on the new generation yet they’re dragging this shit out. They just shot me over to One Punch Man. Fuck you, Kishi. Gave up on Attack on Titan as well. Too busy. The Flash is keeping me invested but to hell with Arrow, Supergirl and Gotham - all so bland. PS, kudos to Sheldon finally putting the big bang in Amy. Also, hating that Rollins and Cesaro are out because now it’s all down to boring Roman Reigns. WWE’s at a low point and if it weren’t for NXT and Lesnar, I’d be out. Finn and Zayn need to come up because it’s ruining me wasting Monday nights. And wrestling is real so piss off. Just ask The Undertaker aka the dude who just won’t die…
Lastly, comic-wise, it’s so tough with so many events and tie-ins. TV shows and movies (fuck you, Star Wars) are now trying even more than ever to cross over and attack our wallets. Marvel’s gone overboard for me so I just touched on DC’s Darkseid War, which is pretty self- contained and cool. But that said, The Vision #1 is remarkably written. Tom King is the next big thing in mainstream comics. Huck #1 was also a gem from Mark Millar as was Grant Morrison’s Klaus. Image Comics, BOOM! and the other medium to small publishers are definitely where it’s at.